Episode 4: Academic Vocabulary for Adolescent Learners: USING Vocabulary in the service of Reading, Writing, and Discussion
This presentation will provide a brief overview of the importance of academic vocabulary knowledge for reading, writing, and discussion.
This presentation will provide a brief overview of the importance of academic vocabulary knowledge for reading, writing, and discussion. We’ll explore research on general academic and discipline-specific vocabulary, as well as on morphology and connectives. We’ll also look at some of the most powerful instructional routines for helping adolescents develop their academic vocabulary knowledge.
Resources: Townsend, D. (2014). Who’s Using the Language? Supporting Middle School Students With Content Area Academic Language. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy: A Journal from the International Reading Association.
Resources in PP
- Vocabulary pre/post self-assessment
- Vocabulary Feature Chart
- Rate word knowledge
- What are powerful instructional routines for learning academic words?
- Expressive Vocabulary Test
- Word Processors (Word and Phrase and Academic Profiler)
- Templeton, S., et. al. (2015) Vocabulary Their Way
- https://www.vocabulary.com/ (A great dictionary tool)
- Concept map generators
- https://visuwords.com/
- http://www.lexipedia.com/
- https://images.google.com/ (Instant visual support for key concepts)
- Blog post on 21 digital tools for vocabulary
Resources mentioned in the chat
Additional Resources
Thanks to Dianna Townsend for sending these additional resources for online tutoring!
Online Texts
- https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html - text sets/activities - really good! (free)
- https://www.storylineonline.net/ - authors and celebrities reading picture books aloud (free)
- https://www.vooks.com/ - Vooks - animated storybooks (pay)
- https://www.getepic.com/ - Epic - huge library of ebooks and audiobooks (pay)
- https://newsela.com/ - NewsELA - Create a free account to access interesting current event articles, each at multiple reading levels. Some articles also have comprehension questions and writing activities. Text sets (sets of articles around a theme) are also available. (lots of free content)
- https://www.readworks.org/ - ReadWorks - Create a free account to access articles, each at multiple reading levels. Some articles also have comprehension questions and writing activities. Text sets (sets of articles around a theme) are also available. (lots of free content)
Online Instructional Resources
Free decodable texts and plans - https://portal.flyleafpublishing.com/ -
Online activities and tutorials on multiple components of literacy development (free) - https://education.ufl.edu/ufli/virtual-teaching/main/instructional-activities/
Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR) Resources Page - https://fcrr.org/resources/index.html
Small-Group Reading Instruction at a Distance by Nell Duke (1-hour webinar) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNHImv_iKEM&feature=youtu.be
Word Work at a Distance by Nell Duke (1-hour webinar) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFsKu7rf8_I
Takeaways from research on tutoring to address coronavirus learning loss by The Hechinger Report, May 2020 - https://hechingerreport.org/takeaways-from-research-on-tutoring-to-address-coronavirus-learning-loss/
How to Develop Culturally Responsive Teaching for Distance Learning by KQED Mindshift (Article) - https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/55941/how-to-develop-culturally-responsive-teaching-for-distance-learning
Keeping Your Upper Elementary and Middle School Students Hooked on Words While at Home by Shane Templeton (1-hour webinar) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rl1b7paawEU&feature=youtu.be
STARI Resources for Distance Learning in Middle Grades Literacy - https://www.serpinstitute.org/stari/distance-learning
Registration form
Associated resources
The coronavirus pandemic and school closures across the nation have exposed deep inequities within education: technology access, challenges with communication, lack of support for special education students, to name just a few.
SERP has received several requests for recommendations regarding how to adapt STARI for use at home during this challenging period of distance learning. In response to these requests, we have adapted several resources to share with the STARI community
Keeping Your Upper Elementary and Middle School Students Hooked on Words While at Home by Shane Templeton (1-hour webinar).
Small Group Reading Instruction at a Distance by Nell Duke (1-hour webinar)
Authentic texts from partners such as New York Times, The Economist, History, Human Rights Watch, Scientific America, and many more. Find article by topic or skill. Some article also have comprehension questions.
eBooks, Learning Videos, Quizzes and more for up to age 12. Fiction and nonfiction. English and Spanish.
Text sets and activities for parents and teachers at http://emea.scholastic.com/en/learnathome
Online tools, compared to their more traditional counterparts, provide a broader array of information about words and word meanings
Look up words to find their meanings and associations with other words and concepts.
This user-friendly book integrates up-to-date research on best practices into each chapter and includes vignettes, classroom activities, sample lessons, a list of children’s literature, and more
With an emphasis on developing students’ word consciousness–the knowledge and predisposition to learn, appreciate, and effectively use words–the book addresses three broad aspects of vocabulary learning and instruction
In Teaching Tip: Selecting Academic Vocabulary Words worth Learning (see attachments), Townsend and Kiernan describe how teachers can use word processors such as the Word and Phrase Tool to identify which academic words in the text are most worthy of study or to assess student vocabulary knowledge.
This mixed-methods study examines middle school students’ academic language development in the context of a year-long professional development project titled, Developing Content Area Academic Language (DCAAL).
The Ohio Adolescent Literacy Network is a standing committee of regional support specialists who are collectively responsible for supporting literacy initiatives in middle and high schools across the state.
Ohio’s Statewide System of Support: Building State, Regional, and Local Capacity to Improve Instructional Practice and Student Achievement.
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