Vocabulary in a SNAP - Angela B. Peery

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      Source: Adapted from Tyson & Peery, 2017.

       Figure 2.5: Sample vocabulary log.

      Visit go.SolutionTree.com/literacy for a free reproducible version of this figure.

      A word wheel is a slightly simpler version of a concept circle (see figure 2.6). You can use it with students at any level who struggle with vocabulary and comprehension. When using a word wheel, you can quickly sketch this visual or give it to students on a handout, whichever you prefer.

       Figure 2.6: Blank word wheel.

      Visit go.SolutionTree.com/literacy for a free reproducible version of this figure.

      The target word is written in the left-hand “pie slice” (half of the wheel), and the two slices on the right side that make up the second half of the wheel are where synonyms, pictures, or both for the target word are placed. When I use this strategy with intermediate students and above, I usually provide a synonym for one slice and ask students to work together to come up with another synonym for the remaining slice. With early elementary students, you could include a sketch in the top right slice and a very simple synonym in the bottom right slice. For example, if the word on the left were companion, the top right might depict two stick figures holding hands, and in the bottom right, the word friend would appear. A fifth-grade class and teacher made the following word wheel (figure 2.7) after reading the book Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox (1984).

      Source: Tyson & Peery, 2017.

       Figure 2.7: Word wheel example.

      Wordle (www.wordle.net) is a site for creating word clouds. You simply type text into the tool, or cut and paste from a text, and the site magically creates a visual that includes all the words, with the most frequent or important words appearing larger than others.

      You can use the highly engaging Whip Around strategy as a closing activity or within a lesson anytime you want to quickly check students’ comprehension. You first give a prompt or pose a question. It should be something that could be answered fairly quickly and simply. After allowing students think time (or they can jot their answers down), “whip around” the class, calling on students in rapid succession. You can even change the order of how you call on students. For example, you can start calling on students on the right side of the room and suddenly switch to the left. Refer to the YouTube video CLR: Whip Around (Cal High News, 2015; www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LJ50g-u4dI) for a good demonstration of this strategy in a high school classroom.

      Students can repeat answers given earlier if they like, but encourage them, if at all possible, to try to have a unique response ready or to add to what has already been stated. Students can also say “I pass” if they can’t think of an answer, but remember to go back to those who passed to see if they can supply an original answer later or repeat a response that was given. The key for this strategy is to move fast. Don’t stop to discuss answers until you have completely gone around the room.

      I learned this strategy from educator and author Janet Allen. To implement this strategy, provide student groups with a list of words from the unit of study. Ask students to discuss them based on their knowledge of the words and the topic and then to respond to the questions you provide.

      The following example of a word talk with word questioning is based on the topic of malnutrition and is from Allen’s (2014) book Tools for Teaching Academic Vocabulary.

      • How are vitamin B, milled rice, and beriberi related?

      • What possible connection could there be between pirates and vitamin C?

      • What is the relationship between growth spurts and empty calorie foods? (Choose two words that would seem to be unrelated.)

      • How are scurvy, diets, and picky eaters all related to malnutrition?

      • If I discovered a cure for malnutrition, what scientific words would likely describe the process I used?

      This chapter seeks to be a jumping-off point for you as you explore strategies and tools to improve instruction in all areas, not just vocabulary learning. The strategies and tools herein are mentioned in the lessons that follow, but don’t limit yourself to using them only in the ways I suggest. Explore and enjoy!

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      Robust Roots A–K

      You may remember at some point in your own K–12 education completing a unit of study on Greek or Latin roots. My eighth-grade year was the year that my English teacher engaged us in what she called minicourses, most of which consisted of a slew of independent work that had to be completed and then bound into some kind of binder for her inspection. I vaguely remember the minicourses on journalism and word study being my favorites. Learning about roots, word families, and affixes in the word study minicourse was a joy for me. However, years later, when I tried to generate similar joy in my classroom, I failed miserably. Why did my students not find roots as mesmerizing as I did? That question I may never be able to answer, but I do know that the student who has knowledge of frequently used roots is the student who has a useful tool in his or her toolkit. The study of roots is definitely worth spending time on and can support our students in preparing for future academic study. This is not just teacher lore; many studies attest to word analysis as a practice that increases both students’ vocabulary and their general knowledge of language (Graves, 2006; Graves & Hammond, 1980; White, Sowell, & Yanagihara, 1989).

      The study of roots that are present in cognates across several languages can support English learners. Native Spanish, Italian, and French speakers can find many shared word families in English. All teachers should be invested in the study of some of the most common English language roots because knowledge of these roots assists students with mastering content-area vocabulary and supports incidental word learning. Andrew Biemiller and Naomi Slonim (2001) estimate that children acquire about six hundred root word meanings per year from infancy to the end of elementary school. However, we know that not all our students will acquire six hundred root word meanings; some will acquire significantly less (Colker, n.d.; Hart & Risley, 2003; Morgan, Farkas, Hillemeier, Hammer, & Maczuga, 2015). Students who are new to schooling or new to English also face additional challenges. And lastly, students’ learning of roots should continue beyond elementary school and exceed six hundred root words per year. Thus, additional instruction about roots, whenever we can squeeze it into our lessons, can support our students in unlocking the meaning of thousands of words.

      Root words, sometimes just called roots, are words that do not have prefixes or suffixes and cannot be further subdivided. Each root represents the smallest unit of meaning in our language and is the basis for a word family. For example, think about the word walk. Walks, walked, and walking are built on the root (also called the base word). Other roots like ped are not words unto themselves but are used with other component parts to

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