I understand that knowing words and what words mean is really important to
making meaning. My concern is over what I have seen happen with any of the work
published by people like Isabel Beck. I don't doubt that it's true, and I am
happy to know there is not a rote hierarchy that can be applied to learning
words for example. But I still cringe every time I see such information.
District administrators, consultants, & building principals glom onto the
information as the new "answer" for their kids scoring in the lowest quartiles.
By the time the inservice reaches the classroom teachers the intent and the
activities shared might not even match what the researchers intended. And,
teachers often are more than comfortable to take on this new instruction
("activities") because working with words can fill a lot of time...it's often
"easier," can be more fun, and I suspect might provide some data that would
make pretty graphs. (Although I worry what assessment piece might tell me that
a 6 year-old "learned" saturate before they "learned" soak.) And, when it isn't
easier or made fun by teachers then it can be real torture for kids, and
literally kill any potential motivation they once had to read.
Of course we all expect the teachers who get that 1/2 inservice to also
"differentiate" instruction, so the kids who already know what saturate means
(or soak for that matter) won't have to learn again in whole group activities.
I'd much rather the kindergarten teacher in my grandson's classroom read aloud
Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs to teach him new words (if saturate or soak
aren't in there, they should be, but I'll settle for the rest of the word
choices anyway.)
Didn't Mem Fox "teach" us about the power of read loud many years ago in
Radical Reflections? I think we need to remind ourselves about that sometimes
on a daily basis, and especially when we see new research. Because if it's good
enough for my grandson, then that's what I want for all kids.
P.S. "glom" was not a word in my spell-check, but it's a word from my childhood
in central illinois...even though I don't think I've ever seen it in print,
except when I use it.
john d.
[email protected] wrote:
>This came through my email, and I thought it would be of interest to many on
>this list. I remember many suggesting Isabel Beck for vocabulary instruction.
>The link is to an article that further explains why this is beneficial.
>
> SATURATE BEFORE SOAK: EARLY LEARNERS CAN HANDLE BIG WORDS
>Researchers now believe that students in primary grades can acquire
>more advanced words earlier than previously thought, reports Laura
>Pappano in her article "Small Kids, Big Words: Research- Based
>Strategies for Building Vocabulary from Pre- K to Grade 3" in Harvard
>Education Letter. It is now felt that the mechanism for learning new
>vocabulary isn't the same as that for learning new math skills, where
>easier concepts are the building blocks for more complicated skills.
>"Words are not related hierarchically," said Isabel Beck of the
>University of Pittsburgh. "You can learn saturated' before you learn
>soak'." What's more, children seem to enjoy it. More advanced words
>also enrich conceptual understanding and enhance reading ability as a
>student progresses. It's especially important in closing the achievement
>gap for students who arrive to early grades with a limited vocabulary,
>and for English Language Learners.
>http://www.edletter.org/insights/bigwords.shtml
>
>
> Joy/NC/4
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> How children learn is as important as what they learn: process and content
> go hand in hand. http://www.responsiveclassroom.org
>
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