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CHAPTER 7: Make It Your Own - How to Keep Learning About Academic Vocabulary

Summary: The final chapter of “Word Wise & Content Rich” summarized all of the important features of vocabulary instruction. Fisher and Frey emphasized how important word selection is (pg. 145). Furthermore, students should be doing more than looking up a textbook definition to learn words that a teacher selects. In fact, students should be learning multiple definitions of a word and they should see how the word is used in different contexts. A teacher can model these different methods for learning vocabulary words. However, the learning process is not complete until the students practice in groups and individually (pg. 146). The authors also noted how crucial it is for students to practice wide reading. The chapter concluded with some resources for teachers and classrooms. These include a list of books similar to this one, content dictionaries for students, and classroom vocabulary games. 

Personal Reflection: This chapter was significantly shorter than the preceding chapters and provided few new insights into vocabulary instruction. What it did do, however, was give a summary of everything that the preceding chapters focused on. I especially appreciated the resources given in the second half of the chapter. As I have said before, I am always looking for different ways that I can spice up my lessons with activities or learning tools. I had never heard of content dictionaries before, but I plan on looking into the mathematics one that was provided. I also looked into the visual dictionary at www.infovisual.info. Both of these resources would be excellent for me and my students. I really liked how Fisher and Frey ended the book: “vocabulary... is carried with each learner for the rest of his or her life.” I can personally testify that this is so true!

Classroom Application: This chapter’s classroom activity will not focus on any new method of vocabulary instruction. I thought it fitting to make this application a culminating one, as this chapter was the culminating chapter. I also recognize the sage wisdom of Fisher and Frey: don’t get students looking things up in dictionaries and memorizing on definition! However, I think this assignment will show students why we don’t use that practice. 

Assignment: Assign each individual student one week’s worth of vocabulary words that have been studied throughout the semester/year. Students will look up definitions in at least five different dictionaries, providing all definitions given. Student should use textbook as one source and mathematical dictionary as another source. Student will identify different ways that words can mean those different definitions in different contexts, providing quality sentences that contain the words in their respective contexts. 

This assignment allows students to reflect individually on their vocabulary instruction for the semester/year.

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CHAPTER 6: Make It a Priority - Creating a Schoolwide Focus on Learning Words

Summary: The penultimate chapter of “Word Wise & Content Rich” investigates the nature of schoolwide literacy and vocabulary programs and their effects on student learning. Fisher and Frey examined two initiatives: words of the week and wide reading (SSR). Words of the week is a schoolwide effort where the entire school studies five vocabulary words per week. The words should share a common root word or affix. All teachers across disciplines then work to incorporate those words into their content so that students see the versatility of the words. One way that this is done is through word walls, a classroom display of vocabulary cards (pg. 128). Next, the authors discussed the effect that sustained silent reading (SSR), a form of wide reading, has on student comprehension of vocabulary words. Studies show that learners who read more get better at reading and thus want to read more, a cycle called the Matthew Effect (pg. 135). A school could even decide to implement wide reading and words of the week; whatever is chosen, it is important to note that a program can only be successful if all faculty members are on board. 

Personal Reflection: I thought this chapter was very interesting as it presented new ways of teaching vocabulary that I had not considered. Although these initiatives are not something that one teacher could start by themselves, I think it is important for us to know why these methods are effective. Furthermore, should our schools implement these programs, we must know how we can increase the effectiveness of the program. I also liked how the words of the week program utilized only five words per week. To me, this immediately told me “one word per day.” I imagine that I could try to incorporate whatever word I want to focus on that day into the lesson. I could also utilize a word wall in order to give students hands on experience with the words. Fisher and Frey said that over time, students will incorporate these words into their written and oral vocabulary. I think this is what completes the learning process. 

Classroom Application: This word wall application is great for giving students individual practice with vocabulary words in both speech and writing. It can also be an ongoing assignment for students.

Create a word wall similar to one seen on page 127 (be creative, make it unique to your classroom). Make a spot for every word of the week that will be used during the semester/year. Assign every student to days in which they are responsible for completing the word of the week assignment.

Assignment: Index card with word name on the front. On the back, give a definition and use the word in a sentence with mathematical context. On that particular day, the student will present their card to the class and read their sentence. The presentations should take no longer than one minute of classroom time. After the presentation, the student can return the index card to the word wall so other students can reference it.

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CHAPTER 5: Make It Personal - Consolidating Students’ Academic Vocabulary Through Individual Activities

Summary: This chapter and the previous chapter have a lot in common in that they both provide examples of how to get students interacting with vocabulary words. The main difference is that chapter five is all about the individual student whereas chapter four focused on group activities. Teachers that remember their students as individuals instead of just one among the crowd create lasting relationships that transform how the student learns (pg. 95). Every student is different in the ways that they learn, so teachers must consider how to teach to the student instead of to the test. The ultimate goal is to create independent learners who are self-motivators, self-managers, and self-appraisers (pg. 97). Teaching students how to learn is invaluable as they near the end of high school. One should consider activities that incorporate choice, are differentiated and are relevant to the student. The chapter concludes by providing different examples of activities that have students logging their knowledge and progress with vocabulary words, manipulating and sorting words, and composing sentences with their words.

Personal Reflection: Again, I really enjoyed this chapter because it provided different examples of activities for the classroom. Particularly, I enjoyed how Fisher and Frey examined the usefulness of mnemonics. I believe that mnemonics are excellent memory tools because they allow students to include their own flair of creativity. This is just one way of how we can support our students by allowing them to be independent. I also liked how the book provided activity ideas that allow the teacher to increase or decrease the amount of freedom that students have in completing the assignment. For example, word sorts can be either open or closed; older students who are able to think abstractly would benefit from the more challenging open word sort. Activities like this allow teachers to experiment at different levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. A word sort can range from anywhere between “remembering” and “creating”.

Classroom Application: The supplementary activity for this chapter is, appropriately, and individual assignment. 

Students will create flash cards for the vocabulary words of the unit. The front of the card will have the word on it, and the back of the card will be divided into four quadrants. In the first quadrant, students will write the textbook definition of the word AND the definition of the word using their own words. The second quadrant will have some type of visual representation of the word (graph, number line, etc.). The third quadrant will include some numerical example with equations or expressions. Finally, the fourth quadrant will have students creating their own mnemonic or memory device for the word.

The flash cards incorporate different ideas that the textbook suggests are great for vocabulary learning, as well as ideas that promote independent learning. 

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CHAPTER 4: Make It Usable - Building Academic Vocabulary Through Peer Talk

Summary: Chapter Four centered around different ways that teachers can encourage students to interact with one another in order to learn vocabulary. Engaging in conversation with vocabulary is vital for students to permanently incorporate new words into their everyday vocabulary. When teachers create activities to accomplish this objective, they must ensure that the activity has a purpose, has students involved in face-to-face interactions and that students are taught how to perform the task before they are released to perform it. There is a multitude of ways for students to use peer talk: games, partner discussions, and group work are a few ways to accomplish peer talk. Summarizing, questioning, clarifying, and predicting are elements of structured peer talk that students can use to demonstrate think-alouds (p. 72). Finally, teachers can create graphic organizers or word maps and have students fill them in with a partner or group. Better yet, the students themselves can create some of these games and activities themselves. This ensures that students are not only gaining oral practice with the vocabulary words, but also written practice (p. 84). 

Personal Reflection: I absolutely devoured this chapter! I do not consider myself to be a very creative person, so I am always looking for different engaging activities that I can incorporate into my classroom. Not only did this chapter provided several ideas for how I can get students using vocabulary, but Fisher and Frey actually gave me great ideas for activities that I could use with the content by itself. I really like that the book gave different examples of how to tackle common group problems. One issue that I have observed in my practicums is students who take charge and ultimately complete group writing assignments such as text impressions by themselves, with little help from their peers. I believe that this happens for several reasons, but one major reason is that adolescents lack the interpersonal skills required for group projects, so they must be taught. Fisher and Frey provided tips for teachers grading these projects/activities. Peer talk is also difficult for teachers to assess, so the book provides ideas for how this can be accomplished.

Classroom Application: It was difficult to select only one classroom application from this chapter! I tried to combine the best features of oral, written, and group elements. 

COLLABORATIVE POSTER OF SEMANTIC FEATURE ANALYSIS

The task: Divide students into (preferably) groups of 4. Every group will receive one sticky poster and four different colored markers. The students will be given a list of mostly tier 2 and tier 3 vocabulary words from the chapter/unit (if possible, give different groups different words). The students will then as a group create a semantic feature analysis chart for the words. Different categories students can use to measure the words are, “Does it measure data?”, “Can I graph it?”, “Is it a function?”, etc. Every student will use a different colored marker so that the teacher can see the distribution of work among the students. Once every group is done, one student from every group will be placed into a new group and students will “take a tour” of the posters around the room and the student whose group worked on the poster that the new groups are viewing will explain their poster to the new group. (AKA Jigsawing).

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CHAPTER 3: Make It Transparent - Teacher Modeling of Academic Vocabulary Learning

Summary: This chapter centered around the idea of teachers modeling the thinking strategies they use to determine the meaning of vocabulary words. It is human nature to learn some skill by mimicking others (pg. 45). The chapter contained several examples of teachers across different content areas using modeling in their classroom to teach content vocabulary. Modeling, when used appropriately, can be used to improve student behavior, teach how to hold an intellectual discussion, facilitate inquiry, and of course, to teach how to learn vocabulary words. By “appropriately,” I mean that the teacher should never spend an entire lesson modeling something to her students. Students learn by trying it themselves, and thus through the gradual release of responsibility, they will be well equipped to be independent vocabulary learners. Teachers should also be focusing on teaching students how they can learn vocabulary by themselves instead of teaching specific words (pg. 48). This can be done by teaching how to decipher context clues, make inferences about a word’s morphology, and use outside resources.��

Personal Reflection: I loved the beginning of this chapter because it referenced something that is always done in math classes: modeling! Not only was this the center of the introduction, but it was the theme of the rest of the chapter. I think that learning how to teach content vocabulary this way would only force me to redirect my thinking concerning the objective I have for the students. I also thought it was interesting that the book discussed three ways of modeling procedures for solving words. I used to think that context clues were the only means of my learning a word while reading, but once I read about morphology and resources, it was immediately clear to me that I use both of those clues all the time as well! The latter two are especially helpful in mathematics because there are so many Greek words and phrases in mathematics that we either need to analyze the root of the word or simply look it up or ask a friend. Math textbooks are generally more straightforward in providing direct definition or explanation clues, but supplementary readings might not be as blunt. I like that the chapter concluded with an example of a teacher calling the teacher next door and asking him about a vocabulary word.

Classroom Application: For this chapter’s application, I am providing an outlined, scripted dialogue of how a teacher might model reading a supplementary text to her tenth-grade geometry students. The following text was taken from the article “How a 19th Century Math Genius Taught Us the Best Way to Hold a Pizza Slice” (https://www.wired.com/2014/09/curvature-and-strength-empzeal/). Teacher dialogue in italics. 

“If you zoom in on an ant that lives on the cylinder, there are many possible paths the ant could take.”

Cylinder! We know this word, we learned this word yesterday. These are three dimensional figures that look like circles from the top and rectangles from the side. Like a soda can. (Draw picture).

“It could decide to walk down the curved path, tracing out a circle, or it could walk along the flat path, tracing out a straight line. Or it might do something in between, tracing out a helix.”

Helix... this word sounds familiar to me, but I don’t remember where I have heard it before. Can someone help me out? (Student answers, like DNA strand) Excellent! It never hurts to ask for help.

“Gauss’s brilliant insight was to define the curvature of a surface in a way that takes all these choices into account.”

Now, we haven’t talked about the word curvature before, but I know that it has the word “curve” in it, which means not straight. the suffix “-ture” usually indicates a noun that is describing something, so I know we’re talking about the way that the surface is curved. 

“Here’s how it works. Starting at any point, find the two most extreme paths that an ant can choose (i.e. the most concave path and the most convex path).”

The text told us something important here. By the most extreme paths, the author did not mean the coolest ones, or the most dangerous ones; he was talking about the most concave and most convex paths. But I think we have to look up what concave and convex means because the text doesn’t tell us anything about those. (Look up words and read definitions, put it in context).

“Then multiply the curvature of those paths together (curvature is positive for concave paths, zero for flat paths, and negative for convex paths). And, voila, the number you get is Gauss’s definition of the curvature at that point.”

Now we’re talking about an equation that produces curvature. Pretty cool, huh!

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CHAPTER 2: Make It Intentional -  A Framework for Selecting and Teaching Vocabulary

Summary: The second chapter of Word Wise & Content Rich is all about how teachers can intentionally incorporate content-related vocabulary into their lessons. Fisher and Frey also make it a point to mention that students do not learn vocabulary by simply writing down definitions. Students adopt new words into their personal vocabulary through reading, speaking, and writing (pg. 21). Before we go about organizing ways for students to interact with new words in these ways, we must choose which words are important for them to learn. The amount of words that we could have our students learn is vast, so we must narrow our list so as not to overwhelm them. Vocabulary words should be a mixture of tier 1 (general), tier 2 (specialized), and tier 3 (technical words). Words should also be representative of the content we are teaching, repeated often throughout the unit, and useful in a discussion or written assignment. A good framework for word selection is to limit the number of words per unit to 2-3 words per lesson (pg. 29).

Personal Reflection: I got excited when I was reading this chapter and came across the phrase “gradual release of responsibility” because we just talked about it in class! Fisher and Frey describe this release as a transition from teachers having all of the responsibility, to sharing responsibility, to students having all of the responsibility. This is the process that will take us to our ultimate goal of student independence. In mathematics, this is something that I have had modeled to me as a student and something that I model in my lessons as a teacher. It is best for students to learn about the nature of a problem and see it worked out, then try a similar problem with teacher guidance. Finally, they can try it out themselves and gain confidence in their independence. I can definitely see how this process works for vocabulary as well. Teacher modeling (using the words in speech, assigning readings with them, etcetera) is the first step to igniting the process. After the students do in class activities and peer interactions, they will have gained prior knowledge about the words and can begin using them fluently.

Classroom Application: The classroom application that accompanies chapter two is a list of resources for reading assignments that promote vocabulary literacy in the mathematics classrooms.

For teachers selecting vocabulary terms: 

Content standards (examine Common Core, Indiana Academic Standards, and other state standards for ideas)

curricula

textbooks (DIG DEEP! Examine more textbooks than just the one that your school is using.)

Teacher resource publications

For students incorporating/reading vocabulary terms:

Math-related novels (Flatland, Zero, etc.)

Biographies of mathematicians

Storybooks (Math Curse, Sir Cumference, etc.)

Textbooks (PORTIONS of... telling students to read several sections of a math textbook is not a good idea.)

Current STEM events articles (seen in academic journals)

These readings can be supplemented with quizzes, book reports, presentations, summaries, or pretty much any type of project you can think of!

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CHAPTER 1: Words (Still) Matter in Middle and High School

Summary: Fisher and Frey begin their book by explaining the need for vocabulary comprehension at the secondary level and how those needs are not currently being met by the traditional memorization techniques. It is vital that students continue learning vocabulary in specific content areas because students with larger vocabularies are "able to think, speak, read, and write with greater facility” (pg. 5). A student’s success in any one of these domains can be predicted by their vocabulary size at young ages. Fisher and Frey move on to discuss the different types of word knowledge; for example, if a student has a shallow word knowledge, they can usually recognize the word and have a memorized definition to accompany it. Students with deep word knowledge not only know a word’s definition, but they can distinguish between a word’s different meanings using context. A student’s depth of word knowledge can be measured on a four-point scale (pg. 8). One way that teachers can increase their students’ word knowledge is by promoting metacognitive thinking and by choosing appropriate words to study. Words that are especially beneficial for students to know are those that have different meanings within the context of the content and those that are specific to the content only. Concept maps and vocabulary cards are excellent methods for students to take ownership of their learning and increase their comprehension.

Personal Reflection: My first thought upon finishing this chapter is that I was brought up through the education system learning vocabulary all the wrong ways! I am so thankful that I had a joy for reading that my parents and I cultivated outside of my education that introduced me to hundreds of new words I might never have learned. I think that the conclusions that the authors drew about vocabulary size and academic success ring true for college-aged mathematicians as well. If students graduate high school having deep word knowledge of mathematical terms, they will be more successful in the college classroom. Certain tier one or tier two math vocabulary words, such as expression, variable, parameter, and independent are words that I might try to incorporate into the classroom during the first two weeks of class so that we can focus on tier three vocabulary words throughout the remainder of the year. One thing that my Literacy class has taught me to look forward to is teaching my students how to read mathematical texts. In my major classes, I have begun to think metacognitively about how I am reading the assigned texts: how I question the reading, the pace I read at, and the way that I annotate. These tools are things that I have taught myself over the years, but students could greatly benefit from being taught these skills early on so that they get the most out of the reading.

Classroom Application: Because this is chapter one, I thought it appropriate to provide a classroom vocabulary assignment/activity for teachers who are just beginning to transition away from the traditional vocabulary techniques and into more effective ones. I will modify the concept map seen on page 19.

Assignment: Students will make ONE concept map for all assigned vocabulary words, tier 1-3. Place the unit or chapter title in the center of the page, then branch off of the center using sub-groups of vocabulary words. The words can be connected by lines, equal signs, words, or mathematical symbols or notation. Encourage students to use color to separate different ideas. Put a page number under every vocabulary word for ease of access to definitions and context.

This assignment helps students relate vocabulary words with one another, deepening their word knowledge. Instead of just memorizing ONE definition for ONE word, students can refer to the context in which the vocabulary word was first introduced.