Reading and Math Vocabulary: Knowledge Counts

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Reading and MathVocabulary Knowledge Counts!

• AMATYC Conference 2009 Session S51
• Amber Rust
• University of Maryland College Park
• November 12th - Thursday
• 140 230

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Activity One

• Complete the table for 2 of the words given.
• Work with others at your table if you like.
• Consider
• What could be a students definition for the
  word?
• What definitions could students bring to class
  and want to apply to mathematics?

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Why teach vocabulary? (Allen, 1999)

• There is research supporting the connection
  between vocabulary development and success in
  mathematics since 1944.
• Vocabulary knowledge
• increases students reading comprehension.
• develops students knowledge of new concepts.
• improves students range and precision in
  writing.
• helps students communicate more effectively.
• develops students deeper understanding of words
  and concepts.

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Research on Vocabulary Says

• Vocabulary knowledge plays a key role in
  comprehension of text. (Nagy Scott, 2000)
• Vocabulary knowledge increases when students (not
  teachers) make connections between vocabulary
  terms. (Blachowicz Fisher, 2000)
• Vocabulary knowledge increases when students use
  new vocabulary terms in multiple ways (writing,
  talking, organizing, graphics, etc.) (Blachowicz
  Fisher, 2000)

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Teaching vocabulary well

• enables students to make connections between
  their prior knowledge of a topic and the
  vocabulary they encounter.
• provides the students with strategies they can
  use in the future which provides students with
  more control over their learning.
• enables students to move from a surface
  understanding to a deeper understanding of
  concepts.

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Activity Two

• Read the paragraph and circle vocabulary words.
• Work with others at your table if you like.
• Consider
• What vocabulary words do students need to
  understand in order to comprehend the paragraph?
• Which words could the students apply other
  meanings to when first reading this paragraph?

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Activity Two

• Every angle has a measure associated with it. If
  a circle is divided into 360 equal arcs and two
  rays are drawn from the center of the circle
  through two successive points of division on the
  circle, then that angle is said to measure one
  degree.

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Math Vocabulary(Rubenstein, 2007)

• Some words are
• found only in math (e.g., denominator,
  hypotenuse, polynomial, histogram)
• shared with science or other disciplines (e.g.,
  divide, radical, power, experiment)
• shared with everyday language, sometimes with
  different meanings, sometimes with comparable
  meanings in mathematics (fraction, similar,
  variable, median)

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Math Vocabulary(Rubenstein, 2007)

• Some words
• have multiple meanings in math (e.g., point,
  cube, range)
• sound like other words (e.g., sum some, plane
  plain, intercept intersect, complement
  compliment, hundreds hundredths, pie pi)
• are learned in pairs that often confuse students
  (e.g., complement supplement, combination
  permutation, solve simplify, at most at
  least)

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Verbal and Visual Word Association(Barton
Heidema, 2002)
Vocabulary Term(s)
Visual Representation
Personal Association or a characteristic
Definition(s)
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Ex Verbal and Visual Word Association(Barton
Heidema, 2002)
Root, Zero, Factor, Solution, x-intercept
x -2
x 3
x-axis
Each word can represent the answer to the
function yf(x) where f(a)0 and a is a root,
zero, factor, solution, and x-intercept -Point
(a,0) is the x-intercept of the graph of yf(x)
-number a is a zero of the
function f
-number a is a solution of f(x)0 -(x-a) is
a factor of polynomial f(x) -Root is the
function on the TI for this
y-axis
f(x)
Just find the answer to the function and that
will be the zero. If I graph it, the zeros are
where the function crosses the x-axis. Special
Note this is just for real solutions and I can
have 0, 1, or 2 of them.
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Word Sort (Barton Heidema, 2002 OConnell
Croskey, 2008)

• Encourages students to notice and talk about the
  connection among words, meanings, and the
  concepts they represent.
• Two types Open and Closed Sorts
• Open students create the categories
• Closed teacher provides the categories
• Suggestions say to provide approximately 20-25
  words and 4-5 categories
• The given example in handout has 45 words and 7
  categories.

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Tic-Tac-Toe Vocabulary (Developed by Dr. Karen
Moroz, Concordia University in St. Paul, MN)

• Chose nine vocabulary words/concepts.
• In any order, place in a tic-tac-toe format.
• Students are to write a sentence connecting the
  three words in each row, column, and diagonal for
  a total of 8 sentences.
• This connects vocabulary words with concepts.

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Gesturing (aka Motor Imaging)

• Vocabulary knowledge increases when students
  create their own images and actions to represent
  word meanings. (Blachowicz Fisher, 2000)
• Uses non-verbal, physical movement to help
  emphasize and clarify vocabulary words
• Includes facial expressions, movement or
  placement of body, and combinations
• Helps students form images in their minds when
  hear vocabulary words (vocabulary becomes visual)
• Caution Second language students may have
  different interpretations for some gestures!

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Activity Three

• Choose any two words and create a gesture that
  represents the mathematics.
• Work with others at your table if you like.
• Consider
• What gesture would represent the word and be
  informative?
• Does the gesture enhance understanding?

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Semantic Feature Analysis(Barton Heidema,
2002 Mower, 2003)

• Helps students to distinguish a words meaning by
  comparing its features to other related terms.
• It can become a visual learning tool.
• Students must reason and communicate the
  similarities and differences.
• Two examples are given in handout.

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Semantic Word Maps (another name could be
Concept Maps)

• This strategy uses graphics to give a visual
  representation of the relationships between
  concepts and words.
• Students pull on prior knowledge.
• Students can consider the hierarchy of key words
  and concepts.
• Students can design study guides.

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10 questions to ask when implementing vocabulary
strategies (Allen, 1999)

• Which words are most important to understanding
  the text?
• How much prior knowledge will students have about
  this word or its related concept?
• Is the word encountered frequently?
• Does the word have multiple meanings?
• Is the concept significant and does it therefore
  require pre-teaching
• Which words can be figured out from the context?

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10 questions to ask when implementing vocabulary
strategies (Allen, 1999)

• Are there words that could be grouped together to
  enhance understanding a concept?
• What strategies could I employ to help students
  integrate the concept (and related words) into
  their lives?
• How can I make repeated exposures to the
  word/concept productive and enjoyable?
• How can I help students use the word/concept in
  meaningful ways in multiple context?

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What you can do (Allen, 1999)

• Repeat words in varied contexts (lecture,
  activities, homework, directions, handouts,
  assessments, reading, writing, etc.)
• Describe words
• Support words with visuals
• Connect words to students lives
• Extend words with anecdotes (stories!)
• Make associations
• Give definitions

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What you can do continued

• Compare and contrast
• Chart characteristics
• Rephrase sentences
• Analyze the structure
• Provide tactile examples
• Give examples of correct and incorrect usage
• Question (have discussions Key to helping
  students make connections!!)
• Discussion can move students from surface
  understandings to deeper comprehension

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Vocabulary Strategies Objectives

• Activities and assignments for learning
  vocabulary should not be divorced from the
  concepts. ( Vacca Vacca, 2002)
• Creating a glossary and memorization does not
  help students learn. (Allen, 1999)
• To be a valuable learning experience for
  students, vocabulary strategies should enhance
  and support the teaching of mathematics.

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Ideas for finding more info

• Use the NCTM website (join NCTM!)
• Dont restrict yourself to college or even high
  school level strategies. Elementary school
  strategies can be modified if needed.
• Dont restrict yourself to just looking for ideas
  within mathematics only.
• Search literacy websites
• Key words literacy, content area reading
  strategies, content area writing strategies,
  content area literacy strategies, vocabulary
  strategies

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Thanks for attending!

• Please contact me with any questions.
• University of Maryland arust_at_umd.edu
• OR
• College of Southern Maryland amberr_at_csmd.edu