Visualizing Vocabulary: Moving Beyond Lists and Definitions

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Visualizing Vocabulary Moving Beyond Lists and
Definitions

• Victoria A. Oglan Ph.D.
• oglanmon_at_mailbox.sc.edu
• Deidre M. Clary, Ph.D.
• clarydm2_at_mailbox.sc.edu
• University of South Carolina

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• Lists and definitions have gone the way of the
  dodo bird.
• Elin Keene

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• Vocabulary is a full contact sport.
• Sara Holbrook and Michael Salinger

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2D Palindromes

• are word squares in which every
• row and column reads as a word in
• both directions.

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The Nym Family

• Words ending in nym are often used
• to describe different classes of words,
• and the relationships between words.
• The nym literally means name, from
• the Greek onoma meaning name or
• word.

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Some of the family members
acronyms antonyms aptronyms
autonyms tautonyms homonyms
hypernyms eponyms exonyms
patronyms contronyms bacronyms
synonyms meronyms metonyms
heteronyms hyperonyms hyponyms
autoantonyms capitonyms oronyms
paronyms pseudonyms retronyms
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Words in a Word

• Vocabulary

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WORDS IN A WORD VOCABULARY 125 WORDS
A ABA ABLY ABY ABORAL ACYL ALA ALAR ALARY ALB
ALBA AR ARAB ARC AURA AURAL AVA AY BA BAA
BAAL BAR BAY BAYOU BLOC BLUR BOA BOAR BOLA BORA
BOY BOYAR BRA BRAVA BRAVO BRAY BUOY BUR BURL BURLY
BURY BUY BY CAB CABAL CALORY CALVARY CAR CARBOY CARL
CAROB CAROL CAUL CAVALRY CAVY CAY CLARO CLARY CLAY CLOY
CLUB COAL COB COBRA COL COLA CORAL COY CRAB CRY
CUB CUR CURABLY CURB CURL CURLY LA LAB LABOR LABOUR
LAC LACY LAR LARVA LAURA LAVA LAVABO LAY LO LOB
LOBAR LORY LOUR OAR OCULAR OR ORA ORAL ORB ORC
ORLY OUR OVA OVAL OVARY OVULAR RACY RAY ROB ROC
ROYAL RUB RUBY VACUA VACUO VACUOLAR VALOR VARA VARY VOCABULAR
VOCAL VOLAR YAR YOU YOUR
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Lets Predict

• How many words are there in the English language?

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• How many words do you think you know?

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• What is the longest word in the English language?

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• What word in the English language has the most
  meanings?

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• Set has 464 definitions in the Oxford English
  Dictionary

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• Run runs a distant second with 396

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Rounding out the top 10 are

• go with 368
• take with 343
• stand with 334
• get with 289
• turn with 288
• put with 268
• fall with 264
• strike with 250

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• How many metaphors do you use in regular
  conversation
• (free discourse)?

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• It is now well accepted that the chief cause of
  the achievement gap between socioeconomic groups
  is a language gap.
• Ed Hirsch
  2003

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• Struggling readers lack word knowledge
• Struggling readers do not use visualization as a
  strategy

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Research also tells us word knowledge

• promotes reading fluency
• boosts reading comprehension
• improves academic achievement
• enhances thinking and communication

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And

• Students learn words through wide reading
• Knowing a word means more than knowing a
  definition for the word
• Discussion leads to vocabulary learning
• Students learn words through strategy instruction

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What Doesnt Work?

• Copying definitions
• Writing sentences
• Telling students to use context
• Memorizing lists of definitions
• 
  Feldman Kinsella (2003)

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Four Principles to Guide Vocabulary Instruction

• Students should be active learners in vocabulary
  and strategies to enhance vocabulary
• Students benefit from personalizing the learning
  of words

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Four Principles to Guide Vocabulary Instruction

• Students gain from immersion in words
• Students augment their vocabulary through
  repeated exposure to words

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• Comprehensive vocabulary instruction that
• includes strategy instruction where students
• are provided opportunities to play with words
• and language is a necessary part of a plan
• for academic success.

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Some Strategies to Think About

• Word sorts
• Sticky note sentences
• Cloze tasks
• Word walls
• Picture walk (to introduce new words)
• Rebus
• Word webs

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• List, group label
• Ten important words
• Kid-Friendly definitions
• Word wonder
• ARTiculate the word
• Word curiosity

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Its Rebus Time!

• What is a Rebus?
• JOBINJOB

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Search the web

• www.cnn.com/studentnews
• www.funwithwords.com
• www.nytimes.com/pages/education
• www.smithsonian.com
• www.teachingtolerance.org

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Become a wordsmith, a lexophile

• Make your classroom a place where students learn
  to become language collectors.

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Remember

• One forgets words as one forgets names. One's
  vocabulary needs constant fertilizing or it will
  die.
• Evelyn Waugh

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So Now We Are
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Thank You

• ROMANIAN multumesc
• GERMAN danke
  (dahn-kah)
• HAWAIIAN mahalo
• HEBREW toda
  (toh-dah)
• ICELANDIC takk
• FRENCH merci
  (mehr-see)
• SPANISH gracias
• SLOVENIAN hvala
• JAPANESE arigatô (ahree-gah-tow)