Reflection on Vocabulary Learning

     This semester, we were asked to keep track of vocabulary terms.  I'll be honest, when I first heard about this assignment I might have groaned inside.  I thought about all of the mundane vocabulary assignments I have had throughout my years of school and dreaded yet one more.  As it turns out, this assignment was different.  Not only did I learn many new words, but this assignment made a very significant difference in the way I thought about words.  Metacognitively speaking, I have memorized many definitions in the past, but I have never learned words in as purposeful and focused of a manner as this past semester.
     I learned a few things about myself and my reading strategies.  At first, I struggled to come up with words that were from my literacy-related readings.  I found that my natural inclination when I came across words that I did not know was to use context clues and just keep reading.  I was mostly unaware when I hit words that I did not fully understand.  I am sure that it compromised my reading in the past, however I was able to get the main idea, so I never really focused on individual words unless a teacher drew my attention to one.  As the semester went on, I began to find more and more words.  I realized that it wasn't that more 'difficult' words were embedded in readings, but rather that my attention was now drawn to vocabulary learning.  I was beginning to see words that could be used for the vocabulary blog.  About midway through the semester, I began to see the true benefit of this assignment.  No longer could I read something, anything, and skim over words I didn't fully know.  I even started to question words that I did know, to think about the extent to which I knew them! 
     Keeping the vocabulary journal helped me stay accountable to consistent word learning.  Even if I didn't have time while I was reading to seek out the definition of a word, I wrote it down for further investigation.  Having the assignment helped me form the habit of being a conscientious reader.  Now that the habit is formed, I hope to always be a word learner, not just a word reader.
     The vocabulary tests added to my learning in many ways.  First, I had to know more words than just my own.  I had to learn each word well enough to be able to spell it and use it correctly in a sentence.  Second, to find the definition of each word I had to get into my fellow students' vocabulary blogs.  While looking for each person's chosen word, I inevitably found other words that I was curious about.  This led me to learn new words that I had not come across before, or at least words that did not pop into my radar while I was reading.  Third, I began to reflect on my study habits.  I figured out the best ways that I learn, and realized that just memorizing a definition was not going to work for me with these tests.  Finally, these tests really made me think about how we teach vocabulary to students.  Too often, students are just assigned a list of words, and then tested on them.  Students have no input into this process.  As a class, we determined which words would be on the test.  Each of us had control over our own vocabulary 'lists', and then we were tested on words of our choosing.  From this process, I learned how I want to test my future students on vocabulary.
     Throughout this semester, I have noticed my inclinations while reading have changed.  I am not as inclined to skip over unknown words.  I am much more inclined to further investigate words that I thought I knew a meaning to, but my meaning does not make sense in context.  I use the words that I am learning in my speech as well as in my writing.  As a literacy specialist, I feel that this is an important habit.  I will continue along my path of word conscientiousness by being aware as I encounter new vocabulary (and sometimes even commonly used vocabulary, such as the word words).

13:5 Heterogeneity

When and Where I Found It:  As I have been reviewing the Handbook of Reading Research: Volume III for research to support projects I am working on in my two classes, I came across the journal article Vocabulary Processes by William E. Nagy and Judith A. Scott (2000).  This article discusses “the complexity of word knowledge” and one of the five aspects of this is “heterogeneity” (p. 270).

Nagy, W. E. & Scott, J. A.  (2000). Vocabulary Processes. In M.L. Kamil, P.B. Mosenthal, P.D. Pearson, & R. Barr (Eds.). Handbook of reading research:  Volume III (pp. 269-284). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Meaning:   Nagy & Scott (2000) assert that heterogeneity is an important aspect of word knowledge to consider when discussing how students’ vocabularies grow.  The authors state that heterogeneity is “what it means to know a word differs substantially depending on the kind of word” (p. 270). 

Level of Familiarity:  I had only heard this term in relation to science before.  While reading about this aspect of word acquisition, I was able to apply my knowledge of this word non-specific to literacy. 

Do I Want to Know This Word Well?  Why?  I would like to know the word heterogeneity well.  It is important for me to be able to teach words based on what type of language group they are in.  For example, my students’ knowledge of and ability to use the word ‘of’ will be very different than their knowledge of and ability to use the word ‘matter’.

Do I Want Others to Know this Word Well?  Who and Why?  All teachers should know this word and be able to apply it to their vocabulary instruction.  Being aware that words fall into different groups allows teachers to be able to teach words based on their usage and given meaning.  It is important that vocabulary not just be taught in a word-definition format!

13:4 Interrelatedness

When and Where I Found It:  As I have been reviewing the Handbook of Reading Research: Volume III for research to support projects I am working on in my two classes, I came across the journal article Vocabulary Processes by William E. Nagy and Judith A. Scott (2000).  This article discusses “the complexity of word knowledge” and one of the five aspects of this is “interrelatedness” (p. 270).

Nagy, W. E. & Scott, J. A.  (2000). Vocabulary Processes. In M.L. Kamil, P.B. Mosenthal, P.D. Pearson, & R. Barr (Eds.). Handbook of reading research:  Volume III (pp. 269-284). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Meaning:   Nagy & Scott (2000) assert that interrelatedness is an important aspect of word knowledge to consider when discussing how students’ vocabularies grow.  The authors state that interrelatedness means that “one’s knowledge of any given word is not independent of one’s knowledge of other words” (p. 270).  They argue “ Words are often taught and tested as if they were essentially isolated units of knowledge.  Clearly such practice is inconsistent with a constructivist understanding of knowledge that emphasizes the importance of linking what is learned to familiar words and concepts.  How well a person knows the meaning of whale depends in part on their understanding of mammal” (p. 272).  We learn nothing in isolation, we base what we learn on what we already know, our background knowledge.  It’s interesting that we so often try to teach vocabulary in isolation.

Level of Familiarity:  I had heard the term interrelatedness before, and know that it indicated the degree to which to items were related.  I had not heard this term specifically utilized when discussing the complexities of word acquisition. 

Do I Want to Know This Word Well?  Why?  I would like to know this word well.  It is important to remember to activate background knowledge when teaching vocabulary.  The interrelatedness of words is one level of the multidimensionality of words – This is important for me as a literacy educator to be aware of.

Do I Want Others to Know this Word Well?  Who and Why?  All literacy education teachers should know this word well.  Literacy specialists need to both be able to use this word as well as teach the implications of this word to other teachers.  Content area teachers need to be able to show students how each new vocabulary term relates to information that they already know as well as to other words and concepts in a given area.

13:3 Polysemy

When and Where I Found It:  As I have been reviewing the Handbook of Reading Research: Volume III for research to support projects I am working on in my two classes, I came across the journal article Vocabulary Processes by William E. Nagy and Judith A. Scott (2000).  This article discusses “the complexity of word knowledge” and one of the five aspects of this is “polysemy” (p. 270).

Nagy, W. E. & Scott, J. A.  (2000). Vocabulary Processes. In M.L. Kamil, P.B. Mosenthal, P.D. Pearson, & R. Barr (Eds.). Handbook of reading research:  Volume III (pp. 269-284). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Meaning:   Nagy & Scott (2000) assert that polysemy is an important aspect of word knowledge to consider when discussing how students’ vocabularies grow.  The authors state that polysemy means that “words often have multiple meanings” (p. 270).  They further explain “the more frequent a word is in the language, the more meanings it is likely to have” (p. 271).

Level of Familiarity:  I was not familiar with this word at all, I may have heard it before but did not recognize it at all in print.  While I had no familiarity with the actual word, I have a high level of understanding of this particular concept.  When reading about the complexity of word knowledge, this was the aspect with which I was most familiar despite having know recollection of the term “polysemy”. 

Do I Want to Know This Word Well?  Why?  I do want to know this word well.  As Nagy & Scott (2000) state, “if vocabulary instruction is to address this aspect of the complexity of word knowledge, students must not only be taught to choose effectively among the multiple meanings of a word offered in dictionaries, but to expect words to be used with novel shades of meanings” (p. 271).  I need to be able to teach my students the difference between ‘baby’ as an infant, and ‘baby’ as taking special care of your arm so that it does not get hurt.  Another example of polysemy that I will need to be able to teach in my classroom is when words are used as symbols, such as in the statement he painted a picture with his words.  Students need to be taught that an actual picture was not painted, but that the word painted here indicates how vivid the speaker’s language must have been.  Polysemy covers nuances of words as well, a concept I need to be able to teach well as a literacy educator.

Do I Want Others to Know this Word Well?  Who and Why?  All literacy education teachers should know this word well.  Literacy specialists need to both be able to use this word as well as teach the implications of this word to other teachers.  While it does not seem necessary for general educators to be able to use the word polysemy well, I do think they need to understand its implications.  Content area teachers would benefit from being able to teach multiple meanings, or at least be aware of the multiple meanings of words, when giving vocabulary instruction.

13:2 Multidimensionality

When and Where I Found It:  As I have been reviewing the Handbook of Reading Research: Volume III for research to support projects I am working on in my two classes, I came across the journal article Vocabulary Processes by William E. Nagy and Judith A. Scott (2000).  This article discusses “the complexity of word knowledge” and one of the five aspects of this is “multidimensionality” (p. 270).

Nagy, W. E. & Scott, J. A.  (2000). Vocabulary Processes. In M.L. Kamil, P.B. Mosenthal, P.D. Pearson, & R. Barr (Eds.). Handbook of reading research:  Volume III (pp. 269-284). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Meaning:   Nagy & Scott (2000) assert that multidimensionality is an important aspect of word knowledge to consider when discussing how students’ vocabularies grow.  As I was reading this, I predicted that the word multidimensionality has something to do with your knowledge of words varying depending on the type of word being used.  According to Nagy & Scott, this word has a much more complex meaning than I was predicting.  The authors state that multidimensionality means that “word knowledge consists of several qualitatively different types of knowledge” (p. 270).  Nagy & Scott point out that multidimensionality indicates a much more in-depth understanding of language acquisition than just looking at incrementality.  They quote Nation (1990) who, when discussing multidimensionality, offers “eight aspects of word knowledge: knowledge of the word’s spoken form, written form, grammatical behavior, collocational behavior (what other words does this word commonly occur with?), frequency, stylistic register, conceptual meaning, and associations with other words” (Nagy & Scott, 2000, p. 271).   

Level of Familiarity:  I was not familiar at all with this term multidimensionality in regard to vocabulary instruction.  I would like to further develop my knowledge base around this concept.

Do I Want to Know This Word Well?  Why?  I would like to know this word well.  As a literacy educator, I need to have a deep understanding of language acquisition.  The eight aspects of word knowledge listed above really break down all of the ways that students can know a word, each of which is important to keep in mind when teaching vocabulary.  The multidimensionality of words is vital to be aware of when we are teaching.  In what aspects do we want our students to know each word?

Do I Want Others to Know this Word Well?  Who and Why?  All literacy education teachers should know this word well.  Literacy specialists need to both be able to use this word as well as teach the implications of this word to other teachers.  While it does not seem necessary for general educators to be able to use the word multidimensionality well, I do think they need to understand its implications.  Being familiar with the various aspects of word acquisition will allow teachers to better frame their vocabulary instruction and expectations.

13:1 Incrementality

When and Where I Found It:  As I have been reviewing the Handbook of Reading Research: Volume III for research to support projects I am working on in my two classes, I came across the journal article Vocabulary Processes by William E. Nagy and Judith A. Scott (2000).  This article discusses “the complexity of word knowledge” and one of the five aspects of this is “incrementality” (p. 270).

Nagy, W. E. & Scott, J. A.  (2000). Vocabulary Processes. In M.L. Kamil, P.B. Mosenthal, P.D. Pearson, & R. Barr (Eds.). Handbook of reading research:  Volume III (pp. 269-284). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Meaning:   Nagy & Scott (2000) assert that incrementality is an important aspect of word knowledge to consider when discussing how students’ vocabularies grow.  The authors state that incrementality means that “knowing a word is a matter of degrees, not all-or-nothing” (p. 270).  Nagy & Scott further explain “word learning is incremental-it takes place in many steps” (p. 270).  Their review of the word incrementality reminds me of the next heading on this vocabulary blog – Level of Familiarity.  It makes sense that words are not learned in an all-or-nothing fashion.  We even have a space on this blog to indicate how well, or to what degree, we ‘know’ a word.

Level of Familiarity:  I was very familiar with the root of this word, increment.  I have used it both musically (notes go up in increments) and when discussing measurement with students.  I had never heard the word incrementality used when discussing vocabulary learning, however it fits right in with my understanding of the acquisition of words for students.

Do I Want to Know This Word Well?  Why?  I want to know this word and its implications well because vocabulary instruction is a vital part of literacy development.  To be able to understand the stages of vocabulary development for students will allow me to take students from one level to the next.  Nagy & Scott (2000) quote Dale (1965) on his proposed increments/stages of word learning: “(1) never saw it before; (2) heard it but don’t know what it means; (3) recognizes it in context as having something to do with …; and (4) knows it well” (p. 270).  Giving students this or a similar scale to rate their word knowledge for vocabulary terms will allow me to determine individual student needs and form my instruction around this.  The tools that we develop from the belief of incrementality, such as the above scale, would be very useful for student self-assessment strategies as well as guides for teacher-based instruction.

Do I Want Others to Know this Word Well?  Who and Why?  All teachers should know this word well.  Whether you teach general education or purely content area, there always will be vocabulary that students need to know.  Understanding that words are not learned in an all-or-nothing manner, that we all have various increments of knowledge of words, equips teachers to monitor and adjust their instruction based on student need.

12:2 Commutative Property of Addition

When and Where I Found It:  For my math unit, I am using the textbook Course 2 Mathematics (Charles, Branch-Boyd, Illingworth, Mills, & Reeves, 2004).  On page 11, the authors identify Commutative Property of Addition as a "new vocabulary" term. 

Charles, R. I., Branch-Boyd, J. C., Illingworth, M., Mills, D., Reeves, A., & Thompson, D. R.  (2004). Course 2 mathematics. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Meaning:   According to Charles, Branch-Boyd, Illingworth, Mills, & Reeves (2004), the commutative property of addition means that "changing the order of the addends does not change the sum" (p. 12).  The examples of this property given in the textbook are:

Arithmetic:  1.2 + 3.4 = 3.4 + 1.2                                              Algebra:  a + b = b + a

(Charles, Branch-Boyd, Illingworth, Mills, & Reeves, 2004, p. 12)

Level of Familiarity: I was familiar with this term before, but was reminded of the meaning while working on this project.

Do I Want to Know This Word Well?  Why?  I want to know this word well.  Whether I end up as an elementary teacher or a literacy specialist, I will most likely come across the need to work on math with my students.  If I do not know the various properties of addition and multilpication (which are often difficult for students to learn), I will be unable to teach appropriately.  Commutative Property is a vocabulary term that I may be able to work on with students as a literacy specialist, even if I am not their general math educator.

Do I Want Others to Know this Word Well?  Who and Why?  All elementary teachers should know this term, as well as the other properties.  Any teacher may be called upon to help a student in a difficult area.  Knowing the properties of addition and subtraction well will allow general educators as well as literacy specialists to work together to teach students.

12:1 Didactic

When and Where I Found It:  Over the past few weeks I keep hearing the word didactic in my classes.  When I was working on a crossword puzzle today I thought of the word again - just because I wasn't sure of the meaning of this word.

Meaning:   According to Webster Online Dictionary, the definition most appropriate to this usage of the word didactic is "designed or intended to teach and intended to convey instruction and information as well as pleasure and entertainment <didactic poetry>".

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/didactic 

Level of Familiarity:  I have heard this word pretty frequently, especially recently.  Although I had some idea that it had to do with instruction, I did not know the actual definition until now.

Do I Want to Know This Word Well?  Why?  I do want to know this word well.  I believe as a teacher we should be constantly looking for didactic literature and other media to incorporate into our classroom.  Knowing the word didactic and being aware of its implications will allow me to be more aware of the tools I am using in the classroom.

Do I Want Others to Know this Word Well?  Who and Why?  Teachers should know this word well.  Utilizing didactic tools in the classroom will allow students to benefit from the materials we use.  This ensures that teachers are not just using media and technology for the sake of using it, but rather to benefit student learning.

11:3 Voice

When and Where I Found It:  Dr. Jones sent us a link to the website by Education Northwest (2010)  with information on the 6 + 1 Traits of writing.  When I accessed the site the other day I found that one of the traits was 'voice'.  I was much more familiar with each of the other traits listed than I was with this one, so I decided to explore it further and make it one of my vocabulary words.

Found on:  http://educationnorthwest.org/resource/503

Meaning:   According to the above website, voice is "the writer coming through the words, the sense that a real person is speaking to us and cares about the message. It is the heart and soul of the writing, the magic, the wit, the feeling, the life and breath. When the writer is engaged personally with the topic, he/she imparts a personal tone and flavor to the piece that is unmistakably his/hers alone. And it is that individual something–different from the mark of all other writers–that we call Voice."  

Level of Familiarity:  I am familiar with the term voice when speaking and writing, but had not thought much about how vital a part of a student's writing voice actually is.   I would enjoy further exploration of this method and learning mroe about developing student voice in writing. 

Do I Want to Know This Word Well?  Why?  I do want to know this word well.  It is important to be aware of student voice when evaluating written work.  Each student has a unique perspective which they are coming from, and needs to be encouraged to develop this further.  I would like to use the 6 + 1 traits in my future classroom, so voice is a term I want to know well.

Do I Want Others to Know this Word Well?  Who and Why?  Any teacher who is teaching in a school that utilizes the 6 + 1 traits should know this term well.  The term voice really is a term that any teacher teaching writing should have a high level of familiarity with.  The concept of utilizing student voice in their writing is an important one to consider both when teaching and evaluating writing.  Additionally, students need to know the word voice well.  Knowing what it looks like to use their individual voice in their writing will help students develop unique work that represents their perspective in the area they are writing.

11:2 6+1 Traits

When and Where I Found It:  Dr. Jones sent us a link to a website with information on the 6 + 1 Traits of writing.  When I accessed the site the other day I found that it was very detailed information on the traits.

Found on:  http://educationnorthwest.org/resource/503

Meaning:   According to the above website, "The 6+1 Trait Writing analytical model for assessing and teaching writing is made up of 6+1 key qualities that define strong writing".  The seven total traits put together make a detailed expectation of good student writing.  The traits that teachers should be teaching and grading based on are:  ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions, and presentation.  They are referred to as the 6 + 1 traits because presentation was added on to the original six after it was realized that this was an important aspect of good writing as well.  The 6 + 1 Traits model comes with a rubric system for assessing each trait embedded within a piece of writing. 

Level of Familiarity:  I student taught at a school that gave the option of using 6 + 1 traits for writing instruction.  My teacher did not utilize this program fully so I was never really exposed to writing instruction centered around the traits.  I was aware that it was being used in some parts of the school, and I saw some classrooms that had posters of the traits up on the wall.

Do I Want to Know This Word Well?  Why?  The 6 + 1 Traits are a model that I would like to know well.  From everything that I see about this model, it addresses every aspect of student writing necessary to making a good writing piece.  I realize that this is not a 'definition' that I can know well until I have had practice teaching it, however the more I can know about it before I am teaching writing the better I will be able to implement it in my future classroom.  I would enjoy a workshop on the traits, and then the chance to carry out what I have learned in my classroom.

Do I Want Others to Know this Word Well?  Who and Why?  Any teacher who is teaching in a school that utilizes the traits should know this term well.  Addtionally, any teachers who want to be aware of a comprehensive outlook (NOT a program) to teaching writing to students of any grade level would benefit from knowing the 6 + 1 traits well.  Additionally, students would benefit from knowing this term well.  As it addresses each aspect of their writing, the ability to be taught the traits and practice them on a daily basis would produce better writing results for them.

11:1 Auxiliary

When and Where I Found It:  My wife likes to read some of my articles for class when I am through with them. The other day, when she was reading the article Playful Textbook Previews:  Letting go of Familiar Mustache Monologues by Karen Garber-Miller, she asked me what the word auxiliary meant.  Garber-Miller (2007) is describing different strategies for previewing text and offers "use summer birthdays to cover auxiliary features within the book (e.g., appendixes)" (p. 286). 

Garber-MIller, Karen. (2007). Playful textbook previews: letting go of familiar mustache monologues. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 50(4), 284-288.

Meaning:   According to Webster's online dictionary, the word auxiliary is an adjective which means "offering or providing help". 

As found in:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/auxiliary

Level of Familiarity:  I was aware that auxiliary verbs were "helping verbs" but I was not 100 percent positive that helping was a synonym for auxiliary.  With the clue in parenthesis - "e.g., appendixes" I predicted that it had a similar meaning in this case, but wanted to be able to be sure of the definition before I told my wife.  I was correct in my prediction, and my wife learned a new word too!

Do I Want to Know This Word Well?  Why?  The word auxiliary is a useful word that I want to know.  It is a word that can be used specifically when teaching literacy, but also is used outside of ELA instruction.  It is important for me to be familiar with terms that have anything to do with teaching in general, and, as a literacy educator, even more important for me to have an in-depth working knowledge of terms that are specific to teaching literacy. 

Do I Want Others to Know this Word Well?  Who and Why?  All teachers should know the word auxiliary and how to use it as it as it relates to literacy.  When teaching parts of speech, both teachers and students should have the ability to use this word to describe verbs.  A thought just came to me - my grandmother was part of the Ladies Auxiliary for our local fire department.  I bet she would have thought that it was important for people to know that the this organization was focused on helping and supporting the fire fighters.  Yes, the word 'auxiliary' is important for members of our society to know as well.  If we teach it to our students, they can develop both specific knowledge of the word (auxiliary verbs) as well as general knowledge of the word (auxiliary groups).

10:2 Lexicon

When and Where I Found It:  While I was doing research for my strategies due for the project this week, I came across the word "lexicon".  It was in the article Playful Textbook Previews:  Letting go of Familiar Mustache Monologues by Karen Garber-Miller.  Garber-Miller (2007) discusses everything that she was planning on using a certain textbook for, including "[to] introduce the grade-level lexicon of literary terminology" (p. 284).

Garber-MIller, Karen. (2007). Playful textbook previews: letting go of familiar mustache monologues. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 50(4), 284-288.

Meaning:  From this usage of the word "lexicon", I would predict that it indicates a large number of something, however I think that it has something to do with the alphabet from what I have read in the past.  According to Webster's online dictionary, the word lexicon means "a book containing an alphabetical arrangement of the words in a language and their definitions: dictionary".  Although my predicted definition would have fit based on the context of the above sentence, the accurate definition lends much more meaning to the sentence!

As found in:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lexicon

Level of Familiarity:  I have seen the word lexicon before and had a vague idea that it had something to do with alphabetizing.  I did not know the full implications of the word lexicon, and would not have used it in my own writing.  At this point I am beginning to understand the word more, but will pay close attention to how author's use it in context as I am reading more literature.

Do I Want to Know This Word Well?  Why?  I would like to know the word "lexicon" well.  As I am looking at becoming a literacy specialist, being able to refer to a lexicon of terminologies or words could be useful.  When I read or write reports on students that refer to standardized testing, this word may be included.  Language that refers to skills we want our students to have - looking up terms in a math glossary (a lexicon also) seems to me to be language that I should know as a teacher!

Do I Want Others to Know this Word Well?  Who and Why?  Teachers, especially those who teach literacy, should know this word.  As I stated earlier, they may come across it in a report and need to know what it is referring to.  Teachers may even have to create a lexicon of their own - in that case, teach the word to your students! 

10:1 Tacit

When and Where I Found It:  When I was reading through Dr. Jones' post on the word "words", I came across the word tacit.  She made the argument that most adults have a "tacit understanding" of the word "words".  

Dr. Jones' Vocabulary Blog

Entry 10:4 - Words

Meaning:  According to Webster's online dictionary, the word tacit means "implied or indicated (as by an act or by silence) but not actually expressed".  In Dr. Jones' usage of the word, she is asserting that the word "words" is not a word of which most adults could express the definition. Rather, it is an unspoken understanding - a word we all know, but have never defined with direct, explicit verbiage.  The word "tacit" accurately defined my understanding of the word "words" until I read her post!

Level of Familiarity:  I have seen the word tacit before, and had a notion that it meant vague.  Now that I looked it up, and have the direct reference to the descriptions that Dr. Jones gave (a very accurate example of "tacit understanding"), I would be able to use the word tacit myself.

Do I Want to Know This Word Well?  Why?  I would like to know the word "tacit" well.  Thinking about my students, I want them to have much more than a tacit understanding of key vocabulary terms.  Being aware of this word allows me to think about words that are commonly used but might be much more useful if we develop a deeper understanding.  The difference between my understanding of the word "words" before I read Dr. Jones' post and my understanding after I read the post is enough to convince me that I need to be aware of which words both my students and myself need to have more than a tacit understanding of!

Do I Want Others to Know this Word Well?  Who and Why?  I think it is important for all teachers to be aware of what words their students may just have a tacit understanding of.  While it is fine for some words to have a definition that is merely implied as long as students can use the word accurately, it will be important to flush out the vocabulary that have a definition that will lead students to a deeper understanding of the word.  I myself will be much more aware now!

9:2 Orthographic

When and Where I Found It:  Last week in my other class (LTED 609), the professor used the word orthographic.  I came across the word again when I was doing some research, this time in the book Dimensions of Literacy (2009)by Stephen B. Kucer.

Meaning:  According to Kucer, " the orthographic system of language represents the rules for spelling within the language" (p. 40).  The word orthographic indicates a language's spelling patterns and rules used to spell words.  For example, the rule 'add an e onto the end of a c-v-c word and the vowel becomes long' follows our orthographic system of language.  Following this system is what allows us to spell words in the same way, thus giving us a common system of spelling.

Kucer, S. B.  (2009).  Dimensions of literacy: A conceptual base for teaching reading and writing in school settings (3^rd ed.).  Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Level of Familiarity:  Before reading the actual meaning of the word orthographic, I was not familiar with this word at all.  I am sure I have heard the word in courses in the past, however I never drew my attention to actually understanding the meaning of this word.

Do I Want to Know This Word Well?  Why?  I want to know the word orthographic well because it is a word that would be important to being a literacy specialist.  Without knowledge regarding our spelling system, and the words to describe student defecits in literacy, I would be unable to do this job well.  Specifically, the word orthographic refers to a student's spelling abilities, and could be necessary when writing reports based on assessments.

Do I Want Others to Know this Word Well?  Who and Why?  I think literacy specialists should know and be able to use this word.  When reading reports that others have written on a specific student, it would be very useful to know the language that is being used.  Literacy specialists need to be able to describe student areas of strength and defecit to others, and teach other teachers how to help students.  Being aware that orthographic refers to spelling words in a language system allows educators to draw the conclusion that a student with orthographic delays will need help with understanding and applying the rules of our language system in regard to spelling.

9:1 Domain

When and Where I Found It:  I found the word domain this week while I was reading one of the articles assigned by two students for a presentation in my other class [Possible Sentences: Predicting Word Meanings to Teach Content Area Vocabulary (1991) by Stahl and Kapinus].

Meaning:  In the article, Stahl & Kapinus (1991) state “it would work equally well with words not necessarily from the same knowledge domain... even if the words were not as closely related to each other as the words we used, the process of relating words to each other should produce similar effects" (p. 42).  The authors are discussing students linking words together into sentences.  They make the argument that words do not have to be from the same domain to make this a useful exercise for students.  From the context used in this article, the word domain means a group of similar items.  In this case, the words were the items that were being referred to as being from a specific domain.  Webster's online dictionary uses the following as the definition appropriate to this usage:  "a sphere of knowledge, influence, or activity". 

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/domain

Stahl, S. A. & Kapinus, B. A. (1991). Possible sentences: Predicting word meanings to teach content area vocabulary.  The Reading Teacher, 45(1), pp. 36-43.

Level of Familiarity:  I have heard the word domain when referring to the internet, and have always thought of it as a territory.  Webster online dictionary confirms this meaning, and adds the above meaning.  I am now familiar with it in regard to discussing groupings. 

Do I Want to Know This Word Well?  Why?  I want to know the word domain well because it could be used across all subject areas.  While in science domain could indicate a fox's territory, the word domain could describe the function of a grouping of numbers, a subset of vocabulary words in Social Studies or ELA, or the genre of art being discussed in a Visual Arts class.  As a teacher, being able to use this word across subject areas will help me focus in on areas of similarities/differences.

Do I Want Others to Know this Word Well?  Who and Why?  I think teachers and students in the education field should know this word.  The word domain is a useful word when discussing and thinking about groupings in any subject area.

8:4 Schema

When and Where I Found It:  I found the word schema while I was reading an assigned text this weekend from my other class [A Case Study of a High School English-Language Learner and His Reading by James Cohen (2007)].

Meaning:  In the article, Cohen (2007) states “Reading involves making meaning from the very beginning by activating schema, deciphering the meanings of words by the context in which they are written, and recognizing patterns” (p. 165).  Webster online dictionary defines schema (appropriate to this usage) as “the organization of experience in the mind or brain that includes a particular organized way of perceiving cognitively and responding to a complex situation or set of stimuli”.  In regard to reading, schema is what needs to be activated and used in order to carry out the physical act of reading words and sentences. 

Level of Familiarity:  I have read the word schema many times, and even had a vague notion that I understood what the authors who used this word were conveying.  When I read this word again the other day I realized that I did not know the actual definition or exact meaning of the word schema.  Because of my heightened awareness of vocabulary, I would now be able to use this word in my own writing,

Do I Want to Know This Word Well?  Why?  I want to know the word schema well because it is one word that sums up a complex cognitive process.  To explain what needs to happen in order to be able to read without using the word schema would involve a very complicated and lengthy description.  I myself have never put it into words, and now that I have a full understanding of the word schema I will use it when I am discussing what needs to happen in order to be able to read.

Do I Want Others to Know this Word Well?  Who and Why?  I think teachers and students in the education field should know this word.  The word schema is a word matched by no other word for describing the complex brain response to the stimuli of written text.  Teachers should be aware that this process needs to be activated in order for reading to occur.

The term schema was found in:

Cohen, J. (2007). A case study of a high school English-language learner and his reading. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 51, (2), 164-176.

8:3 Transact

When and Where I Found It:  I found the word  transact while I was reading an assigned text this weekend from my other class [A Case Study of a High School English-Language Learner and His Reading by  James Cohen (2007)].

Meaning:  Cohen (2007) uses the common word transact as an educational term.  When speaking about a particular student’s growth in reading, he states “Mario was able to transact with this text.  He was able to make meaning, ask questions, and form opinions about the text” (p. 172).  Cohen’s use of this word transact suggests that the word is similar to interact:  the student was able to not only comprehend the text, but to apply that meaning beyond what the author directly explicated in the text.

Level of Familiarity:  I know that the word transact indicates an exchange has occurred, similar to a bank transaction.  Some sort of business has been completed.  I had never heard the word used when describing a student’s level of comprehension with text.

Do I Want to Know This Word Well?  Why?  Yes, I want to know this word well.  The word transact has many implications when describing a student’s ability to read a particular text.  I want to hold that as my standard – have my goal for all students not just be simple comprehension, but the ability to transact with the text.

Do I Want Others to Know this Word Well?  Who and Why?  All teachers should know this word and what it entails.  When teaching reading comprehension, we should all be aware that it is more than just questions and answers. 

The term transact was found in:

Cohen, J. (2007). A case study of a high school English-language learner and his reading. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 51, (2), 164-176.

8:2 Metaphorical Teaching

When and Where I Found It:  While reading an article from the journal Guiding Students through Informational Text by Karen D. Wood this week, I came across a specialized term metaphorical teaching.

Meaning:  In the article, Wood states “Teachers will need to model and provide examples before eliciting the student generated analogies which will ‘make the strange familiar.’  Thus, they will have incorporated the many benefits of metaphorical teaching in the instructional lesson.”  This quote implies that metaphorical teaching is when a teacher uses what the students already know and compares it to the unfamiliar.  This analogy making allows students to use background knowledge and connect it with new information.

Level of Familiarity:  I understand what a metaphor is, however, I had never heard of the term “metaphorical teaching.” 

Do I Want to Know This Word Well?  Why?  Yes, I want to know this word well.  I know the importance of activating background knowledge when introducing new material to students, however, I had never thought of using analogies and metaphors as a strategy to foster students’ connection with unfamiliar material.  As a teacher, this will help me by giving me another tool to use when I am trying to help students connect with potentially difficult topics. 

Do I Want Others to Know this Word Well?  Who and Why?  I believe that all teachers should be familiar with this term as it gives an effective strategy to use when presenting new material to students.  My fellow LTED students could also use this for themselves to make analogies with new information we receive in our classes.

The term metaphorical teaching was found in:

Wood, K. D. (1988). Guiding students through informational text. The Reading Teacher, 41(9), 912-920.