Vocabulary
What:
The ability to understand
(receptive) and use (expressive) words to acquire and convey meaning.
University of Oregon - Big Ideas In
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My Breakfast Reading Program.
Why: Without an expanded vocabulary,
comprehension for both written and verbal communication will be inhibited.
How:
My Breakfast Reading Program integrates the following to
develop vocabulary.
- Interactive Materials: In the single
syllable word activities, there is a link (the owl) to display the selected
word's morphology or inflection, such as teach, teacher, teaches, teaching
and taught. Most of the words also have one to four associated
graphics. In addition, Text to Speech is used to provide examples of
the word endings in context. In some cases, the examples show how the
word can have different meanings.
When using the syllabication activities/tool, clicking on the owl link will
connect with an online dictionary, WordSmyth. Highlighting and copying
the definitions will use the Text to Speech tool to read the WordSmyth
definitions.
In addition to listening to the examples, use the following vocabulary
challenge and have the students say or write their own examples for the
displayed pictures.
- Vocabulary Challenge:
While transitioning between various materials/exercises for both the sight
words and phonics, have the student pick several words (2-6). Several
of the words should be ones that they are confident in knowing. The
student should give a definition and/or use the word in a sentence.
Several of the words should be ones that they are not confident in knowing.
For those words, the coach is challenged to provide a definition and/or use
the word in a sentence.
This should be a quick activity while moving among various activities during
the lesson. For example, during each transition, the student could
quickly pick two words for the vocabulary challenge.
- Intonation: While reading the
sentences and/or stories, have the student use their voice to emphasize the
word or phrase related to a question you pose. Example: Which
animal says meow? The
cat and dog are running around the tree.
- Embellishment: Have the student
rewrite and/or reread the sentence but adding additional words or substituting words in
the current sentence. Example: The big
furry cat and brown dog are
running around the tree.
- Pantomime: The use of
pantomime in a class or small group
setting would be very beneficial, in particular for English language
learners, in acting out the key words and/or their inflections.