Blog 3: Importance of  Vocabulary

Through reading the text this week I have reflected how I learned vocabulary in school. It was the traditional way of finding the definition within the dictionary. Though I can find words within the dictionary it did not have extensive help for the future. As a teacher I would like to use diverse ways in learning vocabulary so that I can help all my students needs. 
Harmon, Wood and Hedrick mention the terminology of words that could mean very different things in diverse subjects.  Though I knew this I had not thought of the complication this could cause ELL students. English is one of the hardest languages to learn due to this problem of a word meaning diverse things. In teaching the root and affixes of a word can help students to learn to break down what a word can mean. In helping ELL learners understand the meaning of vocabulary we might need to apply visuals through either pictures or graphic design handouts. "...Graves urged educators to consider several important facets of vocabulary learning and teaching that are applicable in the content areas. First, he recommended initiating vocabulary teaching with a student-friendly definition and a meaningful context based upon the students experiential knowledge. These contexts can be written texts, concrete objects, pictures, and even video clips" (pg.7)  Some of the activities of using a graphic organizer to find relationships and context clues can help students to visualize an association. Categorizing word commonalities are also helpful for students to understand the usage of words. Vocabulary is a continual journey in speech and writing and as an English/History teacher it will be my job to expand that knowledge for my students.

Post 2: Classroom Learning

As Buehl discusses "the activity" and "the context" to influence the classroom through writing and reading. In giving students a voice in reading and writing through letting them think about the theme and characters of a text. Through reading text in English or documents in History class I can help my students more by guiding through text instead of trying to find the correct answer of a question. Buehl had some good points in having students think for themselves by scaffolding main ideas and eventually letting the students find ideas themselves. When I went to school my teachers had me read the text and then answer questions. It seemed like busy work to me at the time. In classes through college and learning to become a teacher as a student it has been more enjoyable to learn by finding my own thoughts as the professor guides me through the text. With the Core Standards wanting to achieve higher level of thinking can happen through having students dig deeper within a text to find what it means to them. This type of teaching will become more meaningful for students because they are involved in their education. It will also help students to have the ability to make choices through looking at different views before making a choice.  

                                           

Hi, my name is Rebecca Wilkinson I have been married to a wonderful man for 20 years and have 7 great kids. My interests and hobbies have been put on the back burner since I have been in school year around for almost 5 years. My disciplines are in English and History, having the opportunity of teaching either subject would be an amazing experience.

I was drawn to teaching because it has been something I have been doing as a mother for 19 years. English and History are two subjects intertwined which is evident through the literature of the past. Literacy is key in the subjects that I will be teaching. English has a plethora of literature to read and investigate. History has many documents to examine and learn from those people that have recorded the past. Teaching students to compare and contrast through literature or documents will help them to learn to investigate ideals.