This podcast discussion mainly centered on the importance of vocabulary in reading comprehension and overall student learning. The third shift in the book is 'Recommitting to vocabulary instruction'. Incorporating vocabulary in language and daily activities and using context to understand new vocabulary words were noted as effective strategies. Vocabulary was described as the "glue" holding stories and ideas together, impacting 80% of reading comprehension scores.
This shift supports explicit instruction, such as pre-teaching vocabulary in different subjects, notably in science and health. Teachers were encouraged to create a word-laden environment and to show enthusiasm in learning new words. Practically, teachers could implement varying strategies, including the use of literacy books, hexagonal thinking, making neologisms, teaching prefixes, using the 'expanding expression tool' (EET), and the Frayer Model. The learning facilitators shared resources such as The Noun Project, the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, and the Magic School AI vocabulary generator were to facilitate teaching vocabulary.
Resources
Tiered Vocabulary:
Tier 2 Words (from PVSD Scope & Sequence)
The 3 Tiers of Vocabulary for Classroom Instruction - Miss DeCarbo
Strategies and Resources we refer to:
-Book: 180 Days – Penny Kittle and Kelly Gallagher -Beautiful Word Project
-Using AI to generate vocabulary and texts MagicSchool.ai
-Frayer Model template with non-examples
-The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English – student friendly definitions -The Noun Project website – Comprehensive Icon Collection
