Words, Words, Words: Staff Receives Vocabulary Training
by Debbie Winslow
November 23, 2009
“No estoy embarazado de nada,” said the little boy in class. He was trying to explain that he wasn’t embarrassed, but he used a false cognate.
Cognates, polysemous, homophones, and idioms are just a few of the
words that LVISD staff and faculty learned Tuesday night, November
17 at their weekly Best Practices workshop. The importance of
vocabulary development was the theme this time.
The training was given by Superintendent Dr. Norma Linda
Salaiz.
“Vocabulary is so critical,” she said. “We need to condition
ourselves to look at vocabulary differently.”
After reviewing data regarding students with limited English
proficiency, then lecturing on the three tiers of vocabulary terms,
Dr. Salaiz led the participants in beginning the development of a
campus strategic plan to target vocabulary.
Some teachers, like Dionicia Ramírez, have already taught
homophones, but most were like algebra teacher Bruce Barker, who
said “I want to cover those Tier 3 words.” Those are the terms
referring to a specific subject matter.
Teachers agreed that students need to learn new words each day if
they are to come even close to the 50,000 words they should learn
before entering college.
“Yes, especially in math with words like ‘difference’ and ‘sum,’”
first grade teacher Edna Medina said.
“And more comprehension,” said special education teacher Katrina
Figoroa. Her colleague Jennifer Montelongo agreed, “Yes, and
spelling those words, too.”
According to Dr. Salaiz, recent research has shown sustained silent
reading to be ineffective in improving vocabulary skills.
“We must get away from it,” she said. “We keep talking about
engaging students. We can give students a small break, but in a way
that keep them active and learning.”
Sometimes we don’t know exactly what students know or don’t know,
so it’s imperative that we diagnose their status quickly and
regularly.
“You have to emphasize pre-teaching before you teach the concept,”
said curriculum assistant Aida Guajardo.
Every teacher interviewed appreciated the value of teaching
vocabulary.
“It was an eye opener,” third grade science teacher Greg Castillo
said. “These were some things I did not know.”
The significance of the entire evening was encapsulated by Muñoz
Elementary secretary Minnie Contreras, who said, “This is very
important for the students.”
