Play 10
Explicit vocabulary teaching
What is it?
Explicit vocabulary teaching (EVT) is a practical, deliberate approach to teaching key academic words as part of a subject curriculum.
Why is it important?
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Achievement: alongside socio-economic status, vocabulary is one of the significant factors in determining children’s achievement. It is highly correlated with reading comprehension and it helps students remember what they read.
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Mental Health: children with a poor vocabulary at age 5 are 4 times more likely to struggle with reading in adulthood and three times more likely to have mental health issues.
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Life after school: the limits of our pupils’ vocabulary are the limits of their world. It is our job to teach them the ‘academic language’ they need to succeed.
EVT requires subject leads to deliberately choose the ‘right’ words to ensure knowledge threshold for comprehension; certain topically relevant words, eg. ecosystem, habitat, were more important to know than others when predicting the comprehension threshold (O'Reilly et al).
EVT ensures there are frequent encounters with new words. This is needed if they are to become a permanent part of an individual’s vocabulary repertoire (Beck & Mckeown).
What to do:
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| I say, you say Read the word and use the cue I say you say to get the students to repeat the word in a choral response. Mix it up by asking individuals / rows / whole class to repeat the word. T: I say you say, ‘reluctant’ S: ‘Reluctant’! | Student friendly definition Provide a student friendly definition of the word. - ‘Reluctant’ is an adjective and it means you are not sure you want to do something - When you are not sure you want to do something, you are… | Illustrate the word with examples/non examples These could be concrete examples, visual examples or verbal examples - If you are asked to try a new food, you might be reluctant - You may be reluctant to watch a scary movie | CFU with ‘think, pair, prepare’
Check for understanding but break down the MOP first: eg. 30 seconds thinking in silence - 20 seconds turn and talk - 60 seconds, in silence, write down a sentence CFU examples: 1. Why would a student be reluctant to go to a new school? 2. Would you be reluctant to go outside on a warm, sunny day? 3. Tell your partner something you would be reluctant to do 4. Start your sentence by saying, ‘A cat might be reluctant to..’ then say why | Warm call or cold call Warm call: as they discuss, go to students that you know are more reluctant to speak and listen to their responses. Let them know you'll be calling on them to share their response. Cold call: ask the question first, allow thinking time to ensure all students are taking part in the thinking, pick a student to share their response. Front load your instruction with the expectation for a SHAPE response. Remembering to SHAPE your answer…[question] |
Live Coaching: Science, tier 3 vocabulary
Live Coaching: English, tier 3 vocabulary