Understanding Language

In my 6 years at a small private school, I spent several years doing weekly vocabulary/spelling tests throughout the entire school year (except for 10th and 12th grades). We were given 10 words on Monday and went over them as a class. On Friday we were tested on our ability to spell the words, define the words, and use each of them in a sentence. I think this is a valuable activity that is getting lost in the morass of portfolios and testing skills. Our team language arts teacher started off with spelling tests at the beginning of the year, but she ended up not following through because "the kids just weren't doing well and so it was a waste of time" (in the words of our team special ed teacher).

But if Janet Allen is right, the study of words is important. More than just how to spell them, but learning what they mean as well. If our students don't understand key words in a text, how can they comprehend it? The answer is, of course, that they can't, not beyond the surface level anyway. Vocabulary is especially important in my own content, science, because there are so many specialized words...or, even harder, words that my students do know (like population or community) that aren't used in science in the same manner as they are in the wider (here's an example right now) educational community.

So we need to fnd a happy medium between the too and accentuate it with effective, efficient strategies. Not learning vocabulary at all is unacceptable and unhelpful, but learning 10 random words - or 10 words off of a "words that 6th graders need to know" list - isn't the best strategy either. We need to connect the vocabulary to the context of the current class topic of study as well as giving the words further real-world context; students need to understand that there is a real-world context/reason for learning vocabulary.

I have to say that I really appreciate this chapter because it not only shed light on my own education as a secondary school student but also on how the study of vocabulary was done in the structured Read XL class I taught this year (learn the word so you can do the reading). I really appreciate reading something that gives me insight on my own teaching practices. I just have to admit that while I find it very easy to apply all these readings to my reading enrichment class (Read XL), I'm still struggling with the issue of application in my science classroom.