June 16th Readings

                New vocabulary is key to enriching one’s spoken and written vocabulary ability. As a teacher, you are destined to encounter a variety of different level readers and writers. This all comes back to vocabulary. Some students come from vocabulary emphasized homes, where as others come from homes where vocabulary and reading were never stressed; the responsibly of making the classroom flow despite this, falls upon the teacher. Not only must we play catch up for those that are behind, but also it is also very important to not lose the interest of those who came into your class more advanced. The Lane and Allen article provides a look into Ms. Barkers classroom, the progression of her students for “weather watcher” to “meteorologist” shows the vocabulary growth of the students in just one year. Although this approach (task assignment) may not be practical in every classroom, it seems to be very effective. By giving the students a clear definition and something to relate the word to, I feel it makes grasping and actually using the word much more likely. The same article also makes the statement, “knowing a word is not an all-or-nothing proposition,” as a future teacher, I find this statement to be very enlightening. Students may understand parts of words, when they do not understand the entire word—this is a step in the process of comprehending larger words, it is a way in which students grow and expand their vocabulary. Using more advanced words on a daily basis in your classroom will help the students adjust to hearing them and become more comfortable using them. The Blachowicz and Fisher article says that student are on average two years behind on oral vocabulary, going on to say that school curriculum should expose students to a more rich vocabulary environment—providing a venue for students to expand and explore. Through increasing the level of vocabulary used in the classroom, teachers are providing the scaffolding for their students.

                The Hart and Risley article just further the previous point of a variety of students, with a variety of vocabulary. The study discussed followed 42 families all from different socioeconomic backgrounds and watched their development in a vocabulary sense. I found this article to be particularly interesting. I am a Sociology major, I pick sociology because I had to pick an arts and science. Sociology was the most interesting of the A&S’s to me, I have never felt like my major really connected to my Elementary Education minor…that is until now. Before, I knew that my knowledge of socioeconomic diversity and racism as it applies to education, job opportunities and daily life, would be handy as a student in the urban-multicultural cohort. Now, however, I have read this study and I see a clear breakdown of the way in which social classes truly hinder students. I feel more driven than ever to provide a learning rich environment for the students who already use school as an escape.