Building Science Vocabulary: Seeds of Science Roots ... - TextProject

Building Science Vocabulary:Seeds of ScienceRoots of Reading

Goal• Review our model for vocabularydevelopment• Share some vocabulary instructionalroutines• Approach to ELL vocabulary development

Vocabulary Research• Low Vocabulary=Low reading performance (Johnson &Pearson, 1984)• Large word gap between Low and High SES groups (Hart& Risley, 1995; Biemiller, 2004)• Explicit and on-going vocabulary instruction makes adifference (Beck & McKeown, 2002)• Few programs in place to improve second languagereading vocabulary

Many science educators are apprehensiveabout vocabulary instruction.Apprehensions about vocabulary:• Long tradition of science as memorization of newwords—high school biology texts have 45-50% more newwords than are presented in a semester of foreign language.(Armstrong and Collier; 1990)• Words are taught as an end unto themselves rather than aslabels for new conceptual understandings• Science vocabulary can serve as an obstacle to conceptualunderstanding

Seeds/Roots Approach to VocabularyDevelopment1. Carefully select a limited set of highlygenerative and powerful discipline specificwords2. Use them repeatedly in: books, student sheets,teacher questions, discussion prompts3. Reduce number of singletons in books4. Allow students to see relationships betweenthese words5. Assist students in building active control ofthese words

NoControlPassiveControlActiveControlHabitatKnowing how the word sounds or looks whenit is written.

NoControlPassiveControlActiveControlHabitat: The place or environment where aplant or animal naturally or normally lives andgrows.Knowing its definition

NoControlPassiveControlActiveControlA habitat has everything an animal needsto survive.The grassland habitat is windy with fewtrees.Knowing its context of use

NoControlPassiveControlActiveControlShelterWaterFoodAnimalsHabitatShorelineDesertForest FoodKnowing its relationship to other words

Unit Specific WordsTerrarium InvestigationsFocused Core Vocabulary• Decomposition• Isopod• Habitat• Adaptation• Evidence• Terrarium• Organism• shelterWords with Less Power• Decay• SproutWords with Less Relevance• Light• Stem• seed

Generative vocabulary• We have been able to identify, across a range ofK-5 science texts, a set of “high utility” sciencewords• Words that while not highly frequent in generaldiscourse, recur with great regularity in sciencetexts• We teach these words and look for opportunitiesto use these words again and again in all of theselanguage and experiential modes.

Grade Level Set of Words• Observe• Science/Scientist• Compare• Evidence• Explain/Explanation• Investigate• Record• Prediction• Question• Model

I. Everyday/Science Word chart• Use everyday language as a conceptualbridge• Teaching should involve meeting studentswhere they are and building upon their priorknowledge

Activity Structures that Promotethe Language of ScienceEveryday Languagefigure outgroupguess, thinklook atseeshowtelltell, showScientific Languageconcludecategorize, classifypredict, inferexploreobserve, analyze,discover,demonstratereport, explainexplain

write downrecordtry out, testhomeclues, proofexperimenthabitatevidence

II. Talk about Words DuringReading• Call attention to the use of the word in thecontext of the text.• Provide a concise definition of the word.• Generate further discussion that elaboratesdefinitions, provides additional context,and/or connects word to existing experienceor understandings.

III. Help students build connectionsamong words/concepts to develop richconceptual understandings• Opportunities to map out relationshipamong science concepts• “asking students to explain scientificphenomenon, either orally or in writing,should enhance their content understanding”(Rivard & Straw, 2000).

PlantsOrganismsAnimalsEtc.OrganismsPlantsAnimals

AdaptationsWhat is it? What’s it like? Examples

• Habitat• Shelter• Organism• Sand• Rocks• Weathering• Mixture• Solution• Dissolve• Invention• Test• EvidenceWhat is the relationship?

English Language Learners &Vocabulary• Native Spanish speaking ELLs• Cognates--words that have a similar spelling,pronunciations and meaning across at leasttwo languages (e.g., cliente/client,televisión/television).• False cognates-words that have a similar spellingand pronunciation but different meaning across atleast two languages. (embarrassed/embarazada)

Everyday Spanish/AcademicEnglishCommonWordEnglish CognatesEnglishAcademicWordSpanishCommonWordSpeed Velocity VelocidadWeather Climate ClimaMoon Lunar LunaDirt Terra-rium TierraDamp Humidity HumedadWater Aqua AguaThird Tertiary TercerSun Solar Sol

Cognate Research• Garcia, G. E. & Nagy, W. E. (1993). Latino Students’ Conceptof Cognates. In Leu, D. J., Kinzer, C. K., (Eds.), Examining Central Issuesin Literacy Research, Theory, and Practice. Forty-Second Yearbook of theNational Reading Conference.• Nagy, W. E., Garcia, G. E., Durgunoglu, A. Y., & Hancin-Bhatt, B. (1993). Spanish-English bilingual students’ use of cognatesin English reading. Journal of Reading Behavior, 25(3), 241-259.• Jiménez, R. T., García, G. E. & Pearson, P. D. (1996). Thereading strategies of bilingual Latina/o students who are successful Englishreaders: Opportunities and obstacles. Reading Research Quarterly, 31(1),90-112.

Seeds/Roots Cognate Frequencies100%90%79%80%Percent of Total Words70%60%50%40%30%18%20%3%10%0%Cognate NonCognate False CognateCognate Type

Seeds/Roots Cognate-typeFrequencies100%90%80%Percent of Total Words70%60%50%40%30%20%10%14%43%4%39%0%High FrequencyEnglish/HighFrequency SpanishLow FrequenyEnglish/LowFrequency SpanishCognate TypeHigh FrequencyEnglish/LowFrequency Spanish*Low FrequencyEnglish/HighFrequency Spanish

Cognate Strategy when Reading1. Explain that cognates are words that are spelled almost the same,sometimes pronounced similarly and have a similar meaning inEnglish and in Spanish2. Provide an example: Look at the word acid and look carefully at thespelling.3. Think of a word in Spanish that sounds like or looks like the wordacid.4. When students respond with ácido, have them think about what theword means in Spanish.5. They could also give some examples of things that are acid.6. Have them guess at the meaning of the word acid. They could givesome examples.7. Have students go on a cognate hunt and find other words that arecognates in the book.

Seeds/Roots Approach toVocabulary/ConceptualDevelopment• Commit to a small set of core science words thattogether (and in combination with firsthandexperiences and talk)• Repeated opportunities for exposure and practice• Immersion in the language of science through multiplelanguage modalities• Instead of avoiding scientific terminology and registerin classrooms, we need to embrace it to help studentsbuild a rich conceptual network