Levels of Vocabulary

The Vocabulary Conundrum: As teachers we value vocabulary study, but we don't want it to "take over" class time and thus squeeze out important time for other activities, such as discussing and analyzing literature, and group work. We also want to focus on "larger aspects" of writing, such as paragraphs, essays. Teachers want students to have creative opportunities to use vocabulary words in their own sentences, but the time spent reviewing these responses cuts into arguably more important grading time for longer pieces of writing and responses to literature. Yet having a vocabulary program that is focused on defining words doesn't directly challenge students to apply their knowledge and actually use the words. Here are two rubrics that could help make this type of creative writing activity for vocabulary learning manageable.

Rubric for Using Words Correctly -- in students' own creative sentences.

Rubric for using vocabulary words correctly and for preparing for vocabulary quizzes.

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In teaching vocabulary, teachers often categorize vocabulary words as Tier Three (conceptual and content related; i.e., “metaphor” and “photosynthesis”), Tier Two (widely used academic vocabulary that are applicable across content areas; i.e., “imply” and “analyze”) and Tier One ( "playground" or slang words and phrases -- words that students will mostly learn on their own).

Similarly, we can consider these "three levels of vocabulary" in terms of usage and complexity:

Level Three vocabulary are words mostly found in our reading vocabulary. They are used by writers who have a well-educated audience in mind and who want to diversity their vocabulary and avoid using familiar words repetitively. These are upper high school and college words -- words found in the thesaurus and on tests such as the SAT. If your audience is not used to them, you might not want to sling Level Three words around too much. Students, however, should be increasingly exposed to these words as high school approaches and throughout high school. Using Level Three words accurately is important, so it behooves us to study their usage in sentences written by professionals. For instance, searching for a word in Google News reveals how journalists have bandied about these words in articles recently. Teachers can follow up using a Level Three word by offering a Level Two synonym in an easily-accessible context. Using synonyms helps us build cognitive bridges from the familiar to the unfamiliar.

Level Two are expressive words we use more frequently in conversation and in writing. They are often based in action verbs and are familiar to us. These words often reflect our feelings well and they don't seem exclusive or high-brow. Native readers will understand these words easily.

Level One words are words that have literal references. These can include slang, clichés, or "playground" words or idiomatic phrases. Idioms are worth teaching, though most playground or dinner table words and phrases can be learned independently.

Here are some examples of this schema. Use of a schema -- a model or organized plan of thought -- like this can allow for differentiation by skill level. For example, ESL students will be mostly focused on Levels 1 and 2, while advanced and well-read middle school students will be ready for Level 3 words. Having access to a variety of word choices gives one power and control as a writer. „ ™—˜— — ˜ ™ ™™ —

A Unit Proposed for Our 8th grade ELA Atlas Documents:

Vocabulary Study (early in year, but also ongoing)

Standards: (from this page on the Common Core website):

• L.8.4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words or phrases based on grade 8 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

  • Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a word’s position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

  • Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., precede, recede, secede).

  • Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech.

  • Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary).

• L.8.5. Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

  • Interpret figures of speech (e.g. verbal irony, puns) in context.

  • Use the relationship between particular words to better understand each of the words.

  • Distinguish among the connotations (associations) of words with similar denotations (definitions) (e.g., bullheaded, willful, firm, persistent, resolute).

• L.8.6. Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.

Skills: What do we want students to be able to do? These are usually put down as "bulleted" points that start with verbs:

Vocabulary Skills:

1. Use our prior knowledge, including cognates, roots, prefixes, and suffixes, to "attack" unfamiliar words.

2. Use the context or "verbal environment" given in the sentence to understand challenging words.

3. To expand our sense of usage, search for other ways of using of these words or terms.

4. To gain familiarity, apply and use new words in our daily lives.

Content: Declarative knowledge, with term and concepts presented as nouns, that students will gain as a result of completing the unit.

• Contextual clues: Students will study the types of contextual clues.

• Contextual clues: Students will apply contextual clue techniques to unfamiliar words.

Critical Vocabulary: Terminology that is non-negotiable for students to be functional in this unit:

• Contextual clue -- definition, example, comparison, contrast, cause and effect.

• Word Root -- Latin and Greek -- "master keys" to unlocking words (be selective)

• Prefix

• Suffix

• Synonym

• Antonym

Big Ideas: What is it you want the students to know -- not a skill -- as an attitude or approach, bridging into real life.

Vocabulary Big Ideas:

1. Knowing a variety of words helps us understand an author's expression.

2. Vocabulary choices give us a sense of tone and attitude toward material in an author's writing.

Essential questions link the daily objectives to the big ideas of the unit. They link the classroom to the outside world.

Vocabulary Essential Questions:

1. How does knowing a variety of words help in our comprehension of a text?

2. How do a variety of words help us as writers express our ideas and attitudes toward a subject?

3. How does a writer choose the best word for a particular audience?

4. What do we need to know about an audience -- its attitudes and values -- in making those choices?

5. During revision, how can we fine-tune our word choices by considering the tone and intended audience?