Edok Vocabulary Anchors
Teresa Shelton
D.R. 342/TTh 9:30
March 10, 2012
Edok #3
Winters, R. (2001). Vocabulary Anchors: Building Conceptual Connections with Young Readers. The Reading Teacher , 54. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.mssu.edu:2065/docview/203275252?accountid=12570
Central Theme:
Increased emphasis is being placed on teaching younger children from non-fiction text and teaching vocabulary from the content. This article is about vocabulary anchors being used to teach vocabulary to young and intermediate readers. The anchor is a graphic strategy where you introduce new words by connecting them to related words they already know. The words need to be content area words that have a concrete meaning nothing abstract because that is difficult for younger students to understand in this method. The words also should be words that can relate to words that the students would already understand for this concept to work. The teacher will scaffold the concept with the students and slowly students will be able to use this technique in their own reading.
Main Idea
· Upper grades have focused on non-fictional text but it has become a concern that younger students need to be able to understand non-fiction text also.
· Younger students need more strategies to deal with learning technical non-fiction terms.
· Vocabulary anchors are a graphic strategy that helps younger students to conceptually connect between nonfiction texts so they may understand it.
· There are three key understandings right now about the concept development of early learners. They are 1.It is organized around schema and is problem solving process using past experiences to make sense of new experiences. 2. Second the schema of young learners is both semantic information like names and rules but is also included with context and emotion. Third, concept development doesn’t occur alone but through social experiences.
· Teaching strategies for upper grade students for non-fiction text and vocabularies have existed for a long time.
· Frames for younger students must create a tie between new vocabulary and what students already know.
· Teachers must talk through the concept of the anchor and the vocabulary. It must be scaffold.
· Best used in pre-reading lesson with teacher assistance to start with.
· Students can learn the process to use in their independent reading.
Author’s Conclusion:
The author makes it clear that younger readers need to be taught how to understand vocabulary in non-fiction text. That there has been a new emphasis placed on teaching non-fiction vocabulary understanding. The author makes it clear though that we can’t teach younger students in the same manner we teach older students vocabulary. The anchor strategy provides a visual for students to work on a content word that tie to a word already familiar to the students. Students have to be able to relate the new vocabulary to words they already know and understand. The anchor concept works best if the teacher takes vocabulary word and connect it to a word the class understands. The teacher will then work step by step to show how a word is like another word with some difference to build a larger vocabulary. The author believes that young students can learn this concept but a teacher cannot rush the process or expect it to happen quickly.
Evaluation:
I liked this article a lot for two main reasons. First, I have been hearing a lot about how we are suppose to be expecting students to read more non-fiction in the earlier grades and this article states that information with a reason why. Second, it gives you a way to teach younger children without it just taking the upper grades strategies and applying them. I like the anchor concept because it was a visual and written way to teach vocabulary. Students in early grades like to share what they already know so to build on that to learn new vocabulary I would think would have to work much better than the old memorize the new vocabulary word style.
D.R. 342/TTh 9:30
March 10, 2012
Edok #3
Winters, R. (2001). Vocabulary Anchors: Building Conceptual Connections with Young Readers. The Reading Teacher , 54. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.mssu.edu:2065/docview/203275252?accountid=12570
Central Theme:
Increased emphasis is being placed on teaching younger children from non-fiction text and teaching vocabulary from the content. This article is about vocabulary anchors being used to teach vocabulary to young and intermediate readers. The anchor is a graphic strategy where you introduce new words by connecting them to related words they already know. The words need to be content area words that have a concrete meaning nothing abstract because that is difficult for younger students to understand in this method. The words also should be words that can relate to words that the students would already understand for this concept to work. The teacher will scaffold the concept with the students and slowly students will be able to use this technique in their own reading.
Main Idea
· Upper grades have focused on non-fictional text but it has become a concern that younger students need to be able to understand non-fiction text also.
· Younger students need more strategies to deal with learning technical non-fiction terms.
· Vocabulary anchors are a graphic strategy that helps younger students to conceptually connect between nonfiction texts so they may understand it.
· There are three key understandings right now about the concept development of early learners. They are 1.It is organized around schema and is problem solving process using past experiences to make sense of new experiences. 2. Second the schema of young learners is both semantic information like names and rules but is also included with context and emotion. Third, concept development doesn’t occur alone but through social experiences.
· Teaching strategies for upper grade students for non-fiction text and vocabularies have existed for a long time.
· Frames for younger students must create a tie between new vocabulary and what students already know.
· Teachers must talk through the concept of the anchor and the vocabulary. It must be scaffold.
· Best used in pre-reading lesson with teacher assistance to start with.
· Students can learn the process to use in their independent reading.
Author’s Conclusion:
The author makes it clear that younger readers need to be taught how to understand vocabulary in non-fiction text. That there has been a new emphasis placed on teaching non-fiction vocabulary understanding. The author makes it clear though that we can’t teach younger students in the same manner we teach older students vocabulary. The anchor strategy provides a visual for students to work on a content word that tie to a word already familiar to the students. Students have to be able to relate the new vocabulary to words they already know and understand. The anchor concept works best if the teacher takes vocabulary word and connect it to a word the class understands. The teacher will then work step by step to show how a word is like another word with some difference to build a larger vocabulary. The author believes that young students can learn this concept but a teacher cannot rush the process or expect it to happen quickly.
Evaluation:
I liked this article a lot for two main reasons. First, I have been hearing a lot about how we are suppose to be expecting students to read more non-fiction in the earlier grades and this article states that information with a reason why. Second, it gives you a way to teach younger children without it just taking the upper grades strategies and applying them. I like the anchor concept because it was a visual and written way to teach vocabulary. Students in early grades like to share what they already know so to build on that to learn new vocabulary I would think would have to work much better than the old memorize the new vocabulary word style.