Six Step Vocabulary Instruction - Marzano
Betancourt, Hollis & RainwatersNovember 3, 2009Immokalee High
Timed Pair ShareThe teacher announces a topic, states how long each student will share and provides think time.
In pairs, Partner A shares; partner B listens.
Partner B responds with a positive gambit
Partners switch roles
GambitsCopycat response
◦“Thanks for sharing!”◦“You are interesting to listen to! “
Complete the sentence gambits◦“One thing I learned listening to you was…
◦“I enjoyed listening to you because…”
◦“Your most interesting idea was…”
One must be drenched in words, literally soaked in
them, to have the right ones form themselves into the
proper pattern at the right moment.
-Hart Crane
Essential QuestionsHow do I effectively teach vocabulary?
How do I choose vocabulary to teach?
Essential Vocabulary
CPRAcademic notebooksSurvival of the FittestSemantic Feature Analysis
Word Sort
RationaleResearch conducted in the past ten years indicates that vocabulary knowledge is the single most important factor contributing to comprehension.
MythWide reading will suffice as the primary vehicle for learning vocabulary
FactoidsExplicit teaching of vocabulary is essential
Vocabulary demands balloons to 85,000 words at the secondary level
Conversational speech consists of only 5,000 – 7,000 words
Six Steps to Vocabulary Instruction
1. Teacher provided explicit/direct instruction
2. Students restate in own words
3. Students create nonlinguistic representation of term
Steps Continued
4. Students engage in activities5. Students discuss terms6. Students are involved in
games
Step 1 Explicit InstructionA dwarf planet is a celestial body that
(a) is in orbit around the Sun,(b) has sufficient mass for its self-
gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape,
(c) has not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit, and
(d) is not a satellite.
What’s the difference?
Definition Description
Formal language
Everyday language
Definition/DescriptionWord Definition Descriptio
n
Covert Kept from sight; secret; hidden
Describes something that is done in a hidden or secret way
Illusion Appearance or feeling that mislead because it is not real
Something that looks like one thing but is really something else or is not there at all
Step 2 Restate in Own Terms
Academic Notebook (SSR)My Description Representation New Insight
Step 3 DRAWING
Draw the actual term, that is diameter, triangle, circle, etc.
Draw the familiar symbol for the term, that is DNA, Justice, etc.
Draw an actual illustration of the action the term depicts such as food chain.
Draw graphics for terms easily represented that way, that is, centralization, decentralization, etc.
Dramatize the term using cartoon bubbles that represent the meaning.
Term, phraseCategory: (standard, unit, alphabetical…)
Picture/graphic
Description:
Related terms, phrases
©Marzano Research Laboratory
Step 4 ActivitiesComparing termsClassifying termsGenerating metaphorsGenerating analogiesRevising definitions and picturesUsing understanding of roots and
affixes to increase knowledge
Step 5 - Think Pair Share
Step 6 Games
Work in GroupsCPR – (Janet Allen)
Survival of the Fittest – (Janet Allen)
Word Sort – (McREL)
Semantic Feature Analysis – (McREL)
What is it?How and when do I use it?
GAMES
Occasionally, schedule games that encourage students to play with the terms.
Plan for games at least once a week.
Guide students in the review and use of important terms that you have presented.
Modify the games listed on the following slides to be used in the major subject areas and for use with your students.
©Marzano Research Laboratory
Definition Smefinition
This game (modeled after Scattergories), requires little or no knowledge of the relevant terms and phrases. In fact, part of the fun of the game is not knowing the definitions. It can be played in any content area (language arts, social studies, science, math), and it is best suited to upper elementary through high school students.
©Marzano Research Laboratory
Definition Smefinition
Break the class into teams of three, four, or five. The game can be played within each group, or it can be played with a whole class.
Give one team a bowl full of folded paper scraps on which vocabulary terms are written and a dictionary.
One member chooses a term and reads it aloud. Write the term on the board and begin the game.
©Marzano Research Laboratory
Definition Smefinition
The team with the dictionary looks up the real definition of the term.
The other teams work collaboratively to develop a definition of the term.
The teacher collects all definitions and reads them aloud.
Each team, except the team with the dictionary, guesses which definition is correct.
Points are awarded for the correct definition.Students are directed to write the word and
the correct definition in their vocabulary notebooks.
©Marzano Research Laboratory
Stream of Consciousness
Possible definition: The water that comes out of any faucet the Dalai Lama is under.
Real definition: A form of writing in which a character’s thoughts occur and continue in random form without logic.
©Marzano Research Laboratory
Angle of Depression
Possible definition: How far the couch sinks down when you sit down.
Real definition: The angle at which you look down to see something that is below you.
©Marzano Research Laboratory
Recessive Trait
Possible definition: All of the bad things you are capable of doing but do not actually do.
Real definition: A trait that can be inherited by a child only if both parents carry the right gene.
©Marzano Research Laboratory
Review ActivitiesFree Association
◦Call out a term (the target word)◦Ask students to respond with any
word they believe is related to the target word. (Small or whole group
◦Ask the last student who offers a word to explain how the word is related to the target word.
Which One Doesn’t Belong
Modify the game to be used in any of the four subject areas (language arts, social studies, science, mathematics).
Tailor the game to the vocabulary abilities of students.
Direct students to look a groups of terms or phrases and identify the term that does not belong.
©Marzano Research Laboratory
Which One Doesn’t Belong I
A story about a man battling Bipolar Disorder
A story about a man who committed a crime and is torn between turning himself in and keeping the secret to avoid punishment
A story about a woman’s abusive relationship with her husband
A story about a woman’s path to recovery from alcoholism
Answer: The third option is an example of external conflict while the other three options are examples of internal conflicts.
©Marzano Research Laboratory
Which One Doesn’t Belong II
The school is attended by many different races, but each race tends to spend personal time with people of their own race.
A restaurant has one bathroom for people of one race and another for people of a second race.
A country allows residents of one race to vote in election but not residents of another race.
A store is owned by a person who only hires people of one race.
Answer: The first option is an example of de jure segregation and the other three are all examples of de facto segregation.
©Marzano Research Laboratory
Which One Doesn’t Belong V
The square of the hypotenuse of a right triangle is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides.
a2 + b2= c2
c= square root: a2 + b2
a2 + b2 + c2= 0
Answer: Only the last option is not the Pythagorean theorem.
©Marzano Research Laboratory
Which One Doesn’t Belong III
HeliumNitrogenOxygenCarbon Dioxide
Answer: Helium is the only gas that cannot be found in the makeup of the atmosphere.
©Marzano Research Laboratory
Word SelectionEssential Vocabulary
Questions?
Resourceshttp://www2.visalia.k12.ca.us/literacy/newsletter/April%20newsletter.pdfwww.esd123.org/images/.../
WashStateAcadVocabProj41509.ppt Building Background Knowledge for Academic
Achievement by Robert Marzanohttp://jc-schools.net/tutorials/vocab/strategies.html