Johnson,.+Emilee,++Vocabulary+Instruction

=== Hello, my name is Emilee Johnson. Yep- two E's and all. I have one little dog, whom I love more than I can ever express, 2 rabbits, and a fiance that lives far, far away. :( I'm extremely "different" (which I like) and sometimes talk too much without really making sense, but I promise you that I can bring the enthusiasm to the table! Consequently, I love "middlers" (middle-schoolers) and am absolutely sure that I want to start to my teaching career working with those bright-eyed and bushy-tailed young adults who are brimming on the whirlwind of adolescence. ===

===I'm currently going for an endorsement in Language Arts BUT plan to also get endorsed (for middle school) in Social Studies and potentially Spanish. After a significant period of time with middlers, I plan to move up through the ranks to high school-- mostly because I think after some years of teaching experience, I may be more qualified to teach the depth of high school content, which I am not entirely confident with at this point. ===

===Because I love school so much-- and want to know //everything//-- my goal is to earn a docterate degree by the time I am 50. Towards the end of my career in K-12 education, I think it would be cool to teach at a university for a few years while opening a few fun and fantastic businesses (like an ice cream shop or a breakfast coffee shop); something that makes people smile. ===

===For me, I have always wanted to become a teacher, and I think that this is perhaps because teaching, and education in general, keeps your mind fresh in ways that few other professions do. I want to be an eternal student, and nothing requires that you constantly grow more than teaching. Additionally, I find the personal connection with students to be truly rewarding as you get to know so many young lives and become a healthy and stable part of those lives through what is a very important part of psychological development. I want to help my students to be individuals who make a difference in the lives of others as well. ===

===I think my greatest fear is one that I am not truly qualified to be a "teacher." Although I've completed my undergrad and try //everything// I can to retain //everything// I have ever learned, I sort of feel that I am lacking the information necessary... like, "At one point I learned this, but it seems to have slipped out of my head somewhere along the line..." But of course, there is a positive to this-- I can then be a model for students on how to find the right answers and show them that there is no shame in not being knowledgeable, but only in not looking for the right answers. ===

===A time I was particularly challenged was at the beginning this MAT program. I remember sitting, stunned in those first four weeks of class as I struggled to learn the material. I suppose after several years of getting into a groove with the teachers and material in the English department, I was not ready for the vast expanse of information I was to learn and retain. It sort of bewildered me and most definitely intimidated me. But then I had a friend remind me that anytime you are learning something new, there is a period of in which you are a "Novice," then an "Intermediate," then an "Expert." You have to allow for yourself to learn, grow and make mistakes in order to progress towards the next step. It just really reminded me of what it felt like to be lost and confused AND that this is a //normal// part of the human experience. It was very humbling and I can hold that experience closely as I work with students on new content in my classroom. ===

===As far as this class goes-- I hope to learn lots of things. All of this information is entirely new and will probably bewilder and challenge me in ways that I am uncomfortable with. It feels like there is a lot to know, and I want to remember it all because I feel it is very important. Also, I think I would like be well aware of the legal ramifications associated with the students with disabilities and the classroom. ===

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=**WIKI RESEARCH ON VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT **=

**INTRODUCTION**
====I choose vocabulary instruction after my two “highly interesting” options had been taken (attention and memory and traumatic brain injury), but I think I am ultimately glad that I had vocabulary instruction. I love my vocabulary. I think I want to be one of those English teachers that uses a lot of time and energy on vocabulary because the more I think about it, the more I believe that a student’s success will depend on their vocabulary; a person’s ability to succeed in college and perhaps the larger world, hinges on their ability to read, and what muddles up reading comprehension? A low vocabulary. Perhaps, if teachers can develop vocabulary skills that rely not just on rote memorization but allow for conceptual thinking of vocabulary through word structure analysis and contextual interpretation, we can help students to better understand new words that they may come across after their academic career. Vocabulary is very important. ====

**THINGS I LEARNED: **
====I learned some very important aspects of vocabulary instruction through this process. The first thing I learned was a basic language for the teaching of vocabulary, such as examining word structure or evaluating a word based on contextual clues (what are it’s synonyms, and what does it mean in this sentence). ====

==== I learned about research that has discovered that we do not learn vocabulary through definition alone; instead, we need to also be provided with a context for that word for retention to be at it’s highest frequency of occurrence. ====

==== One of the most prominent things was the idea of teaching vocabulary in multisensory instruction. By using the different modals, students were not only more engaged, but it would also activate the multiple intelligences and increase retention as well as adapt to different learning styles. ====

==== I learned about at least five or six spectacular resources for graphic organizers that will keep me well stocked in my vocabulary fetish. I plan to use these in my teaching years to come. ====

==== And finally, I learned more subtlety, through a comparison of the two videos that are attempting to teach the same lesson in the same style, how very important pace is. In the first video by Qbanichi25, she was moving so quickly that I could hardly follow her; whereas, the second lady in the Marzano video, was moving at a much more appropriate (and responsive) pace. The overall feeling of the classroom atmosphere was more comfortable and welcoming, which is something I would like to integrate into my own teaching style. ====

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">**SOURCES**

 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">TOP SOURCE **

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Rating: 5
==== <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Esu6pd, (2012, Feb. 1). Explicit vocabulary instruction (sample 1). Youtube.com. Retrieved from []  ==== ==== <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">- This is an even better example of vocabulary instruction that shows the teacher moving at a more reasonable pace, although she doesn’t hit the same modals as the other teacher did. She moves slower and at a much more comfortable pace. She seems to be responsive to the student’s needs and balances the different modals well in that respect. I think I would like to emulate her in my teaching style in her tone of voice, gestures, body language, and classroom set up. ====

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Rating: 3
====<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Thompson, M. (n.d.). //Cobb county school district//. Retrieved from [|http://www.cobbk12.org/cheathamhill/lfs update/vocabulary and word walls.htm] ==== ====<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">- A resource website that provides information about how words are learned (connecting to prior knowledge, share metacognitive strategies, active engagement, create a word rich environment, apply across the curriculum, teach strategies for independence, mnemonics) and how words are taught (using context, using structure, using games, and using websites). It also contains a resource for some graphic organizers for vocabulary instruction. ====

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Rating: 5
====<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Feldman, K. (2008). //Instructional strategies: Practical applications vocabulary to diverse learners for teaching//. Retrieved from [] ==== ====<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">- An excellent resource that goes through vocabulary instruction, mostly for the primary grades, but it does help inform the way vocabulary is developed in our students. It seems like this was perhaps a presentation on vocabulary because it is so very thorough. ====

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Herman, H. (n.d.). //Academic vocabulary//. Retrieved from []
====<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">- This is a website which discusses a way to incorporate games into vocabulary instruction. Breaking this process down to six steps, this resource provides step-by-step instruction on how to engage students in vocabulary in an interactive way. ====

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> A great resource for guidelines on vocabulary instruction, including:

 * ====<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Have structure and organization behind the words you present ====
 * ====<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Incorporate multisensory learning from the beginning ====
 * ====<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Model activities first ====
 * ====<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Most work with vocabulary should be done with the meanings available ====
 * ====<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Keep an ongoing list prominently posted ====
 * ====<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Go beyond definitions of the words ====

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Rating: 3
====<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">The Access Center. (n.d.). //The access center:improving outcomes for students k-8//. Retrieved from [] ==== ====<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">- An Alabama resource that discusses different strategies for vocabulary development including mnemonic, keyword, pegword strategies for retention. ====

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Mentoring Minds. (2001). //Mentoring minds//. Retrieved from []
====<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">- A website that provides instruction and printout resources of graphic organizers. Because I love graphic organizers, this will be a great resource for me. ====

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Rating: 4.5
====<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">//Best practices in vocabulary instruction//. (1997). Retrieved from [] ==== ====<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">- This is a really awesome website that summaries research done by Baumann and Kame’enui over the past twenty years. In this research they concluded that providing definitions in combination with context clues is the best way to develop vocabulary. This website also provides interesting lesson ideas and strategies as well. ====

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Rating: 3
====<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Qbanichi25. (n.d.). //Teaching vocabulary to improve comprehension//. . Retrieved from [] ==== ====<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">- This is an awesome video that demonstrates vocabulary instruction that uses multiple modalities to increase vocabulary development: interpersonal intelligence, linguistic intelligence, visio-spatial intelligence, kinesthetic intelligence, context-analogy strategies, and word structure strategies. ====

=<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #800080; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">___ = =<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #800080; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Community-Based Learning Project: Week 4 = <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #800080; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">(So sorry it's late, but I promise it's bomb-diggity! :) )

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Observation
<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Upon entering into the classroom, I saw rows of desks and somewhat barren walls. The teacher, Ms. Mary Barry, was behind her desk with an aid next to her, and an educational assistant was standing towards the front of the room talking with a student. They greeted me with smiles. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;"> After my interview, I found out that this class is what she called a “Language Arts Resource” class for students who are on a Modified or Alternative diploma; thus, it is a language arts class in which she is responsible for the curriculum, they just work at a slower pace with a lower level of expecation. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">As I entered, I saw there were several students around Mary’s desk. Discussing various subjects with individual students—from grades to the very tragic accidence that occurred the night before with a former graduate (he had wrapped his car around a telephone pole last night and is currently in critical condition), the students seemed to be comfortable around her. Mary had a conversational tone with her students, and they seemed to be open and honest with her about what they were thinking, feeling, or why they had not turned in assignments or been in class. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;"> Altogether, there were 12 students in the class, and once the bell rang, she reminded them to begin working on their “Everyday Edit” assignment. As most students bent their heads and began to scribble on their sheets, there was one student who continued to talk to Mary. After a few minutes, she told him to get to work and he seemed to do so. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;"> After a few minutes, they corrected the “Everyday Edit” as a class; she waited patiently until the students came up with the right answer instead of giving in and just telling them the answer. When students answered correctly, she provided ample positive reinforcement. Additionally, she also allowed students to listen to music while in class, only asking students to turn it down when it was so loud that we could hear the lyrics from across the room. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;"> When speaking, she used a loud, booming voice that was easily understood. In her instruction, she read the directions while also providing visuals for the students to read along with her. She read slowly and clearly. When calling on students to read, she told me (in the interview) that there were several students whom she knew did not like to read, and thus, she did not call on those students, but asked that they still provide verbal answers. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;"> After the lesson got underway, which consisted her reviewing this article about the Bermuda Triangle, which contained some grammatical errors to be corrected, she put on a history channel video for them to watch. The film corresponded to the article and the students were responsible for answering the questions, which she went through with them after our interview.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">**Interview**
<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;"> After the class got started, we went into a separate, adjoining room and conducted our interview. She began by telling me about some aspects of her curriculum. She told me about the Everyday Edit which students are responsible for doing at the beginning of class. She said that before the Everyday Edit, which she just recently started implementing, she was doing a writing activity in which students earned points for every line that they filled on a page. She said that this extrinsic motivation worked really well for her kids. She said that her students had tired of this writing exercise, which is why she decided to switch to the Everyday Edits. Additionally, she said that she’s been using the Scholastic Scopes magazine in her classes (the one referenced in my observation) because they are interesting and relevant to the kids life—this catches their attention and keeps them interested. When asked about the magazine, she said that she orders them out of her Special Education stipend. Mary also said that the key to Special Education is keeping the content moving. Never staying on one subject too long and switching up the pace of the class. Although she has freshmen through seniors, Mary chooses texts that fall between grades 2nd and 6th in order to meet her students at their level. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;"> We then talked about the demographics of her class. I asked her about IEP’s and 504’s, and she said that although she did not have many (if any) students with 504’s, all of her students had IEP’s on account of the provision that students cannot attend Resource classes without one. There are two types of Resource classes at Barry: regular Resource is seen as a supplementary to traditional curriculum and offers students focused time for extra help within their schedule—almost like a study hall; whereas, there are content area-specific Resources classes (like the one I was observing) in which students are studying language arts in this special education setting. For students in this classroom who are striving for a traditional or modified diploma, they must take both a traditional English class as well as a class like Mary’s Language Arts Resource class. For students on an alternative diploma, they are only required to take the Resource Language Arts. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;"> Mary also works with students who have not passed their OAK’s test by their junior year. She said this drives a good portion of her curriculum as she does a lot of practice OAKS tests with her students. In addition to her duties as a teacher, Mary also serves as a caseworker for students on IEP’s; she currently has 40 on her caseload right now. Interestingly enough, just because she has a student on her caseload, does not mean that they are a student in one of her classes. She said that this aspect encourages a great deal of collaboration and cooperation between Special Education teachers as they try to accommodate the needs of their students. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;"> As an instructor, she said that she differentiates her curriculum by giving directions orally, in writing, and using multimedia curriculum in her classroom (all of which I observed today in her class). <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;"> After hearing about her current practices and philosophy about Special Education, I was curious to find out what had led her down this path. Mary had been in education for 17 years, all of which was performed in Special Education. As a high school student, she had been drawn to a particular student with special needs and really found it rewarding to interact with this person. After graduating college, she said that she took a few years off, during which she returned to her high school and volunteered in the Special Education department and found that it suited her. Although she had been originally interested in P.E. and health, Mary looked to teaching in Special Education and applied to the then, Southern Oregon College for her teaching license and master’s degree from 1995-1996. At first, she worked with elementary and enjoyed working in the small, more one-on-one climate in primary education. After a few years, she worked with students with emotional disturbance for 4 years at the high school level. Although she said she enjoyed the job, she found it incredibly taxing through the turmoil and physical restraint of the students; it also appeared to be physically dangerous as she had been stabbed with a pair of scissors! After 4 years with students with E.D., she found her current position and has loved it ever since. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;"> One of the most interesting aspects of this interview came at the end where she let slip that she writes the student’s IEP’s. Through our discussion of her duties and responsibilities in this light, I came to identify her as an advocate for the students in which she agreed to this terminology. She said that often times, students come to her when they are having difficulties with general education teachers who are not following the student’s IEP, and that she is the initial enforcer of the IEP to the general education teacher. We talked for a few minutes about the repercussions (as we’ve discussed in class) for not following the IEP, and she said that at times she has to get the Vice Principal involved, but she tries not to do that. She said that it is difficult because you want to maintain a positive relationship with your co-workers, but at times it is frustrating because they are not abiding by lawful practice. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;"> It was then that I asked her for any practical advice for working with students as well as with special education teachers. She said that general education teachers should get to know students on an individual basis (inferred meaning: including accommodations on their IEP’s), be flexible, keep the curriculum moving, and built a positive rapport with their students. As for working with special education teachers, she suggested having a good relationship with the teacher’s themselves and keeping communication open, informative, but concise. She recommends asking and knowing about modifications and implementing whatever tools you can to help the students learn. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;"> Lastly, I asked Mary If she could tell me some of the modifications that she seems most often in the writing of her IEP’s that I could incorporate them into my teaching style as best as possible. She said that the most common ones she sees are:
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Seating away from distractions.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Seating close to instruction.
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Providing auditory instruction.
 * 4) <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Providing visual instruction.
 * 5) <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Extended time for tests and other assignments.
 * 6) <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Daily check-ins
 * 7) <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Having an organizational system
 * 8) <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Personal ratings from general education teachers of student’s behavior and academic performance.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">**Overview**
<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;"> Overall, this was a pretty insightful interview. I learned a lot about a domain in which I knew very little. When finding out that Mary writes IEP’s, I asked her to invite me to a writing one time so that I could witness the procedure. I think more often than not, general education teachers see special education as a completely separate operation, which feels a little disheartened. Even where the classroom was located seemed to suggest that these students were less important than their classmates who get beautiful view of the campus and a well-decorated classroom (I think it was rather bare because it wasn’t Mary’s permanent classroom). I think the goal of education should be that students progress, and in most cases are proficient, but if proficiency is not feasibly possible, that we construct a curriculum that will still challenge them and encourage them to grow emotionally as well as cognitively. When I am a general education teacher, I think it might be helpful to spend time in the special education classrooms helping out on an occasional prep period so that both the students and the special education instructors don’t see such a division between the two equally important entities.