Tiered Words Text Talk Lessons
Sooooo, I was at a meeting recently where we discussed the upcoming Common Core adoption for our state.
{OK. Side note. This makes me hyperventilate. Every. Time. I. Type. This. We are adopting CCSS next year *without a transition year.* Worst part? I'm at a year round school, and we aren't guaranteed to have resources from the state ready in July, since they always target the traditional calendar schools. This means the beginning of the year information comes out when I'm working on 1st quarter report cards. OMG. Breathe in... Breathe out... Breathe in... ok. That's better.}
What does this have to do with the title of this post? You must be asking this by now, and I'm starting to wonder, too. Oh, yeah. We were looking at the 2nd grade CCSS objectives and noticed that a great deal of emphasis was put on the tier 2 words for vocabulary instruction. We had a great discussion, which reminded me of Beck's book, Bringing Words to Life. Odds are, you have a copy in your professional library at school, or can access it through your local public library. It's definitely worth reading, as it will give you a new perspective on the power of a read-aloud. Try a goal of purposefully introducing tier 2 vocabulary weekly through a read-aloud, and you will be amazed at the results!!! :)
If you are like me, and always looking for more resources that are already laid out for you, I've found several. First, there are a ton of lessons ready for you in the back of the Bringing Words to Life book. As a Literacy Coach, I used this book with my teachers to help us enhance our vocabulary instruction. Here is a quick overview:
Step 2 Use the word in the context of the story, article or book. (Share a sentence from the story)
Step 3 Provides a student-friendly definition. (Ask the children to repeat/read the word.)
Step 4 Provide examples in contexts other than the one used in the story.
Step 5 Students practice with examples or provide their own examples. (Ask the children to repeat/read the word.)
Repeat steps 2-5 for all words.
Step 6 Do a concluding and/or practice activity for all words presented.
Adapted from: Bringing Words to Life by Isabel Beck, Margaret McKeown, and Linda Kucan
Does your state emphasize tier 2 word instruction? If so, how do you integrate this in your routine?
