As part of students‘ grades we have a weekly vocabulary test. This test consists of a word box containing all 10 vocabulary words. Underneath there are incomplete sentences which the students must fill in using the words above. These tests fail to assess if a student has fully learned a new word. Students are memorizing the definition of the vocabulary word, or they may only be having shallow knowledge of the word (Willingham, 2009). This means that they only understand the word in the context given in their Reading Anthology. These weekly quizzes do not assess if they are applying the word correctly in other contexts or if they are able to explain its definition.
This past school year, students latched on to the word collapse and used it regularly. I believe this happened because after reading the definition of the word, I asked students to act out the verb. They all did it. Then, we spoke about the reasons one might collapse. I asked to act out each scenario. Later on, the students started to include the word, in a correct manner, in their daily assignments. At the same time, when they came back from PE they would mention they were so exhausted they felt they might collapse. This is an example of the correct usage of the word. Magnificent was also included in one of this year‘s vocabulary lists. The students drew images of things that could be described as magnificent, but what I noticed is that not all students enjoyed drawing. Some would complain about their inability to draw and would ask to search for an image on the computer and show it to the class. That is where the idea of using Pic Collage came to be.
In order to evaluate if students can apply the words correctly, I would evaluate the students‘ projects and through classroom observation, gather evidence from their writing assignments and their participation in class. The evidence gathered can help me, more so than the weekly quiz, to assess the different contexts in which the words are being used, what and how many words they are retaining. In his book, Why students don‘t like school?, Willingham mentions the importance of teachers keeping a journal to record and keep track of methods that work, lessons gone well or ways to improve on.
Activities such as, making a movie in which they show an action referring to a vocabulary word, or making collages or concept maps with the words helps me to see their understanding of the word. Then, having them share their projects with others and justifying their decisions permits me to see how they explain the definition of the words. We would also discuss the part of speech a word is and which kind of technology could better explain it. For example: Pic Collage for adjectives because you can show objects that are described by the adjective. Movies to explain verbs and concept maps of word webs for nouns. These activities could not be done for every word by every student. The idea is to divide these words amongst the students and then, having them present their understanding of the word. These kinds of activities make for a more cooperative classroom and create a learning environment in which the students themselves are building their own knowledge. I am there to assist, to guide them.
This past school year, students latched on to the word collapse and used it regularly. I believe this happened because after reading the definition of the word, I asked students to act out the verb. They all did it. Then, we spoke about the reasons one might collapse. I asked to act out each scenario. Later on, the students started to include the word, in a correct manner, in their daily assignments. At the same time, when they came back from PE they would mention they were so exhausted they felt they might collapse. This is an example of the correct usage of the word. Magnificent was also included in one of this year‘s vocabulary lists. The students drew images of things that could be described as magnificent, but what I noticed is that not all students enjoyed drawing. Some would complain about their inability to draw and would ask to search for an image on the computer and show it to the class. That is where the idea of using Pic Collage came to be.
In order to evaluate if students can apply the words correctly, I would evaluate the students‘ projects and through classroom observation, gather evidence from their writing assignments and their participation in class. The evidence gathered can help me, more so than the weekly quiz, to assess the different contexts in which the words are being used, what and how many words they are retaining. In his book, Why students don‘t like school?, Willingham mentions the importance of teachers keeping a journal to record and keep track of methods that work, lessons gone well or ways to improve on.
Activities such as, making a movie in which they show an action referring to a vocabulary word, or making collages or concept maps with the words helps me to see their understanding of the word. Then, having them share their projects with others and justifying their decisions permits me to see how they explain the definition of the words. We would also discuss the part of speech a word is and which kind of technology could better explain it. For example: Pic Collage for adjectives because you can show objects that are described by the adjective. Movies to explain verbs and concept maps of word webs for nouns. These activities could not be done for every word by every student. The idea is to divide these words amongst the students and then, having them present their understanding of the word. These kinds of activities make for a more cooperative classroom and create a learning environment in which the students themselves are building their own knowledge. I am there to assist, to guide them.