In the most famous vocabulary lesson of all time, Helen Keller

learned that water could be symbolized by letters gestured into her

hand. She wrote of the experience in her autobiography:

We [Teacher Ann Sullivan and Helen Keller] walked down the path to

the well-house, attracted by the fragrance of the honeysuckle with

which it was covered. Someone was drawing water and my teacher

placed my hand under the spout. As the cool stream gushed over one

hand she spelled into the other the word water, first slowly, then

rapidly. I stood still, my whole attention fixed upon the motion of

her fingers. Suddenly I felt a misty consciousness as of something

forgotten - a thrill of returning thought, and somehow the mystery

of language was revealed to me. I knew then that "w-a-t-e-r" meant

the wonderful cool something that was flowing over my hand . . . I

left the well-house eager to learn. Everything had a name, and each

name gave birth to a new thought.

A reader can smell, taste and touch the vivid experience of Keller

learning the word "water."

Helen Keller's experience of learning the word "water" is far

removed from abstract lists of words with definitions some students

have to memorize and spit back on a regular basis in schools. It's

hard to know how to begin to make the bridge between learning a new

word through a powerful personal experience and traditional

vocabulary instruction.

Students will pull and place new words into their experience,

whether these contexts "fit" conventional definitions or not. Many

teachers who do vocabulary drills end up with incorrect answers

rooted in the experiences of their students.

For example, years ago my friend Ruth Shagoury had student teaching

interns collect examples of incorrect answers from a weekly tenth

grade vocabulary drill. The students were given words and

definitions, and asked to use them in a sentence. Here are some of

the contexts the high schoolers used for the assigned words:

1. Revise: to change, fix, improve

I need to revise my motorcycle.

2. Redundant: repeated, boring, over and over again

Mr. Donaldson is a very redundant science teacher.

3. Essence: the feeling, the voice, atmosphere, or flavor

There is a good essence at the house we rent at the beach.

4. Embolden: to empower, to make strong, gain strength

I am going to embolden my body this summer.

5. Celestial: heavenly seasons

My dad should put celestial in his pasta.

These students' incorrect answers make comical sense. As Vygotsky

wrote, there is a "world in a word." You can easily picture the

students' worlds through their definitions.

But where does this leave us when it comes to vocabulary

instruction? Abandoning weekly drills? Telling stories instead of

memorizing definitions?

Not quite. This week we're featuring links to a couple resources

on the web with the latest research on connecting vocabulary

learning with relevant personal experience. We've also got video

from a classroom showing how to help students use the words on

walls to expand their vocabulary, plus more advice from our teacher

experts on those "worlds in words." Enjoy!

Brenda Power

Editor, Choice Literacy

www.choiceliteracy.com

***Free for All***

If you're looking for a brief overview of the most current recent

research on vocabulary instruction, Reading Rockets has a concise

article of basic research principles that would be useful in a

staff meeting. The essay includes a few well-crafted and fun

lessons on teaching idioms and keywords, as well as a handout for

students on six types of context clues:

http://www.readingrockets.org/article/9943

From the Choice Literacy archives, Franki Sibberson finds

vocabulary growth begins with fostering a playfulness with words in

students. Her article includes a booklist of recent titles that

engage and delight intermediate students with their language:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/156.cfm

Does the "Word of the Day" practice of emphasizing one word each

day across the school have value for learning vocabulary? Catalyst

magazine shares the pros and cons from researchers like Frank Smith

and Isabelle Beck in this brief online article:

http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/arch/05-00/0500vocab.htm

We've launched our new Choice Literacy "Buy 5" DVD promotion, with

20% savings off the list price. Details and preview footage from

our not-yet-released CAFE and Writers in Transition videos are

included at this link:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/products/item10.cfm

***For Members Only***

Debbie Miller shares how our words subtly and not-so-subtly shape

the ways students see themselves as learners, and especially, their

ability to forge their own learning agenda in her new article,

"Creating a Reflective Culture in Classrooms":

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/317.cfm

The Sisters share some of their strategies for building a shared

language in classrooms through their "Learning to Confer with

Children" article. The article includes a video clip of Joan Moser

using anchor charts on the walls linked to read-alouds in a

conference focused on vocabulary learning with a very young

learner. After the conference, Joan and Gail talk about strategies

to promote word learning:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/318.cfm

In her March New Teachers Group Update, Jennifer Allen writes

about the power of being shadowed by a young teacher, Jeni, for a

full day. This article describes what they learned, and includes a

five-minute video of the conversation between Jennifer, Jeni, and

a colleague about literature groups in the intermediate grades:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/312.cfm

That's all for this week!

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