Greetings! To say it's been a loooooooong time is an understatement. Lots of things have happened (holidays, birthday - the big two nine, winter break) but nothing more important than my kidney table arriving a few weeks ago.
It's been so amazing! I'm actually able to sit down with my guided reading/math groups and engage them in a meaningful way, instead of hovering over them while they work. There are practical benefits as well. All of our stuff fits (lol). I'm pretty much in teacher heaven.
And now, down to business....
I wrote a post about improving my vocabulary instruction at the beginning of the school year. Honestly, I've been doing a HORRIBLE job, and it's come back to bite me in the rear end. My kiddos recently completed their winter benchmark for STAR, and it was absolutely horrible. Out of 24 students, only 2 increased their performance. I KNOW it's a vocabulary problem. For example, I have a kid who is really, really smart. His reading comprehension is phenomenal. However, his vocabulary is limited. Case in point....a letter he and another student wrote me during Daily 5 time.
This letter and their data was a swift kick in the rear end for me. Our district/school does not have a curriculum for explicit vocabulary instruction, so I wracked my brain over a solution. The vocabulary fairies must have heard my cries because I received an email from Flocabulary advertising a free, 90-day school-wide trial. The heavens parted and an inner peace floated down over me like a spring mist. It's a site with tools for explicit vocabulary instruction through the use of hip-hop songs and videos. While hip-hop is definitely not my kiddos favorite genre of music, I know the catchy beats will help them retain information. And, I'll be able to get their feet wet with poetry before our poetry unit in April. Two birds with one stone...yes! I'd been dabbling with explicit vocabulary instruction through the weekly words units prepared by the lovely ladies of Second Story Window. Their Tools for Vocabulary Instruction pack is phenomenal. I'm adding an extra layer of instruction by using Flocabulary Word Up Project to teach more words, specifically tier 2 interdisciplinary words. I plan to use their sample teaching schedule as a starting point and modify it as I figure out what works and what doesn't.
Here's the sample schedule:
It seems like a pretty good fit on paper as far as daily instructional minutes. I dedicate about 25 minutes daily to word study. During that time, I alternate between vocabulary and spelling, which means I may need to extend the units about a couple days. For now, I'll stick to their plan and cross my fingers. I'm open to any suggestions on ways to improve my vocabulary instruction. What are some things you guys do in your classrooms?
