Chapter 3:Vocabulary- Illiterate or Wise!!!

Vocabulary is one of those things we all need to develop in life.  If your vocabulary is weak, people think you are illiterate, and don’t look for good to come from you. Same as if your vocabulary is strong, people think you are just the best and then put you on a pedestal and hold you to high esteem. Did anybody ever think that vocabulary is not just a tool you “pick” up? Instead it needs to be taught and built upon to get better over time. In our textbook, it is stated that students acquire word knowledge through the wide reading they do and from their teacher’s read alouds and shared readings.  Did it occur that the student is not illiterate, but his parent didn’t read to him and since he grew up in the projects his teacher said that teaching was just a job and not her mission in life?  The child whose vocabulary is not the best has the ability to be just like the student whose vocabulary is outstanding with the touch of someone’s help. 

Word knowledge impacts content learning and reading comprehension therefore, the student would have to get help at a young age with vocabulary so that he will be ok in the end.  I grew up in the middle of the student who did exceptionally well and the student who everyone thought was illiterate.  I made good grades, could read well, and write well, but no one ever thought to think of a great way to teach vocabulary. I could spell, spell, and spell more.  Even was in the Spelling Bee! I knew I could sound out the words to spell them but I didn’t know what they meant.  My teachers always wanted us to look up 20 words each week and write the definitions down so we could learn them.  Since when does copying words directly from a book teach a lifetime concept? Answer: NEVER! Still doesn’t work to this day.   One of my endorsement areas is Social Studies and I like the method the book states for learning vocabulary.  It mentions to have students act out the vocabulary, which helps the student remember the word better.  The students then can associate gestures and certain enthusiastic measures used to quote to memory for the vocabulary.