Issue 102: Aug 30, 2010 Connections Newsletter

How Do Teachers at Exemplary Schools Create Word Walls That Teach?

Cindy Riedl
Aug 30, 2010

Are you papering your walls with words? Take a moment to self-evaluate using the list below:

  • My Word Walls are systematically, clearly and logically organized in obvious clusters targeting skills, themes or grade level high-frequency words for easy student access.

  • My Student Learning Maps, word clusters and graphics meaningfully highlight targeted words, distinguishing characteristics and categories.

  • The emphasis on my Student Learning Maps is not on the Lesson Questions but on the concepts and key vocabulary that provide the answers to the Lesson Questions.

  • My Word Walls clearly provide visual maps for students to remember intended connections and learning.

  • The displayed words are grade appropriate and critical to learning.

  • The words are highly accessible to students and visible in large black/blue letters on pastel/white background color for the greatest contrast.

  • I have limited or no commercial slogans that do not relate to the content that I am teaching displayed in my room.

  • I have added visuals and symbols that help students' word comprehension and retention of new vocabulary.

  • My Word Walls are clutter free and color coded for easy identification.

  • My Word Walls are interactive tools that are constantly changing based on the content that I am teaching and my students' needs.

  • I actively involve students in the development of my Word Walls and using the words and concepts during writing activities and guided practice.

  • My Word Walls provide on-going student support.


It is important to remember that Word Walls are not just a display of random words. Going through the motions of getting words up on our walls to remain in compliance with administration expectations is not enough. Word Walls are critical as a tool designed to teach new vocabulary related to the content being taught. That explains why they are not stagnant. If it takes between 15 and 27 meaningful interactions with a new word for the typical student to understand and apply the word independently, then you must plan activities and assignments that provide the necessary exposures for word knowledge to enter long term memory. Words on a wall in the classroom will not greatly impact achievement unless they are used. It is the use of the Word Walls by students that increases learning and achie vement.

So, how do you become a Word Wall expert? Keep in mind that some Word Wall arrangements are not permanent and only appear when instruction requires them. Some teachers with limited wall space or need to be especially careful not to overwhelm students who are easily over stimulated, use pocket charts, chart paper that is clipped to the wall or attached to a strung wire. Other teachers have their students creating their own Word Walls on subject folders that are used during instruction. Keep in mind, only the most critical words are displayed that require a depth of understanding and important words that support them.

Check out the suggestions below:

  • For the primary grade level, grade appropriate high-frequency words need to be organized alphabetically for easy access. The letters must be large enough for students to see. There is an unlimited way words can be color coded for visual connections such as compound words, word families, phonetic features, thematic, parts of speech, number words, directional words, story elements, descriptive words, words about time, etc. If a student has visual issues, outlining the shape of the word can enhance identification.

  • Word Walls for upper grades tend to focus more on ‘content' vocabulary. Key vocabulary can be clustered by theme, i.e. figurative language, "retired" words, i.e. dead word cemetery, literary elements, time line word walls, signal words for extending thinking skills, math concepts with examples, i.e. linear equations or by topics during a course of study.

  • Content words, unless they have overlapping ‘big idea' connections to future instruction, are removed to prepare space for the next unit of study.

  • Model constantly how to use the words on the Word Wall as a critical tool for writing and responding to questions. This will emphasize the importance of these concepts and words. Create interacting games such as Quick Talk or I have ... Who has ....

  • Insist that every student maintains a note-book that is organized for easy access for a reference.

  • Be thoughtful about how many Word Walls you display at a time and how they are arranged. Avoid clutter! Too much of a good thing can cause sensory overload.

  • Make Word Wall activities a multi-sensory experience.

  • Expect students to spell the words displayed correctly. Have a special highlighter to designate a misspelled word is on the Word Wall and must be corrected for credit.

  • Make them memorable, useful and practical.

  • Adapt Word Walls using portable file folders, floor walk, flannel or magnetic boards, art or project boards, or a clothes line where words are posted using clothes pins and students are able to remove the words to rehearse or copy during writing.

There are many more suggestions and guide lines for how to make your Word Walls more accessible, highly visible, clutter-free, and referred to by students during summarizing activities in the LEARNING-FOCUSED notebook, Vocabulary Instruction.

Make a difference tomorrow. Examine your Word Walls and try some of these ideas that exemplary teachers use to get results!



How do I Create Learning Stations?

Jennifer Partrick
Aug 30, 2010

Learning Stations are one of the strategies used to extend learning in order to meet the needs of diverse learners. Opitz (1994) stated that learning centers are ‘places where a variety of activities introduce, reinforce, and/or extend learning, often without the assistance of the classroom teacher' (p. 13). Often, teachers use centers as a means to work with small groups of students while the remainder of the class is engaged at centers.

As teachers deliberate how to create centers there are a few things they should consider in order for the station to benefit all students.

Assignment:

The station should focus on what students already know. Because stations are often used for independent work, students need to be familiar with the material. If not, they will most likely need help from you.

Materials:

All of the materials needed to complete the assignment or task should be in easy reach to the students. In doing so, students will not stray away from the station or need to ask you for help.

Accountability:

There should be some system in place so that students are accountable for their work. Having some type of output lets you know if the students met the objective of the station. Having to record or turn in some form of output also lets the students know that you are checking to see that they were on task at the stations.

Engaging:

Stations should be engaging. Stations should be created so that students want to go to that station. If stations are boring or unsupportive of student needs, students most likely will not benefit from the station. They may complete the task but will they benefit from the task?

Differentiation:

If tasks at stations are the same for all students, are all students needs being met? As we think about stages of development, does one size fit all? As stations are created, keep all of your students in mind as you create the task. For example, if you have a sequence station and you want to support all of your students, you could have pictures that the students put in the correct sequence to support the non reader. An extension of this activity could be to have students think about what most likely could have happened before the first picture and based on the pictures, what most likely could have happened after the last picture and students then add their own pictures to the ones given. These students could then label the pictures or attempt to write a simple story using the pictures as their graphic organizer. The proficient reader could sequence a story he/she read, or sequence a game or an activity that they like doing, or write a story. Differentiation ensures that all students are engaged in the task based on their need.

Learning Stations are powerful tools to use to support learning. Consider the task, the materials needed, accountability, student engagement at the station, and differentiating the tasks to meet the needs of all learners. Attention to how stations are created must be considered so that all students can benefit from their time spent in each station.

References:
Opitz. M. F. (1994). Learning centers: Getting them started, keeping them going. Boston: Scholastic.
Partrick, J. (2003). Learning to read. Boone, NC: LEARNING-FOCUSED Solutions Inc.
Voltz, D., Sims, M. J., & Nelson, B. (2010). Connecting teachers students and standards. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development



Onset and Rime: A Tool for Teaching Children to Read and Spell

Denise Burson
Aug 30, 2010

How can Onset and Rime help my students learn?

Onset and Rime are technical terms used to describe phonological units of a spoken syllable. A syllable can normally be divided into two parts: the onset, which consists of the initial consonant or consonant blend, and the rime, which consists of the vowel and any final consonants. Thus in the word "bank," "b" is the onset and "ank" is the rime. Examples of rimes are: ail, ank, ay.

How to help children develop these concepts and skills

  • Model the onset of words. The onset is anything that comes before the vowel in a one-syllable word. For example: dog -/d/, play -/pl/, at -(no onset).

  • Model the rime part of words. The rime is the vowel and everything that comes after the vowel in a one-syllable word. For example: dog -/og/, play -/ay/, at -/at/

  • Play a game where you take one-syllable words apart, breaking them into onset and rime.

  • Play a game where you put the onset and rime together to make a one-syllable word.

  • Read materials which incorporate the learnt rimes to give the pupils the experience of seeing them in print.

  • Play Riddle Rap Review with students that an onset is the first consonant or blend in a word, and the rime is the last group of sounds beginning with the vowel. Together, the onset and the rime create a word. Give an example (e.g., in the words cake and bake, /c/ and /b/ are the onsets; /āk/ is the rime).

    1. Tell students that they will be given clues to solve a riddle. To solve it, they must change the onset, but not the rime. Give examples to the group, and have them call out the answers together (e.g., "It begins with /b/ and rhymes with coat," "It begins with /n/ and rhymes with rose," "It begins with /ch/ and rhymes with rain").

    2. Select one student from the group to answer the riddle.

    3. Call out a riddle ("It begins with /m/, and it rhymes with rice"). Continue the game using different riddles for each student.

Adaptations:

To make the activity more challenging, have the students create and ask their own riddles with one another.

These are just a few ideas you may find useful. There are more in Learning-Focused Learning to Read notebook. The extensive and positive research that has been carried out in this area is a strong argument in support of using onset and rime as a tool for teaching children to read and spell, and enhancing phonological skills. More importantly onset and rime does work in the classroom and that is the strongest argument of all.

References:
Adams, J., Brown, A., Hatcher, P.J., Hulme, C., Nation, K., & Stuart, G., (2002). Phoneme Awareness Is a Better Predictor of Early Reading Skill Than Onset-rime Awareness, Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 82, 2-28.

Bowey, J. (2002). Reflections on Onset-Rime and Phoneme Sensitivity as Predictors of Beginning Word Reading. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 82, 29-40.