Vocabulary+Cards

 =**Strategy Name: Vocabulary Cards **=



**Strategy Description: **
Vocabulary Cards is a graphic organizer. The cards help students to connect the meaning of the vocabulary word with examples of the words. The use of vocabulary cards can help students remember the meaning of words as they encounter the words in a text. Students will comprehend text better if they have a handle on the vocabulary in a text. Vocabulary Cards are used as an initializing strategy. If they are exposed to the vocabulary before reading the text, the students will be more successful in comprehension of the text.

**Course: **
 · 7th grade Applied Communications— a 9 week writing class that all 7th and 8th graders take as part of their Fine/Applied Arts rotation. · 5 classes of 28-30 students **·** Classes include special educations students with IEP written expression and reading comprehension goals. Classes also include regular education students, English Language Learners, and gifted students. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">Rationale:
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive; msobidifontfamily: Arialmso-ascii-theme-font;">**<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">I choose this strategy for these students because **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive; msobidifontfamily: Arialmso-ascii-theme-font;">We will be reading several texts over the course of the week that have a common vocabulary.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive; msobidifontfamily: Arialmso-ascii-theme-font;">The common vocabulary in the text is multi-syllabic, sophisticated and essential to text comprehension.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive; msobidifontfamily: Arialmso-ascii-theme-font;">These students are familiar with this strategy as they have used it in their Language Arts class.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive; msobidifontfamily: Arialmso-ascii-theme-font;">Vocabulary Cards offer a fairly painless way to pre-teach common vocabulary.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive; msobidifontfamily: Arialmso-ascii-theme-font;">Vocabulary Cards support my special education students (and regular education students) who are visual/kinesthetic learners.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive; msobidifontfamily: Arialmso-ascii-theme-font;">If necessary, the cards can be easily referenced as the text is read.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">Diverse Learners:
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">My students who crave visuals were very satisfied with this strategy. I think all of them like the fact that it was several ways of thinking on one card--a straight forward definition, a picture, and a non-example. My lower level learners liked the definition and the visual. My higher learners liked the challenge of a non-example. This strategy definitely engage some previously disengaged readers and writers in my class.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive; msobidifontfamily: Arialmso-ascii-theme-font;">Procedure:
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">The basics of Vocabulary Cards involve the students completing a card for each assigned vocabulary word. The card is divided into four quadrants. Quadrant #1 is the word. Quadrant #2 is a definition of the word. Quadrant #3 is a picture of the word in action. Quadrant #4 is a non-example of the word. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive; msobidifontfamily: Arialmso-ascii-theme-font;">I passed out a worksheet with six Vocabulary Cards on it. The words were already chosen by me.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive; msobidifontfamily: Arialmso-ascii-theme-font;">Through discussion we reviewed their previous Vocabulary Card experiences.
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive; msobidifontfamily: Arialmso-ascii-theme-font;">Together we completed the first vocabulary card at the smart board.
 * 4) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive; msobidifontfamily: Arialmso-ascii-theme-font;">In class, the students completed two more cards. I circulated and helped with dictionary questions, non-example questions, and encouragement for the artistically challenged students.
 * 5) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive; msobidifontfamily: Arialmso-ascii-theme-font;">The cards were completed for homework.
 * 6) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive; msobidifontfamily: Arialmso-ascii-theme-font;">The next day, we reviewed all of the vocabulary cards at the smart board. We discussed and clarified any misconceptions/unclear definitions.
 * 7) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive; msobidifontfamily: Arialmso-ascii-theme-font;">The cards were used throughout the week while reading text.

**<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">Potential Issues: **
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">I think it went fairly well. In the beginning, the students struggled with choosing a clear, helpful definition (i.e. discrimination is the act of discriminating!). I had to step in with direct instruction regarding different forms of a word. I liked seeing the cards used throughout the week. I think it definitely helped in comprehension of the text. When I use this strategy again <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">I will pay closer attention to the form of the word I put on the card.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">I will also leave some cards blank for the students to fill out as they read and come across unfamiliar words.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">I would also use real cards instead of using a form on a worksheet (I think they needed the support this worksheet provided, but in the subsequent uses of the strategy, I would expect the students to internalize the structure).
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">I would like to have the students look for the word in the text and then write the sentence where it is used (this could be on the back of the card).
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">I might pair up different kinds of learners.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">References/Materials

 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">**Strategy adapted from**: Fisher, G., Brozo, W., Frey, N., & Ivey, G. (2007). //50 Content Area Strategies for Adolescent Literacy. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

//


 * In binder:**
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive; background-color: #ffff00;">Vocabulary cards (blank and completed for amnesty international)
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive; background-color: #ffff00;">Vocabulary awareness chart ||