PODCAST · education
The Word Conscious Classroom
by The Word Conscious Classroom
According to vocabulary scholar Margaret McKeown, very little vocabulary instruction happens in many U.S. classrooms (Banchero, 2013). Where vocabulary instruction does occur, students often learn to view it as painful and meaningless: weekly word lists and quizzes. Students may memorize words, spellings, and definitions, but these are quickly forgotten. The result of either approach—benign neglect or rote memorization—is stagnation in our students' vocabulary knowledge. The word conscious classroom podcasts illustrates how vocabulary instruction is properly taught in a fun and meaningful way.
Episodes
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Episode 31: Metalinguistic Awareness and Grammatical Awareness in Action
How does teaching parts of speech enhance word consciousness and ones ability to solve analogies? Well, the more one knows about words, the more word consciousness he or she will gain. This means that a close look at English grammar needs to happen within a word conscious classroom. The teaching...
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Episode 30: Specific Word Learning
For the majority of my teaching career, I have been teaching vocabulary using the specific word learning technique. According to the Vocabulary Handbook, this technique falls under intentional vocabulary teaching. Hence, many of the passages from our anthologies and basal readers utilize specific...
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Episode 29: Reading like Detectives – Using the Elements of Thought while Reading
Teaching students to pay attention to text is what I’ve been focusing a lot of my energy on lately. It has been my experience that students have been over-taught how to decode words, and under-taught how to figure out what the author is doing with those words and with the Read More
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Episode 28: R.O.P.E. Strategy for Analogy Instruction
A few years ago, I went to a professional development workshop on using Analogies for teaching gifted learners. The presenter provided a strategy entitled R.O.P.E. which stands for Relationships, Order of words, Part of speech, and Exactness. I was fascinated by this strategy and I started using…
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Episode 26: Unlocking Text with Morphological Study
As I set up my classroom for word study, I consulted the Growing Words: Word Part Instruction Guide. Before I introduced the Word Part of the Week, I wanted to introduce Latin and Greek Roots to my students in a creative way. I started looking online for materials that would set Read More
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Episode 25: Teaching Students about Compound Words
In a previous post, I wrote about encouraging students to look inside of words for spelling patterns. In this week’s post, I am directing students to look inside of words again, but this time we are focusing on smaller words, words that are considered Anglo-Saxon base words. I then explain Read More
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Episode 24: Looking Inside of Words
The more I build a word conscious classroom, the more I am committed to word study. Scott, Skobel, and Wells (2008) argued that words are the lifeblood of literacy. Hence, word study should be central to all literacy instruction. Included in word study is spelling, decoding (word calling), and…
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Episode 23: Vocabulary Ladders and AAVE
I speak African American Vernacular of English (AAVE) and at times, it trips me up. As it happens, in this podcast episode, you will hear me mispronounce one of our vocabulary words. Plus, if you’ve been following my podcast, then you know that I mix up my verb tenses and Read More
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Episode 22: Studying the Author’s Word Choice Using Predictions
Predictions are powerful! In fact, we ask students to make predictions all the time because student predictions provide a window into the situation model, or the mental model, that students create in their minds. In this podcast episode, I decided to use a lesson from Texts and lessons for...
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Episode 21: Build Word Consciousness with Eponyms
One fun way to build word consciousness is to use Eponyms with students. According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, eponyms are defined as “one for whom or which something is or is believed to be named.” Students may not realize that some of the things that we use in everyday Read More
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Episode 20: Measuring Students Decoding and Encoding Abilities
It’s important for teachers to know the current levels of their students in order to enhance effective literacy instruction. There are many screening tools provided by the school system as well as informal assessment that teachers purchase for additional information about the student. Although my...
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Episode 19: Start the Year with Good Old Fashioned Goal Setting
Having students set goals is a powerful way to help them create a purpose for their learning. Students also create a learning identity that enables them to have agency and productive power. Each year, I have my students set goals for themselves and at the end of the quarter, we Read More
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Episode 17: Book Talks Boost Language within the Word Conscious Classroom
As we get closer to the summer break, I want to get my students hooked on a couple of books that I expect them to read over the summer. I have a few reluctant readers who would prefer doing anything else rather than reading. Still, I would like to capture Read More
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Episode 16: Bridging Text-Dependent Questions with Queries
Questions are a powerful source for building a word conscious classroom. And, Queries are even more powerful because they create the surge that promotes deeper thinking by students. Many teachers use questions to help guide students through strategy usage and problem solving. While questions can…
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Episode 15: A Tribute to Dr. Anna Uhl Chamot
While at The George Washington University working on my Master’s Degree, I got the privilege to take a course with Dr. Anna Uhl Chamot. After learning about her passing, I wanted to contribute one of my podcast episodes to her magnificent work. Dr. Chamot, along with Dr. O’Malley, created the…
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Episode 14: Macaroons and Macrons-a delicious phonics treat!
When I was learning how to read, I can recall my First Grade teacher using diacritical marks that indicated how to call the target words. My First Grade teacher may have taught me the names of those diacritical marks, but it was not until I was in my thirties, that Read More
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Episode 13: The Influence of Language Learning Objectives
We write learning objectives every day. But our learning objectives are mostly linked to content learning and not language learning. Not only do students striving to learn English need language learning objectives, but any student that is learning how to use the functions of our English language...
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Episode 12: Don’t Take Word Knowledge for Granted
We can’t assume that students know how to break a multisyllabic word into a prefix, a suffix, and a root. As words become more complex, knowledge of roots becomes more essential for students. “Words, like stories, have structure. …Like the parts of a story, the parts of a word also Read More
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Episode 11:Teach the Babies Vocabulary
For years, I focused on teaching my striving readers phonics. My hypothesis was, if I teach the babies phonics, then they will read better. However, I’m learning more and more that it’s not about phonics so much as it is about vocabulary. “Vocabulary is a critical factor in the development Read More
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Episode 10: Word Meaning Assessment
What does it mean to know a word? Given that words are multifaceted in nature, how do we ensure that students can savor the richness of individual words? In a word conscious classroom, we can not take our students’ knowledge of words for granted. Many of the formative assessments don’t Read More
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Episode 9: Building Classroom Community
“A classroom community must be established so that it is considered normal to ask about word meanings, experiment with language use, and to have not only the teacher, but other students, serve as vocabulary coaches” (Scott, Skobel, & Wells, 2008, p. 15). Children learn best through play, hence…
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Episode 8: Using Poetry to Build Word Consciousness
Teachers can use poetry to introduce word consciousness. Poems can be used to illustrate succulent sounds and to help students master meanings of words within our English Language. In this episode, students will explore the elements of a rhyming poem. Reference: Scott, J. A., Skobel, B. J., &...
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Episode 7: Linking Word Consciousness to your Curriculum
“Learning about words is as central as breathing in a literacy classroom, because words are the cornerstone of both oral and written language. Learning about words is inseparable from learning about reading and learning about writing” (Scott, Skobel, and Wells, p. 1, 2008). Hence, it is critical...
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Episode 6: Instructional Principles for Word Learning
Our student’s attention must be drawn to what is unknown about their word knowledge just as much as to what is known about their word knowledge. Many times, students over estimate their word knowledge and therefore, they will unintentionally inflate their self-appraisals. Hence, it is important…
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Episode 5: A Striving Reader’s Strategy
How fine of a job are teachers doing with teaching the Latin and Greek roots of English? Thinking back to my own experience in learning about the affixes, I can attest that my exposure to this aspect of the language was slighted. Rasinski, Padak, Newton, and Newton, in their 2011 article, Read More
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Episode 4: The Gift of Words
Students are taught to appreciate music and art, but are they also taught to appreciate words? According to Scott, Skobel, and Wells (2008) “Authors give us Gifts of Words, wonderfully composed phrases that capture the essence of what they want to say” (p. 8). In this podcast episode, you will…
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Episode 3: Conscious Control Over Language
“The development of conscious control over language use and the ability to negotiate the social and academic language of schooling are particularly important for students who do not generally fare well in schools” (Scott, et. al.; 2008, p. 9). In this episode, students will tell you what the...
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Episode 2: Just Ask the Students
Hear from two fifth grade girls on how they react to sophisticated words.
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Episode 1: The Haves and the Have Nots
In our first episode, we will explore my story as a vocabulary have not. References: Rasinski, T. V., Padak, N., Newton, J. and Newton, E. (2011), The Latin–Greek Connection. Read Teach, 65: 133–141. doi:10.1002/TRTR.01015...
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A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
Words, words, words. Students will fall in love with words, when they are equipped with vocabulary. And students who love words learn better. When teaching language arts, we are teaching students the art of using language. Language Arts is composed of six components: Reading, Writing, Listening,...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
According to vocabulary scholar Margaret McKeown, very little vocabulary instruction happens in many U.S. classrooms (Banchero, 2013). Where vocabulary instruction does occur, students often learn to view it as painful and meaningless: weekly word lists and quizzes. Students may memorize words, spellings, and definitions, but these are quickly forgotten. The result of either approach—benign neglect or rote memorization—is stagnation in our students' vocabulary knowledge. The word conscious classroom podcasts illustrates how vocabulary instruction is properly taught in a fun and meaningful way.
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The Word Conscious Classroom
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Word Conscious Classroom have?
The Word Conscious Classroom currently has 30 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Word Conscious Classroom about?
According to vocabulary scholar Margaret McKeown, very little vocabulary instruction happens in many U.S. classrooms (Banchero, 2013). Where vocabulary instruction does occur, students often learn to view it as painful and meaningless: weekly word lists and quizzes. Students may memorize words,...
How often does The Word Conscious Classroom release new episodes?
The Word Conscious Classroom has 30 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to The Word Conscious Classroom?
You can listen to The Word Conscious Classroom on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Word Conscious Classroom?
The Word Conscious Classroom is created and hosted by The Word Conscious Classroom.
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