Encoding vocabulary with Zoom's help

"Far too many students come to school with small vocabularies. This is a big deal: the size of a child's vocabulary is an accurate predictor of academic achievement and even upward mobility over the course of a lifetime (Hirsch, 2013)." - 101 Strategies to make Academic Vocabulary Stick.
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March left districts tackling unprecedented times as they worked to transition from  classroom environments to creating work packets and delivering instruction online. As  teachers navigate this unknown territory, this article means to highlight three ways to  incorporate vocabulary instruction utilizing the video conferencing tool Zoom. While  determining which vocabulary to focus on keep in mind the following information, according to  the New York State Education Department principles of effective vocabulary instruction  include:   

• Use of content-based, thematic unites of study that include rich text.
• Choosing a small set of academic vocabulary words to teach.
• Using multiple modalities, formats and methods.
• Unlocking language by developing word-learning strategies.
• Organizing thematic units within an instructional cycle.

In 101 Strategies to Make Academic Vocabulary Stick, Sprenger speaks to the three  stages of the Memory Process. The stages include Encoding, Storage and Retrieval. Encoding  is the first stage of building long term memory and the author notes that vocabulary  instruction at this stage is meant to pique the students interest, motivate and engage them.  Here are three strategies (adapted from ​101 Strategies to make Academic Vocabulary Stick)   that focus on the Encoding process and can be incorporated within a Zoom session.  

Encoding Strategies:
    ● Story Impressions
○ This is a pre-reading activity meant to spark curiosity. This  will make reading the upcoming content more meaningful and  help students with comprehension. 
○ Choose keywords from a story or chapter, keeping them in  the same order in which they appear.   
○ Provide the list visually (word doc, whiteboard, etc.) for  students by sharing your screen during a zoom lesson. 
○ Go over brief definitions/descriptions and then either whole  group, small group (breakout sessions) or individually have students use the  words in a made-up story with a beginning, middle and end. 

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● Word Up 
○ This strategy helps students hone in on their  listening skills and highlight important vocabulary.   
○ Zoom participants would be placed in Gallery View, so  everyone could be seen at the same time (think Brady  Bunch).   
○ Identify 1-2 words you would like students to write  separately on a piece of paper or an index card.   
​○ While you are reading aloud, whenever the students  hear the appropriate word they would lift the paper  or index card.  ​

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● Word Expert Cards 
○ Before beginning new content, create a vocabulary list, including the page  number where each word appears or online resources for them to access.   
○ Divide your class so that there are 3-4 students in a group.   
○ Give each group 2-3 vocabulary words. Students in each group are responsible  for learning those words and then teaching them to the other groups.   
○ Using the breakout group feature, have students with the same words discuss  the best student created definition, its part of speech, the sentence from the  text where it appears, illustration, and a made-up sentence by the group. 
○ Move from group to group to check on accuracy. Then switch breakout groups  and have those ‘word experts’ teach their words to other members of the class  that had different words.   
○ This will take planning ahead to determine the best breakout groups and  movement by the teacher throughout the groups to encourage participation and  on-task behavior. 

Let's work together to help increase our students' vocabulary and ultimately have a positive impact on 'academic achievement and upward mobility over the course of a lifetime.'

For additional vocabulary strategies or questions, please reach out to jessica_rose@caboces.org or tessa_levitt@caboces.org.

By: Jessica Rose, CA BOCES Professional Development

Resources: 
Hallmark 4 of Advanced Literacies Instruction: Academic Vocabulary and Langauge 
http://www.nysed.gov/common/nysed/files/nov-8-nys_brief-6-of-8_-summer-2017_-hallmark-4-vocab _final_2.pdf-a.pdf  

Sprenger, M. (2017) 101 Strategies to make Academic Vocabulary Stick. ASCD