Examine at least two different video clips, sources, or links (e.g., blogs, descriptions, videos) about children developing morphology. Drawing upon the readings and videos, prepare a short response (maximum 300-500 words):
a.) Identify two instructional approaches to teaching morphology that you would consider adopting into your instruction. Provide the link. State a rationale for the choice and how it might improve your instruction. OR b.) Write a summary about the role of morphology in language development. Morphology plays a crucial role in language development, shaping the structure and meaning of words. It is one of the core components of linguistic competence, and its acquisition is fundamental for effective communication. Morphology refers to the study of the internal structure of words and how they are formed from smaller units called morphemes. This process is integral to understanding and producing language. One of the primary functions of morphology in language development is word formation. Morphemes, the smallest units of meaning in a language, can be divided into two categories: free morphemes and bound morphemes. Free morphemes can stand alone as words, such as "book" or "run," while bound morphemes need to be attached to free morphemes to convey meaning, like the "-ed" in "walked" or the "-s" in "cats." Children learn to combine these morphemes to create more complex words, allowing them to express a wider range of concepts and ideas. As a secondary science teacher many words the students come across are of Latin or Greek origins. Mahony (1994) states that refinement of derivational awareness continues into high school as students encounter rarer words. It serves as a reminder that students may have learned the basics of morphology in lower grades, and it is important to review the concept and practice with more complex words they will come across. Displaying the PQRST mnemonic reference poster would serve as the reminder to morphology. After thinking more about morphology, I recalled teaching organic chemistry where again students are required to learn root words and the connection between the suffixes and number of chemical bonds. Example: alk-ane, alk-ene, and alk-yne. Switching over to mathematics and physics, the metric system utilizes morphemes in different units of measurement; milli-meter, centi-meter, meter, etc. Searching specifically for strategies to use with middle and high school students I came across this website: Using evidence-based strategies for morphology instruction with middle and high school students. — High School Speech Therapy (highschoolslp.com) I could see using the cent root worksheet with students and appreciate the other activities that are more grade appropriate for who I typically am teaching. In conclusion, morphology is a pivotal aspect of language development. It underpins word formation, morphological awareness, vocabulary growth, and grammatical competence. Children gradually acquire morphological knowledge through exposure to their native language and practice. Understanding the role of morphology in language development can provide valuable insights for educators and parents, as it highlights the importance of supporting children's morphological awareness and encouraging the exploration of word structure as they learn and develop their linguistic skills. Goodwin, A., Lipsky, M., & Ahn, S. (2012). Word detectives: Using units of meaning to support literacy. The Reading Teacher, 65, 461-470. DOI: 10.1002/TRTR.01069 Kirby, J. R., Deacon, S. H., Bowers, P. N., Izenberg, L., Wade-Woolley, L., & Parrila, R. (2012). Children’s morphological awareness and reading ability. Reading and Writing, 25, 389-410. doi:10.1007/s11145-010-9276-5 Kirby, J. R., & Bowers, P. N. (2012). Morphology works. What Works? Research into Practice, Ontario Ministry of Education Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat. Mahony, D.L. (1994). Using sensitivity to word structure to explain variance in high school and college level reading ability. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 19–44. doi:10.1007/BF01027276
0 Comments
Drawing upon your background knowledge, readings, and videos, choose 3 different instructional approaches to supporting vocabulary development. Analyze the commonalities that underlay these instructional approaches.
My prior knowledge of vocabulary development as a student and teacher is limited. I can recall making vocabulary sheets with the words and their definitions. Reading textbooks and critical words would be in bold with their definition either as a side note or found in the back of the book as a glossary. We would use the new words in our writing while in elementary school and in English classes in the higher grades. Teaching the reading program at Sylvan Learning we would provide spelling tests and use the words in a sentence. We taught students how to use context clues when reading to determine the meaning of an unknown word. Students learned about synonyms and antonyms to develop their vocabulary. I watched the Precision teaching in the primary classroom: Differentiated word sort video most recently and found it helpful to see the instructional method in action with students. This example works in the primary classroom, and I could see it being used in a resource setting with students who struggle with vocabulary development. I understand the concept of how this teacher grouped the learners into their different levels and wonder if they are always grouped in that fashion or if there are times when the groups are mixed with various levels in each. I think there is value in the mixed groups for students to work together and when the teacher is unable to provide the concentrated support needed for targeted groups. The decision on which words to teach is a theme amongst all the articles and the consensus is to focus on tier 2 words. Recall that tier 1 words are those typically found in oral language which require little instruction. Tier 2 are words with high utility for literate language users but not so common in conversation. Tier 3 are words that have particular and narrow roles in the language. Another aspect to consider is how well a student understands a word. Beck, McKeown, and Omanson (1987) identified the quantity of word knowledge along a continuum of levels: (a) no knowledge; (b) general sense of the word; (c) narrow, context-bound knowledge; (d) some knowledge of a word, but not being able to recall it readily enough to use it in appropriate situations; and (e) rich, decontextualized knowledge of a word’s meaning. Effective vocabulary instruction is motivating. What makes instruction for vocabulary effective is actively processing and manipulating words and contexts, which is exactly what makes the activities engaging and fun McKeown & Beck, (2011). The sample instructional sequence in this article is specific and easy to follow. You can see how the progression throughout the week is effective with the repetition of the words in different activities to keep the students engaged. Oral responses are easier for students to produce than written responses, and they allow students a window on the thinking of their peers. The intensity of the activities—the multiple encounters and the extended talk around examples produced by asking “why”—helps to ensure students’ success, even those students who often struggle with language activities, especially activities that focus on reading, McKeown & Beck, (2011). I appreciate the examples provided in the article The vocabulary rich classroom: Modeling sophisticated word use to promote word consciousness and vocabulary growth and have seen when adults use simple language with young children instead of promoting more sophisticated language. I understand when giving instructions it’s important students understand and there are ways to check for comprehension. Bauman & Graves (2010) refer to other authorities in the field and develops an answer to what is academic vocabulary. It does not go into teaching instructions which as a science and math teacher I wish there were some suggestions beyond here’s the new word and its definition. It does recommend some books that do address teaching vocabulary which may help with my earlier complaint. Fluency has been described as the bridge from phonics to comprehension (Pikulski & Chard, 2005). When a student develops fluency in terms of automaticity and prosody, they are no longer focused on word recognition, they can comprehend what they are reading, whether it is silent or oral reading. Breaking fluency down into two parts you get automaticity which is part of the fluency bridge that connects to phonics or word recognition. It refers to the ability of readers to decode words not just accurately but effortlessly or automatically. This is different from the speed someone can read. Prosody, the melodic features of oral language, is that part of fluency that completes the metaphorical bridge; it connects fluency to comprehension. To read with prosody, readers must have a sense of the meaning of a passage to know when to pause within sentences, to raise or lower their voices, to insert dramatic pauses, to emphasize particular words or parts of words (Rasinski & Samuels, 2011). Prosody is the opposite of monotone and in my opinion, contributes to the engagement of the reader and listener.
I found the MAPPS reading strategy to be of interest and something that I would try with students and families. I think this strategy could be used at different levels and would still be effective at the Secondary level with difficult material.
Parents can help children with fluency by reading aloud with the child and rereading the same story or passage with them. They can also alternate between reading to the child and having them read the next paragraph to the parent. They could turn on subtitles while watching television as the readers see text while simultaneously, or nearly simultaneously, hearing the words uttered while doing a preferred activity. I would suggest always having a book available so when the child is waiting they have something to do besides video games, etc. Phonological awareness and decoding are a group of skills that allow the student to recognize words and how they sound. They are the precursor to reading and those students who do not acquire these aspects of literacy will have difficulty reading and with spelling development. Phonological awareness is critical for learning to read any alphabetic writing system (Ehri, 2004; Rath, 2001; Troia, 2004). Experts Louis Cook Moats and Carol Tolman proclaim, “without phoneme awareness, students may be mystified by the print system and how it represents the spoken word.” In the article titled Why Phonological Awareness Is Important for Reading and Spelling they write, the phonological processor usually works unconsciously when we listen and speak. It is designed to extract the meaning of what is said, not to notice the speech sounds in the words. It is designed to do its job automatically in the service of efficient communication (Moats & Tolman, 2009).
If a student does not acquire these aspects of literacy, they will struggle with deciphering unfamiliar words and comparing them with known words, as they likely have a limited selection of know words. They may have difficulty repeating and pronouncing words correctly. Students who cannot hear and work with the phonemes of spoken words will be challenged when learning how to relate these phonemes to letters when they see them in written words. Those with poor decoding skills will also have lower reading comprehension. Moats, L, & Tolman, C (2009). Excerpted from Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS): The Speech Sounds of English: Phonetics, Phonology, and Phoneme Awareness (Module 2). Boston: Sopris West. Wang, Z., Sabatini, J., O’Reilly, T., & Weeks, J. (2019). Decoding and reading comprehension: A test of the decoding threshold hypothesis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 111(3), 387–401. I found a website that helps design mind maps - for free! Miro | Visual Workspace for Innovation Before starting I admit I did search out the definition of literacy. The reason for this is that I am enrolled in a digital literacy course in a future term. I used the tool to create the following mind map. My background as a Secondary science teacher and resource teacher came into play as you will see. I don't have granular knowledge of language development for younger students or those who are learning English as an additional language.
I am fascinated already by the articles and videos and wish I had this kind of course when I was in my education program. Literacy is a responsibility for all teachers in all subject and grade areas and the techniques we have been exposed to in this module could be used in multiple settings.
Text talk is in line with inquiry questions in my experience, a technique that goes deeper than recall. I can see using this technique with students and as I ask them questions regarding what is happening in the story I can tell right away if they are comprehending what is being said or if I must repeat the passage. In my role as a teacher on call I will find an appropriate book to bring with me and try the text talk technique with younger students or perhaps when I am supporting students with diverse abilities. I think text talk can work with older students as well as we are continually developing our literacy skills. If the questions are too difficult for students, I would consider using the dialogic reading technique as shown in the video. The questions of who, what, when and how many may help to engage the students and draw them into the story. Using the pictures in dialogic reading is different to text talk as the pictures are shown during the reading and questioning versus showing the picture after the questioning. I think using both techniques can help the students. The idea of distancing questions in reading as dialogue is a way to extend the students learning and make connections to their own experiences, whereas in text talk you have to watch for students using their own experiences to answer questions on their comprehension of a reading passage. In text talk I believe you could use distancing questions after the comprehension questions are discussed. A couple of questions came up for me that I am interested in hearing your opinions on. The first one is about priming students for what they are going to be reading. I don’t recall that being discussed in the techniques and wonder if it fits in this context? My other question is regarding graphic novels. I do not have much experience with them but do know many students prefer them over traditional novels. How does a graphic novel contribute to student literacy? Perhaps my second question will be addressed in another module, but I wanted to put it out there to think about. Greetings colleagues, my name is Tanya Kerr and I live in Surrey, BC. I have been a teacher for 15 years and a chemist prior to that. I joined teaching when it was difficult to get a position and taught on call for a few years before acquiring a contract. In addition to teaching in a public school district I worked at Sylvan Learning and taught the beginning reading program, reading program and math. I’ve taught a variety of subjects at the Secondary level mostly junior science, senior chemistry, and junior math. In 2016 I completed my special education diploma and have worked as a resource teaching, supporting students who are identified with a designation. The last five years I have worked in the local union office as vice president and president of the local union. Currently I am working two days a week as a teacher on call and the other three days I am on a paid educational leave from the district.
Our school district’s strategic plan always has literacy as a goal. I’ve done a bit of work with students in my science classes reading literacy but not much. I don’t have specific big ideas or concepts about literacy that I am most curious about, I want to learn it all! I feel like my own literacy skills could use some practice which is a personal goal of mine and now that I am working as a teacher on call, I want to be prepared to support students with their own literacy goals. Fun fact, in my spare time I am a Girl Guide leader. I’ve been involved in Guiding since I was six years old and value the organization and the support it provides women and girls. I don’t have any kids of my own but live with two cats and a dog. Pleased to meet you all! |
AuthorTanya Kerr is a current student of Queen's University Graduate studies. ArchivesCategories |