Vocabulary That Sticks For Advanced Learners

One of the most demanding tasks our students undertake is to learn new words. With younger learners we mostly focus on picture-word association, but when it comes to advanced learners, this may not be applicable.What is more, we often ask our students to memorise words with abstract meaning, that is not often found in simple contexts. My university  professors used to claim that people cannot easily memorise new vocabulary, unless they find it in context, however this is not always easy to provide. I have encountered this problem as a teacher numerous times, especially while preparing students for Cambridge exams like FCE and CPE, as well as with my 6th grade students. I think I have found the answer in a combination of traditional as well contemporary approach to teaching vocabulary. Literature and technology are a killer combination.

Literature

I have always been a fun of reading, not only because I find it a great way to spend one's time, but I have also come to appreciate its educational value. Once more I try to bring my love for books in my teaching, and I have come to realise it actually works. It provides the necessary context for the vocabulary to be understood and retained. It also provides a lot of variety of new words, that are introduced in a pleasurable way.

This year I am hooked on mystery chapter books. They remind me of endless nights staying up reading my books to the last page to find out who the culprit was. I am also somewhat of a retro fan, so I have started re reading my Enid Blyton collection. After that I am going to bury my teeth into Nancy Drew novels and probably the Boxcar Children. I am also planning to recommend them to my students. They are teenage novels, relatively easy to read while providing a challenge, and they have a mystery to solve. I have started making the materials I am going to use along with the books. 

I am using a sample paragraph from Enid Blyton's The Secret Island to show you how I do this. 

sample paragraph


The three children listened, their eyes wide with astonishment. An island on the big lake! Oh, if only they could really go there and hide - and live by themselves - with no unkind aunt and uncle to slap them and scold them and make them work hard all day long!
“Are you too tired to walk down the lakeside to a place where you can see the island?” asked Jack. “I only found it quite by chance one day. The woods come right down to the lakeside opposite the island, and they are so thick that I don’t think anyone has ever been through them, and so no one can have seen my island!”
“Jack! Jack! Take us to see your secret island!” begged Nora. “Oh, we must go. We’re all tired - but we must, must see the secret island.”
“Come on, then,” said Jack, pleased to see how excited the others were. “Follow me. It’s a good way.”

After the students read a chapter, they have to fill in a new words form. I provide them with a dictionary that they can use to do that. Looking things up in a dictionary, printed or online, is a basic study skill.

See-Cover_Copy_Word_List

 In order to make it more appealing for them, I try to involve them in as much sleuthing as I can. This is why I have made a Mystery Case File,that the children have to fill in as real detectives. This includes main list of characters, suspects, evidence and clues. 

Mystery Case File Cover
Χρηστίνα Τσιαγκλή

Technology

I know that students prefer spending time online rather than reading a book. In order to accommodate that I have opened a Spelling City account. In this account my students can find word lists from our lessons, and practice on them. I use this account for my FCE and CPE candidates as well as my other students. Unfortunately I haven't got a premium account, but maybe one day I will. 

Have a look at the current lists I have added:

FCE Wordlist 1

FCE Wordlist 2

FCE Wordlist 3

Student Poetry Projects Using Powerpoint - Εργασίες Μαθητών της Έκτης Δημοτικού της Σχολής Χιλλ.

Don't you just love it when your students take initiative and transform what you have given them into something of their own? 

 I was trying to go through my last year's materials, in order to tidy up my messy computer, when I came up with projects made by my 6th Grade students. It all started when I made PowerPoint presentations of their grammar poems, which the students loved. Some of them were acquainted with the use of technology and offered to make presentations of their own. I have included three of the presentations that they made, and I must admit I am really proud of the work they have done. I have more Student Projects in one of the computers at school, which I am going to include in a later post. I hope you like them as much as I do. This is what happens when children try something off the beaten track. 

• The first presentation is contributed by Irene M. (12 years old.) It was presented during our Earth Day celebration. 

• One more presentation by Irene M. 

The last presentation of the day belongs to Kostis G. (12 years old) 

I am looking forward to this new school years projects. I am sure my new students will amaze me as always. 

Back To School: 2nd Grade Starter Packs

The summer of 2012 is gone. It has been a weird summer for many of us, and it must be said that I welcome the New School Year with somewhat of a relief. Getting back to business, settling down and enjoying the familiarity of day in - day out routine. Before I come to that though, I must undergo the sometimes painful stage of last year's evaluation. I make a point of writing down my plan for every year. Then somewhere in mid July, I read through it and decide what to keep and what to throw away for next year. Now that this process is over, I can finally get down to business and start preparing my materials for next year.

When it comes to second grade I am almost ready, as I am not planning to change much from last year. Most of the techniques I tried worked out fine. I am adjusting some things though and I am introducing others. 

• One of the things I am definitely keeping is my Class Rules. Class rules should be a few, so the children can memorise them easily. They also must be simple and concise. The class rules I am using are the following:

a. Always raise your hand to speak. 

Photo via Discovery Education
Classroom rules 

b. Don't talk when someone else is talking. 

Photo via Discovery Education 
Classroom rules 

c. Keep your work and space tidy.

Photo via Discovery Education
Classroom rules 

d. Thinking caps on! Always come prepared to learn. 

Photo via Discovery Education
Classroom rules   

e. Treat others the way you want others to treat you.

Classroom rules

I compiled these pictures in one chart that I give the children every year. These are ready to be printed out, the moment I find out the number of students I am going to have this year. 

• The second thing I am keeping is my custom made alphabet chart. This is also printed out and given to the children for the purpose of reference. 

Alphabet chart that I give out
 to my students in Hill School.
Copyrighted material. 

• The above two materials are used in the children's nameplates. Their nameplates are simple A3 pieces of thin cardboard. The children write their names and draw a picture of themselves on one side. The other side contains the class rules and the alphabet chart. We use the nameplates to get a quick lesson start. The moment we get in class the children have to grab their name plates and find their seat. Each child gets a sticker when they seat and raise their hands. The nameplate also helps them define their working space, so we don't have arguments about desk space. When we do exercises the children can easily refer to the alphabet chart on the nameplate without opening books and notebooks. It also helps when it comes to class management, cause the children have the rules before them at all times and we can easily remind ourselves. 

• Last year I also used writing samples, in order to give the children a sense of progress. In the beginning of each semester I gave out a name practice chart that the children filled in. This also helps to identify cases of dysgraphia and be able to help the child from the beginning. 

1st Semester Writing Sample
Σχολή Χιλλ

Second Semester writing sample.
It is evident how much this child has improved! 

This year I am thinking of taking it a step further: 

Name Writing Practice Sample

• One new thing I am going to try this year is a homework portfolio, so the children as well as the parents at home, know exactly what they have to do to prepare for the next lesson. I am still working on it, so I am going to show you only a few sample pages. 

Homework Portfolio Sample
Ctsiagli (c)
Σχολή Χιλλ 

Homework Portfolio Sample
Ctsiagli (c)
Σχολή Χιλλ 

These are some of the things I am definitely using this year. I hope they work as well as they did last year. Every time I get allocated a new class of students, I try to keep an open mind. Some materials work like charm every time, others need changing and others don't work at all. What I try to do is start with a chore plan and then adjust as I go. 

To see what we did with second grade last year follow the links below:

Beginner Level 

Class Books and Readers

Games