Word Identification Strategies for Sixth Grade
1. Using Pictures To Enhance The Expressive Vocabulary Of Middle School Students
Description: While reading various types of genres, discuss the pictures within a book to help enhance the expressive vocabulary of middle school students.
Purpose: To help middle school students enhance their expressive vocabulary skills by creating conversations about the illustrations within a book.
*Directions: Select a book or poem with illustrations that students may find interesting. Read the title of the book or poem aloud and then invite students to explain what they might think the book or poem will be about. As you are reading the book or poem aloud, ask the student's "why" questions. As you ask "why" questions, the students will be developing an expressive vocabulary as they try to explain themselves.
* This can be done in a whole group setting, small group setting, or with partners.
Description: While reading various types of genres, discuss the pictures within a book to help enhance the expressive vocabulary of middle school students.
Purpose: To help middle school students enhance their expressive vocabulary skills by creating conversations about the illustrations within a book.
*Directions: Select a book or poem with illustrations that students may find interesting. Read the title of the book or poem aloud and then invite students to explain what they might think the book or poem will be about. As you are reading the book or poem aloud, ask the student's "why" questions. As you ask "why" questions, the students will be developing an expressive vocabulary as they try to explain themselves.
* This can be done in a whole group setting, small group setting, or with partners.
Hormone Jungle: Coming of Age
Brod Bagert's (2006) Hormone Jungle: Coming of Age, is a poetry book that has a drawing on each page that can be used to enhance the expressive vocabulary of middle school students.
You can also select wordless books, which include illustrations of famous places. Ask students to describe the places in as much detail as they can. If the students are unfamiliar with the places, encourage them to use the place name as a search word and read more about it online.
Ben's Dream
C. Van Allsburg (1982) Ben's Dream, is a wordless book which includes illustrations of famous places such as the Leaning Tower of Pisa and Big Ben in London.
2. Technical Terms
Description: Many concept books feature vocabulary words that are specific to the book's topic. This strategy can be utilized for content areas, Science and Social Studies.
Purpose: To familiarize a student with specialized vocabulary.
*Directions: In order to familiarize a student with specialized vocabulary, first ask the student what they know about the topic. Then create some form of a graphic organizer for the book's key terms. This will aid the students as they learn to recognize the words before reading the text. As you are creating the graphic organizer, ask the student what prior knowledge they have about the topic. As the student contributes ideas or thoughts they have about the topic, write down their ideas or thoughts. After you have written down ideas or thoughts the student has about the topic, have the student begin to connect their thoughts and ideas of the topic to the information provided by the text.
* This can be done in a whole group setting, small group setting, or with partners.
Description: Many concept books feature vocabulary words that are specific to the book's topic. This strategy can be utilized for content areas, Science and Social Studies.
Purpose: To familiarize a student with specialized vocabulary.
*Directions: In order to familiarize a student with specialized vocabulary, first ask the student what they know about the topic. Then create some form of a graphic organizer for the book's key terms. This will aid the students as they learn to recognize the words before reading the text. As you are creating the graphic organizer, ask the student what prior knowledge they have about the topic. As the student contributes ideas or thoughts they have about the topic, write down their ideas or thoughts. After you have written down ideas or thoughts the student has about the topic, have the student begin to connect their thoughts and ideas of the topic to the information provided by the text.
* This can be done in a whole group setting, small group setting, or with partners.
Civil War
Here is an example of a graphic organizer that a sixth grader might create about their knowledge of the Civil War. As the student begins to learn more information about the topic, they can expand upon their graphic organizer adding more details about the topic.