Katie Ewert
Article Review
Wessels, Stephanie. "Promoting Vocabulary Learning for English Learners." The Reading Teacher 65.1
(2011): 46-50. Web. 15 Sept. 2011.
4) Vocabulary:
-Vocabulary Quilt: A three part strategy to present students with words they do not know before their
reading. This strategy is then used to help them understand the word throughout the reading and then
use what they've learned as a way to review these words. This strategy can be done in the student's
primary language.
-Before-Reading Phase: The first part of the Vocabulary Quilt strategy. The students make a “quilt” by
folding their paper with enough sections for each vocabulary word. The words are then written in each
section and they give a picture example or write the definition they believe is correct for that word.
-During-Reading Phase: The second part of the Vocabulary Quilt strategy. While reading, the students
(along with the teachers help) determine whether their definition is correct and if not, they use clues
from the text to discover the actual definition.
-After-Reading Phase: The third and final part of the Vocabulary Quilt strategy. After discussing the
vocabulary words, the students will write the actual definition of the word on sticky notes and place
them by the words on their quilt. The quilts will be placed where the students can look at them and use
them as review tools.
3) Key Ideas:
-The vocabulary quilt is a three step strategy which helps students by incorporating a pre-assessment
and a study tool for deeper understanding directly into the lesson. First, the students can use pictures or
words to describe their initial understanding of the words presented. After they are done with the third
phase, the quilt can be used as a study guide for the actual application of the word. By using this
vocabulary quilt strategy in my classroom, I am teaching my students a strategy they can use on their
own. Like it was explained in the article, I think this strategy would be very helpful in teaching
students words that have double meanings.
-One of the most important parts of the vocabulary quilt strategy is that a student's native language can
be used. Vocabulary is all about understanding and if students can take a vocabulary word and make a
correlation between their native language and English, it can help them to grasp the understanding
more fully. I believe it is essential for me to allow my students to use their native language while
learning concepts in English. Although it shouldn't be done all the time, it's a great stepping stone for
students to make that transition from their native language to English and it bridges the gaps between
the two languages for them.
Katie Ewert
-The students are broken into groups for the vocabulary quilt activity, which engages them in social
interactions. This gives English Learners the opportunity to interact with their peers and discuss the
vocabulary they will encounter during the reading. Since some of the words will be new to some of the
native English speakers as well, it puts them on a similar level. This can help them grasp that they are
learning and understanding together as a group, not solely as individuals. I think this element of the
vocabulary quilt strategy is very important and will be very helpful in having students break down
some cultural and language barriers. Having the students all start from a similar level helps them to
understand each other and see that they aren't much different from each other because they all have
something new to learn.
2) Questions:
-How was this strategy discovered? I think this is a great way to teach vocabulary for all students, not
just ELLs, but did someone come up with this idea and it started a snowball effect or was it totally
based on research?
-Why didn't they discuss a post-assessment for the vocabulary? The author talked about using the
vocabulary quilt for review and deeper learning of the vocabulary but it didn't talk about having a postassessment over the vocabulary. Is this a strategy that doesn't necessarily need to have a postassessment?
1) Application:
- I thought the vocabulary quilt is an all-around great approach for teaching vocabulary. It incorporates
so many different aspects of overall education such as vocabulary acquisition (academic) and peer
interaction (social). Both of these aspects of education are very important for all students, not just
ELLs, and I think this strategy is perfect for combining the two in a fun way that even younger students
can benefit from. Giving students the opportunity to share their prior knowledge of the vocabulary
before they are exposed to the actual context really helps them to build on what they already know.
Breaking them up into groups for the first phase also gets them talking about how each of them defines
the word and why they have that understanding of the vocabulary. This can also bring up discussions
on culture and help the students to begin learning about each other's backgrounds.