Rethinking Equity of
Teaching English Language
Learners (RETELL)
Session 7: Vocabulary for
ELLs II
Face-to-Face Session
Session Introduction
Vocabulary Strategies
3
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
4
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
5
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
6
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
7
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
8
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
9
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
10
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
11
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
12
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Objectives
 Utilize WIDA tools (i.e., Can Do descriptors, performance
definitions, writing rubrics, expanded strands of Model
Performance Indicators) as they pertain to vocabulary
and oral language development, to support ELLs at different
proficiency levels to meet Common Core State Standards;
 Discuss oracy and vocabulary challenges of English learners
with specific learning needs including SIFE students,
ELLs with disabilities, long-term ELLs and gifted ELLs;
 Develop/implement appropriate formative assessments
for English learners during vocabulary instruction;
13
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Objectives (continued)
 Support colleagues with feedback and
recommendations regarding highlighted
strategies from the last session which they practiced in
class and with their students;
 Practice and apply during-reading and post-reading
vocabulary teaching strategies modeled and
practiced in this session
 Practice and apply teaching strategies to help ELLs
analyze words (e.g., focus on teaching word families,
word parts, morphemes, parts of speech, etc.).
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
14
Connections to Online Session 8
15
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Vocabulary and WIDA
17
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
18
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
CAN DO Descriptors
19
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Academic Language Components
Reflected in WIDA Performance
Descriptors and Levels
2 Emerging
1 Entering
21
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
22
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
23
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
24
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
25
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
26
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
27
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Vocabulary Demands in the
CAN-DO Descriptors – Grades 6-8
Entering
Emerging
Developing
Expanding
Bridging
• Match content–
related
objects/pictures
to words
• Identify common
symbols,
signs, and words
• Find single word
responses to
WH- questions
(e.g., “who,”
“what,” “when,”
“where”)
related to
illustrated text
• Use picture
dictionaries/
illustrated
glossaries
• Sort/group pretaught words/
phrases
• Use pre-taught
vocabulary
(e.g., word banks)
to
complete simple
sentences
• Use L1 to support
L2 (e.g.,
cognates)
• Use bilingual
dictionaries
and glossaries
• Connect simple
sentences
• Identify multiple
meanings
of words in context
(e.g.,
“cell,” “table”)
• Use context clues
• Identify
frequently used
affixes and root
words to
make/extract
meaning (e.g.,
“un-,” “re-,” “-ed”)
• Use English
dictionaries and
glossaries
• Identify figurative
language
(e.g., “dark as
night”)
• Identify specific
language
of different genres
and
informational texts
cohesive passages
• Use transition
words to create
cohesive passages
• Differentiate and
apply
multiple meanings
of words/
phrases
• Infer meaning
from modified
grade-level text
• Begin using
analogies
Source: This is adapted from the WIDA CAN-DO Descriptors, Word-Class
Instructional Design and Assessment
Review: Four Key Components of
Effective Vocabulary Instruction
1. Providing rich and varied language
experiences
2. Teaching individual words
3. Teaching word-learning strategies
4. Fostering word consciousness
(Graves, August, Mancilla-Martinez, 2013)
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
29
Fostering Word Consciousness
and Word-Learning Strategies
Word Consciousness
 Word consciousness strategies help students to recognize,
understand, and use new words. Teachers should foster
word consciousness in their classes and vocabulary work
to create effective, engaging and efficient vocabulary
instruction. (Peregoy and Boyle, 2008)
 Examples include developing cognate awareness, explicit
instruction on words and word parts, vocabulary
connections, and other strategies that allow students to
deal with new words independently. (Graves, 2013)
 When it comes to teaching vocabulary, a little knowledge 31
(of root words, prefixes, and suffixes) goes a long way.
(Kieffer, M. and Lesaux, N. 2007)
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Session 7: Word-Learning, Word
Parts, and Word Consciousness
Charts and
Organizers
Meaningful
Word Parts:
Prefixes
Suffixes
Roots,Word
Families
Connections
to L1: Looking
for Cognates
TEXT
Using Sentence
Frames
Vocabulary
Connections:
Lexical Arrays
and Word
Wheels
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
32
Considerations for Differentiation
Related to Vocabulary Development
• What are some factors or issues to consider when planning instruction of
these different populations of ELLs? (Think about first language and
culture, background experiences, educational experiences, etc.)
• How are the concepts regarding vocabulary development that we have
discussed so far related to the needs and experiences of particular subgroups of ELLs in this chart?
SIFE/SLIFE LongTerm
ELLs
ELLs with
Disabilities
Gifted
Talented
ELLs
WellSchooled
Newcomers
Oracy
3 Tiers
Cognates
Morphology
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Let’s Think About These Strategies
with ELLs by Grade and Content!
My Grade Level :
• Does it work?
• Other considerations or
adaptations
My Content Area:
• Does it work?
• Other considerations
or adaptations
Oracy
3 Tiers
Cognates
34
Morphology
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Many Strands Are Woven into
Skilled Reading
35
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Vocabulary Development
Strategies
Review Approach to Strategies
and Practices in the Course
 Model
• The facilitators will demonstrate the core practice or strategy
 Practice
• Participants will practice the approach or strategy in the
session,
• Participants will implement the strategy in their classroom as
an assignment.
 Feedback
• Facilitators and peer participants will give feedback to
participants as they practice during the session,
• Participants wil have an opportunity to debrief with other
participants in your content or grade level and seek feedback
on their experience after implementation in the classroom.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
37
Five Steps to Developing Sentence
Frames
 Step 1 – Pre-teach vocabulary words prior to reading a
text.
 Step 2 – Determine a language function for expressing the
core concepts of the text (Is it cause and effect? compare
and contrast? persuasion? description? sequence? etc.).
 Step 3 – Write simple sentences that express the
vocabulary words in the related language function.
 Step 4 – Remove the vocabulary words from the sentence
and put them in a word bank.
 Step 5 – Differentiate for different levels (simple sentences,38
compound sentences, and complex sentences).
Make a connection to the reading assignment.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Written Reflection on Sentence
Frame Strategy for Vocabulary
What strategies did you use as teacher to
make these different sentence frames?
Why is this differentiation important for
English language learners?
In your Participant Manual, see some additional
examples of sentence frames with some variations that
support ELLs at different proficiency levels.
39
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Using Vocabulary Organizers to
Explore Word Relationships and Parts
Vocabulary Graphic
Organizers
Purpose
Word Wheel
To expand student vocabulary by
connecting words to a larger related group
of words for development of more precise
academic terms for oracy and literacy
Lexical Arrays
Using an everyday word as a base,
stretching the word and its word form
from the least to the most charged, the
least to the most intense for example:
Cry----sob-----weep-----wail
Word Form
Charts/Generative
Word Charts
Helps students to learn and understand
parts of words and relationships between
words
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
40
Lexical Arrays
Model with a common word that students know
Build up to more academic or uncommon terms
that create more precision in meaning.
Often these relationships go from
Weak

strong
Mild

intense
Slow

fast
In sum – arrays go from one degree to the far
extreme and all the words in between!
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
41
Example of Lexical Array
Meander
Stroll
Walk
Run
42
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
The Rancid Rafflesia: Word Form
Chart
Flies and beetles aren’t the only creatures attracted to
smelly flowers. (Line 39, The Rancid Rafflesia)
Noun
Adjective
attraction
attractive
attractiveness
Verb
Adverb
Cognates
attracted
attractively
Portuguese
atrair (v.)
atracao (n)
Spanish
atraer (v.)
atraccion (n.)
French
attirer (v.)
attraction
(n.)
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
43
Vocabulary Practice: Instructions
 Form a Triad
 Each person in the group selects ONE of the
vocabulary approaches (Word Wheel, Lexical
Array, Word Chart). All 3 should be
represented across your triad.
 Develop a quick 3-minute mini-lesson
teaching a vocabulary word from your text
using the organizer and strategy.
 Use the next 20 minutes for your preparation
and break.
 To prepare start by reviewing the Feedback
questions in your Participant Manual that
others will think about as you teach.
Nou
n
Adjective
Verb
Adverb
Cognates
Vocabulary Development
Strategies (Cont.)
Word Wheel
46
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Lexical Array Practice
47
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education