Marzano Vocabulary
Instruction
Gina Hartman
Andrea Blanco
Francis Howell School District
Session Starter - Free Association
• Participants will be provided a target term.
• Each member of your table group will take
turns saying any word that comes to mind
related to the target term.
• When the facilitator tells you stop, the last
person to say a word will explain how that
word is related to the target.
(Marzano & Pickering, 2005)
During this session we will.....
• Become familiar with the Marzano Six-Steps of
Vocabulary Instruction.
• Become familiar with strategies and resources that
align to the six steps.
• Develop and share a plan to make vocabulary
instruction common practice in your
building/classroom.
Carving is appropriate for most
green and blue slopes and even
some black slopes. However, if you
try to carve through moguls,
especially in packed powder or corn
snow, you're going to face-plant.
(Marzano & Pickering, 2005)
Carving is appropriate for most
green and blue slopes and even
some black slopes. However, if you
try to carve through moguls,
especially in packed powder or corn
snow, you're going to face-plant.
(Marzano & Pickering, 2005)
• Research shows a student in the 50th percentile
in terms of ability to comprehend the subject
matter taught in school, with no direct vocabulary
instruction, scores in the 50th percentile ranking.
• The same student, after specific content-area
terms have been taught in a specific way, raises
his/her comprehension ability to the 83rd
percentile.
(Marzano & Pickering, 2005)
Marzano, R.J., & Pickering, D.J. (2005). Building academic vocabulary
teacher's manual. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development.
fhsdvocabulary.pbworks.com
• Show video
• Before providing information, try to determine student's
background knowledge
Use KWHL charts, activities to activity prior knowledge
(see wiki)
• Do not provide students with a formalized definition.
• Use both linguistic-and nonlinguistic approaches
1. Write the term
2. Rate their knowledge of the term
3. Write examples, descriptions, or explanations of the
term.
4. Draw a picture of the term
5. Add new items to the term as they are discussed in
class.
Let's practice using the vocabulary
notebook.
Your word is...impudent.
• Show video
• Non-linguistic
• May need some guidance and modeling if students are
not accustomed to creating pictures and graphics for
ideas.
• Technology can aid in the construction of non-linguistic
representations
• Video Clip
• Specific activities should be planned by the teacher
to periodically review the targeted terms.
• Each time students engage in these activities, they
should be provided opportunities to add to, or
revise, the entry for the term in their academic
notebooks.
Activity Suggestions
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Free Association
Comparing Activities
Classifying Activities
Analogy Activities
Create Metaphors
Classifying Activity 1 (Marzano & Pickering, 2005)
• Give students a list of terms from their
notebooks and ask them to classify the
terms.
• Example terms:
o mesa, mountain, bay, ocean, canyon, hill,
glen, forest, plain, port, canal, reservoir,
stream, and prairie.
Classifying Activity 2 (Marzano & Pickering, 2005)
• Create categories for students and ask them
to find terms from their notebooks that might
fit into those categories.
• Example: Ask students to identify people in
history who were known for what they did for
others or were known for caring more about
themselves than about others.
Classifying Activity 3 (Marzano & Pickering, 2005)
• Ask students to review all of the terms in a
section of their notebook and challenge them
to create their own categories and classify the
those terms.
• Video Clip
• The goal of this step is to encourage students to help
each other identify and clear up misconceptions and
confusions.
• Remember, to encourage students to make additions
or revisions to their notebook entries after the
discussions.
• The activities in this step can be unstructured or
structured activities.
Activity Suggestions
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•
•
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Think-Pair-Share
Should Partner
Talking Chips
ABC Graffiti
Four Corners
Give One, Get One
• Stand up
• Take 7 steps in any direction
• Pick the nearest person that you don't know
very well
• Form a group of four by finding another group
that you don't know very well
• It is important to set aside blocks of time each week
to play games in order to energize students and
guide them in the review and use of important
terms.
Vocabulary Charades
(Marzano & Pickering, 2005)
• Please stand.
• Using your arms, legs, and bodies, show the
meaning of each term.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kohlerfolk/4112543671/in/photostream/
Talk a Mile a Minute
(Marzano & Pickering, 2005)
• Teams of 3-4
• Designate a “talker” for each round.
• Try to get team to say each word by quickly
describing them.
• May not use words in category title or
rhyming words.
Shapes
Square
Circle
Rectangle
Triangle
Right Triangle
Oval
Diamond
Carleton, L., & Marzano, R.J. (2010). Vocabulary games for the classroom.
Bloomington, IN: Marzano Research Laboratory.
Puzzle Stories (Carleton & Marzano, 2010)
1.Split the class into small groups (3-5 students with
mixed ability levels).
2.Provide a list of vocabulary terms to each group or
display the terms on a whiteboard in the classroom.
3.Give each group a puzzle and have the students in each
group put the puzzle together.
4.Each group of students will then write a story about the
scene or object depicted in the puzzle using their
vocabulary word list.
5.Have a representative from each group read the story
aloud to the class.
Example - Physics Class
Exothermic - chemical reaction or compound
occurring or formed with the evolution of
heat.
Endothermic -chemical reaction or
compound occurring or formed with the
absorption of heat.
Definitions from http://www.thefreedictionary.com
Image Source: http://www.evelinecharles.com/blog/evelinecharles-how-to-get-a-safe-summer-tan
PowerPoint
and
SMART Board
Review Games
Don't forget about
using your
technology
resources!
Monitoring Student Learning
• Move around the room while students work
in notebooks.
• Check student notebooks periodically.
• Listen during review games and activities
to correct inaccuracies.
• Use student self-evaluation scoring guide.
• Have a section for student self-reflection.
Other Recommendations
• Refer to the district curriculum or decide as a
PLC which target terms you will focus on.
• Keep the number of target terms within each
subject area small (3 terms per week).
• Make sure you allow students time to add to and
modify their vocab notebooks.
• Don't skip any steps in the process.
• Time can be found by evaluating current
practices.
Summary
Teaching specific terms in a specific way
is the strongest action a teacher can take
to ensure that students have the
academic background knowledge that they
need to understand the content in school.
Activity
Move around the room while the music is
playing. When it stops, partner the person
that is nearest to you.
You and your partner will collaborate to
answer the questions you have learned about
the content this morning.
Activity Questions
• Describe the 6-Steps for teaching vocabulary
instruction.
• Discuss several ways you could assess the
students prior knowledge.
• Brainstorm four things you can have the
students do to elaborate on the terms.
How can you make effective vocabulary
instruction common practice in your
school or classroom?