Vocabulary
Acquisition
Mighty Peace
Teachers’ Convention
2014
For further conversation about any of these topics:
Rick Wormeli
rwormeli@cox.net
703-620-2447
Herndon, Virginia, USA
(Eastern Standard Time Zone)
Twitter: @RickWormeli
Why English is Hard to Learn
(Author Unknown)
The bandage was wound around the wound.
The farm was used to produce produce.
The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
We must polish the Polish furniture.
He could lead if he would get the lead out.
The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to
present the present.
A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
I did not object to the object.
The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
They were too close to the door to close it.
The buck does funny things when the does are present.
A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
After a number of injections my jaw got number.
Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
The Native American took a bow after tying a bow in the string of his bow.
q p
c d
Which letter
does not
belong, and
why?
“… long-cultivated dislikes and
resentments, combined with a general
expectation of coming apocalypse. He talked
about these topics in a manner that managed
to be tight-lipped and loquacious at the same
time.”
—Ian Frazier, New Yorker, 22 & 29 Dec. 2003 (as quoted in Merriam
Webster On-Line Dictionary)
Loquacious Synonyms
talkative, voluble, communicative, expansive, garrulous,
unreserved, chatty, gossipy, gossiping, blabby, chatty,
conversational, gabby, garrulous, talkative, motormouthed,
mouthy, talky, demonstrative, effusive, gushing; freespoken, outspoken, articulate, fluent, glib, well-spoken,
long-winded, verbose, windy, wordy
So, what does it mean?
Tending to talk a great deal; talkative.
The single best way to boost students’ vocabulary:
Increase their time spent reading.
Make reading inviting,
compelling,
transformative.
For great ideas on how to make reading
motivating to students: Check out the
work of: Kelly Gallagher, Donalyn
Miller, Ruth Culhum, Cris Tovani,
Steven Layne, Kylene Beers
For research behind this idea,
check out the work of Steve
Krashen
It’s the same with
writing, too: Increased
time spent writing
means increased
vocabulary
acquisition.
‘Great new book on
students’ writing
conversations: The
Best-Kept Teaching
Secret by Daniels
and Daniels (2013)
“To a person
uninstructed in natural
history, his country or
seaside stroll is a walk
through a gallery filled
with wonderful works of
art, nine-tenths of which
have their faces turned to
the wall.”
-- Thomas Huxley, 1854
Expertise aids metaphor genesis
and understanding.
‘Put another way:
Chance favors
the prepared mind.
-- Pasteur
• Chess masters can store over 100,000
different patterns of pieces in long term
memory. Chess players get good by playing
thousands of games!
• Experts think in relationships, patterns,
chunks, novices keep things individual pieces.
• Physics experiment in categorization…
• Solid learning comes from when students
make the connections, not when we tell them
about those connections.
The Brain’s Dilemna:
What Input to Keep, and What Input to Discard?
• Survival
• Familiarity/Context
• Priming
•
•
•
•
Intensity
Emotional Content
Movement
Novelty
-- Summarized from Pat Wolfe’s Brain
Matters, 2001
Prime the brain prior to asking students
to do any learning experience.
Priming means we show students:
1) What they will get out of the
experience (the objectives)
2) What they will encounter as
they go through the experience
(itinerary, structure)
Hmm. I
wonder…
….which one
is more
loquacious?
Journalistic vs. Encyclopedic Writing
“The breathing of Benbow’s pit is
deafening, like up-close jet engines mixed with
a cosmic belch. Each new breath from the
volcano heaves the air so violently my ears
pop in the changing pressure – then the
temperature momentarily soars. Somewhere
not too far below, red-hot, pumpkin size globs
of ejected lava are flying through the air.”
-- National Geographic, November 2000, p. 54
“A volcano is a vent in the Earth from which molten
rock (magma) and gas erupt. The molten rock that
erupts from the volcano (lava) forms a hill or
mountain around the vent. Lava may flowout as
viscous liquid, or it may explode from the vent as
solid or liquid particles…”
-- Global Encyclopedia, Vol. 19 T-U-V, p. 627
With hocked gems financing him,
Our hero bravely defied all scornful laughter
That tried to prevent his scheme.
Your eyes deceive, he had said;
An egg, not a table
Correctly typifies this unexplored planet.
Now three sturdy sisters sought proof,
Forging along sometimes through calm vastness
Yet more often over turbulent peaks and valleys.
Days became weeks,
As many doubters spread
Fearful rumors about the edge.
At last from nowhere
Welcome winged creatures appeared
Signifying momentous success.
-- Dooling and Lachman (1971)
pp. 216-222
Creating Background Where There is None
• Tell the story of the Code of Hammurabi before
discussing the Magna Charta.
• Before studying the detailed rules of baseball,
play baseball.
• Before reading about how microscopes work,
play with micros copes.
• Before reading the Gettysburg Address, inform
students that Lincoln was dedicating a cemetery.
Creating Background Where There is None
• Before reading a book about a military campaign or a
murder mystery with references to chess, play Chess with a
student in front of the class, or teach them the basic rules,
get enough boards, and ask the class to play.
• In math, we might remind students of previous patterns as
they learn new ones. Before teaching students
factorization, we ask them to review what they know about
prime numbers.
• In English class, ask students, “How is this story’s
protagonist moving in a different direction than the last
story’s protagonist?”
• In science, ask students, “We’ve seen how photosynthesis
reduces carbon dioxide to sugars and oxidizes water into
oxygen, so what do you think the reverse of this process
called, ‘respiration,’ does?”
Important for all ages when moving
content into long-term memory:
Students have to do both,
Access
Sense-Making
Process
Meaning-Making
Word Morphology:
Teach Prefixes, Roots, and Suffixes!
Mal – badly, poor
Meta – beyond, after,
change
Mis – incorrect, bad
Mono – one
Multi – many
Neo – new
Non – not
Ob, of, op, oc – toward,
against
Oct – eight
Paleo – ancient
Para – beside, almost
Penta – five
Per – throughout, completely
Peri – around
Poly – many
Post – after
Pre – before
Pseudo – false
Proficient Readers
Aoccdrnig to rseerach at an Elingsh
uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in what
order the ltteers in a word are, the olny
iprmoetnt tihnh is that the frist and lsat
ltteer is in the rghit pclae. The rset can
be a total mses and you can still raed it
outhit a porbelm. This is bcuseae we
do not raed ervey letetr by itslef, but
the word as a wlohe.
-- Sousa, p. 62
Some Great “Silver Bullets” from Janet Allen:
• Vocabulary development is directly
proportional to time spent reading.
• Three avenues to effective vocabulary
instruction: integration, repetition, and
meaningful use. (Nagy et al., 1988)
• Teach no more than 8 to 10 new words
outside of reading per week.
• Don’t ask students to write sentences with
the vocabulary terms until they’ve studied
them in depth.
• Use words over and over in natural flow of
conversation – model, model, model –
normalize their use. Have students practice
saying the words – even choral recitation –
just to visualize themselves saying it.
• Definition approach is ineffective by itself.
(Baumann and Kameenui, 1991)
• Relying solely on context clues is often
ineffective, but knowing the definition with
context clues can be very effective.
(Baumann and Kameenui, 1991)
Concept Ladder
(J.W. Gillet, C. Temple, 1986, as described in Inside Words, Janet Allen)
Concept:
Causes of:
Effects of:
Language associated with:
Words that mean the same as:
Historical examples:
Contemporary examples:
Evidence of:
Literature connections made:
Dr. Janet Allen
High School
Superlative:
“Most Likely to Be
Loquacious with
Vocabulary Ideas”
“Word Link”
1. Each student gets a word.
2. In partners, students share the link(s)
between their individual words.
3. Partner team joins another partner team,
forming a “word cluster.”
4. All four students identify the links among
their words and share those links with the
class.
-- Yopp, Ruth Helen. “Word Links: A Strategy for Developing Word
Knowledge,” Voices in the Middle, Vol. 15, Number 1, September 2007,
National Council Teachers of English
Great Vocabulary
Acquisition Ideas
Shape spellings
Restaurant Menu
Wanted Dead or Alive Posters
Taboo Cards
Vocabulary Rummy Cards
Competitive Conversation
using vocabulary
Word Walls
Writing Concisely
Avoid Redundancies and Saying the Same thing in different ways: 
more additions, absolutely certain/essential/necessary, advance
forward, 2:00 a.m. in the morning, baby puppy/kitten, blended
together, brief moment, deliberate lie, foreign imports, necessary
requirement, old antique, orbiting satellite, preliminary draft,
proceed ahead, raise up, refer back, repeat over, tiny particle, true
facts, unexpected surprise, violent explosion, visible to the eye,
while at the same time.
Cut to the Chase:
“A small number of people” – “three people”
“His whole speech bothered me.” – “His speech bothered me.”
-- William Brohaugh’s book, Write Tight, 1993, Writer’s Digest Books
Visuals and Graphics are Powerful!
Examples:
• Shape Spelling
• Aristotle’s
Rhetorical Triangle
(ethos, pathos,
logos)
6th grade study: Some students
memorized dictionary definitions, and
some drew pictures to portray words and
their meanings. The picture drawing group
outscored the first significantly.
Categorizing Games
Any game in which students categorize items according to
identified criteria. No one category can have less than three
items. Individuals or teams can compete to be accurate and
first.
Examples:
• Categorize the Greek gods and goddesses three different
ways (domains/powers, relationships, chronological appearance, frailties,
uses…)
• “Word Sorts”
• Sort these student essays (products) into “Proficient,”
“Good, but in need of improvement,” and “Struggling”
In-Out Game: Students determine the classification a
teacher’s statements exemplify, then they confirm their
hypothesis by offering elements “in the club” and elements
“out of the club.” They don’t identify the club, just the items
in and out of it. If the students’ suggestions fit the pattern,
the teacher invites them to be a part of the club. The game
continues until everyone is a member.
Example: She is in the club but the class is not. They are in the club, but
the penguins are not. You are in the club, but the donuts are not. Give
me something in and out of the club.” A student guesses correctly that
the club is for personal pronouns, so she says, “We are in the club, but
moon rocks are not.” To make it a bit more complex, announce the club’s
elements and non-elements in unusual ways that must also be exemplified
by the students, such as making all the items in and out of the club
alliterative or related in some way. This can be as obvious or as complex as
you want it to be.
Extreme Vocabulary
(Making Words Their Own: Building Foundations for Powerful Vocabulary, 2008)
1.
2.
3.
4.
Distribute word pairs of opposites.
In partners, students place these words at opposite ends of a continuum
drawn on paper (or hung as tent cards on rope), and in between the
extremes, they place words that fall along the continuum of meaning. For
example -- extremes of temperature: Freezing --- Cold --- Tepid --- Warm --Hot --- Boiling
Once students ge the idea, try something more complex, such as
inconsolable and carefree. Where would despondent fit? How about
concerned, content, worried, and satisfied? As students discuss the proper
positioning of the words and physically move the tent cards back and forth,
students draw on visual cues and cement the definitions in their minds. If
finding the specific words to go between the two extremes is difficult at first,
provide suggestions that students study then place in the sequence.
Ask students to explain their rationale for their choices and positions.
Classmates critique their decisions. Does “inconsolable---despondent--–
worried--–concerned--–content--–satisfied--–carefree” work sequentially?
Why or why not?
Learning is to Analogy as Teaching is to _____________
• Identify the relationship between two elements: “Light
sprinkle is to torrential downpour” -- the second item
is a more intense version of the first one
• Determine what would constitute that same
relationship in a completely different domain – In what
other pair of items in a different domain is the second
item a more intense version of the first one? How
about: phrase/essay? smile/laughter?
penlight/lighthouse? Battery power/nuclear power?
bench/recliner? Seed/tree?
Common Analogous Relationships
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Antonyms
Synonyms
Age
Time
Part : Whole
Whole : Part
Tool : Its Action
Tool user : Tool
Tool : Object It’s Used With
Worker: product he creates
Category : Example
Effect : Cause
Cause : Effect
Increasing Intensity
Decreasing Intensity
Person : closely related
adjective
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Person : least related adjective
Math relationship
Effect : cause
Action : Thing Acted Upon
Action : Subject Performing the Action
Object or Place : Its User
Object : specific attribute of the object
Male : Female
Symbol : what it means
Classification/category : example
Noun : Closely Related Adjective
Elements Used : Product created
Attribute : person or object
Object : Where it’s located
Lack (such as drought/water – one thing lacks
the other)
SDA - Subtle Difference Analysis
Identify words/concepts that are close in meaning, but not
an exact match. Identify how they are similar and what
makes them “just off” the match. Example pairs:
Outstanding/Exemplary
Confined/Restricted
Elaborate/Complex
Intelligent/Smart
Child/Offspring
House/Home
Mature/Wise
Late/Tardy
Soil/Dirt
Important:
•
•
•
•
Students edit, not the teachers.
Shorten text and edit daily.
Assess students’ editing and revising.
If helpful, edit in waves.
Emphasize the power of editing and revision:
“Great books are never written; they are always
re-written.” -- Michael Crichton
Taboo Cards
Photosynthesis
Light
Green
Water
Sun
Chlorophyll
Plant
Produce
Word Splash!
• Students try to guide the
words on pieces of paper
into coherent
connections.
• Provide the learning
experience.
• Now students re-arrange
the words in light of the
new evidence and
understanding.
Socratic Seminar
Pre-Seminar:
A.
Shared experiences, chosen for richness of ideas, issues,
ambiguity, “discussability”
B.
Students reflect on material
Group dynamics, ground rules, and courtesy are understood
and accepted.
Seminar:
A. Teacher asks a provocative question. Opening, Core, and
Closure Questions
B. Students respond to the provocative question and each other.
C. Teacher offers core questions that help students interpret and
to re-direct, also evalutes and tries to keep mouth shut.
C. Closing – connect to the real world of the student
Post-Seminar
Writings, Summations, Artwork, Reflection, Critique, Analysis
Debate Format
1.
Statement of the General Debate Topic and Why it’s
Important – 1 min.
2. Affirmative Position Opening Remarks – 3 min.
3. Negative Position Opening Remarks – 3 min.
4. Affirmative Position Arguments – 5 min.
5. Negative Position Arguments – 5 min.
6. Caucus – Students on both teams consider their
arguments and rebuttals in light of what has been
presented. – 3 min.
7. Affirmative Rebuttal and Questioning of the Negative’s
Case – 3 min.
8. Negative Rebuttal and Questioning of the Affirmative’s
Case – 3 min.
9. Closing Arguments Affirmative Position – 2 min.
10. Closing Arguments Negative Position – 2 min.
Meeting of Minds
at Rachel Carson Middle School
Portrayals of Dr. Sally Ride, Albert
Einstein, Josef Stalin, Bob Dylan, Boss
Tweed, Dr. Robert Oppenheimer,
Senator Joseph McCarthy, the
Unsinkable Molly Brown, Rosa Parks.
In the background: Advisors for each
historical figure
Inquiry Method
1. Something arouses students’ curiosity.
2. Students identify questions regarding topic. There is usually one
main question with several sub-questions that help answer the
main question. These questions are submitted to classmates for
review.
3. Students determine the process of investigation into topic. Their
proposal for how to conduct the investigation is submitted to
classmates for review and revision as necessary.
4. Students conduct the investigation.
5. Students share their findings.
Reading Notations
P
I agree with this.
X
I disagree with this.
??
I don’t understand this.
!!
Wow! (‘Elicits a strong emotion)
CL
General Claim
EV
Evidence for the Claim
(These can be numbered to indicate
their sequence, too: EV1, EV2, EV3…)
Help with Paraphrasing
• Build students’ vocabulary and verbal dexterity. Post word
banks. Use vocabulary immersion.
• Provide repeated experiences with varied sentence
combinations and word play.
• Use repeated think-alouds of a paraphraser at work from
both teacher and students.
• Provide ample opportunities to assess paraphrasings of
original text or experience.
• Allow students to copy models -- They’ll outgrow them.
• Take a page from the active listening lessons -- “So what
you’re saying is…”
• Provide repeated experiences with encapsulation such as
creating newspaper headlines.
• Play renaming and clue games such as Password, Taboo, and
$25,000 Pyramid.
Change the Verb
Instead of asking students to describe
how FDR handled the economy during the
Depression, ask them to rank four given
economic principles in order of importance
as they imagine FDR would rank them, then
ask them how President Hoover who
preceded FDR would have ranked those same
principles differently.
Analyze…
Revise…
Decide between…
Why did…
Defend…
Devise…
Identify…
Classify…
Define…
Compose…
Interpret…
Expand…
Develop…
Suppose…
Imagine…
Construct…
Rank…
Argue against…
Argue for…
Contrast…
Develop…
Plan…
Critique…
Rank…
Organize…
Interview…
Predict…
Categorize…
Invent…
Recommend…
The Frayer Model
[Frayer, Frederick, Klausmeier, 1969]
Essential
Characteristics
Non- Essential
Characteristics
< Topic >
Examples
Nonexamples
Share One, Get One
Exclusion Brainstorming
The student identifies the word/concept that does not
belong with the others, then either orally or in writing
explains his reasoning:
• Mixtures – plural, separable, dissolves, no formula
• Compounds – chemically combined, new properties, has
formula, no composition
• Solutions – heterogeneous mixture, dissolved particles,
saturated and unsaturated, heat increases
• Suspensions – clear, no dissolving, settles upon standing,
larger than molecules
Pictionary
Charades
‘Played like the party game, except you use
concepts from the unit of study.
Consider using it with a “jigsaw” lesson in
which each member of a team learns a
different aspect a topic, then the group
gathers, and students perform their Charades
to communicate their piece of the puzzle.
One-Word Summaries
“The new government regulations for the meatpacking industry in the 1920’s could be seen as
an opportunity…,”
“Picasso’s work is actually an argument for….,”
“NASA’s battle with Rockwell industries over the
warnings about frozen temperatures and the Orings on the space shuttle were trench
warfare….”
Basic Idea: Argue for or against the word as a
good description for the topic.
Statues (Body Sculpture)
Students work in small groups
using every groupmember’s body
to symbolically portray concepts
in frozen tableau.
Where does the learning occur?
Physicalizing Process:
• Identify essential components, pieces, or definition
of whatever we’re teaching
• Physicalize those pieces and present them to the
class.
• Class critiques the physicalization in terms of
accuracy, comprehensiveness, appropriateness, and
clarity. ‘Makes suggestions for improvement.
All three steps are learning experiences that help
students internalize the knowledge.
Descriptions without Adjectives
• Brainstorm a list of 10 interesting ideas, places, people, or objects.
• Choose one and describe it without using adjectives (words or
phrases that modify nouns or pronouns). Instead, use feelings,
uses, experiences, comparisons, and anything you can think of to
describe the object. The idea is to look at things from more than the
obvious angle.
Example for describing an ocean:
• “It’s the embodiment of antithesis, capable of destroying and
nurturing, with more than one part, but it can function as a whole. Its
power and nutrients give hope to humans, if we handle it
respectfully. We think we know it by playing at the beach, but we
find how little we know when we explore the bottom of an iceberg,
ride a vent of thermals rising from the mid-Atlantic Ridge, or find a
shipwreck entombed in its silt. There are answers here that are yet
to be revealed, stories still to be told.”
Well, that last slide
was certainly
loquacious, don’t
you think?
Clever Endeavor
1. There’s no need to write substitute teacher
plans or travel to a conference
2. One of the probable futures of teacher
professional development
3. Can be archived
4. Interactive experience with a national
presenter who doesn’t need to leave his own
home
5. Requires the use of a computer hooked to the
Internet
6. A spider’s home tossed like a fisherman
would do
Cleavor Endeavor
‘Played like the board game, players are given six
clues, one at a time and in any order that the
clue-giver wishes to give them. If a player
guess correctly in the first clue or two, he
earns more points. The total points earned is 7
- # of the clue given. Example: If a player
guesses by the second clue, he earns 7-2 or 5
points.
Rummy Games
• ‘Played just like Rummy card games. Instead of a
straight such as the four, five, six, seven of spades,
however, students get the components of a
sequence or set you’ve taught. Examples: steps in
photosynthesis, process for dividing fractions, all the
elements for a animal’s habitat, four things that led
to the Civil War, four equivalent fractions, four verbs
in the past perfect tense
• Students work off a central pile, drawing cards,
discarding cards, just as in they would do in a Rummy
or Gin Rummy game until they achieve a winning
hand.
Rummy Games
• ‘Alternative: Each hand requires a different
configuration -- a winning hand could be a set of
three and a run of four, two sets of four, a run of six
and a set of three. Decide the escalating
configurations before beginning the game.
• For added learning, let each student make his or her
own deck of cards with a unique cover design based
on the unit of study.
Spelling Bee de Strange
Students spell the words aloud, but substitute sound
effects noises for all vowels or phonic patterns being
studied. Increase complexity by identifying sounds for
subtle differences in the letter: silent E = shhh! short E =
heh, heh, heh, long E = “thlphat!”
While one team makes sure the other team correctly
spells the words and that the correct sounds are given in
the correct sequences, the other team tries to spell the
words while keeping a straight face. Give points to the
listening team if they find phonetic mistakes in the
presenting team’s submission, and points off if their
assertion is wrong. The faster the presenting team can
spell each word, the more outrageous the sounds and the
more difficult it is for the other team to detect an error.
Spelling Bee de Strange
A=
E=
I =
O=
U=
Achoo!
“thlphat!”
Ribbit, Ribbit
Oink! Oink!
Oo-la-la!
Beautiful:
“B- thlphat!-achoo-oo-la-la!-t-ribbit-ribbit-f-oo-la-la!-l”
Reading “Afflictions” Some Teachers Suffer
Symptoms: All adolescents and young adolescents arrive in our
classrooms able to read. No formal instruction is necessary.
Disease:
Incompletoliterato Disease
Symptom: Teachers tell students to stop after every section or
chapter and summarize. Students learn more when they stop
after each section to summarize.
Disease:
ReaderRigorMortis
Reading “Afflictions” Some Teachers Suffer
Symptom: A second read-through does not increase
comprehension. It’s a waste of time.
Disease: Fast-paced Society
Symptom: Context and personal background play little
or no role in the reading comprehension.
Dsease: Cluelesswordcallerism
Reading “Afflictions” Some Teachers Suffer
Symptom: Young adolescent students read faster than
they did in elementary school.
Disease: Oldermeansmore-itis
Symptom: Older students can read to gain information,
understanding, and make inferences by themselves.
Disease:
Dysdevelopmenta Competenciphooey
Reading “Afflictions” Some Teachers Suffer
Symptom: Defining difficult vocabulary terms in a reading
passage will be enough for students to gather meaning from
the passage.
Disease:
Boldfaceword-panacea Syndrome
Symptom: Reading instruction is the exclusive domain of the
English or Language Arts teacher.
Disease:
Literacimonodominpathy
Reading Math
[Adapted from Literacy Strategies for Improving Mathematics Instruction, Joan M.
Kenney, ASCD, 2005]
• Math books have more concepts per sentence and
paragraph than any other type of text.
• There is little redundancy in math text.
• Words as well as numbers and other symbols are
used throughout text.
• Eyes travel in different patterns than traditional
left-to-right.
• There are often have distracting sidebars.
Reading Math
• In most text, there’s a topic sentence or key
idea followed by detailed supports. In math,
we get the details first, then the topic
sentence -- the key idea is given in the form
of a question or task at the end. Students
have to read the text again after seeing this
key idea and figure out what material in the
text is important and unimportant.
Reading Math:
the Little Words are Huge
• Of/Off: Percent “of” something, the percent
“off” something
• The, is, a , are, can , sum, less, more, on ,
who, find, one, ones, tenths, and, or, number,
numeral, how, many, how many, what, fewer,
around, write, it , each, which, do all, same,
different, exercise, here there, has, have, of,
at…
Synectics
(William J. Gordon)
“The joining together of different and apparently
irrelevant elements,” or put more simply, “Making
the familiar strange.”
1. Teach a topic to students.
2. Ask students to describe the topic, focusing on descriptive
words and critical attributes.
3. Teacher identifies an unrelated category to compare to the
descriptions in #2. (Think of a sport that reminds you of
these words. Explain why you chose that sport.) Students
can choose the category, too.
4. Students write or express the analogy between the two: The
endocrine system is like playing zones in basketball. Each
player or gland is responsible for his area of the game.
4-Square Synectics
1. Brainstorm four objects from a particular category
(examples: kitchen appliances, household items, the circus,
forests, shopping malls).
2. In small groups, brainstorm what part of today’s learning is
similar in some way to the objects listed.
3. Create four analogies, one for each object.
Example: How is the human digestive system like each
household item: sink, old carpet, microwave, broom
Example: How is the Pythagorean Theorem like each musical
instrument: piano, drum set, electric guitar, trumpet?
______________________ is (are) a _________________
because _______________________________________.
Ask students to include something intangible, such as
suspicion or an odyssey, in the first blank. The tangible
comparison---a combination lock or an elliptical trainer--would fit in the second section.
Ask students to justify their choices:
“Suspicion is a combination lock because it secures a
possession’s well-being that cannot be assured through trust
alone. Odyssey is an elliptical trainer because it has a beginning,
middle, and end, and along the way, we encounter moments of
endurance, doubt, despair, and elation, leaving comfort and
returning again.”
Test the Verb Strength
Did we invade the country, or did we liberate it? The choice of
verbs frames our thinking. Ask students to change only the verb
and explain how the reader or listener’s interpretation of the topic
would change as a result.
The senator corralled her constituents.
The senator coddled her constituents.
The senator ignited her constituents.
The senator stonewalled her constituents.
The senator suckered her constituents.
The senator mollified her constituents.
The senator lifted her constituents.
Descriptions With and Without Metaphors
Friendship
Family
Infinity
Imperialism
Solving for a variable
Trust
Euphoria
Mercy
Worry
Trouble
Obstructionist Judiciary Honor
Immigration
Homeostasis
Balance
Temporal Rifts
Economic Principles
Religious fervor
Poetic License
Semantics
Heuristics
Tautology
Embarrassment
Knowledge
Great Resources on Metaphors
• From Molecule to Metaphor: A Neural Theory of
Language by Jerome Feldman
• Metaphor: A Practical Introduction by Zoltan
Kovecses
• Poetic Logic: The Role of Metaphor in Thought,
Language, and Culture by Marcel Danesi
• Metaphors & Analogies: Power Tools for Teaching
any Subject by Rick Wormeli
• I Is an Other: The Secret Life of Metaphor and How It
Shapes the Way We See the World by James Geary
Great Resources on Metaphors
• Metaphors We Live By by George Lakoff
• The Political Mind: Why You Can't Understand 21stCentury American Politics with an 18th-Century Brain
by George Lakoff
• A Bee in a Cathedral: And 99 Other Scientific
Analogies by Joel Levy
• On Metaphor (A Critical Inquiry Book) edited by
Sheldon Sacks
Endless List of Vocabulary Development Possibilities – Please Add Your Own!
Correspondence
Books
Newspapers
Commercials
Science Fiction
Poetry
How-to Books
Field Guides
Bulletin Boards
Murals
Annotated Catalogs
Games
Folktales/legends/myths
Book/Movie Critiques
Weather forecasts
Satire/spoofs
CD covers
Sermons
Lab instructions
Pamphlets
Museum Map and Tour Guides
Magazines
Scripts
Picture Books
Mystery Stories
Autobiographies/Biographies
Alphabet books
Mini-textbooks
Choose-Your-0wn Adventures
Coloring Books
Travel Brochures
Recipes
Information Reports
Wills
Wanted posters
Speeches
Soap operas
Sequels/prequels
Protest letters
Flipbooks
Oral Histories
Radio Plays
Historical Fiction
Journal/Diaries
Romances
Animal Stories
Pop-up Books
Friendly Letters
Timelines
Calendars
Manuals
Personal narratives
Persuasive essays
Yellow pages
Vitas/resumes
Songs/raps
Slogans
Schedules
Post cards
Odes
Requiems
Travel posters
Interviews
Scary stories
Surveys
Menus
Indexes
Graffiti
Contracts
Definitions
Fortunes
Certificates
Bumper stickers
Codes
True or False Book
Almanac
Rebuttals
Movie posters
Telegrams
Quizzes/tests
Monologues
Metaphors
Headlines
Comic strips
Conversations
Epilogues
Comparisons
Cereal boxes
Advice columns
Informal/formal observation
Cookbook
Inauguration speech
Play programs
Thank yous
Sports accounts
Rubrics
Jokes/riddles
Job applications
Grocery lists
Constitutions
Spreadsheets
Evaluations
Character sketches
Captions
Epithets
musical score
Wedding vows
Annotated Family
Tree
Great Literacy Resources
• Allen, Janet. Yellow Brick Roads: Shared and Guided
Paths to Independent Reading 4-12, Stenhouse
Publishers, 2000
• Allen, Janet. Words, Words, Words: Teaching
Vocabulary in Grades 4-12, Stenhouse Publishers, 1999
• Billmeyer, Rachel, Ph.D.; Barton, Mary Lee. Teaching
Reading in the Content Areas: If Not Me, Then Who? 2nd
Edition McREL (Mid-continent Research for Education
and Learning, 1998
• Barton, Mary Lee; Heidema, Clare. Teaching Reading in
Mathematics, ASCD, McREL (Mid-continent Research for
Education and Learning, 2000 (Also distributed by
ASCD)
• Beers, Kylene. When Kids Can’t Read: What Teachers
Can Do, Heinemann, 2003
• Beers, Kylene and Samuels, Barabara G. (1998) Into
Focus: Understanding and Creating Middle School
Readers. Norwood, Massachusetts: Christopher-Gordon
Publishers, Inc.
• Buehl, Doug. Classroom Strategies for Interactive
Learning (second Edition) (2001) Newark, Delaware,
International Reading Association, Inc.
• Burke, Jim. Illuminating Texts: How to Teach Students
to Read the World, Heinemann, 2001
• Burkhardt, Ross M. Writing for Real: Strategies for
Engaging Adolescent Writers, Stenhouse Publishers,
2003Frender, Gloria. Learning to Learn: Strengthening
Study Skills and Brain Power, Incentive Publications,
Inc., 1990
• Forsten, Char: Grant, Jim; Hollas, Betty. Differentiating
Textbooks: Strategies to Improve Student
Comprehension and Motivation, Crystal Springs Books
• Gallagher, Kelly. Deeper Reading: Comprehending
Challenging Texts, 4-12, Stenhouse Publishers
(Pembroke in Canada), 2004
• Glynn, Carol. Learning on their Feet: A Sourcebook for
Kinesthetic Learning Across the Curriculum, Discover
Writing Press, 2001
• Harvey, Stephanie (1998) Nonfiction Matters: Reading,
Writing, and Research in Grades 3 – 8.
Portsmouth,Maine: Stenhouse Publishers
• Harvey, Stephanie; Goudvis, Anne. Strategies that
Work: Teaching Comprehension to Enhance
Understanding, Stenhouse Publishers, 2000
• Hyerle, David. A Field Guide to Visual Tools, ASCD, 2000
• Kenney, Joan M. Literacy Strategies for Improving
Mathematics Instruction, ASCD, 2005
• Robb, Laura. Teaching Reading in Middle School.
Scholastic, 2000
• Robb, Laura. Nonfiction Writing from the Inside Out:
Writing Lessons Inspired by Conversations with Leading
Authors, Scholastic, 2004
• Santman, Donna. Shades of Meaning: Comprehension
and Interpretation in Middle School, Heineman,
2005Sousa, David. How the Reading Brain Learns.
Corwin Press, 2004
• Stephens, Elaine C. and Brown, Jean E. (2000) A
Handbook of Content Literacy Strategies: 75 Practical
Reading and Writing Ideas. Norwood, Massachusetts:
Christopher-Gordon Publishers, Inc.
• Strong, Richard W.; Silver, Harvey F.; Perini, Matthew J.;
Tuculescu, Gregory M. Reading for Academic Success:
Powerful Strategies for Struggling, Average, and Advanced
Readers, Grades 7-12, Corwin Press, 2002
• Tatum, Alfred. Teaching Reading to Black Adolescent Males:
Closing the Achievement Gap, Stenhouse Publishers, 2005
• Tovani, Cris. I Read It, But I Don’t Get It. Stenhouse
Publishers, 2001
• Tovani, Cris. Do I Really Have to Teach Reading?,
Stenhouse Publishers, 2004
• Vacca, R. and Vacca J. (1999) Content Area Reading:
Literacy and Learning Across the Curriculum. 6th ed. New
York: Longman
• Wood, Karen D.; Harmon, Janis M. Strategies for
Integrating Reading and Writing in Middle and High School
Classrooms, National Middle School Association, 2001
• Wormeli, Rick. Summarization in any Discipline, ASCD, 2005
• Wormeli, Rick. Metaphors & Analogies: Power Tools for
Teaching any Subject, Stenhouse Publishers, 2009
• Zinsser, William. Writing to Learn (1988)New York: Harper
and Row Publishers
Great Websites for Vocabulary Instruction
www.vocabulary.com
www.dpsk12.org/departments/secondary/tip.htm
http://depts.gallaudet.edu/englishworks/
http://www.webenglishteacher.com/vocab.html
“No loquacious banter here. ‘Just one
simple imperative with all due alacrity –
Run! And gather ye great rosebuds of
vocabulary while ye may!”
-- Walt Whitman Who 