Redefining Vocabulary Instruction
in a Workshop Classroom
SWP 2011
LAURIN BAKER
LANDRUM HIGH SCHOOL
Sadlier Oxford and other Nightmares
Think about the ways you’ve learned and/or taught
vocabulary or spelling in the past: consider how
authentic these methods are in contrast to the
authenticity of a teaching method like Writing
Workshop. How authentic are those orange Saldier
Oxford workbooks if all the students do is copy each
others’ answers?
Have your experiences been REAL to you or to your
students?
My own struggle
After 13 years as a teacher and more than that as a
student, I am still struggling with making vocabulary
instruction what I want it to be. I am searching for
my own best way to do this because WORDS matter–
and in a real workshop, the learning and the
products of learning shouldn’t be pre-determined,
cookie cutter, same in every class every semester
What the research says about vocabulary
 In What a Writer Needs, Ralph Fletcher says that
“Words remain the most important tool the writer
has to work with” (32).
 In The English Teacher’s Companion, Jim Burke
declares that “knowledge about words and language
grants students access to the larger world of ideas
and power. We cannot really understand things for
which we have no words” (121). Burke also states
that “Careful study and discussion of language
benefits all students” (103).
What research says about workshop classrooms
 Harvey Daniels and Marilyn Bizar describe
workshop classrooms in Methods that Matter: “The
classroom workshop is the pedagogical embodiment
of constructivist learning theory; in a workshop,
students and teacher together reinvent whatever
field of study the are engaged in” (130).
What all of this research says to me
 A. If I am a believer in constructivist theory,
 B. If I believe that words have power,
 C. If I want my students to have power,
 D. And if I am sick of feeling like my vocabulary
instruction is just another test-prep strategy,
 THEN, I need to apply the WORKSHOP approach
even to my WORD STUDY.
My first step
The first way that I have tried “workshop” ideology to
my vocabulary instruction is by working with parts of
speech with vocabulary words. So for example, after
introducing a new vocabulary list, I will ask students
to choose three words from the list of twenty and
begin to work with manipulating them into multiple
parts of speech. The idea is that students will be
more likely to use new words in their own writing
and speaking if they can maneuver them within
sentence structure and for different purposes. Here
is how that looks.
Extraneous
Eccentric
Soporific
A. Extraneous
A.Eccentric
A. Soporific
Adjective
Adjective
Adjective
B. Extraneously
B. Eccentricity
B. Sopor
Adverb
Noun
Noun
C. Extraneousness
C. Eccentrically
C. Soporifically
Noun
Adverb
Adverb
A natural extension of this activity is to keep a class
list on a tear sheet of common suffixes for changing
the parts of speech that we encounter through out
the semester (I have outlawed –ed and –ing in my
classroom, but you could use those, too).
Nouns
Adjectives
Adverbs
-ness
-tion
-er
-ic
-y
-ous
-ly
Verbs
But that one step is not enough!
So now, I am trying to find new ways to make my
vocabulary PROGRAM more like a word study
WORKSHOP!
Here are some of the ideas I have so far:
- Creating ABC word lists for “Overused Words”
- Using the DIDLS Diction and Language portions to
create personal Words Study lists that relate to our
reading
- Using an SAT Question of the Day each week to create a
word list
- Using the Tonal Scale to create a word list
Creating ABC word lists for “Overused Words”
 Create a list of VERBS to replace “Like” in our
writing
Admire
B
Covet/Cherish
Dote/Dig
Exalt/Envy/Eat up/esteem
Fancy/ Fawn over
Gush over
Hail/ Hanker
Incline
Jump up and down
Kill for
Long for
M
N
O
V
Praise
W
Q
X
Relish
Y
Savor
Z
Tip my hat/ Treasure
U
DIDLS
Diction
Use the “Diction” portion
of a DIDLS analysis from
a text the class is
currently studying and
let THOSE loaded trigger
words become the fodder
for this week’s word
study.
Language
http://www.kisd.org/khs/english/help%20page
/DIDLS%20Breakdown.htm
SAT Question of the Day
 Hoping to ------ the dispute, negotiators proposed a





compromise that they felt would be ------ to both
labor and management.
Example (A) enforce..useful
(B) end..divisive
(C) overcome..unattractive
(D) extend..satisfactory
(E) resolve..acceptable
Tone Scale
What I would love to see happen in student writing as a result
 In Lessons that Change Writers, Nancie Atwell has a
chapter called “How A Thesaurus Can Help” in
which she demonstrates how something as simple as
workshop word study can impact student writing.
Let me show you her example since I don’t have an
example of my own! (Chapter 19)
What are the IDEAS that you are now considering?
If words really are the most important tools that
readers and writers rely on, then how can you
change/improve/enhance/overhaul the word study
in your workshop classroom?
Disclaimer: I don’t yet have a clear sense of how I will
assess “workshop” vocabulary. To be continued!
Ideas from SWP 2011
 Word Study notebook with entries and a conference to assess
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(Dawn)
Dolch word list, let each student choose 5 words that they
don’t already know, keep testing until they learn them all but
never studying more than 5 at a time (Donna)
Personal dictionary where they collect their own words and
assess their collections periodically (Merianna)
Integrate revision tasks and/or reading response with
personal dictionaries (Tasha)
Concept cards (words, part of speech, model sentence on front
side; short definition with picture on back) (Phyllis)
Word Study notebook with prefix-suffix and roots, parts of
speech, picture, concept map, compose sentences: common
word list) (Karen)