PROMOTING ACADEMIC VOCABULARY THROUGH MULTIMODAL COMPOSING ACROSS THE DISCIPLINES Dr. Kelly Chandler-Olcott Syracuse University kpchandl@syr.edu 2016 NIU Summer Literacy Conference
Who are you?
A little about me
Let s activate some prior knowledge... Ogle, Blachowicz, Fisher, & Lang (2016)
Purposes of Today Consider varying definitions of academic vocabulary and what they offer Review key principles for promoting K-12 vocabulary development Explore the possibilities of multimodal composing across the disciplines for supporting academic vocabulary development Use and reflect on research-based approaches ourselves to learn the academic vocabulary of academic vocabulary (let s go meta!)
Academic Vocabulary Domain Specific General Specialized Content- Specific Technical Tier 2 Tier 3 School-Task Disciplinary Symbolic Baumann & Graves, 2010
Pause-and-Write Jot down the 3 most important ways you currently promote or plan to promote academic vocabulary in your teaching
Vocabulary relates to.... Listening Viewing Speaking Writing Reading
From a sixth-grade science text Most past changes in world climates were caused by natural factors, such as volcanic activity and the motion of the continents. But recently scientists have observed climate changes that may be the result of human activities. For example, over the last 120 years, the average temperature of the troposphere has risen by about 0.7 Celsius degrees. This gradual increase in the temperature of Earth s atmosphere is called global warming. Roman et al., in press
Four Research-Based Principles to Guide Vocabulary Instruction Students should be: Immersed in words Active in developing understandings of words and ways to use them Building on multiple sources of information to learn words through repeated exposures Personalizing their word learning (Blachowicz & Fisher, 2000)
Three Ways to Promote Vocabulary Development 1. Teach specific words 2. Teach word learning strategies 3. Promote word consciousness (Graves, 2006)
Academic Language Demands Term Language Function Vocabulary Syntax Discourse Definition Content/language focus of learning task, represented by active verb Words and phrases associated with the discipline Set of conventions for organizing symbols, words, and phrases into sentences, graphs, tables, etc. Structures of written language in a particular discipline See also Zwiers (2014)
c. Additional Language Demands. Given the language function and learning task identified above, describe the following associated language demands (written or oral) students need to understand and/or use: Vocabulary, plus at least one of the following: Syntax Discourse
Revisiting Past Work with a New Lens Why write? How can writing affect me and the world?
A digital story of 2-4 minutes has: Title A written script that connects topic to one Essential Question, with parts for each group member to read 8-12 images (photographs, drawings, graphics, etc.) At least one song for background music At least one slide with written text Credits for information sources, music, and images
A Typical Digital Story
NARRATION Noun 1. Spoken commentary for a film or TV show 2. A story or an account of experience Example: On Wednesday, we will begin audiotaping the narration for your digital stories.
3 Ways to Promote Vocabulary Development 1. Teach specific words 2. Teach word learning strategies 3. Promote word consciousness Introduce target words systematically: 1. Present the word in context 2. Provide a kid-friendly definition 3. Provide multiple examples of use 4. Prompt student use 5. Show and discuss a visual image 6. Conclude with a thought question or quick interactive task (Manyak et al., 2014)
Domain-Specific Academic Vocabulary Narration Audiotaping Soundtrack Drag-and-drop Background Captions Effects Font Alignment
Topic-Specific Academic Vocabulary: Fashion Blogging J: Fashion connects people all around the world, and then people blog about what styles and upcoming fashions interest them. B: Blogging is a form of media that connects people and can be accessed worldwide via Internet. J: Fashion blogging is a specific form of blogging that both connects people, and presents different trends and the latest fashions in different regions. B: By connecting these two topics, we hope that you will get a sense of how both fashion blogging and writing are applied into everyday life. J: You may think that fashion is only for the runway, but, fashion is what you, and the people around you, wear on a daily basis. B: Some fashion blogs focus solely on the aspect of making your own fashion, and how to do it. J: The creators of the blogs use not only pictures to translate how to make these unique pieces, but they also write about how exactly to do it, like the blog P.S. I made this. B: Not all fashion blogs use writing in the same way though. J: Some authors of the blogs write about their experience with a certain brand or product, so that other people know whether to buy it or not, for example the blog, The Budget Fashionista.
Narration Speaker Image Music Veterinarians are doctors that tend to the health of all animals. They diagnose, treat, or research medical conditions and diseases of pets, livestock, and animals across the world. They also perform surgeries and vaccinate animals against diseases, too. There are 4-year veterinary medical colleges that are similar to medical schools for doctors. Vets must complete a DVM and pass the North American Licensing Exam in order to become a vet. We went to the Liverpool Village Animal Hospital to interview the owner, a vet, about his job there. We were looking to find out how writing is connected to being a veterinarian. According to Dr. W., vets use writing in their everyday jobs by writing history and diagnostic notes and findings of physical exams of animals. L T A L All animals and vet with cat medicine One pic of a vet exam Picture of LVAH/Dr. W with dog Pic of vet writing
3 Ways to Promote Vocabulary Development 1. Teach specific words 2. Teach word learning strategies 3. Promote word consciousness Have students bookmark an appropriate online dictionary Do think-aloud on how to use context to determine meanings when reading online (Ogle et al., 2016)
3 Ways to Promote Vocabulary Development 1. Teach specific words 2. Teach word learning strategies 3. Promote word consciousness Vocabulary Self Collection Strategy Plus (VSS+) (Wolsey, Smetana, & Grisham, 2015)
Art Music K-12 Physical Education
Pass the Page Form a trio with 2 neighbors On the large index card provided, use words, symbols, and images to record everything you know about the term MULTIMODALITY (2 min) When time is called, exchange your index card in a clockwise direction within your trio Scan the information on your new card then add to it (1 min) Rotate cards clockwise again and repeat (1 min) Return cards to the original authors for reading (1 min) Adapted from Ogle et al. (2016)
See also Jewitt & Kress (2003)
What is this text, and what does it say?
North Carolina Lob Use this play against a 2-3 zone 1 passes to 3 and exchanges with 2. 3 passes to 2 at the top. http://www.coachingtoolbox.net/plays/diagrams/basketball-plays-north-carolina-lob.html Vonn Read
2 reverses the ball to 1 on the wing.
4 sets the screen on X4, and 5 sets the screen on X5. 3 cuts hard to the rim for the lob pass doesn t have to be a dunk can be a lay-in.
Academic Vocabulary of Basketball Play 2-3 zone Lob Passes Reverse Screen Exchange Cuts Rim Dunk Lay-in Wing Key Basket Point guard (1) Shooting guard (2) Small forward (3) Power forward (4) Center (5) Offense Defense High post Ball movement Patience
Which designs or modes are implicated in reading & running the North Carolina lob play?
How does this text push our thinking as literacy teachers?
High M u l t i m o d a l Family scrapbook Handwritten notes for digital story narration Digital story using Photo Story 3 Email Low Technology-Mediated High
Collaborative Multimodal Composing Garden plans with blueprints Film treatments with storyboards Grant proposals with timelines and diagrams Club or organization mission statements with logos and taglines Musical scores with lyrics and notation
Recommendations Identify what disciplinary habits of practice (Wickens et al., 2015) matter most and where vocabulary fits into them Use multimodal, not just linguistic, representations Distinguish between multimodal and technology-mediated texts Ensure that everyone is using academic vocabulary, not just the teachers Increase students expressive use of academic vocabulary Encourage all students to read like writers Design instruction to support students with cross-disciplinary input when possible
Review & Closure After reviewing the words on your knowledge rating chart in light of today s session, Write one sentence using 2 words from the list that expresses a new idea or insight for you Add 2 words to the bottom of the chart that you feel could have been on the list at the beginning Adaptation of Possible Sentences (Graves, 2006)
References Baumann, J., & Graves, M. (2010). What is academic vocabulary? Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 54 (1), 4-12. Blachowicz, C., & Fisher, P. (2000). Vocabulary instruction. In M. Kamil, P. Mosenthal, P. D. Pearson, & R. Barr (Eds.), Handbook of reading research, vol III (pp. 503-524). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Graves, M. (2006). The vocabulary book: Learning & instruction. New York: Teachers College Press. Jewitt, C., & Kress, G. (2003). Multimodal literacy. New York: Peter Lang. Manyak, P. et al. (2014). Four practical principles for enhancing vocabulary instruction. The Reading Teacher, 68 (1), 13-23. Available at http://www.readingrockets.org/article/four-practical-principlesenhancing-vocabulary-instruction Ogle, D., Blachowicz, C., Fisher, P., & Lang, L. (2016). Academic vocabulary in middle and high school. New York: Guilford. Roman, D., Jones, F., Basaraba, D., & Hironaka, S. (in press). Helpjng students bridge inferences with science texts with graphic organizers. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. Wickens, C., Manderino, M., Parker, J., & Jung, J. (2015). Habits of practice: Expanding disciplinary literacy frameworks through a physical education lens. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 59 (1), 75-82. Wolsey, T., Smetana, L., & Grisham, D. (2015). Vocabulary plus technology: An after-reading approach to develop deep learning. The Reading Teacher, 69 (6), 449-458. Zwiers, J. (2014). Building academic language (Sec. ed). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.