So, my summer was going along quite nicely, when all of the sudden, BUMP! Back to work!
This week I have been attending a 4-day SIOP training with other teachers from my school district. It is becoming an "unspoken" requirement that all teachers in the district are SIOP trained. Which I think is a good thing, to a certain extent. I like that the teachers in my district are being exposed to tools and techniques to support their English learners. In this district, we are ALL ELL teachers! However, I still have reservations about a once-and-done training. Changing our habits is hard, and it takes on-going support to make a permanent change.
Ok, that's enough of my PD soapbox :) On to what we've been learning.
This week I have been attending a 4-day SIOP training with other teachers from my school district. It is becoming an "unspoken" requirement that all teachers in the district are SIOP trained. Which I think is a good thing, to a certain extent. I like that the teachers in my district are being exposed to tools and techniques to support their English learners. In this district, we are ALL ELL teachers! However, I still have reservations about a once-and-done training. Changing our habits is hard, and it takes on-going support to make a permanent change.
Ok, that's enough of my PD soapbox :) On to what we've been learning.
Since this is my area of "expertise", I feel like I already know and actually use a lot of what we have been learning. However, an ah-ha moment for me was when we talked about the different tiers of vocabulary. Tier 1 words are common words that we would use in every day conversation (esentially BICS). Tier 2 are academic words commonly used in school, across content areas, such as connect, demonstrate, or category. Tier 3 words are the content-specific words. I am, for the most part, really good at teaching Tier 3 words. However, I completely neglect the Tier 2 words, which, let's be honest, have the most "bang for the buck"! Guess I know what I need to focus on next year!
I know the photo isn't the greatest, but hopefully it gives you an idea of some of these Tier 2 words.
I know the photo isn't the greatest, but hopefully it gives you an idea of some of these Tier 2 words.
This ah-ha moment goes along with some reading/light research I have been doing. My state is (finally) making the switch to WIDA for our EL standards and language assessment. I learned that WIDA uses the Coxhead academic word list, which is a list of words that - surprise! - are Tier 2 words. They are organized into groups of words, with group #1 being the most frequent words. The way this list is organized is my favorite. Just keep in mind that it only lists the most frequent form of the word, although students will encounter other forms of the word as well.
Looks like I have a lot of vocab work to do this year! I'm excited to share with you what I've tried, what works, and what doesn't. So... stay tuned this school year for some vocab extravaganza!
Looks like I have a lot of vocab work to do this year! I'm excited to share with you what I've tried, what works, and what doesn't. So... stay tuned this school year for some vocab extravaganza!