HOW TO USE THIS PRODUCT

How to Use This Product (cont.)

Home-School Connections (cont.)
Dear Parents, Our class is beginning to use some new strategies for developing vocabulary. Building students vocabularies is important because it can improve reading comprehension and overall academic success. We will focus on learning academic vocabulary words. These words can be organized into two groups: specialized content wordswords that are very important to a content area (such as habitat, atom, evaporation, and conductivity in science) general academic wordswords that are useful to many academic areas (such as compare, features, principle, and describe) When you think about learning new vocabulary, you may think of looking up words in the dictionary and writing down denitions. However, research has shown that there are much more eective strategies. It is these more meaningful strategies that we will be teaching students in class. We have four main goals in mind: 1. Develop oral language. Oral language is spoken language. Better (and more complex) oral language skills can help with reading comprehension and writing skills. 2. Develop word consciousness. Word consciousness is the awareness of words. We want students to take an interest in words. Students can take note when they see or hear key words and use the words themselves. 3. Learn new words. Students must, of course, learn new words related to a key concept or unit of study. But students must also understand words more deeply by using them in meaningful ways outside the classroom. 4. Use independent word-learning strategies. These are strategies that students can have in their toolboxes as they read new texts. For example, students can learn to use clues in a text to help them understand unfamiliar words. Parents are partners in the process of learning vocabulary. Your involvement can make a dierence in helping your student learn new words, become aware of interesting and important words, and practice word-learning strategies. Please read the activities on the back of this letter. These are some simple things you can do with your student in order to help him or her develop academic vocabulary. Thank you for your support. Sincerely, ___________________

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#50129 (i3476)Strategies for Building Academic Vocabulary in Science

Shell Education

HOW TO USE THIS PRODUCT

How to Use This Product (cont.)

Home-School Connections (cont.)
Strategies to Try at Home
Create a word wall on a door, a wall, or the refrigerator at home. Put up a large sheet of paper or corkboard, write words on index cards, and attach them using tape or push pins. Words can be grouped into categories, such as words starting with the same letter, synonyms and antonyms, or words related to various content areas. As new words are learned and discussed as a family, add them to the word wall. Teach your student to look for words that he or she already knows within unknown words. For example, your student might not be familiar with the word longevity, but he or she probably knows the meaning of long. Use this knowledge to make a connection to the new word and explain its meaning. Have each person share a word of the day at the dinner table. Have the person share the word and its denition and then have other people provide synonyms, antonyms, and a sentence that uses the word. You may also wish to play vocabulary charades after dinner. Write the words on index cards and have each person draw one card from a container. The person can act out the word without talking while everyone else tries to guess which word was selected. As a family, complete crossword puzzles. Have each family member take turns in reading the clues. Discuss the clues and dene words as needed. You may wish to purchase a book of crossword puzzles that would be appropriate for your students grade level. Use a dictionary to look up any unknown words. Your student can add any new words and denitions to a notebook or journal for future reference.
Shell Education

Have your student look for unfamiliar words as he or she reads a book or magazine, completes a school assignment, or watches television. Ask him or her to write the word in a notebook or journal. Discuss the word with your student. Ask whether he or she can use the word in a sentence. If necessary, use a dictionary or a thesaurus to nd similar words that are familiar to your student. Many places will spark your students interest and curiosity. Take a trip to the supermarket, the airport, or the skate park to help develop his or her vocabulary. New places, people, and objects provide new topics and words to talk about.

Ask your student questions that are open-ended. These are questions that require more than a yes or no answer. The following questions can lead to meaningful discussions and encourage your student to use academic vocabulary: What does that word mean? What word does that remind you of? What words have an opposite meaning of that word? How is that word used in a sentence? Have your student choose a topic that interests him or her and brainstorm a list of words that relate to that topic. Next, have him or her sort the words into categories. For example, if your student has selected the topic animals, he or she can sort the words according to the various animal types. Then have your student explain why he or she chose to put each word into a specic category. 23

#50129 (i3476)Strategies for Building Academic Vocabulary in Science