What can teachers do to help students develop stronger vocabulary knowledge?
Page 8: Read Text and Revise Sentences
Once the sentences have been shared and discussed, the students read the target passage. They can do this independently (e.g., silently, as homework), aloud with partners or in small groups, or aloud as a class. As students read the text, the teacher should direct them to look at how the vocabulary terms are used to present content and the ways in which those terms influence how they think about that content. The sentences they have generated provide a frame of reference for analyzing the words as they are used in the context of the content-area text, which is aligned to the expectations for vocabulary knowledge in college and career readiness standards.
Expectations for vocabulary knowledge
CCSS CCR Reading Anchor Standard 4: Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
After they’ve completed the reading, the students are ready to evaluate their Possible Sentences for accuracy. The sentences do not have to be identical to the ones the author wrote, and they do not necessarily have to use the words in the very same way the author did. What is important is that the sentences are consistent with the information and message conveyed in the text. Inaccurate sentences should be rewritten, though they still must contain at least two of the words from the list. Keep in mind that particular terms used may change as part of the correction.
When they evaluate and revise their sentences, students must revisit the information in the text and think about how the target words are used to create or shape meaning. This process will help lead the students to a close reading of the text and to a more thorough grasp of skills such as those outlined in the Common Core State Standards’ (CCSS) College and Career Readiness (CCR) Anchor Standards 1 and 4. At first, the teacher will need to model how to evaluate and revise the Possible Sentences. After sufficient demonstration and guidance, however, students can work with a partner or in a small group to evaluate and revise their own sentences. Note how the teacher in the video below models the sentence evaluation and revision process, as well as how she guides students to identify whether the concepts under discussion were explicitly stated or implied (time: 4:35).
Anchor Standards 1 and 4
CCSS CCR Reading Anchor Standard 1: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
CCSS CCR Reading Anchor Standard 4: Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
Video courtesy of Voyager Sopris Learning, Inc.
Transcript: Revising Sentences
Teacher: So now that we have read through the text, we want to look back and check for accuracy of our possible sentences. So I’ll begin with mine. In the 17 and 1800s, teens often worked without compensation for employment. So, now, in the text the author did not explicitly say that, did he or she? Did they? Okay, so they did not say that they necessarily worked without compensation, but would it make sense for that time period? I mean, does it accurately describe the use of compensation? Yes?
Student: Well, I was just going to say when I was reading I saw that some children got a job and got compensated for it, but they didn’t get the money. They gave it to their parents…
Teacher: Exactly.
Student: To help with their family.
Teacher: To help with their family. Good. I like how you went back to the text for that. So would we leave this as a possible sentence for this? Yeah, I would agree. Now, looking at the second one: “Learning a trade or skill during the school day was a crucial part of teen education during the 17 and 1800s.” Now, this was not necessarily accurate because in the text it mentioned that the fundamentals—math, reading, writing—that those skills were the most important. So I’m going to have to revise this and perhaps even use one of our other words here—fundamental, you know, basics—and change it to “Learning fundamentals during the school day was a crucial part of teen education during the 1700s and 1800s.” Now that makes more sense with what we just read in the text, because it didn’t necessarily mention trade or skills being as crucial as the fundamental skills. Okay, so now let’s look back through your sample possible sentences. Let’s look at this one first. And what do we think about that one? You want to check for accuracy, see if we need to change it in anyway. Cliff, why don’t you go ahead and read that one for us.
Cliff: “The teen activities were different from nowadays than the 1700s and 1800s. In the 1700s…” Oh, is…
Teacher: Oh, yeah, sorry. That was the end of the sentence there. So what do you guys think of this one? Is this accurate?
Students: Yes.
Teacher: Was it explicitly stated in the text?
Students: No.
Teacher: No, but it does. Go ahead.
Student: It talks about how, like, they did for fun, the kids did, like, barn raises and went to dances and stuff.
Teacher: So they added more details. Okay, good, but the sentence does encompass the general idea, and it does make sense. Good. Moving onto the next one, another volunteer to read that one? Yeah, go ahead.
Student: “In the 1700s and 1800s, they had an agricultural society, not an urban one.”
Teacher: What do you think? Does that make sense?
Student: Yes. That was in the text. “America was largely an agricultural society rather than an urban society.”
Teacher: Correct. During that time period. Excellent. So nothing to change here. Moving up to this one, and Phoebe would you mind reading that one for us?
Phoebe: “Working as an apprentice was fundamental for starting a career in the 17 and 1800s, as well as today.”
Teacher: Okay, thanks. Does that make sense? Does that work? Well, we know it make sense because we already asked that question. But does it make sense with what we read in the text?
Students: Yes.
Teacher: Okay. Did the author expressly state that?
Student: Sort of inferred through the text, yeah.
Teacher: Good.
Student: It was in bits and pieces, but it all kind of came in that sentence. It all kind of comes together.
Teacher: Absolutely.
Student: There may be some, like, different words but what he…the different words that he used implied that.
Teacher: Absolutely. Good. Okay, so we wouldn’t change anything else about that sentence. Now, before I have you go back and check your other sentences that you wrote, I just want to remind you that we want to be thinking about the connections between the vocabulary words and the concepts that we’re being introduced to with the text. So go ahead with your partners. Go back through the rest of your sentences. Check for accuracy on them. Go back to the text if you need to support your decision.
Students: [reading aloud]
Teacher: Did you mean changing this one to this one? Oh, no. You left out one word. Okay.
(Close this panel)
Let’s revisit one of the Possible Sentences written by Ms. Yun’s social studies students, and the process the students went through to revise it.
This Possible Sentence needs to be modified because it is incorrect. Ms. Yun directs them to the portion of the passage that compares the differing viewpoints of the industry-based Northern states with the agricultural-based Southern states.
With Ms. Yun’s guidance, the students modify the sentence to read:
To adhere to the other requirement that all terms must be used at least once, a new sentence is written containing agricultural, as well as one other word—slavery—to meet the two-words-per-sentence requirement:
Note that slavery was also used in this Possible Sentence:
However, after a careful reading of the text, the students determine that this sentence lacks necessary specificity and modify it accordingly:
English/Language Arts Example
For an illustration of Step 6, look at the following sample sentences some of Mr. Chowdhury’s students wrote for White Fang.
The convict felt persecuted by the judge and threatened vainly that he would get revenge.
This Possible Sentence needs to be modified because vainly is used incorrectly here. Jim Hall did not vainly threaten revenge; he actively planned to get his revenge, and there was always a chance he could succeed. To correct this, Mr. Chowdhury directs the students to the courtroom scene where Jim Hall raged over his sentence. Using this, the sentence can be rewritten to include Jim Hall’s wrath, rather than stating that he made a vain threat.
The convict felt persecuted by the judge and. in his wrath, vowed to get revenge.
Notice that when the sentence is rewritten, the inaccurate use of vainly is eliminated. To adhere to the procedure of using at least two target words per sentence, the revised sentence used the term wrath. However, that left the term vainly unused. To adhere to the other requirement that all terms must be used at least once, a new sentence was written containing vainly, as well as one other word—incorrigible—to meet the two-word-per-sentence requirement.