Direct Teaching of a New Term

Subject Area and Grade Span: Any Subject, Grades 4-12 (Mathematics Example)

What it is:
Teaching a new term provides a direct and explicit format for pre-teaching an unfamiliar term to students. This practice includes: identifying the part of speech, a synonym, an explanation, examples, non-examples, use in context, and checking for understanding. Students are expected to verbalize the word and respond to questions demonstrating understanding.

What it looks like:

Pre-reading

1. Pronounce the word and clarify the part of speech. (Make sure that students are actually looking at the word: on the board, in the text, etc.)
   “The word is ________. The part of speech is __________. The Spanish cognate/translation is ________________.
   
2. Ask students to chorally repeat the word.
   “Say the word ________________  after me. Divide the word into syllables  ____________  (students repeat__________ ). Then pronounce the word in its entirety. Students repeat  ____________.           
   
3. Provide an accessible synonym and/or a brief explanation.
   “A ___________   is  _____________________________________ .
   The term ______________  is usually used ___________________."
   • 
   •
   •
   
   
4. Provide a visual “nonlinguistic representation” of the word (if possible) and/or an illustrative “showing” sentence.
   Example:
   Showing Sentence:
   
5. Rephrase the simple definition/explanation, asking students to complete the statement by substituting aloud the new word.
6. Check for understanding with focused questions or tasks to see if students seem to grasp the word’s meaning (vs. Any questions? Do you understand? Is that clear?). Questions may be initially directed to the unified group for a   thumbs-up or thumbs-down response, to teams using Numbered-Heads, or to pairs using Think-Pair-Share, followed by questions to individuals.
7. If the word is crucial (for the lesson and their academic understanding of the concept), consider asking students to generate their own relevant images or examples.

How you know it's working:

• After reading and/or instruction, students may be asked to generate additional exampels demonstrating understanding or use the vocabulary word in context.

Things to consider:

• Use this practice for words that are unknown, but necessary for comprehending content.
• Students may be asked to keep a record or log of words taught (a sample vocabulary worksheet/log page is provided).
• English learners may benefit from cognates, visuals, and structured guidance to understand word meanings.    

References:

Feldman, K., & Kinsella, K. (2005). Narrowing the language gap institute: Academic language and vocabulary development for all students PreK-12. San Diego, California. http://www.scoe.org/ (outside link)
Director of Reading and Early Intervention Kevin Feldman provides current resources and research on reading and language development in the Reading Corner.

San Diego County Office of Education (2005). Math language that works: Teaching and learning essential mathematics vocabulary Grade 6-Algebra I. San Diego, California.
After reading and/or instruction, students may be asked to generate additional examples demonstrating understanding or use the vocabulary word in context.