Sunday, October 9, 2011
Vocabulary
In our reading I related to the concept of avoiding the temptation to "dumb down"our language for children. As I was reading the creative methods teachers have used to increase the vocabulary of their students I couldn't help but think of the many times I have chose to use simplistic words around children in order for them to better understand what I was saying. I felt guilty about not using challenging language and scaffolding them to understand sophisticated words. However, once I came to this section I was happy to read I am not the only one who has found themselves making this mistake. It is important to be aware of your mistakes and find methods to avoid making them continuously. I appreciated the aspects of Ms.Barker's method including intentionally creating a list of sophisticated words to remind her to use within the classroom. Creating this list provided her with the tools to challenge and strengthen the vocabulary of the children, while assisting her in avoiding using simplistic language.
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I completely agree with this post Danielle! Its so true that we should hold children to high expectations in all aspects of learning. If we want them to develop a stronger vocabulary, then we have to show them how ourselves! Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Danielle. I too have found myself using "simple" words around children because I know they are words they will understand. But if we always use those words, how will children increase their vocabulary? That article proved that children are very capable of using bigger, more complex words and I think as teacher we will need to start encouraging that!
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