This year I was given the liberty to take a lot of risks in my own teaching style with my students which has been truly inspiring. One of the biggest changes that I embraced was the idea of student generated vocabulary lists and getting rid of the old fashion list of words that may or may not go with my thematic unit.
What is a student generated vocabulary list? A student generated list is a way for students to take control of their language learning and gain a sense of autonomy in their learning. I essentially hand my students a blank chart (with categories) and throughout the unit the students fill in their own glossary based on what they find necessary to communicate and complete the unit can do statements. How do I prepare for this? I plan out my objectives, performance assessments and authentic resources and develop a list of 10-15 critical words for the unit. Now, these are critical to me but may not be critical to the students. I call them critical because I consider them to be the bare minimum of what a student would need to interpret texts, speak interpersonally and write presentationally. I keep these words in a Google Doc with my lesson plans and remind myself to recycle these in instruction as much as possible. Then, in the days leading up to the unit I take the time to get some student input. As an exit ticket I give students the performance indicators for the unit and ask them what words they already know in Spanish and also what words in English they predict that they will need to complete the objective. I compile these words and keep them with my essential list and recycle these as much as possible. This ensures that my words are not the only ones that are given importance. Here's a sample of what I give my students and what I compile at the end. How do students organize their list? When we receive our unit packet, students receive a new list. The list is divided into 6 categories- Descriptions, Things, Actions, People, Places and Phrases. Students are then responsible for classifying the words. This list is kept out constantly and is encouraged in all moments of the class (except assessments). Where do they get the words? Warm Ups- Each day we do a warm up in class and often I choose to do a picture warm up. It’s simple yet sets students up to prepare vocabulary. I show six pictures on the board and students listen to my statement where I describe one of the concepts while using some new vocabulary words. Students are responsible for writing the letter of the picture I’m describing and the new word in the sentence. These words are reviewed and expanded upon. For example if the word is “fiesta de cumpeaños” we then brainstorm other kids of parties and add those on the board. If the kids don’t know the word we circumlocute until the word is clear and identified on the board. Students choose which of these words to add to their list based on the communicated can dos and what they want to be able to use. Authentic Resources: Whenever we have a new authentic resource students are being exposed to tons of new vocabulary. Sometimes the necessary vocabulary is pre-taught in the warm ups and sometimes I allow students to discover the words in the resource. Students find words through questions asking students to identify a word, questions asking them to infer meaning from context or from a word they see repeated that’s essential to the reading. While we’re working with a resource students have their list available to use and add to as needed. Cómo Se Dice- The dreaded question... But with this I’m giving them a bit more responsibility with that question. If a student has a word that they need and feel the need to ask how to say it they must show me that the word’s importance. If that question is asked in class the student must then write the word on their list. Do all students make their own list? What happens if they don’t? So, truth be told, you can’t make someone do something. In reality there will always be students that won’t fill out the list without severe motivation and encouragement. However, aren’t there also students with a traditional vocab list that don’t use it? The best way to avoid this is to show students the value of that list. For example, I will show students sample paragraphs and have them grade the writing on our department rubric. Through these little exercises, students have begun to realize the connection between a personalized vocab list and their performance. Is this actually better than a regular list? The differences are incredible between a teacher created list and a student created list. With a teacher list you can predict what every writing and speaking will be like with very little variety. With student centered lists you see such personalized variety in each student’s writing/speaking. And the best part I’ve seen is that the words they learn are recycled more frequently than from the old lists. What do the kids REALLY think? The most important question. So I took that brave step and asked them what they thought during our mid year reflections. Overwhelmingly my students LOVED their own lists. I have to admit...I wasn’t expecting that. One girl said “it’s so nice to not be told what to do and choose what I think is important and what’s not”. In other words, our students don’t want to be treated the same but instead want to be given independence and want a voice in what they’re learning.
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