Chapter 3, which is all about vocabulary, immediately caught my attention when I began reading it. Until I read this chapter, I did not really ever take the time to stop and think of the impact word knowledge actually has on learning. Ever since I was growing up, I never have liked vocabulary much. I despised getting a new list of vocabulary words each week, having to look them up, and memorize them and recite them back on the test on Friday. I am a person very much so driven by how what I’m doing is going to benefit me or how I will actually use it in the real world, and I never felt like vocabulary did that for me so it frustrated me easily. However, after reading this chapter, hopefully I can make my students feel differently then I did about vocabulary. I really enjoyed reading about the various strategies that can help with vocabulary. For example, I loved the vocabulary self assessment chart to be used with a unit. It is a useful tool to help engage students in the lesson and also teach them revising and revisiting. This can be used as a wonderful study tool and can be used in so many subjects!
Another thing that I enjoyed about this chapter was how it discussed vocabulary across the many different subjects. Vocabulary and words unknown to students are always going to be present no matter what, so knowing ways to go about teaching vocabulary in the different subjects is very helpful. One thing that stuck out to me was the sample page from the mathematics journal. Like I mentioned earlier, I like to see how things relate to the real world and how I can make a personal connection to them. The math journal has a specific place that says: “Real Life: This is where I see _______ in the world…” This is so wonderful and can really be used to motivate students to make connections with math, which is something that is very important in order for students to comprehend and retain information. This is also a good example of the four principles for effective vocabulary instruction: be actively listening in word learning, make personal connections, be immersed in vocabulary, and consolidate meaning through multiple information sources. One question that come to mind after reading this chapter is how exactly do you properly assess vocabulary knowledge? How would you know if they are actually internalizing the information and not only just repeating it or memorizing it?
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