5.+VOCAB+ALERT!

//5. VOCAB ALERT! Pre-Reading - Initiating Reading Strategy//

· **Rationale: ** I used this to make students aware of important terms before reading the story.Not understanding the vocabulary in a selection is a very difficult comprehension obstacle for students.Usually they’ll skip over the unfamiliar words, and never fully understand what they read.This VOCAB ALERT serves as a form of self-assessment for students and helps them to set purposes for their reading and it is also helpful as an assessment tool for the teacher.It helps teachers know how much vocabulary instruction students will need.

· **Courses in which it could be implemented: ** Eighth grade Language Arts inclusion, regular Language Arts, and Accelerated Language Arts students use this. I used this with all five classes. The classes are between 28 and 30 students in each one. I think this would be an effective strategy in many subjects to learn vocabulary terms that are interrelated within the content area.

· **Diverse learners: ** All learning styles benefit from this strategy.Everyone finds words that are difficult; therefore, this is a reading strategy all can benefit from. Visual learners, auditory learners, and kinesthetic learners will benefit from this vocabulary strategy because the students are actively learning, not just visually, but they interacting with the teacher as she writes them on the board and as they use the form.

· **Procedure: ** 1.The teacher selects the most important vocabulary terms from the reading selection, being careful to limit them to a manageable number, up to 9 at the most.Then the teacher prepares a VOCABALERT form (see the figure on page 91 of Stephen’s and Brown’s book – __A Handbook of Content Literacy Strategies:125 practical reading and writing ideas.__  2.The teacher writes VOCAB ALERT! On the board and the students assess their familiarity with each term using the form.  3.Then the teacher introduces the significance of the terms on the form within the context of the current topic and prepares the students for the reading selection.  4.As the students read the selection, they pay special attention to the VOCAB ALERT! Terms and record information about them on the form.  5.Afterward, using their VOCAB ALERT! Forms, the teacher engages the class in discussion to further clarify and develop their understanding of the terms.

· **Potential Issues: ** Making sure the number of terms is kept to an amount that the student can confidently study and remember is important.  Variations to this may include designating a special area in their Language Arts folders or notebooks for vocabulary where students can keep their completed VOCAB ALERT! Forms is helpful for middle schoolers.Maybe even a Wall of Wordswhere they can be displayed in the room may be helpful as well. (see pages 88-89 in the Stephens and Brown book for Wall of Words)

· **References (Bibliography Information & Cross reference the Resource Binder): ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">--VOCAB ALERT! Form is on page 91 of Stephens and Brown book noted here. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> --Stephens, E. C. & Brown J. E. (2005). A handbook of content literacy strategies:125 practical reading and writing ideas. //Strategies for initiating// (pp. 90-91). Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> (**All Cross Referenced in Reading in the E-portfolio Reading in the Content Area 465 Resource Binder.)