Teacher’s Manual Table of Contents Introduction..........................................................................................................................................1 Vocabulary Development Supports Success in Reading ................................................................1 Research Supporting Take Aim at Vocabulary................................................................................1 Word Selection ................................................................................................................................1 Teaching Methods............................................................................................................................2 Learning Strategies..........................................................................................................................3 Learning Principles..........................................................................................................................4 Intermediate Grade-Level Achievement..........................................................................................5 Overview of the Take Aim Program..................................................................................................6 Procedure Overview........................................................................................................................7 Overview of Teacher Responsibilities ............................................................................................7 Planning and Setting Up ....................................................................................................................8 Preparing a Schedule ......................................................................................................................8 Choosing a Setting ..........................................................................................................................8 Gathering Materials ........................................................................................................................9 Determining Who Can Benefit ........................................................................................................16 Requirement One: Student Can Read the Level of Material ........................................................16 Requirement Two: Student Lacks an Understanding of Most Target Words................................16 Administering the Level Assessment............................................................................................17 Administering the End-of-Level Assessment................................................................................17 Implementing the Steps ....................................................................................................................18 Step 1. Take Unit Pretest, and Mark Target Graph......................................................................18 Step 2. Lessons 1–4......................................................................................................................19 Step 3. Complete Unit Activities..................................................................................................22 Step 4. Study Target Words..........................................................................................................23 Step 5. Take Unit Posttest, and Mark Target Graph ....................................................................23 Optional Step: Complete Additional Unit Activities ....................................................................24 Optional Step: Retake Unit Posttest, and Re-mark Target Graph ................................................24 Key Features of a Take Aim Lesson ................................................................................................25 Unit Textbook: Cover and Title Page............................................................................................25 Unit Textbook: Sections A & B ....................................................................................................26 Unit Textbook: Sections C, D, E, & F ..........................................................................................27 Unit Textbook: Sections G, H, & I................................................................................................28 Unit Textbook: Section J & Enrichment ......................................................................................29 Copyright © 2008–2009 Read Naturally, Inc. i Teacher's Manual Take Aim! at Vocabulary Unit Textbook: Glossary................................................................................................................30 Student Packet: Pretest and Posttest..............................................................................................31 Student Packet: Lesson Worksheet Pages......................................................................................32 Student Packet: Required Additional Unit Activities....................................................................33 Student Packet: Optional Additional Unit Activities ....................................................................34 Folder Items: Target Graph, Unit Steps List, & Scores Summary................................................35 Extras: Level Word Lists, Bookmarks, & Laudable Lexicologist Awards ..................................36 Monitoring Student Performance....................................................................................................37 Using the Scores Summary............................................................................................................37 Adapting the Program ......................................................................................................................38 Adapting Take Aim for Independent Work ..................................................................................38 Adapting Take Aim for High-Performing Students ......................................................................38 Adapting Take Aim for Low-Performing Students ......................................................................39 Adapting Take Aim to Include a Fluency Component..................................................................40 Communicating With Parents/Guardians ......................................................................................41 Extending the Vocabulary Learning................................................................................................42 At School ......................................................................................................................................42 At Home ........................................................................................................................................43 Take Aim Game Ideas....................................................................................................................43 Lesson Plan 1: Amazing Ants Training Unit ..................................................................................45 Identify the Goal............................................................................................................................46 Introduce the Student Packet ........................................................................................................46 Explain the Unit Pretest ................................................................................................................46 Correct the Unit Pretest ................................................................................................................47 Introduce the Target Graphs..........................................................................................................47 Introduce the Folder ......................................................................................................................48 Introduce the Textbook..................................................................................................................48 Explain the Title Page and Glossary..............................................................................................48 Introduce the CD............................................................................................................................48 Section A. Read the Target Words................................................................................................49 Section B. Read the Story ............................................................................................................49 Section C. Read to Understand Target Words..............................................................................49 Section D. Use Context Clues......................................................................................................50 Section E. Read to Understand More Target Words ....................................................................50 Section F. Read to Master ............................................................................................................50 Section G. Answer the Comprehension Questions ......................................................................51 Section H. Sketch Target Words ..................................................................................................52 Teacher's Manual ii Copyright © 2008–2009 Read Naturally, Inc. Take Aim! at Vocabulary Section I. Clarify Target Words....................................................................................................52 Section J. Study Word Parts ........................................................................................................53 Enrichment: Apply the Target Words............................................................................................53 Section K. Check the Hink Pink ..................................................................................................54 Lesson Checkout............................................................................................................................55 Complete Unit Activities ..............................................................................................................56 Study the Target Words..................................................................................................................57 Introduce the Crossword and Additional Activities......................................................................57 Take the Posttest............................................................................................................................58 Correct the Posttest........................................................................................................................58 Fill in the Target Graph..................................................................................................................58 Lesson Plan 2: Walk Through Regular Unit ..................................................................................59 Introduce the Lesson......................................................................................................................60 Gather Materials............................................................................................................................60 Introduce the Unit Steps List ........................................................................................................60 Take the Unit Pretest......................................................................................................................61 Correct the Unit Pretest ................................................................................................................61 Graph Pretest Score ......................................................................................................................61 Sections A–E..................................................................................................................................62 Section F........................................................................................................................................62 Sections G–I ..................................................................................................................................63 Section J ........................................................................................................................................63 Enrichment: Apply the Target Words............................................................................................63 Section K........................................................................................................................................64 Lesson Checkout............................................................................................................................64 Remaining Steps............................................................................................................................65 Appendix ............................................................................................................................................66 Context Clues Training Activity (Optional)..................................................................................66 Sketch Target Words Training Activity (Optional)........................................................................66 Hink Pink Training Activity (Optional) ........................................................................................66 Amazing Ants Training Unit Textbook ........................................................................................67 Amazing Ants Training Unit Student Packet ..............................................................................67 Amazing Ants Training Unit Answer Key....................................................................................67 Context Clues Activity ......................................................................................................................68 Sketch Target Words Activity ..........................................................................................................69 Hink Pink Activity ............................................................................................................................70 Amazing Ants Textbook....................................................................................................................71 Copyright © 2008–2009 Read Naturally, Inc. iii Teacher's Manual Take Aim! at Vocabulary Amazing Ants Student Packet..........................................................................................................83 Amazing Ants Answer Key ..............................................................................................................91 Bibliography ......................................................................................................................................92 Index....................................................................................................................................................94 Teacher's Manual iv Copyright © 2008–2009 Read Naturally, Inc. Take Aim! at Vocabulary Introduction Read Naturally® strives to provide high-quality programs that assist students in developing the skills necessary to become successful readers. The Take Aim at Vocabulary™ program specifically develops vocabulary knowledge as a critical component of overall reading success. Vocabulary Development Supports Success in Reading Words are elemental to the texts and lessons that comprise the learning experiences of our students. As you know, a student's ability to understand words and their meanings is essential in all content areas. As curriculum increases in difficulty, so too do the words that make up that curriculum. At a very basic level, vocabulary underlies a student's ability to understand what is being taught. Well-developed vocabulary is an essential component for success in reading. As teachers, we recognize that reading becomes a great challenge for students who lack adequate word knowledge. Indeed, research identifies that, "for adequate reading comprehension from grade three on, children require both fluent word recognition skills and an average or above-average vocabulary" (Biemiller, 2005, p. 41). Explicit instruction of vocabulary has been shown to improve reading comprehension for both English speakers and English language learners (Carlo et al., 2004; Beck, Perfetti, & McKeown, 1982). Furthermore, vocabulary instruction can develop the in-depth knowledge of specific words that promotes an increased appreciation of words and their power (Scott & Nagy, 2004). This interest in words is referred to as "word consciousness" and is likely to benefit students as they develop as readers (Graves, 2006). Research Supporting Take Aim at Vocabulary Research findings in the area of vocabulary development provide the foundation for Take Aim at Vocabulary. The Take Aim program was developed in alignment with research on word selection, teaching methods, learning strategies, learning principles, and intermediate grade- level achievement. Word Selection It is important for students to have a thorough knowledge of the sophisticated words they are likely to encounter in a wide assortment of texts (Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2002). Beck and McKeown (2007) refer to these words as "high-utility" because they are of high use to mature language users. Take Aim teaches many high-utility words, which were carefully selected using The Educator's Word Frequency Guide (Zeno, Ivens, Millard, & Duvvuri, 1995), The Living Word Vocabulary (Dale & O'Rourke, 1981), and The Academic Word List (Coxhead, 2000). Because the stories in Take Aim adhere to readability standards, students are also exposed to many easier and more common words from the Fry, Spache, Harris-Jacobson, and Dale Chall word lists. Each level of Take Aim explicitly teaches 288 target vocabulary words. Read Naturally carefully selected these words to ensure that students are learning high-quality vocabulary. We define high-quality vocabulary as sophisticated, useful, and appropriate words that students in the intermediate grades are unlikely to know but likely to encounter often as texts increase in difficulty. Additionally, some words in Take Aim contain affixes which, once understood, can help students figure out unknown words with the same or similar word parts. Copyright © 2008–2009 Read Naturally, Inc. 1 Teacher's Manual Take Aim! at Vocabulary Teaching Methods The high-quality words taught in Take Aim will benefit students only if students are able to learn them effectively. According to the National Reading Panel, "dependence on a single vocabulary instruction method will not result in optimal learning" (NRP 2000, p. 4-4). Take Aim uses the following research-supported methods to teach vocabulary words: (cid:2) Explicit instruction of target words (cid:2) Instruction of target words in context (cid:2) Student-friendly definitions (cid:2) Multiple exposures to target words (cid:2) Multiple contexts for target words (cid:2) Semantic mapping Explicit Instruction of Target Words Explicit instruction helps students increase their vocabularies (Baumann, Kame'enui, & Ash, 2003; Beck et al., 1982). Take Aim explicitly teaches each target word in a variety of formats, including a definition embedded in text, a definition with a part of speech and clarifying sentence, and questions and activities that deepen understanding. Instruction of Target Words in Context From the intermediate grades on, reading becomes the principal language experience for enlarging children's vocabulary (Cunningham & Stanovich, 1998). Incorporating vocabulary instruction into reading is thus an ideal way to teach new words. The National Reading Panel asserts that vocabulary instruction should be incorporated into reading instruction and that lessons should include direct instruction of vocabulary items required for the specific text (NRP 2000, p. 4-24). Research identifies that when words and easy-to-understand explanations are introduced in context, knowledge of those words increases (Biemiller & Boote, 2006) and word meanings are better learned (Stahl & Fairbanks, 1986). In Take Aim, students read high- interest, nonfiction stories along with a narrator. Students read each story three times; during the second and third readings, they learn the target words in the context of the story. These target words are defined using student-friendly terminology. Students also complete exercises that give additional contextual support, such as reading each definition along with a clarifying sentence and answering questions that use target words in new contexts. Student-Friendly Definitions For students to fully understand the meanings of words, they must understand the terms used to define the words. "Student-friendly" definitions are definitions that characterize the word and how it is used and explain the meaning of the word in everyday language (Graves, 2009). Research shows that such carefully worded definitions enhance word understanding (McKeown, 1993). All target words in Take Aim include student-friendly definitions and clarifying sentences. Teacher's Manual 2 Copyright © 2008–2009 Read Naturally, Inc. Take Aim! at Vocabulary Multiple Exposures to Target Words A student's likelihood of learning a word increases each time s/he encounters and experiences the word. Word meanings are acquired incrementally over time, and children require multiple exposures to learn a word's meaning (Fukkink & de Glopper, 1999; Stahl, 2003). In Take Aim, students encounter each target word in several instances. They encounter the word each time they read the story, the definition, and the clarifying sentence. They also answer several questions that use the target words and complete activities related to each word. Multiple Contexts for Target Words Vocabulary instruction should aim to engage students in actively thinking about word meanings, the relationships among words, and how we can use words in different situations. This type of rich, deep instruction is most likely to influence comprehension (Graves, 2006; McKeown & Beck, 2004). In Take Aim, students experience each target word several times in multiple contexts. In each unit, students read a clarifying sentence about each target word, sketch each word, apply target words to a specific situation through enrichment activities, and answer questions about each word. In addition, Read Naturally wrote the Take Aim stories in sets of four, around a theme, to increase the likelihood that students experience the words and their meanings in several contexts. Furthermore, over half of the target words in Take Aim appear in stories besides the ones in which they are explicitly taught. These multiple contexts support the rich instruction likely to boost comprehension. Semantic Mapping The use of semantic mapping is another method for providing rich instruction of vocabulary. Semantic maps help students develop connections among words and increase learning of vocabulary words (Baumann, Kame'enui, & Ash, 2003; Heimlich & Pittleman, 1986). Each unit in Take Aim includes word mapping activities that require students to connect the target words to other words, parts of speech, synonyms, antonyms, or personal experience. Learning Strategies Research provides evidence that teaching specific strategies can help students develop vocabulary independently. These strategies will not only help students figure out the meanings of target words, but students can transfer these strategies to unknown words they encounter in the future. These strategies are as follows: (cid:2) Using context clues (cid:2) Analyzing word parts (cid:2) Using a dictionary or glossary Using Context Clues When students learn how to use context clues to their advantage, they are better equipped to deduce the meanings of unknown words. According to researchers, the ability to use contextual information can produce substantial, long-term growth in vocabulary (Nagy & Anderson, 1985), and even a small improvement in the ability to use context has the potential to produce this growth (Baumann, Edwards, Boland, Olejnik, & Kame'enui, 2003). Because context clues play such a crucial role in word learning, each story in Take Aim includes an audio-supported mini- lesson that teaches students to use context clues to arrive at a target word's meaning. Copyright © 2008–2009 Read Naturally, Inc. 3 Teacher's Manual Take Aim! at Vocabulary Analyzing Word Parts The ability to analyze word parts is another strategy that helps students when faced with unknown vocabulary. If students know the meanings of root words and affixes, they are more likely to understand a word containing these word parts. Explicit instruction in word parts includes teaching meanings of word parts and disassembling and reassembling words to derive meaning (Baumann, Edwards, Font, Tereshinski, Kame'enui, & Olejnik, 2002; Baumann, Edwards, Boland, Olejnik, & Kame'enui, 2003; Graves, 2004). Take Aim teaches roots or affixes through activities and audio-supported lessons that guide students through the process of using word parts to figure out the meanings of new words. Using a Dictionary or Glossary Students commonly come across unfamiliar words in texts. Using a dictionary or glossary is another way to confirm and further develop word knowledge (Graves, 2006). However, research demonstrates that correctly interpreting dictionary definitions is challenging for many students (Miller & Gildea; 1987). Each Take Aim unit includes an illustrated, audio-supported glossary of all of the target words plus additional challenging words in the unit. Definitions are student-friendly, and most terms include clarifying sentences. Students are taught to reference this glossary each time they encounter an unknown word. Learning Principles The use of recognized learning principles increases all types of learning, including vocabulary. These principles include the following: (cid:2) Active engagement (cid:2) Deep processing Active Engagement For maximum results, a program should utilize a variety of methods that incorporate active engagement with the material (NRP 2000, p. 4-27). To keep students actively engaged, Take Aim incorporates many motivating activities. Examples include high-interest stories, graphs for monitoring progress, hink pinks and crossword puzzles, and sketching and mapping activities. Deep Processing Students learn best when instruction allows them to deeply process the information (Craik & Lockhart, 1972). To encourage thorough word learning, the activities in Take Aim provide multiple opportunities for deep processing of the words. The audio-supported lessons engage both auditory and visual senses. Students approach each target word using several senses as well—not only do they answer questions about each target word, but they also listen to the words, say them, sketch them, and map them. Teacher's Manual 4 Copyright © 2008–2009 Read Naturally, Inc. Take Aim! at Vocabulary Intermediate Grade-Level Achievement Vocabulary instruction is likely to benefit students of any age, but research suggests that instruction is particularly important in the intermediate grades. Children with smaller vocabularies tend to fall significantly behind in grade four, and that decline accelerates in grades five and six as curriculum starts to include more abstract, academic, literary, and less-common words (Chall, Jacobs, & Baldwin, 1990). Take Aim supports intermediate grade students in developing the vocabulary skills necessary to read grade-level materials. The materials in Take Aim were developed for students who can read at a fourth-grade level and above. Copyright © 2008–2009 Read Naturally, Inc. 5 Teacher's Manual Take Aim! at Vocabulary