About this video

• Video Title: A Teaching Routine for Academic Vocabulary in Grades PreK-1 (REL West)
• Channel: Institute of Education Sciences
• Speakers: Not specified in the transcript
• Duration: 00:09:09

Overview

This video demonstrates a three-step routine for teaching academic vocabulary to students in pre-kindergarten through first grade. It emphasizes using student-friendly definitions, providing meaningful examples, and reinforcing vocabulary through various activities, aligning with evidence-based recommendations for early literacy.

Key takeaways

• Introduce the word: Begin by presenting the new academic word using a student-friendly definition and visual examples, drawing from texts already read by the class.
• Students use the word meaningfully: Provide opportunities for students to use the new word in context, utilizing sentence frames, partner discussions, and sharing with the class.
• Check for understanding: Assess student comprehension by presenting examples that do and do not match the word, encouraging them to differentiate and use the word in their own conversations.
• Additional considerations: Incorporate gestures for the word and encourage repetition ("miles on the tongue") to build confidence, especially for English learners.

Here's a lesson plan for the academic vocabulary term "analyze" for a 4th-grade science class, following the routine demonstrated in the video:

Academic Vocabulary Term: Analyze

Lesson Objective: Students will be able to define "analyze" and use it meaningfully in sentences to describe the process of examining something closely to understand its parts or meaning.

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Step 1: Introduce the Word

• Teacher: "Today, we're going to learn a new word that will help us understand how scientists learn about the world. Our word is analyze. Can everyone say analyze?" (Students repeat).
• Teacher: "Let's clap out the syllables in analyze. An-a-lyze. How many syllables?" (Students respond: three).
• Teacher: "When we analyze something, it means we look at it very carefully, like a detective looking for clues, to understand its different parts or what it means. We break it down to see how it works."
• Visual Examples:
  • Show a picture of a scientist looking at a microscope. "This scientist is analyzing a tiny sample to understand what it's made of."
  • Show a picture of someone examining a map closely. "This person is analyzing the map to figure out the best route."
  • Show a picture of a child taking apart a toy to see how it works. "This child is analyzing the toy to see how the pieces fit together."

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Step 2: Students Use the Word Meaningfully

• Teacher: "Now it's your turn to use the word analyze! We're going to use a sentence frame to help us. The frame is: 'To analyze means to _______ so that _______.'"
• Teacher: "Let's practice that together: 'To analyze means to _______ so that _______.'" (Students repeat).
• Teacher: "Think about our science lessons. When we study rocks, what do we do to understand them better? We might look at their color, their texture, if they have layers..."
• Teacher: "Let's think of what we do to analyze rocks. What are some things we do? (Pause for thinking).
  • Teacher provides examples if needed: "My teacher might say, 'We analyze rocks by describing their hardness and color so that we can identify what type of rock they are.'"
  • "Or, 'We analyze the data from our experiment so that we can see if our hypothesis was correct.'"
• Partner Work: "Now, turn to your partner. I want you to take a minute to think about what it means to analyze something in science. Then, try to complete this sentence: 'To analyze means to _______ so that _______.' Share your sentence with your partner." (Allow 2-3 minutes for partner discussion).
• Class Sharing: "Who would like to share their sentence or their partner's sentence with the class? What does it mean to analyze?" (Call on a few students to share their completed sentences).

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Step 3: Check for Understanding

• Teacher: "Okay, we're going to play a quick game to see if we can tell when someone is talking about analyzing something. If the sentence describes analyzing, I want you to say 'Analyze!' If it does NOT describe analyzing, I want you to say 'Not analyze.' Remember, analyzing means looking closely at parts to understand."
• Teacher: "If it's an example, what do we say?" (Students: "Analyze!")
• Teacher: "If it's not an example, what do we say?" (Students: "Not analyze!")
• Examples:
  • "My mom cooked dinner for us." (Students: "Not analyze!")
  • "The detective examined the footprint closely to figure out who it belonged to." (Students: "Analyze!")
  • "The weather forecaster looked at the satellite images and charts to predict tomorrow's temperature." (Students: "Analyze!")
  • "I ate an apple for a snack." (Students: "Not analyze!")
  • "We observed the plant's growth each day and recorded its height." (Students: "Analyze!")
  • "The teacher graded all the papers." (Students: "Not analyze!")
• Teacher: "Excellent job, scientists! You are really getting the hang of using and understanding the word analyze."

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Additional Considerations:

• Gesture: As the teacher introduces "analyze," they could make a magnifying glass gesture with their hands or point to different parts of an object as if examining them.
• Repetition: Throughout the lesson, the teacher will naturally repeat the word "analyze" in different contexts, encouraging students to say it multiple times. For instance, "We analyze data," "Scientists analyze samples," "What does analyze mean?"
• Future Use: "Remember, when we do our experiments next week, we will need to analyze our results. Keep this word in mind!"

Academic Vocabulary Term: Analyze

Lesson Objective: Students will be able to define "analyze" and use it meaningfully in sentences to describe the process of examining something closely to understand its parts or meaning.

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Step 1: Introduce the Word

• Teacher: "Today, we're going to learn a new word that will help us understand stories and texts better. Our word is analyze. Can everyone say analyze?" (Students repeat).
• Teacher: "Let's clap out the syllables in analyze. An-a-lyze. How many syllables?" (Students respond: three).
• Teacher: "When we analyze something in reading, it means we look at it very carefully, like a detective looking for clues in a story. We break down the story or a character's actions to understand the different parts or what it all means."
• Visual Examples:
  • Show a picture of a detective looking at clues on a corkboard. "This detective is analyzing the clues to solve the mystery."
  • Show a picture of someone pointing to different parts of a book's cover or illustration. "This reader is analyzing the cover art to guess what the story might be about."
  • Show a cartoon character looking closely at a map. "This character is analyzing the map to find the treasure."

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Step 2: Students Use the Word Meaningfully

• Teacher: "Now it's your turn to use the word analyze! We're going to use a sentence frame to help us. The frame is: 'To analyze means to _______ so that _______.'"
• Teacher: "Let's practice that together: 'To analyze means to _______ so that _______.'" (Students repeat).
• Teacher: "Think about the story we just read about the lost puppy. When we wanted to figure out why the puppy ran away, what did we do?" (Pause for student responses, guide them towards looking at the story details).
• Teacher: "We looked closely at what was happening in the story to understand why the puppy ran away. That's analyzing! Let's try to complete our sentence frame using the story. For example, 'To analyze the puppy's actions means to look closely at the story details so that we can understand why he ran away.'"
• Partner Work: "Now, turn to your partner. I want you to take a minute to think about what it means to analyze a story or a character. Then, try to complete this sentence: 'To analyze means to _______ so that _______.' Share your sentence with your partner." (Allow 2-3 minutes for partner discussion).
• Class Sharing: "Who would like to share their sentence or their partner's sentence with the class? What does it mean to analyze when we're reading?" (Call on a few students to share their completed sentences, guiding them to connect "analyze" to story details, characters, or plot).

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Step 3: Check for Understanding

• Teacher: "Okay, we're going to play a quick game to see if we can tell when someone is talking about analyzing something in a story. If the sentence describes analyzing, I want you to say 'Analyze!' If it does NOT describe analyzing, I want you to say 'Not analyze.' Remember, analyzing means looking closely at parts to understand."
• Teacher: "If it's an example, what do we say?" (Students: "Analyze!")
• Teacher: "If it's not an example, what do we say?" (Students: "Not analyze!")
• Examples:
  • "The character felt sad because his best friend moved away." (Students: "Analyze!") - Teacher guides: Yes, we are looking at why he's sad, analyzing his feelings.
  • "The girl ate her lunch quickly." (Students: "Not analyze!")
  • "We reread the part of the story where the dragon appeared to understand why it was angry." (Students: "Analyze!")
  • "The boy wanted a new toy." (Students: "Not analyze!")
  • "We thought about what the author might have meant when she wrote that last sentence." (Students: "Analyze!")
  • "The teacher read a new book to the class." (Students: "Not analyze!")
• Teacher: "Excellent job, readers! You are really getting the hang of using and understanding the word analyze when we read."

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Additional Considerations:

• Gesture: As the teacher introduces "analyze," they could make a magnifying glass gesture with their hands or trace a finger over parts of a book or illustration.
• Repetition: Throughout the lesson, the teacher will naturally repeat the word "analyze" in different contexts, encouraging students to say it multiple times. For instance, "We analyze the plot," "Readers analyze characters," "What does analyze mean?"
• Future Use: "Remember, when we read our next chapter book, we will need to analyze the characters' motivations. Keep this word in mind!"