"What does that word mean?" How to Start Fostering Curiosity Around Language in Our Classrooms #engaginglitminds
As I am reading to my youngest daughter, Sophia, she often has me stop reading and asks, “What does that word mean?” We talk about the word and then continue on with our reading. At five, Sophia is doing what I try to teach my students to do when reading. She stops when a word doesn’t make sense or she doesn’t know what the word means. She has a natural curiosity for words and wants to understand their meanings. However, not all children hold this same curiosity.
While reading Chapter 11 of Engaging Literate Minds, “Learning to Love Words”, I was struck with some realizations about curiosity and words. The authors share how the students in their rooms have this curiosity and how they nurture this by using it as teaching points. Word study is often initiated by what students have read, what they are using in their writing, or when a question arises from their reading. It is not systematic in the sense that a scope and sequence is followed. Instead, when word learning is initiated by a child, the teacher uses that and expands on the concept. Additionally, the teachers utilize small groups to reteach and enrich word learning concepts.
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When I taught third grade, I was systematic in my word study teaching: assessing what my students knew and understood about word patterns, determining their word study level, and creating groups using this information. Students learned about specific patterns each week as well as words that did not fit their patterns. They were guided in their learning and also given opportunities to explore. Yet after reading this chapter, I began to wonder if I could have done more.
Could I have looked at my students’ writing and identified word patterns that would have better served them in their learning?
Could I have expanded word study by using what students were curious about?
Could I have asked questions about interesting words they encountered in their reading for the day?
I may not know the answers to these questions, but I can learn from them, such as:
Taking the advice of the authors and digging deeper into my students’ writing.
Sharing interesting words I have found and asking my students to do the same.
Modeling for students how to work through unknown words and instilling the value of doing so, rather than simply skipping the hard words.
Following my students’ lead when it comes to word study.
Hopefully, in utilizing some of the strategies the authors have shared, I will hear more of “What does that word mean?” from my students as I hear from my daughter.
This post is part of our 2020 Summer Book Study. Find all previous posts and more information here. Also, we will discuss Engaging Literate Minds next Wednesday at 4:30 P.M. at the newsletter. Sign up below – it’s free! (Also, we will be hosting a Zoom chat on the last Wednesday, July 15 at the same time. Sign up for the chat during next Wednesday’s discussion.)