Part I:
In Kira-Kira, there are several words in this book that are tier 3, at least in my opinion. Most of these words are those that are Japanese in origin, such as kimono and kira-kira itself. There are not as many English tier 3 words in this book, because despite the author covering several deep topics, it is written as if coming directly from a young girl's mouth detailing events of that happened in the recent past. There are a ton of tier 2 words in this book that will probably need to be covered by the teacher, especially if this book is being read by advanced younger students.
Overall, I think that while the tier 2 words are definitely important to understand in the long run, for this book, it may be especially useful to teach some of the tier 3 words used in the book so that students understand them while reading. While they are specific for this book, they are (at least in my opinion) important enough to focus and devote at least a short time to covering.
Examples of words-
Tier I: dangerous, scientist, reflections
Tier 2: preparation, ancestors, gossip, fatigue, economy
Tier 3: kimono, shunning, kira-kira
Part II:
For my activity, I think I would do a quick activity with word posters using some of the words that are written in Japanese. They would then draw a picture of that word, which would help them associate what that word means.
P.S. Sorry this post is so late! Apparently I forgot to click publish before I exited out of the window last time, didn't realize it! My bad!
A quick activity like this may be alright if it is repeated and part of a warm up or something, but otherwise the students would match the words one time and forget about them. Additionally, I think it may be difficult for students to draw some of the vocabulary words; I can't think of how I would draw preparation or any of the tier 2 words. However, I do think that drawing a picture for the words would be a nice activity to connect with them in a more meaningful way rather than just looking at a definition.
ReplyDeleteI agree that there should be a visual representation of the words in Japanese and their English meaning around the class (i.e. a word wall). I would modify the activity to a word journal and have them clip out pictures from magazines or web articles instead of drawing pictures. I don't necessarily want them to find the meaning of the vocabulary but the definition in play (i.e. picture of a burning house is "dangerous") and then they would write the vocabulary next to the picture. Then later as a class share what we used to describe the defined word.Ever since my ELA lesson I have learned the power of sharing and discussion and I feel that discussing and sharing about the vocabulary and making real life connections using different modes of media will be more meaningful.
ReplyDeleteI was a part of a really good vocabulary learning exercise in which students were given the opportunity to choose a word to learn and then present to the class. The students checked the dictionary and internet for the meaning, synonyms, and origin of the word. After that, the students needed to create their own definition for the word, a picture that represented the word, and also an original sentence using the word. The students then put their work onto a large presentation paper. To finish the lesson, they then presented their word to the whole class. I think drawing a picture to associate with the word is a good first step, but students need to use the word multiple times before they can process the word and solidify it in their memory.
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