Welcome to our continued discussion, Build Your Own Toolkit with CrowdED Learning! For the next two weeks Jeff Goumas will lead our discussion with a focus on grammar and vocabulary. If you are just joining this discussion please refer back to topics 1 through 3 where our focus included an introduction to CrowdED Learning, comprehension, and fluency As usual, during week 1 of grammar and vocabulary, Jeff will introduce us to resources, and during week two we will engage with strategies for instruction.
Good Morning Jeff! Please describe for us the grammar and vocabulary resources available in CrowdED Learning.
Comments
For the next two weeks, we will be exploring a pair of freely available resources—one focused on building Tier 2 academic vocabulary and one focused on providing instruction and practice on grammar and usage in writing.
The following resources will be used for this week’s exploration:
Notetaking Tool | Use this notetaking tool as you explore the resources being featured this week. In includes all of the details included within this post, and space for you to gather your thoughts before posting.
Video | This video includes a walkthrough this week’s resources (the first 5 minutes of the video), followed by an interview from North Carolina adult educator and professional developer Steve Schmidt, who provides detailed insights into one of this week’s resources.
Resource Exploration Overview
Both resources we will explore as part of this topic are both freely available.
Quill | Quill is a comprehensive set of activities, lessons, and assessments designed to provide whole class instruction and extensive individual practice of standard grammar, punctuation, and usage. There are four main types of activities—teacher-led interactive lessons (see example), sentence writing activities (see example), interactive passage proofreading activities (see example), and formative assessments (see example).
ASU Tier 2 Vocabulary | From Appalachian State University, this curriculum includes 38 lessons, each consisting of five, tier-2 academic vocabulary words. Lessons are downloadable Word documents teachers can adjust however they see fit. CrowdED Learning has developed Quizlet decks for each of these lessons as well, giving learners mobile-friendly, interactive options for learning and practicing the vocabulary words.
Discussion Questions
Use these questions to organize your your exploration of this week’s resources.
What current resources do you use to help learners develop Tier 2 academic vocabulary? To develop and practice skills using proper conventions of standard English language (for speaking and writing)? How do you integrate them into your reading and writing curriculum?
Go to the CrowdED Learning website and open the alignments document for Quill. Find some concepts you currently teach and click on the links to open the activities. How might you use activities such as these with your learners?
Visit the Appalachian State University vocabulary curriculum and explore one of the lessons. What are your thoughts on the structure and sequence of the activities? How might you use these lessons to help your learners strengthen their vocabulary? How might you share and/or assign the associated Quizlet decks to provide learners with practice engaging with the words?
Happy exploring! If you are so inclined, feel free to read a bit more about grammar and Tier 2 vocabulary instruction....
Conventions of Standard English
The College & Career Readiness Standards for Adult Education include standards for Language (pp. 33–39) that provide guidance for the skills learners need to develop. These include grammar and usage in writing and speaking (Language anchor standard 1); capitalization, punctuation, and spelling (Language anchor standard 2); and making appropriate choices based on context and the information being communicated (Language anchor standard 3).
CrowdED Learning has taken over 500 of Quill’s lessons and activities and created a document that indicates how each activity aligns to the CCRS and TABE 11/12. This allows instructors to easily locate lessons, activities, and assessments that are specific to the concepts they wish to teach.
Tier 2 Academic Vocabulary
Vocabulary is one of the core components of Evidence-based Reading Instruction. It refers to understanding the meaning of the words that make up texts. CCRS Language anchor standards 4–6 all focus on vocabulary. With the increased rigor of the CCRS, particularly the emphasis on more complex informational texts, adult learners require explicit instruction of the academic words and phrases that appear in these texts and allow for greater comprehension (Language anchor standard 6).
LINCS offers this overview from CALPRO on research and teaching strategies for developing vocabulary with adult learners. It explains the various tiers of vocabulary, and defines Tier 2 words as “...words that learners encounter in written text more than in conversation and whose meanings may not be immediately apparent based on context clues.” One of the most widely recognized sources for identifying what Tier 2 vocabulary words to develop with learners is the academic word list, which includes 570 word families that frequently appear in academic texts.
Jeff,
I thought the vocabulary lessons provided by Steve Schmidt were especially valuable. He emphasized the need for using explicit instruction for teaching vocabulary, instead of providing students with independent handouts. The lessons available from ASU are great examples of how to teach and provide guided and independent practice using tier two vocabulary words. I have previously used the strategies Steve provided. They have been effective and I believe my students liked the activities.
Jeri
Hello Jeff and all, There are quite a few excellent online resources for teaching grammar to English learners. Our students told us about Learn American English Online, which features teacher Paul and his brief video lessons on a wide range of grammar topics from beginning to high intermediate. Each lesson also includes practice exercises. All Things Grammar features downloadable grammar worksheets on a bunch of components of grammar. I've drawn from both of these sites often in my own teaching.
Cheers, Susan Finn Milller
Moderator, Teaching & Learning and English Language Acquisition CoPs
Thanks for sharing these. I had not seen either of them before, so I will add them to my list as possible additions. Nice to see both an online and an offline version (All Things Grammar) that allows instructors to provide grammar practice for students who might not have online access.