Words that are Worth their Weight

One thing I love about teaching, is how you get to start fresh each August and revise the work of the year before.  This year, I took my old idea of an interactive word wall (credit to Janet Allen, of course!), and revised it to include the three tiers of vocabulary instruction.

Tier 1 Vocabulary
Tier 1 words are basic, common sight words.  Simple, single-meaning words like "good" or "dog" or "sad" or "sit." Dr. Seussy words that are critical vocabulary for younger students and emerging readers. For middle school students, however, Tier 1 words make for pretty lousy writing.  Thus, the Tier 1 words have become our "'Bad' Words." 

Tier 1 Vocabulary

Early in the year, we discuss what makes precise writing. As kids use "he" or "it" vaguely, I redirect them to be more specific about who or what they're writing or talking about. They "find a better word" and hang the "bad word" on the wall for future reference. From there, they love to listen for bad words and help keep each other (and me!) precise and clear.

Tier 2 Vocabulary
These words are part of the general academic language that opens doors for students.  I used to call them SAT words when I was their age.  Since the student population I teach isn't as obsessed with the SAT as we preppy little Catholic school students were, I now call them "Money Words" in my classroom.  These words are "rich," in that they are specific and enrich writing.  They're also "five-dollar words," and most importantly, they are the words the acquisition of which will provide my students with better, more lucrative opportunities. 

Tier 2 Vocabulary

These are words my students find in their reading throughout the year.  When they don't know the meaning of a word, they use context clues, roots, the dictionary and me to access the meaning of the word.  As they learn new, more precise, rich words, they write them on these sticky sentence strips and post them on our word wall.  Students enjoy the kinesthetic aspect of this routine, and they compete to see who can post the most Money Words.  Not only do they enjoy adding to the word wall, they also refer to it as they write to get ideas and inspiration to enliven their word choice.

Tier 3 Vocabulary
These are domain-specific words.  So, in biology "mitosis" and "nucleus," and in math "slope" and "algorithm."  These words aren't widely used and don't necessarily provide much capital beyond their field.  Tier 3 words are still important to each content area, however, for accessing, processing, understanding, discussing and reflecting on the content.

Tier 3 Vocabulary

As we learn literary terms, literacy skills, or discuss unfamiliar terminology of the study of English language arts, students write down the words and post them for later reference and review. 

Tier 3 used to be the main focus of ELA vocabulary instruction.  With the new Common Core Standards, however, has come vocabulary revolution.  The Common Core shifts in ELA and math are pushing instruction to more rigorous realms.  Where we used to teach domain-specific vocabulary nearly exclusively, we now teach students to mine complex texts for rich, multi-layered academic language.  The emphasis on the subtleties and the multi-faceted, organic nature of language pushes students beyond the rote memorization of words like "metaphor" and "synecdoche" to understanding the ways in which authors use words to play with language and make deep, real meaning. 

The shift from Tier 3 to Tier 2 is so much more than new vocabulary lists.  It's a move BEYOND vocabulary lists to deep analysis and acquisition of powerful words that can empower students.