Rationale:

Are your students intrigued with the words around them?

Do they get excited when they learn about unfamiliar words?

Are they motivated to understand the meanings and subtleties of words they find in their reading?

Do their vocabularies seem rich and varied?

If so, your students may be word conscious. But don’t worry; this is a good thing, as it will help them increase their reading comprehension and become engaged and motivated in many aspects of reading.

Vocabulary knowledge is considered one of the five essential components of reading. In order for our students to flourish as strong readers, we must provide them with a variety of encounters with words and language along with quality instruction. The average vocabulary size of a given high school senior was once thought to be about 40,000 words. It is approximated that the average students should learn between 2,000 to 3,000 new words each year from elementary school through high school. Some would rate this number rather low siting that students, if multiple definitions are considered along with proper nouns and idioms, may know more than 80,000 words by the time they graduate high school (Anderson & Nagy, 1992).

Reading researchers Graves and Watts-Taffe suggest that while a successful vocabulary program must contain opportunities for wide reading, the teaching of individual words and meanings, and the instruction of word learning strategies, there must also be opportunities to foster word consciousness (2002). Word consciousness can be considered a disposition toward words that is both cognitive and affective (Anderson & Nagy, 1992; Graves & Watts, 2002). Graves writes that, “simply stated, word consciousness refers to awareness of and interest in words and their meanings” ( Graves, 2006). Creating opportunities in the realm of word consciousness will inevitably help students gain a greater metacognition about vocabulary and language. It will also help increase their motivation, interest, and the enjoyment of reading (Graves & Watts-Taffe, 2002).

The student who is word conscious has the following characteristics (FOR-PD, 2003):

• Knows a lot of words well.
• Is interested in words.
• Enjoys using words well.
• Enjoys seeing or hearing others use words well.
• Finds words intriguing.
• Recognizes skillful word usage when s/he encounters it.
• Uses words skillfully.
• Is on the look out for new and precise words.
• Is responsive to the nuances of word meanings.
• Is also well aware of the power of words.
• Realizes that words can be used to foster clarity and understanding or to confuse matters.

Graves (2004) suggests two key facts as support for the importance of word consciousness. First, the activities that nurture word consciousness are motivational. They provide students with the opportunity to enjoy language in a positive light and be able to interact with it on many levels. Second, the lack of vocabulary is a key factor on why many disadvantaged students are not succeeding in the area of literacy. Keeping struggling students engaged in with words, exposing them to new words, and providing opportunities for vocabulary investigations will help them develop “powerful” vocabularies.

How to Use the Strategy:

Many ideas and approaches lend themselves to the fostering of word consciousness both inside, and outside, of the classroom. Approaches can range from the informal to formal, more time consuming to less time consuming, and even can be based upon the demands required from the student. Word consciousness can be developed in all students regardless of age or reading level, as well as in a variety of contexts (Graves, 2006). It is important to remember to consider your students and their needs when using different approaches.

Modeling

Modeling adept word choice is a great way to help students learn new words and build word consciousness. Consider the difference between telling students the moster was very scary and the monster was ghastly. Consider the difference between asking students if their lunch was good or if their lunch was delectable. Allowing students to hear unknown words to describe familiar concepts often will make them curious and want to learn more.

Another approach to consider when modeling is to use word-of-the-day. Designating time each day to explore a new word can be effective with students of all ages. "The word can be teacher-selected or student-selected and might be chosen from books, magazine articles, or newspapers, or from discussions, and even other teachers" (FOR-PD, 2003). It is important to include both the meaning, contextual information, an explanation on why it was selected, and how it relates to the student's life. Relevant pictures, regalia, and even dramatic presentation can also help students understand the word.

Word-of-the-day can also be developed into a guessing game. The teacher may create a set of clues and introduce them at the beginning of the day. Guesses about the mystery words can be written down and by the students and then reviewed at the end of the day. Another thought is to use the mystery word throughout the day. The teacher could provide the word in contextual sentences relating to classroom instruction. An example may be for the teacher to say, "Remember, when I blow my whistle, scamper as fast as you can so we can get drinks after recess." Later the teacher may think aloud about what animal scampers faster, a rabbit or mouse. At the end of the day the teacher will ask students what they word of the day was and what it meant (Blacowicz & Fisher, 2002).

Promoting Word Play

Word play, also known as logology, refers to the “adaptation or use of words to achieve an effect, and it is accomplished through the manipulation of meanings, arrangements, sounds, spellings, and various other aspects of words” (Johnson, Johnson, & Schlichting, 2004). Word play is an important part to helping enhance word consciousness and should not be seen just as a simple activity to pass the time. Blachowicz and Fisher (2004) offer four research-based statements about word play:

• Word play is motivating and an important component of the word-rich classroom.
• Word play calls on students to reflect metacognitively on words, word parts, and context.
• Word play requires students to be active learners and capitalize on possibilities for the social construction of meaning.
• Word play develops domains of word meanings and relatedness as it engages students in practice and rehearsal of words. (p. 219)

Homophones and Homographs

Homophones are pairs of words that that have the same pronunciation but are spelled differently, and have different meanings. Examples of these may include pair and pear, meet and meat, and there and their. There are many activities you can use to expand on these words including folding a piece of paper into four squares and allowing students to write each word in their own quadrant and illustrating the word in the quadrant next to the word.

pear
pair

Homographs are words that sound alike and are spelled alike, but have different meanings. Examples of homographs are top, pit, country, sheet, and duck. A great way to have students’ practice using homographs is for them to create before and after phrases around the main word ( Graves, 2006). An example of this would be:

_________ sheet _____________

a bed covering—sheet—one piece of paper

_________ bat __________

flying mammal—bat—wooden stick

Idioms, Cliches, and Puns

Word play is designed to help students think about words. Idioms, cliches, and puns all lend themselves to enhancing metacognition and critical thinking because to understand them, you have to go beyond the literal. It must be noted that idioms can sometimes pose problems to English language learners because they can be quite confusing at first glance. Helping students grasp the meaning behind idioms like “backseat driver” and “as easy as pie” can be extremely helpful. Allowing time to explore the idiom, illustrate the idiom, and compares the idioms literal meaning to its figurative meaning is great way to strengthen understanding.

Puns are punny, and quite clever! Advertisers love to use them so to help students understand and become more word conscious, bring in advertisements and newspapers into the classroom. It is a great way to create discussion about these phrases and the meaning behind them.

Word Play Books

Word play books are readily available and allow students the opportunity to not only be entertained by funny words, but also to raise interest in the words that they read. Books such as The King Who Rained and A Chocolate Moose for Dinner, both by Fred Gwynne, can heighten the understanding of idioms, homophones, and homographs.

The Phantom Tollbooth and Frindle both have plots that center on words and language. Understanding the situations in these books, along with noting their play on words, supports critical thinking. Books like Thank You, Amelia Bedelia and Come Back, Amelia Bedelia help students interpret what is happening in the text by encouraging discussion on the many misconceptions presented through the language.

Drama

Using dramatization to create situations can help clarify words and meanings. Allowing students to form groups and do a short skit on a specific word can be an excellent activity for impacting students understanding of a word. Blachowicz and Fisher (2002) suggest giving words to students that provide the word, the meaning, a situation that can be acted out, and a question that can be discussed after the skit is completed.

Word: frantic Meaning: excessively agitated; extremely upset Situation: You are babysitting a neighbors child. You lost the child in the grocery store. You can’t find the child and are asking people for help. Question: When was the last time you felt frantic? Describe the situation. (Based on Blachowicz & Fisher, 2002)

Investigations

As students begin their years in middle and high school, allowing them to conduct original investigations is an excellent way to increase word consciousness ( Graves, 2006). One thought is to ask students to investigate the vocabulary used in particular text. They may choose to compare words given in particularly local and national newspapers. The teacher may ask them to critique the level of the language, the word choice, how many high frequency words were used, and how the level of the text affected their reading of the newspaper. Discussion can be created on how the student’s attitudes changed about the words used after comparing and contrasting the two chosen publications.

Assessment:

Assessment of word consciousness development is an ongoing evaluation. It can take the form of teacher observation or a student self-assessment. Helping students understand that they can have power over the words around them, giving them the opportunity to develop and grow from experiences with words, and giving quality feedback are important parts to helping students enhance word consciousness.

The following Likert scale can be given at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year to help teachers be informed about their student’s feelings towards words and vocabulary.

(click above to see PDF version of Word Consciousness Scale)

Resources:

What is Word Consciousness?
Linda Diamond and Linda Gutlohn provide us with this detailed excerpt from their book, Vocabulary Handbook, on the topic of word consciousness. http://www.corelearn.com/PDFS/Books/CORE_VocabHandbk%20Ch%203%20What%20Excerpt.pdf

Between the Lions: Word Play
This action packed site is geared toward primary students who want to learn more about the words around them and their meanings.
http://pbskids.org/lions/games/wordplay.html

Word Spy
All sorts of word play, including help with crossword puzzles and wordplay tournaments.
http://www.wordspy.com/

Words and Word Play
This site offers a variety of language and word activities including oxymoron, tongue twisters, and limericks.
http://thinks.com/words/

Quia Game--Homograph
This site presents an interactive quiz game comparing homographs.
http://www.quia.com/cb/828 5.html

Idiom Site
Idioms are everywhere on this site. An alphabetical list is supplied with detailed description of the true meaning of each idiom.
http://w ww.idiomsite.com/

Word Origins
Understanding the background and history of words can be interesting and fun! This site provides access to some common known words.
http://www.wordorigins.org/

Books With Rhyme, Alliteration, and Other Word Play
This site provides an extensive list of books that would enhance word play in the home or classroom.
http://www.songsforteaching.com/avni/alliterativebooks.htm

References:

Anderson, R. C., and W. E. Nagy. 1992. The vocabulary conundrum. American Educator 16, pp. 14–18, 44–47.

Blachowicz, C., & Fisher, P. (2002). Teaching vocabulary in all classrooms (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall.

Blachowicz, C., and P. Fisher. 2004. Keep the “fun” in fundamental: Encouraging word awareness and incidental word learning in the classroom through word play. In J. F. Baumann and E. J. Kame’enui (eds.), Vocabulary instruction: Research to practice. New York: Guilford.

Florida Online Reading Professional Development. (2003). Lesson 7: Phonemic awareness and phonics. Retrieved June 6, 2006.

Graves , M. F. 2006. The vocabulary book: Learning and instruction. New York: Teachers College Press.

Graves , M. F., and S. M. Watts-Taffe. 2002.The place of word consciousness in a research-based vocabulary program. In A. E. Farstrup and S. J. Samuels (eds.), What research has to say about reading instruction. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Johnson, D. D., B. von H. Johnson, and K. Schlichting. 2004. Logology: Word and language play. In J. F. Baumann and E. J. Kame’enui (eds.), Vocabulary instruction: Research to practice. New York: Guilford.