TC Name: Marissa Carney

RICA Domain 4: Vocabulary

RICA Competency: Vocabulary, Academic Language, and Background Knowledge: Role in Reading Development and Factors that Affect Development

Grade Level: 2nd

INSTRUCTION:
I observed Mrs. W. teaching Vocabulary and Academic Language. It was on a rainy day and she was reading the book Why Does it Rain? She tapped the students’ background knowledge by asking them what they know about rain and whether or not they have seen water vapor when someone boils water over a stove. She then introduced them to the academic language of evaporation and the water cycle. By tying in their knowledge of vapor into the word evaporation, the students were able to have a foundation on which they could build their academic vocabulary. These two words (vapor and evaporation) received more explicit instruction and emphasis than the other scientific words in the book because these were the target vocabulary words and not all words need to be given equal emphasis.
Mrs. W. then had the students share with a partner what they learned about the water cycle and many of them were able to use “evaporation” accurately in their descriptions. Because written language is more complex than spoken language, I was proud of the students for being able to articulate what the book taught them about the water cycle into an ordinary conversation.
Later that day, when the storm hit really hard, Mrs. W. had the students sit under the awning outside to watch the rain and write about their experience. She wrote the words “thunder,” “lightning,” and “evaporation,” on the board for students who needed help with spelling and just in case they wanted to use their new vocabulary.

INSTRUCTIONAL SETTING
Mrs. W. has a corner of her room that is devoted to reading and her schedule includes the Daily 5 program. Because of the amounts of books in her classroom, there are ample opportunities for students to read and to come across new words to build their vocabulary. The students also have personalized reading folders with a packet to record new words that they do not know. By writing them down and recording their meanings, the students will be able to easily reference them whenever they are needed. It is definitely an environment that is conducive to teaching all components of literacy, including vocabulary!