article response Vocabulary

Article #1

Vocabulary Development During Read-Alouds        Karen J. Kindle

It is important to carefully choose a book to develop vocabulary for a read aloud.  There is Tier 1 words, which are common everyday words, such as house or car.  Then, there are Tier 2 word, in which usually the teacher will be introducing these words during the read aloud.

This article provided several different strategies to teach vocabulary during a read aloud.  However, what I have found the most useful from the article for my grade level is labeling and providing examples.  In Kindergarten, it is very age appropriate to use labeling….I have a lot of children who need visual cues and who are ESOL learners and the labeling is extremely important in learning vocabulary.

**I chose this activity to go with this article. 

Activity:  Read-Aloud   Nigel  The adventures of baby elephant and his meercat friend Moe

                                          By:  Patsy Smith Roberts

Background:  This is a story written by Patsy Roberts after a trip she took to Africa.  She has a passion for wildlife and has been to Africa many times.  She took all of the photographs that are used in this book.  This is a work of fiction that the author has written using the pictures she took. This children really enjoy this book for one because of the beautiful pictures.  The story is about a baby elephant who gets lost from her Mom and meets a meercat. The elephants mom has gotten caught by a poacher and killed. As the animals travel through the African Savana, they encounter several other animals….some dangerous.   They finally come to the matriarch of the elephant herd.  The baby elephant explains what happened to his mom and the matriarch takes him in as part of her family.  He gained a new baby elephant brother also.  Then, the meercat and elephant part ways….both now getting to go back “home” to their families.     

Vocabulary:

Herd-group of elephants

Matriarach- the girl ruler of the elephants

Desert- hot dry land

Africa- a place (country) far from home

Dangerous-something bad could happen

Enemy-someone who is not my friend

The actual photographs in the book will engage students and help them to understand the vocabulary words.

I think this activity could be text to world because many of the animals listed here, kids may have seen in the zoo or in another book.