Starting Out Behind - Be Relentless & Explicit

1. Introduction to Purposeful Instructional Equity ©

2. “What they hear and interpret-
the message they get from their teacher-(para, principal,
parent)has a huge impact on how they think and act, and
ultimately how they learn.”
Dr. Paula Denton, The Power of Our Words
DON’T ABUSE THE

3. Theme #1
Vocabulary Are the Building Blocks of
Language

4. One day on a field trip to the local park with first graders
from a high poverty school , little Marco exuberantly
exclaimed, “Look! There’s a Kangaroo!!!” The teacher turned
around expecting to see…
What she saw instead
was…..
Authentic recount

5. On the very same day, a first grade class from a neighboring suburban school
visited the park. Parent chaperones accompanied small groups of three
students as they viewed the animals. One first grade boy named Nicholas
inquired of his parent chaperone, “Could you please tell me when it is
appropriate to use the term buffalo versus bison when you are talking about
those animals?”

6. NICHOLAS
Nicholas has a giant fund of general
information from experiences provided
by his home, family, and opportunities
offered to him by his environment which
he then uses to make learning
connections. His early nurturing has
made him an inquisitive, confident
learner.

7. Marco is a little boy with an intact family.
He has no siblings and has social deficits.
His parents speak English as a second
language. They love their son but are
overwhelmed with attempting to make a
living. Marco lives in Section 8 Housing
and has little opportunity to venture
outside his tenement. His parents do not
feel that their neighborhood is safe. Marco
has no books at home. School is the only
venue that can make a difference. His
limited fund of general knowledge limits
the connections he makes in learning.
MARCO

8. This particular illustrative account involves first graders.
The gap is exponentially greater at the secondary level.
In the upper grades KIPs have become adept at
protecting their egos and typically act out to mask their
lack of tools to participate or disengage. The problem is
the same regardless of level.

9. Let this true account serve as a very authentic example of the
different fields of experience between two students living not six
miles apart. It is emblematic of the educational schism we as
educators face as we try to meet the needs of all students, often in
the same classroom. These two youngsters will begin taking the
same high stakes testing in two years and competing for a finite
number of college and career opportunities in less than a dozen
years later.

10. What Can A Teacher
Do?

11. THE WHY (Be intentional & transparent about why this is important)
 Ability to understand others
 Ability to gain access to the “great fund” of knowledge
 Ability to express oneself with clarity & precision
 Ability to navigate school, work place & LIFE
Be Relentless About Building a Robust
Vocabulary
Robert Marzano

12. THE HOW Every minute, every day is time to build, practice, utilize
…
 Label the environment using grade appropriate words- be immersed in words!
 Personalize word learning- use multiple sources
 Elevate your level of everyday language usage
 “Bury” over used words “nice”, “fine”, “good”
 Use strategies that employ multiple modalities- Google Images to “illustrate” word meaning
for example
 Acknowledge student usage of higher level vocabulary
 Use anchor charts to support vocabulary usage
 BUILD BACKGROUND
Over Used
Words

13. Theme #2
Building Background Supports Ability to
Communicate

14. The need to build and maintain a robust vocabulary is not isolated to KIPs. ELL,
SPED and others benefit from this need. The attached Clip emphasizes the
practice of “explicit” teaching of vocabulary for ELL students but this applies
equally to KIPs. Please note the
repetition of a teacher needing to be explicit in this context as has been noted in all
other
areas.
Explicit Instruction

15. 3 Common Misconceptions About Teaching
Vocabulary
1. The meaning of a word is not finite. It is a part of a greater context in a
sentence or phrase which can affect meaning.
2. Students either know a word or they don’t. We all have words that we use but
would be hard pressed to define. There are words we use in one form but not in
another. We may recognize and derive meaning from a word without owning it.
3. Students will learn words just because a teacher uses them. Words heard but
never used are never owned.

16. Theme #3
Why Student Talk is Essential to Student Learning

17.  It is axiomatic that teachers dominate classroom talk, primarily questioning to
check for understanding.
 In classrooms with a higher number of KIPs, teachers talk appreciably more
than in other classrooms.( Lingard, Hayes & Mills 2003)
 Student talk is at the ❤️heart of developing student thinking. Teachers must
plan and explicitly teach these skills as an important part of the lesson, not a
gratuitous after thought.

18. Gradual Release
I do it - Explicit teaching
We do it- Guided Practice
You do it with Training Wheels- Independent Practice
YOU DO IT!!!! - Application of skill independently
X
Tradecraft : Fostering I ndependence

19. It is important that “classrooms are structured in such a way that students are
introduced to ideas and then have opportunities to work with these ideas before
being
expected to complete tasks independently.” Fisher, Frey & Rothenberg 2008

20.  Be explicit
 Set norms for acceptable
behavior
 Provide practice
 Use scaffolded support charts,
hand cards, etc.

21. Theme #4
Promoting Academic Discourse
“Telling isn’t teaching and student must be actively engaged in the academic
discourse of the classroom if they are to understand the content.” Fisher, Frey &
Rothenberg 2008

22. Additions to Your Glossary of Terms:
Function- The purpose of the message being conveyed to the
listener. Is the sender conveying information, a question or a
command.
Form- What is the comprehensibility of the structure of the
message being conveyed.
Register- The relative formality of the language used in the
message.
KIPs commonly make messaging errors in all of the areas stated

23. “ Open-ended questions powerfully support children’s academic and
social learning by encouraging their curiosity and challenging them
to think for themselves.”
The Power of Our Words Dr. Paula Denton
ASK OPEN ENDED
QUESTIONS

24.  Start with creating norms
 Be interactive with students in conversation
 Ask questions and encourage students to ask
questions
 Help students practice active listening & turn taking
 Give students time to organize their thoughts
 Assist but don’t overpower
 Use scripts to practice conversation with students

25. “Far from simply receiving students’ words passively,
to listen means to search for the speakers’ intended meaning
beneath the words.”
“When …we truly listen to students, students feel known,
learn about themselves, feel like they belong to a community
and become better communicators.”
LISTENI
NG
Dr. Paula Denton, The Power of Our Words

26.  Give students time to think & process the question
 Giving Wait Time significantly increases participation
 Creates a safe, supportive learning environment
 Model, model, model…
WAIT
TIME

27. “Reinforcing language names
for students what they’re doing
well whether it is in the social
or academic realm.” Dr. Paula Denton
REINFORCING
LANGUAGE
“Your precision in putting together this bicycle is impressive!” Is much more meaningful than “Good job!”

28. SCAFFOLDED STRATEGIES &
SUPPORTS
GREAT STRATEGY 

30. Theme #5
Formal Versus Casual Register

31. What is Formal
Register?
Double click to find out 

32. According to Martin Joos a prolific author on the subject describes
language registers as ways of describing the relative formality of
speech and when those registers are violated, it is extremely
noticeable.
Everyone who is successful uses a variety of language registers
depending on the context of the encountered life circumstance. You
would speak to your boss differently than you would speak to your
best friend or sister.

33. KIPs commonly have limited range of registers and are awkward in
their syntax, function, form and register not to mention limited
vocabularies. Gently helping these students understand the
nuances will give them confidence and a structure to their ability to
communicate effectively.
The ability to traverse various language registers will help them
become successful in navigating school and life.

34. ….for thegift of your time, participation & presence.