Procedure Guide: TARGET WORD LIST (TWL)

Target Word List: see TWL organizer

Connotative Word List: see CTWL organizer

Purpose: To increase sight vocabulary; to promote risk-taking in reading; to encourage the use of context clues; to develop awareness of relationships among words by targeting unfamiliar words.

The TWL organizer or a spiral notebook (using facing pages) may be used for this activity.

Before

· Explain the purpose of the activity.

· Use a Think-Aloud to model using the TWL form with an unfamiliar word.

· Through discussion and student modeling, assess student understanding of the activity and clarify any misconceptions.

· Divide students into groups (3-5) to practice using the strategy on a text they are reading; assess their grasp of the strategy and then reteach as necessary.

During

· Have each student use the strategy throughout his or her independent reading tasks, completing the TWL for unfamiliar words as follows:

Title and Author: The student completes the title and author sections; a "book key" can de devised if there is more than one text.

Page #: The student writes the page number on which the target word was encountered. He or she should include the "book key" code in cases where multiple texts are being read.

Target Word: The student writes the target word in this column.

Predicted Meaning: The student writes his or her best "guess" of the word's meaning, based on context and structural analysis.

· Direct students to continue reading. Allow students to consult a resource to determine the meaning only if comprehension of the overall text is disrupted completely

After

· Have students complete the remaining sections of the TWL.

Confirmed Meaning: After the student has finished reading, he or she checks a dictionary or another resource to confirm or revise the "guess."

Memory Key: The student writes any information that helps connect the word with its meaning. This may be with another word having the same root, with other words that are related to the concept, with a context sentence, or with any other strategy that works for the student (a picture, an equivalent in another language).

Assessment

Accuracy of predictions

Accuracy of confirmed meanings

Appropriateness of memory keys

Variations

· Group TWL .

Assign students to small groups.

Have each group scan the passage and select an unfamiliar word they think the entire class should learn. (The group should have two or three additional words in reserve in case their word has been used when their turn comes.)

Once the words are agreed upon, have each group research their word, explain its context, the prediction, the correct meaning for the context, and create a possible Memory Key. . . .

· Pre-Selected TWL

This activity is the same as the Group TWL (described above), except the teacher pre-selects the target' words.

· CTWL (Connotative Target Word list)

Pre-select target words

Have students predict both meaning and feeling of the target words

Have students confirm the connotative meaning of the target words