| "Carla and I found out what a seismograph is from an expert who studies earthquakes in California!" (Patty, age 8) "I made a jigsaw puzzle for the class with our science words and everybody liked it!" (Jenna, age 8) "Making a story on-line with my spelling words was more fun than studying the words." (Allison, age 10) "It was cool to get to choose my own clip art and put it on the crossword puzzle I made." (Barbara, age 11) |
These comments, made by students at various grade levels, suggest the popularity and potential benefits of using carefully selected websites for vocabulary learning. Not only were these students enjoying the activities involved in working with words and playing with language online, they were also gaining the metalinguistic awareness necessary to learn to recognize and spell words. They were developing the ability to manipulate the structural features of language that include phonemes, morphemes, prefixes, roots, and suffixes. They were also learning the meaning of words as they participated in activities found at some of the websites listed in this article.
These students were engaged in traditional reading and writing while they were learning the new literacies (Leu, 2002a, online document; 2002b). Most teachers agree with Leu, who proposes that learning to use the new literacies of the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICT) is of critical importance. Leu believes that learning how to learn the new literacies is just as important as becoming proficient in traditional literacies. He states that the work world of the future will require the ability to identify and solve problems quickly and communicate these ideas to others, and ICT use prepares students for this.
In the traditional sense of literacy, the students quoted here were connecting concepts and meaning with printed words, recognizing and using letter patterns to make new words, analyzing and using structural elements such as affixes and roots to create words, and spelling words accurately. But, they were also practicing the new literacies required by ICT, including Internet navigation, searching, site location, scrolling, mouse clicking, and keyboarding. With appropriate teacher direction, these students could also acquire a key component of the new literacies by learning how to analyze websites critically for currency, purpose, accuracy, author, and author credentials.
Although understanding of the relationship between technology and literacy is limited (Kamil, Intrator, & Kim, 2000), most teachers can attest to the positive relationship between technology and motivation that is suggested in the student comments above. Indeed, many students who lack interest and sometimes develop behavior problems seem as hypnotized by the computer as the crew of the ship in Chris Van Allsburg's The Wretched Stone. Students who seem turned off to reading books and writing with pencil and paper often vie for computer time in the classroom and are excited about learning to use technology. Thus, it makes sense to use selected Internet sites to stimulate students' traditional literacy and word learning as they develop the ICT skills that are part of the new literacies.
Vocabulary building online can help to develop collaboration skills and positive home-school connections as well. For example, some teachers post a list of appropriate Internet sites near the computer in a "technology corner" of their classroom. Here they post a sign-up sheet and encourage students to work with partners to access and use the sites. Other teachers send students home with a list of Internet sites, or they include the list in the class newsletter to encourage parents, caregivers, and siblings to use these sites at home with students.
The following Internet sites for vocabulary learning, selected from Stretching Students' Vocabulary (Bromley, 2002), include a brief description of each site and suggested age levels. It is probably wise to visit each site yourself to determine appropriateness for your students before you direct them to use it. You may decide to set bookmarks on your classroom computer for particular sites for easier access. Setting bookmarks can help maintain your students' Internet safety because it limits surfing and exploration of potentially inappropriate sites.
Vocabulary University offers students aged 8 to 17 puzzles and games that build their vocabulary and help them to earn a site "diploma."
Ask An Expert allows 8- to 17-year-olds to contact real world experts for help in answering questions about particular subjects and learning the meanings of new words.
DiscoverySchool's Puzzlemaker provides a clip art gallery and the tools needed to create and print customized puzzles in a number of different styles for students aged 8 to 13.
Encyclopedia.com contains information on many subjects, including important events in world history that happened on the date the site is accessed. The site, useful for 8- to 17-year olds, also provides links to dictionaries, almanacs, and thesauruses.
Surfing the Net with Kids provides students aged 8 to 17 a game directory that includes games listed by type (i.e., crossword or jigsaw) and topic (i.e., science or history) and a search function for specific games.
Merriam-Webster Online introduces a new Word Game of the Day in different puzzle formats. Designed for 8- to 17-year-olds, the sites features games such as "Transform Brainstorm," which lets players change a word into another word using clues about the word's meaning).
Wacky Web Tales creates a story using 10-15 words (focusing on different parts of speech) supplied by students and publishes these "Wacky Web Tales" for visitors to read. This site is geared toward students aged 8 to 11.
Words@Random presents 8- to 17-year-olds with technical vocabulary, slang, and other new words, organized by decade they began to be used. It also provides answers to students' questions about words, accepts suggestions of new words, and features a variety of vocabulary games.
A.Word.A.Day introduces a new word every day, centering around a weekly theme. The site, useful for 11- to 17-year olds, also provides definition, pronunciation, etymology, usage, quotation, and other information. Students can sign up to have a new word e-mailed to them each day.
The Acronym Finder defines the meaning of acronym and nested acronym, and features an acronym finder database with meanings for 232,000 acronyms, like NASA, NATO, and many others. A great resource for students aged 8 to 17.
References
Bromley, K. (2002). Stretching students' vocabulary. New York: Scholastic.
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Kamil, M.L., Intrator, S.M., & Kim, H.S. (2000). The effects of other technologies on literacy and literacy learning. In M.L. Kamil, P. Mosenthal, P.D. Pearson, & R. Barr (Eds.), Handbook of reading research: Volume III (pp. 771-88). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
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Leu, D.J. (2002a). Internet workshop: Making time for literacy. The Reading Teacher, 55(5), 466-72.
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Leu, D.J. (2002b). The new literacies: Research on reading instruction with the Internet. In A.E. Farstrup, & S.J. Samuels (Eds.), What research has to say about reading instruction (pp. 310-336). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
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Karen Bromley (e-mail kbromley@binghamton.edu) is a professor at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Binghamton. Formerly, she taught third grade and was a K-6 reading specialist in New York and Maryland. She obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland. Her research interests are in classroom literacy instruction and the writing process. She has written several books for teachers: Stretching Students Vocabulary, Journaling, Graphic Organizers: Visual Strategies for Active Learning and 50 Graphic Organizers for Reading, Writing and More (Scholastic), and Language Arts: Exploring Connections, 3rd ed., and Webbing with Literature (Allyn & Bacon).
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Citation: Bromley, K. (2002, July/August). Vocabulary learning online. Reading Online, 6(1). Available: http://www.readingonline.org/newliteracies/lit_index.asp?HREF=webwatch/vocabulary/index.html