![]() They are instead designed to be more authentic-to mirror the way adults might talk about and learn new words. ![]() These are not lessons where students take notes or complete worksheets. Each SNAP mini-lesson is structured to be quick and fun, but each also allows for the teacher to have a conversation with students about words. Therefore, it’s important for teachers to demonstrate a love of words. Secondly, students need to see teachers who are “word nerds.” Their teachers are their most powerful models of literacy outside the home and family. This, in turn, helps students become more capable readers who have a toolbox of strategies and a larger lexicon to draw upon when reading independently. When students repeatedly tackle unfamiliar words and learn strategies for unlocking meaning, they become increasingly skilled and confident in doing so. ![]() First, students get into the habit of examining words and word parts, which helps to build a sense of curiosity about words, but more importantly also helps to build efficacy. Short, frequent vocabulary lessons such as the SNAP lessons have many benefits. You can also use the SNAP structure to teach groups of words from literature your class is studying or content-area words that are related in some way. You can repeat certain lessons throughout the year if there are certain words you want to ensure are internalized. If a lesson seems to take a bit longer, you can cut it off and continue it the next day. The key to every lesson is its flexibility: you as the teacher decide how best to use it. I provide suggestions for how to support struggling students and ideas about accelerating for advanced students for every mini-lesson I make. Each lesson contains several words, some of which may be familiar and others of which may be totally new. The written product serves as a quick formative assessment, giving the teacher vital information about what the student remembers from the lesson.Įach SNAP mini-lesson is designed to take about 15 minutes of class time and to be varied enough to engage all students. Lastly, in step P, students produce an original application of some or all of the words, usually in writing. In this step, students engage in conversation about the words or otherwise dabble in using the words informally. A stands for the students acting on the words in some way. N stands for the teacher naming a category the words fall into or for noticing connections among the words or making other associations that will support students in connecting new words to prior knowledge. This step allows for students to see spelling patterns, notice word parts, and practice pronunciations. S represents the students seeing and saying each word. Each mini-lesson contains four components, represented by the acronym SNAP. In response to these concerns that I’ve heard so many times, I began crafting short lessons intended to teach a few target words, building on a similarity (like a shared root) that the words have. When we begin to discuss these issues, the teachers often share with me that they don’t have resources to address these deficiencies and that they are concerned about how to integrate meaningful vocabulary instruction into their lessons. ![]() In my work as a consultant to schools, I’ve met many teachers who are concerned about the number of words their students know, as well as the limited knowledge of how words work, which students display. ![]()
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