Jago Ch 2- Choosing Which Books to Teach

✗ This chapter was really helpful in teaching vocabulary. I really enjoyed the section on Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of The House of Usher."  Jago hands out book marks because her students can't mark up the pages.  I think this is a great idea because it allows students to not only see words that they are unfamiliar with, but also write them down for future reference. Then having students share the words that were unfamiliar to them is a good way to see words that each student related to. Jago states that "inviting students to bring their words to class and making these words the focus of instruction seems to help students buy into the work" (Jago 27).  

✗ I think it is a good idea as teachers to review prefixes and suffixes.  Sometimes teachers don't ever do this and by the time students are in high school they may unfamiliar with certain prefixes and suffixes.  Knowing what different prefixes and suffixes mean can help students define words they don't know. 

✗ I like Jago's suggestion in considering the utility of words when deciding what words to teach.  She has three criteria for finding words: Importance and Utility, Instructional Potential, and  Conceptual Understanding.  These three criteria will help teachers chose words with meaning and potential rather than words that students may not come across as often. I agree 100% with Jago that vocabulary is learned through reading.  Having students continuously engaged in reading will help enhance their vocabulary. 

✗ One of my biggest fears as a teacher is not knowing a word a student may ask.  Reading that Jago struggles with the same thing eased my mind. Even a veteran teacher still may struggle when asked a word by a student. Jago says to break students of the "Matthew Effect" you need to engage students with rich literature from kindergarden on.  I think this is essential.  If all teachers would pick texts for students to learn a colorful variety of vocabulary, then students' vocabulary may be broader as they reach high school.  I like that Jago states, "'Knowing' a word involves more than the word's definition. It also means knowing how a word functions in different contexts" (Jago 31). Students need daily exposer to different words in different contexts.