Description & Research
There is something powerful for students in being able to identify a word they don’t know, learn it, and share that knowledge with others. Miller & Veatch (2011) discuss the concept of a personal dictionary, which is “a record of words that an individual doesn’t know but wants to understand…[students] record words, their definitions, and the context in which the words were discovered” (p. 32). This concept actually encourages students, even in their younger years, to begin to think about what they’re reading on a metacognitive level because it requires them to identify that they do not know something.
The vocabulary self-collection strategy (VSS) incorporates and builds upon the idea of a personal dictionary by emphasizing student experience and world knowledge (Haggard 1986). This strategy allows students to incorporate their own funds of knowledge (Esteban-Guitart & Moll 2014) into vocabulary development. Indeed, this would be an excellent strategy for English Language Learners. Moreover, there is a motivational element inherent in having students collect their own words. Haggard’s (1986) research showed that “the act of collecting words increases sensitivity to new words and enjoyment in word learning” (p. 640). Ruddell & Shearer (2002) share a story of at-risk middle school students who became interested in specific content areas where they were struggling after they learned and incorporated VSS.
Resources
https://wvde.state.wv.us/strategybank/VocabularySelf-SelectionStrategy.html
http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/vocab_self-collection.pdf
http://literacybeat.com/2013/10/23/vocabulary-self-selection-strategy-plus-vss/
http://www.dayofreading.org/DOR12HO/BestPracticesHO.pdf
http://www.ohiorc.org/record/3804.aspx
Video
This video shows how 5th grade students utilized technology to create personal dictionaries and show the relationships between concepts through VSS in a science class.
There is something powerful for students in being able to identify a word they don’t know, learn it, and share that knowledge with others. Miller & Veatch (2011) discuss the concept of a personal dictionary, which is “a record of words that an individual doesn’t know but wants to understand…[students] record words, their definitions, and the context in which the words were discovered” (p. 32). This concept actually encourages students, even in their younger years, to begin to think about what they’re reading on a metacognitive level because it requires them to identify that they do not know something.
The vocabulary self-collection strategy (VSS) incorporates and builds upon the idea of a personal dictionary by emphasizing student experience and world knowledge (Haggard 1986). This strategy allows students to incorporate their own funds of knowledge (Esteban-Guitart & Moll 2014) into vocabulary development. Indeed, this would be an excellent strategy for English Language Learners. Moreover, there is a motivational element inherent in having students collect their own words. Haggard’s (1986) research showed that “the act of collecting words increases sensitivity to new words and enjoyment in word learning” (p. 640). Ruddell & Shearer (2002) share a story of at-risk middle school students who became interested in specific content areas where they were struggling after they learned and incorporated VSS.
Resources
https://wvde.state.wv.us/strategybank/VocabularySelf-SelectionStrategy.html
http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/vocab_self-collection.pdf
http://literacybeat.com/2013/10/23/vocabulary-self-selection-strategy-plus-vss/
http://www.dayofreading.org/DOR12HO/BestPracticesHO.pdf
http://www.ohiorc.org/record/3804.aspx
Video
This video shows how 5th grade students utilized technology to create personal dictionaries and show the relationships between concepts through VSS in a science class.