Ch. 1- Will We Ever Get Over the Hump?

The hump I'm speaking of is actually the number 3. That's right... a harmless little number that has historically represented things of humor, greatness, or tradition. The Three Amigos. The Three Stooges. The Three Blind Mice. The Three Wisemen. Three strikes & you're out. Why, then, is this number suddenly so frustrating and bothersome?

I should explain briefly that the text we are studying (Word Wise & Content Rich) is organized into chapters based on ways schools can more successfully foster a schoolwide vocabulary initiative. Fisher and Frey go into detail about how to make vocabulary instruction: intentional, transparent, usable, personal, a priority, and "your own". In the study guide for Chapter One of the text, which serves as an argument as to why vocabulary matters, there is a chart for schools to evaluate "How students acquire and extend their academic vocabulary across the school day". (Check out the chart HERE by downloading the Ch. 1 study guide.) The chart asks readers to evaluate their school's current effectiveness in doing the tasks listed above. As our book club discussed each area, a trend quickly emerged. Task #1: On a scale of 1-5 (1 being NO, 5 being YES), Is vocabulary instruction intentional? Are words identified by course or department? Answer #1: 3- Some courses and/or departments have selected words. Task #2: On a scale of 1-5 (1 being NO, 5 being YES), Is vocabulary instruction transparent? Are teachers using suggested techniques such as modeling and think-alouds to teach new words? Answer #2: 3- All teachers/departments have received professional development, but it is not yet being regularly implemented.

As we talked through each task, we couldn't get over that hump... that three... those words like some and but. If a member of the group tried to argue for a 4 or 5, someone else could give a list of examples to refute the original claim of schoolwide greatness. Again, I am annoyed and frustrated by this pesky #3, especially after we decided as a group that, as a school, we are likely to ALWAYS be stuck on the hump. There will always be someone who is not interested in learning new strategies. There will always be departments divided by differing philosophies. Or will there?

My hope is that each member of our small but mighty group can get over the hump and when our colleagues see how green it is on the other side, they too will brave the trolls and join us.