Vocabulary Development

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Vocabulary Development
MSDE Office of Reading First
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What Do I Already Know About Vocabulary
Development?
What is vocabulary?
Why is vocabulary development important?
How do you expand your own vocabulary?
How do you help your students expand their
vocabularies?
MSDE Office of Reading First
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Key Learning Outcomes

• The participants will
• define vocabulary and its role in reading
  instruction
• gain understanding of how scientifically based
  reading research has informed vocabulary
  instruction

MSDE Office of Reading First
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What is Vocabulary? Vocabulary refers to the
words we must know to communicate effectively.
Receptive Expressive
(Armbruster, Lehr, Osborn, 2001)
MSDE Office of Reading First

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Receptive/Expressive Vocabulary

• Receptive/listening vocabulary - body of word
  meanings recognized in context, either heard or
  read
• Expressive vocabulary body of word meanings
  known well enough that they can be used
  appropriately when spoken or written
• Receptive vocabulary - greater than our
  expressive vocabulary. We understand far more
  words than we use.

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What Are the Four Types of Vocabulary?
Listening
Speaking
Reading
Writing
MSDE Office of Reading First
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4 Types of Vocabulary

• Listening vocabulary words we need to know to
  understand what we hear
• Speaking vocabulary words we use when we speak
• Reading vocabulary words we need to know to
  understand what we read
• Writing vocabulary words we use in writing

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Is Vocabulary Instruction Important?

• Before you answer this, read the selection on
  the next slide and answer the questions.

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A Fable by Mark Twain (an excerpt)

• Once upon a time, an ____ who had ___ a small
  and very ___ ___ placed it so that he could see
  it in the ___. He said, This doubles the ___ and
  ___ of it, and it is twice as ___ as it was
  before.
• The animals out in the woods heard of this ___,
  the ___, who was greatly admired by them because
  he was so ___, and so ___ and ___, and could ___
  them so much which they didnt know ___, and were
  not ___ about afterward. They were much ___ about
  this new piece of ___, and they asked ___, so as
  to get at a full ___ of it. They asked what a ___
  was, and the cat ___.

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• Who is the subject of the first paragraph?
• What is the main idea of the second paragraph?
• Was it difficult to comprehend this passage?
  Explain.
• (Twenty percent of the words were omitted from
  the excerpt to simulate slow, effortful reading
  with 80 accuracy.)

Coyne, Kameenui, Chart, 2003
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?

• How Did You Do?
• Do you think you would have understood the text
  better if you had been able to read all of the
  words correctly?
• Of course you would have and so would our
  students!
• Vocabulary development is an essential component
  of comprehension.

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Vocabulary development is important to ensure
long-term impact on
Effective Comprehension
Oral Vocabulary
Text Comprehension
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Data

• Low socio-economic students enter school 2,000
• words in their vocabulary and middle class
  students enter school with about 4,000. (Graves,
  Brunette and Slater, 1982)
• The proficient elementary student learns about 7
  words
• per day. (Beck and McKeown 1996)
• 3. The typical third grader knows about 8,000
  words.
• (Nagy, Anderson 1985)
• 4. Teaching 400 words explicitly to elementary
  students per year will result in
  knowledge and comprehension improvements. (Beck,
  et al, 1982)

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Data (continued)

• 5. Middle class students know twice as many words
  as low socio-economic students. (Hart and Risley,
  2002)
• 6. This gap is known as the Matthew Effect
• in that students with richer vocabularies
• continue to increase their oral language at a
  much greater rate consequently the rich get
  richer and the poor get poorer.
• 7. A childs reading potential will be negatively
  affected if substantial vocabulary development
  does not begin at an
  early age.

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Research Evidence

• Vocabulary is learned implicitly
• The results of the National Reading Panel Report
  tells us that children learn the meanings of
  words implicitly through everyday experiences
  with oral and written language.
• Children learn word meanings implicitly in three
  ways
• Interacting with others in
  daily oral language
• Listening to adults or older
  children read to them
• Reading extensively on their
  own
• (National Reading Panel, 2000)

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Oral Language Engagement

• How do you engage children in conversation?
• Evaluate 3 conversations in the next slide.
  Which one do you think was the most beneficial
  for the child?

MSDE Office of Reading First
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MSDE Office of Reading First
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Research Evidence

• Vocabulary should be taught explicitly
• Teach specific key words before reading
• Promote active engagement
• Use multiple methods exposures
• Create word awareness
• Use rich, varied context
• Consider restructuring tasks
• Employ technology
• (NRP, 2000)

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What Does Vocabulary Instruction Look Like?

• Teaching key words before reading should reflect
  Beck, McKeown, and Kucans
• 3-Tiered Model

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3-Tiered Model of Introducing Text Vocabulary

• TIER 1
• Most basic words
• Known words
• (happy, baby, clock)

• TIER 2
• Taught directly
• Critical to concept or text
• Likely to be encountered many times
• Difficult words, figurative language, idioms,
  multi-meaning words
• (required, maintain)

• TIER 3
• Low frequency of use
• Limited to specific domains
• (peninsula, refinery)
• (Beck McKeown, 1985)

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3-Tiered Explanation

• Tier 1 Basic words that need no instructional
  attention because their definitions are
  understood.
• Tier 2 High frequency words encountered in many
  domains. These are the words a teacher would
  target to teach. Students understand the general
  concept of the words, but instruction builds
  specificity and precision in describing the
  concept.
• Tier 3 Low frequency words needed for content
  areas. Teacher pronounces the words and gives
  definitions before reading.

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• The underlined words are consistent with the
  notion of Tier 2 words in that they are likely to
  appear frequently in a wide variety of texts.
  Would students be able to explain these words in
  their own words or have an inkling due to the
  context? If yes, these words again meet the
  criterion of Tier 2 words.

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What Does Vocabulary Instruction Look Like?

• Vocabulary development needs to include
  implicit and explicit teaching and learning
• Engaging conversations that
• include unfamiliar words
• Reading to children daily from a variety of genre

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What Does Instruction Look Like?

• Active engagement in literacy-rich environments
• Restructuring tasks (e.g., procedures, processes
  and materials)
• Repeated/multiple exposures

EXPLICIT
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What Does Vocabulary Instruction Look Like?

• Vocabulary instruction should also include
  ongoing and purposeful instruction
• Related to and integrated with curriculum content
• Integrated as part of writing instruction
• Incorporated in engaging games and activities

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What Does Vocabulary Instruction Look Like?

• Teaching Word Learning Strategies
• How to use information about word parts (affixes,
  root words, compounds, etc.)
• How to use context clues
• How to make students word conscious
• How to use references (dictionary, thesaurus,
  etc.)

(Nagy,2000)
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What Does Vocabulary Instruction Look Like?

• Use Effective Vocabulary Activities
• Exploring the meaning of a word in context
• Exploring multiple meanings
• Word Sorts
• Semantic Feature Analysis (SFA)
• Exploring antonyms, synonyms
• Kid-friendly definitions
• Associations

(Moats, 2004)
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Vocabulary Assessment

• In Marylands Reading First Schools
• the measure for vocabulary is
• Word Use Fluency
• in an instrument called
• DIBELS

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What is DIBELS?

• Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early
• Literacy Skills (DIBELS) are
• brief measures of critical early reading skills
• 3-5 tasks at each grade level
• administered individually
• results indicate students instructional needs

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DIBELS

• As a progress monitoring tool

• As a screening tool

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Screening Tool

• Purpose designed as a first step to identify
  children who are likely to need additional
  instructional support
• When September, January, and May
• Who all students

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Progress Monitoring Tool

• Purpose to measure student growth toward a
  benchmark goal
• When as needed
• Who students receiving additional instructional
  support

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Benchmark Goals and Timelines(No benchmark goals
established)
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Summing Up Vocabulary

• Encourage wide reading
• Employ instructional read alouds
• Engage students in daily interactions that
  promote using new vocabulary
• Teach, model, and encourage the application of
  word-learning strategies
• Teach students how to use dictionaries,
  thesauruses, and other reference materials
• (Put Reading First, 2001)

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Summing Up Vocabulary

• Provide direct instruction in the meanings of
  words
• Use multiple methods and exposures
• Create an interest in language and words

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Do You Want to Know More?

• Armbruster, B., Lehr, F. Osborn, J. (2001). Put
  Reading first the Research Building Blocks for
  Teaching children to Read Kindergarten through
  Grade 3. Washington, DC National Institute for
  Literacy.
• Bear, D.R., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S.,
  Johnston, F. (2000). Words Their Way Word Study
  for Phonics, Vocabulary Spelling Instruction
  (2nd ed.). New Jersey Merrill.
• Beck, I.L., McKeown, M.G. (1983). Learning
  Words Well-A Program to Enhance Vocabulary and
  Comprehension. The Reading Teacher, 36, 622-625.
• Beck, I.L. McKeown, M.G. (2002). Bringing Words
  to Life Robust Vocabulary Instruction. New York
  Guildord Press.
• Durkin, D. (1993). Teaching Them to Read. (6th
  edition) Boston, MA Allyn Bacon.

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• Farstrup, A., Samuels, S. (2002).
  Evidence-based Reading Instruction Putting the
  National Reading Panel Report into Practice.
  Newark, DE International Reading Association.
• Good, R.H., Gruba, J., Kaminski, R.A. (2001.)
  Best Practices in Using Dynamic Indicators of
  Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) in an
  Outcomes-Driven Model. In A. Thomas 7 J. Grimes
  (Eds.), Best Practices in School Psychology IV
  (pp.679-700). Washington, DC National
  Association of School Psychologists.
• Harris, T.L., Hodges, R.E. (Eds.). (1995). The
  Literacy Dictionary The Vocabulary of Reading
  and Writing. Newark, DE International Reading
  Association.
• LINKS Project (2000). Vocabulary Development
  Participants Facilitators Manual. Olympia,
  WA Office of Superintendent of Public
  Instruction.
• McKeown, M.G., Beck, I.L., Omanson, R.C.,
  Perfetti, C.A. (1983). The Effects of Long-Term
  Vocabulary Instruction on Reading Comprehension
  A Replication. Journal of Reading Behavior,
  15(1), 3-18.

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• Moats, L. (2004). LETRS Language Essentials for
  Teachers of Reading and Spelling, Modules 1-9.
  Longmont, CIO Sopris West.
• Nagy, W., Scott, J. (2000). Vocabulary process.
  In M. Kamil, P. Mosenthal, P.D. Pearson, R.
  Barr (Eds.) Handbook of Reading Research (Vol.
  III, pp. 269-284). Nahway, NJ Lawrence Erbaum
  Associates, Inc.
• National Reading Panel (2000). Teaching Children
  to Read An Evidenced-based Assessment of the
  Scientific Research Literature on reading and its
  Implications for reading Instruction Reports of
  the Subgroups. Washington, DC National Institute
  of Child Health and Human development.
• Risley, Todd Hart, Betty. (2002). Meaningful
  Differences in the Everyday Experiences of Young
  American Children. Baltimore, MD Paul H. Brookes
  Publishing Company.
• Shore, R. (19997). Rethinking the Brain New
  Insights into Early Development. New York
  Families and Work Institute.
• Snow, C.E., Burns, S., Griffin, P. (Eds.).
  (1998). Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young
  Children. Washington, DC National Academy Press.