Supporting Vocabulary Development

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Supporting Vocabulary Development

• Carrie R. Nagel
• NRFTAC
• nagelc_at_rmcarl.com

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Vocabulary Instruction

• Special Thank you to Corrine Eisenhart, Ph.D.,
  Marcia L. Grek, Ph.D., Joe Torgesen, Ph.D.,
  Edward J. Kameenui, Ph. D, Mike Coyne Ph.D.,
  Mary Abouzeid, Ph.D., Stu Greenberg, Trudy
  Hensley, Ph.D., and the entire ERRFTAC Team

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The process of reading
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Vocabulary Knowledge

• What is it? . . .
• Learning, as a language-based activity, is
  fundamentally and profoundly dependent on
  vocabulary knowledge. Learners must have access
  to the meanings of words that teachers, or their
  surrogates (e.g., other adults, books, films,
  etc.), use to guide them into contemplating known
  concepts in novel ways (i.e., to learn something
  new).
• (Baker, Simmons, Kameenui, 1998)

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Vocabulary Development

• The ability to understand (receptive) and use
  (expressive) words to acquire and convey meaning.

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Vocabulary Knowledge

• Expressive Vocabulary Requires a speaker or
  writer to produce a specific label for a
  particular meaning.
• Receptive Vocabulary Requires a reader or
  listener to associate a specific meaning with a
  given label as in reading or listening.

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What does it mean to know a word?

• Words have
• Phonological form (sounds, syllables)
• Morphological form (meaningful parts)
• Spelling patterns (orthographic form)
• Meanings and meaning networks
• Linguistic history (etymological features)

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• There are profound differences in vocabulary
  knowledge among learners from different ability
  or socioeconomic (SES) group from toddlers
  through high school.

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The Importance of Daily Oral Language in Grades
K-3 Quantitative Differences in Early Language
Experiences
Hart Risley, 1995
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Early Language ExperiencesQualitative
Differences

• The research by Hart and Risley indicates that
  parents with higher levels of income
• Engage in more interactive discussions with their
  children
• Expand their childrens verbal responses by
  repeating the childs statement as a question.
• Use more sophisticated language with their
  children than parents from welfare homes.
• Hart Risley, 1995

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Is it possible for teachers to design instruction
that will close the language experience gap?

• YES!

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How many words do children know?

• Children need to learn 2,000 to 3,000 new words
  each year from 3rd grade onward, about 6-8 per
  day
• In 1st and 2nd grade, children need to learn 800
  words per year, about 2 per day
• Children who are behind by 1st grade have a hard
  time making up that gap
• -Andrew Biemiller Nagy Anderson

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Listening and Reading

• Before the middle grades, children can read many
  fewer words than they comprehend through
  listening
• After the middle grades, vocabulary knowledge
  expands as a function of reading itself more
  words are learned from reading than from
  listening to spoken language.

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Research shows that learning new words in context
does occur, but in very small increments.

• Studies estimate that of 100 unfamiliar words met
  in reading, 5 15 of them will be learned (Nagy,
  1985).
• First students must read widely to encounter lots
  of words, but students in need of vocabulary
  instruction do not engage in wide reading (Kucan
  Beck, 1996).
• To acquire word knowledge from reading requires
  adequate decoding skills (Beck, 2002).

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Do the Math

• To learn 175,00 words between 3rd grade and
  college, a student would have to learn
• About 17,500 words every year, or
• About 48 words every day, or
• About 115 words every school day

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What About you

• How did you learn new vocabulary as a student?
• How do you teach vocabulary? Is there a
  systematic way of teaching vocabulary in your
  school?

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How Can Words Be Learned?

• Indirect Experience
• Explicit Instruction

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Learning Vocabulary Through Oral Language

• Through conversation with peers and teachers,
  children gain valuable language skills that are
  vital for their success in reading.
• It is important for teachers to
• Ask open-ended questions that encourage children
  to expand upon their answers
• Use sophisticated words when conversing with
  children to expand their vocabularies
• Respond to questions and let children take the
  conversational lead so they may build their
  language skills
• Gently reinforce the rules of good listening and
  speaking throughout the day

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Wide Reading
A way to foster growth in reading vocabulary is
to promote wide reading
Research has shown that children who read even
ten minutes a day outside of school experience
substantially higher rates of vocabulary growth
between second and fifth grade than children who
do little or no reading. Anderson Nagy, 1992,
p. 46
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Independent Reading

• A student in the 20th percentile reads books
  ______ minutes a day.
• This adds up to _________words read per year.
• A student in the 80th percentile reads books
  ______ minutes a day.
• This adds up to __________ words read per year.

.7
21,000
14.2
1,146,000
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Learning Vocabulary ThroughWide Reading

• Incidental learning through wide reading is
  crucial for students vocabulary growth.
• Students should read a variety of texts for
  various purposes (information and enjoyment).
• Teachers should assist students when selecting
  books for independent reading.
• Teachers should encourage students independent
  reading during the school day and at home.

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Learning Vocabulary Through theRead-Aloud

• Read-Alouds help children acquire vocabulary
  skills and strategies, such as
• Knowledge of printed letters and words, and the
  relationship between sound and print.
• The meaning of many words.
• How books work, and a variety of writing styles.
• The difference between written language and
  everyday conversation.
• The pleasure of reading.

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Instructional Strategies for the Read-Aloud

• Make reading enjoyable by choosing a comfortable
  place to read.
• Establish a pattern of reading everyday to
  children.
• Help children learn as you read.
• Ask children questions as you read.
• Encourage children to talk about the book.
• Read many kinds of text.
• Reread favorite books.

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Supporting Oral Language Development and
Vocabulary Building Through Read-Alouds

• Always peruse the book before reading it aloud to
  your students
• Select the words you want children to learn.
• Read the book aloud with expression and
  intonation the first reading should have
  minimal interruptions.
• During the second reading, interrupt your reading
  to explain the meaning of targeted words.

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Effects of Reading Aloud on Vocabulary

• Positive effects reported range from 4 to 40
• Repeated reading or direct explanation is needed
• Greater effect if
• Word is repeated in story
• Word is pictured
• Word is a noun
• Effects vary widely depending on the story
• 4 - 15 if words are not explained
• 15 - 40 if words are explained

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• Indirect vocabulary instruction, however, is
  not enough. Research indicates that teachers must
  use explicit, intentional teaching of specific
  words to build student vocabularies.
• White, Sowell Yanagihara, 1990

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Direct instruction helps students learn
difficult words, such as words that represent
complex concepts that are not part of the
students everyday experiences.

• Put Reading First, 2001, p. 36

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Children Learn VocabularyDIRECTLY When Teachers
. . .

• Provide specific word instruction (pronunciation
  and meaning).
• Provide instruction on word-learning strategies
  so children are able to determine the meanings of
  new words they encounter when reading
  independently.

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National Reading Panel (2000)

• Multiple Methods
• Direct Indirect
• Pre-instruction can have significant effects on
  learning.
• Repetition Multiple Exposures to Words In
  Varied Contexts
• Assessment should match instruction.
• Promise of computer technology

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Bringing Words to Life Isabel Beck Margaret
McKeown Linda Kucan Guilford Press
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Big ideas from Bringing Words to Life
First-grade children from higher SES groups know
about twice as many words as lower SES children.
Top performing high school seniors knew about
four times as many words as their lower
performing classmates.
High-knowledge 3rd graders have vocabularies
about equal to lowest-performing 12th graders.
Individual differences in vocabulary have a
powerful impact on reading comprehension.
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Words can be divided into three tiers
Beck, McGowan, et al
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Tier One Words

• Approximately 8,000 words
• Basic vocabulary
• Rarely requires instructional attention
• Examples baby clock happy

Beck, McGowan, et al
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Tier Three Words

• Limited use vocabulary that is taught as the need
  arises
• Examples peninsula isotope lathe
• Beck, McGowan, et al

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Tier Two Words

• New words not common to young childrens oral
  language
• High frequency words for mature language users
• Words typically found in written language
• Mature or more precise labels for concepts young
  children have under control
• Examples absurd commotion reluctant
• Beck, McGowan, et al

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Choosing Words to Teach

• Importance and utility words that are
  characteristic of mature language users and
  appear frequently across a variety of domains
• Instructional potential words that can be
  worked with in a variety of ways so that students
  can build rich representations of them and of
  their connections to other words and concepts
• Conceptual understanding words for which
  students understand the general concept but
  provide precision and specificity in describing
  the concept
• Beck, McGowan, et al

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Words to Teach Directly

• Words critical to understanding the text at hand
• Words with general utility likely to be
  encountered many times
• Difficult words that need interpretation
  (metaphorical, abstract, nuanced)
  
• Beck, McGowan, et al

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What does it mean to know a word? (Beck,
McKeown, Kucan, 2002)
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What does it mean to know a word?

• Tyranny arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of
  power
• Surreptitious done or made in a secret manner
• Grapnel small anchor with three or more claws
• Purport to profess or claim, often falsely
• Sensitive hurt or easily offended
• Dubious doubtful, skeptical

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How do we get children to be curious about words?

• Students become curious, interested, and
  motivated when instruction is rich and lively.

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Introducing Vocabulary
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Problems with Dictionary Definitions

• Studies that provided dictionary definitions to
  students and asked students to create sentences
  with the words or answer brief questions about
  the words revealed that
• 63 of the students sentences were judged to be
  odd.
• 60 of the students responses were unacceptable.
• Students frequently interpreted one or two words
  from a definition as the entire meaning.

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Features of definitions that get in the way of
understanding word meaning

• Weak differentiation the definition does not
  differentiate how the word is different from
  other similar words
• Vague language little information is provided
  there is not enough for a student to make much
  sense of the meaning
• More likely interpretation there may be a more
  likely interpretation than the one intended
• Some definitions give multiple pieces of
  information but offer no guidance on how to
  integrate the meaning

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Developing Initial Word-Meaning Information

• Student-friendly explanations of words
• Instructional contexts
• Opportunities for students to interact with word
  meanings

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Student-Friendly Explanations

• Characterize the word
• Explain meanings in everyday language
• If something is dazzling, that means that its so
  bright that you can hardly look at it. After
  lots of long, gloomy cloudy days, sunshine on a
  sunny day might seem dazzling.

Beck, McGowan, et al
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Student-Friendly Explanations (cont.)

• Strange describes something different from what
  you are used to seeing or hearing.
• When people are amusing, they are usually funny
  or they make you happy to watch them. A clown at
  a circus is amusing.
• When someone is a nuisance, he or she is
  bothering you.

Beck, McGowan, et al
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Providing Meaning Information Through
Instructional Contexts

• The deer would be able to eat all they wanted in
  the meadow, for there was an abundance of grass.
• Why would the deer be able to eat all they
  wanted?
• How much grass must be in the meadow?
• So, what do you think abundance means?

Beck, McGowan, et al
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Opportunities for Students to Interact with Word
Meanings

• Word Associations
• Have you ever...?
• Applause, Applause!
• Idea Completions
• Questions, Reasons, and Examples
• Making Choices

Beck, McGowan, et al
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Word Associations

• Associating a known word with newly learned words
  helps to reinforce the meaning.
• Example You have taught the words accomplice,
  philanthropist, and novice.
• Which word goes with crook?
• Which word goes with a gift to benefit a
  hospital?
• Which word goes with a kindergarten student?
• Note The associations are not synonyms rather,
  they are relationships.

Beck, McGowan, et al
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Have you ever...?

• This activity helps students to associate the new
  word with their own experiences. It helps them
  to see that there is a place for this word in
  their own vocabulary.
• Example Describe a time that you might urge
  someone. Commend someone. Banter with someone.

Beck, McGowan, et al
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Applause, Applause!

• For this activity, students are asked to clap in
  order to indicate how much they would like (not
  at all, a little bit, or a lot) to be described
  by the target words.
• Example How would you like to be described as
  Impish? Frank? Vain? Stern?

Beck, McGowan, et al
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Idea Completions

• Provide students with sentence stems that require
  them to integrate a words meaning into a context
  in order to explain a situation.
• Example The audience asked the virtuoso to play
  another piece of music because... How might
  you...? When might you...? Why might you...?

Beck, McGowan, et al
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Questions, Reasons, and Examples

• If you are walking around a dark room, you need
  to do it cautiously. Why? What are some other
  things that need to be done cautiously?
• Which of these things might be extraordinary?
  Why or why not?
• A shirt that was comfortable or a shirt that
  washed itself?
• A flower that kept blooming all year, or a flower
  that bloomed for three days?
• A person who has a library card, or a person who
  has read all the books in the library?

Beck, McGowan, et al
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Making Choices

• If any of the things I say might be examples of
  people clutching something, say, Clutching. If
  not, dont say anything.
• Holding on tightly to a purse
• Holding a fistful of money
• Softly petting a cats fur
• Holding on to branches when climbing a tree
• Blowing bubbles and trying to catch them

Beck, McGowan, et al
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Vocabulary Concept Sort
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Principles of Vocabulary Lessons

• Teach explicit vocabulary before, during and
  after lessons
• Teach with mini lessons
• Think aloud
• Student collaboration
• Give students a voice
• Teacher and student chosen words

Robb (1999)
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4 Part Model Efficient Vocabulary Teaching

• Anticipation
• Sets up students to look for words in the story
• Pre-reading
• Uses word meanings to set the themes of the story
• Point of Contact Teaching
• Simple words
• Goldilocks words
• Consolidation
• Provides a review and secures the meanings of the
  words

Robb (1999)
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Frayer Model
WORD
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Frayer Model
POLYGON
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Vocabulary Center Activities
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High Frequency and Vocabulary Words
water
most
year
old
There are _____________ and new houses.
Some new houses are less than a __________ old.
Some houses are even on the ____________.
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Which Words Go Together?

• cat
• bear
• fish
• jump
• dog
• bare
• mouse
• whale
• wail
• growl
• skip

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Degrees of Meaning
Stand
Run
Crawl
Skip
Walk
Jog
Whisper
Shout
Speak
Scream
Silent
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So, why dont children learn more words?

• Learning words that are not typically part of
  oral language is difficult.
• It takes lots of repetitions to learn new words.
• Learning words not easily pictured and words that
  are not nouns is most difficult.

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Maintaining Vocabulary

• Use a tally sheet or point system. When target
  words are noticed, spoken, or implied throughout
  the day, tally them.
• Ask, Which word from our last story fits in this
  story?
• Give students opportunities to classify words
  that have been learned.
• Incorporate vocabulary in a daily message.
• Go back and review words from previous lessons.

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A Review How we know words

• By Reading a lot
• At the right level of difficulty
• In sufficient amounts
• With sufficient motivation to pursue
  understanding
• Through exposure to multiple examples in context,
  spoken and written
• Through explicit instruction
• Constructing definitions and using a dictionary
• Analyzing word structure
• Exploring word relationships
• By becoming conscious
• Of the words sounds and morphemes
• Of the words origin
• Of the words usage and multiple meanings

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Guidelines for Sound Vocabulary Instruction

• Display an attitude of interest and excitement
  about language and words.
• Create a word-rich classroom environment.
• Connect new vocabulary concepts with students
  prior knowledge.
• Activate students word schema and metacognition.
• Model and teach word learning as an active
  strategy for reading independence.
• Teach new vocabulary throughout the school day,
  across all curricular areas.

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Direct Teaching of Specific Words
Word Learning Strategies
Wide Reading
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Resources
Armbruster, B.B.,Lehr, F., Osborn, J. (2001).
Put Reading First. Partnership for Reading
National Institute for Literacy, the National
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Resources, continued
Dickinson, D.K., Smith, M.W. (1944). Long-term
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71
Resources, continued
Hart, B., Risley, R. T. (1995). Meaningful
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Resources, continued
Robb, L. (1999). Easy Mini Lessons for Building
Vocabulary Practical Strategies that Boost Word
Knowledge and Reading Comprehension. New York
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