Teaching Vocabulary and Comprehension Evidencebased Practices Vocabulary Definition

Teaching Vocabulary and Comprehension Evidence-based Practices

Vocabulary Definition • “…knowing a word is not an all-or-nothing proposition; it is not the case that one either knows or does not know a word. Rather, knowledge of a word should be viewed in terms of the extent or degree of knowledge that people can possess. ” Beck & Mc. Keown, 1991

Vocabulary Definition “…vocabulary is the glue that holds stories, ideas, and content together…making comprehension accessible for children. ” Rupley, Logan, & Nichols, 1998/99, p. 339

Vocabulary Definition (cont. ) • “Words are the starting point. Without words, children can’t talk about people, places, or things, about actions, relations, or states. ” Clark, 1993

Vocabulary Definition (cont. ) • Vocabulary, or lexicon, refers to information stored in memory concerning the pronunciation and meanings of words. Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998

Vocabulary Definition (cont. )

Effective Vocabulary Instructional Program Research Base

Research Base for Vocabulary • First graders from high SES populations have access to twice as many word meanings as children from lower SES groups Graves, Brunetti, & Slater, 1982; Graves & Slater, 1987

Research Base for Vocabulary (cont. ) • Once vocabulary differences are firmly established in children, they are very difficult to reverse Biemiller, 1999; Hart & Risley, 1995 • There is currently little emphasis on the acquisition of vocabulary in school Biemiller, 2001; Scott, Jamieson, & Asselin, 1998; Watts, 1995

Research Base for Vocabulary (cont. ) • Word knowledge is essential for comprehension Davis, 1944 • Oral interactions and wide reading in a variety of text types is to be encouraged and supported Nagy & Herman, 1987

Research Base for Vocabulary (cont. ) • Learning new concepts requires active involvement rather than passive definition memorization Stahl, 1986

Research Base for Vocabulary (cont. ) • Multiple exposures to a word is necessary to learn it well –conceptual, contextual, & definitional Miller, 1996 • Writing definitions from dictionaries is not a recommended practice Miller, 1996

Research Base for Vocabulary (cont. ) • Relate new words to students’ prior knowledge and to other related words when possible U. S. Dept of Education, 1987

Research Base for Vocabulary (cont. ) • Students need to develop the ability to learn new words from the multiple contexts of reading Johnson & Baumann, 1984

Research Base for Vocabulary (cont. ) • Use direct instruction to teach “Tier 2” and passage or selection critical words Snow, Burns & Griffin, 1998

Teaching Vocabulary Is There a Set of Vocabulary Words Elementary Students Should Have? • Children learn about 1, 000 (conservative) to 3, 000 (liberal) words per year (Stahl & Nagy, 2006). Most scholars agree with an estimate of 2, 000 – 3, 000 words learned per year.

Teaching Vocabulary Is There a Set of Vocabulary Words Elementary Students Should Have? • Beck, Mc. Keown, & Kucan (2002) do not believe in teaching Tier I words (high frequency). This recommendation clearly assumes these words are already known or will be learned incidentally through conversation and social interactions.

Teaching Vocabulary What Does it Take to Teach a Word Well? • Vocabulary should be taught both explicitly and incidentally. • Repetition and multiple exposure are important for learning new vocabulary. • Learning how to construct vocabulary from rich (directive) contexts is valuable. • Vocabulary learning tasks should be restructured when necessary. • Vocabulary tasks should entail active engagement. • Explicit vocabulary instruction should address the use of definitions, context, and concept learning.

Teaching Vocabulary What Words Should I Teach? • First, examine the type of text the children will be reading. Is it narrative or informational? Teach Tier II words if the children will be reading narrative, literary texts. Teach Tier III words if children will be reading informational, expository texts (point of contact). • Next, examine the text to develop a list of 10 Tier II or Tier III words to be taught during the week, 2 per day.

Teaching Vocabulary What Words Should I Teach? • Read the text to determine the nature of the context in which each of the selected Tier II or Tier III words appear. – Directive Context • Gives clues, hints, synonyms to determine an approximate word meaning in the context. – Non-Directive Context • Mentions the word without giving any clues to determine word meaning. – Mis-Directive Context • Gives clues that lead readers to false word meaning construction.

Teaching Vocabulary What Words Should I Teach? • If a word appears in a directive context, then teach children how to use context to determine an approximate word meaning. • If a word appears in a non-directive or mis-directive context, then these are good candidates for your 10 word teaching list.

Teaching Vocabulary What Words Should I Teach? • If you have ELL students in your classroom, be sure to determine if there is a Spanish-English cognate that may help them make the translation. For example Information (English) Información (Spanish) • Here is a good source for finding English Spanish Cognates -

Three Qualities of an Effective Vocabulary Instructional Program Strategies for Explicit Vocabulary Instruction

Thinking About Vocabulary Instruction: Three Tiers • Tier One Words- Consists of basic words and rarely require instructional attention in school and highly frequent in life: clock, baby, ball, happy, walk, run, etc. • Tier Two Words - High frequency use for mature language users and found across a variety of knowledge domains: coincidence, absurd, industrious, fortunate, etc. • Tier Three Words - Low frequency use and limited to specific knowledge domains: isotope, lathe, peninsula, refinery, etc. Best learned when teaching specific content lessons such as geography, science, etc. Beck, I. L. , Mc. Keown, M. G. , & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words to life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction. NY: Guilford Press.

Can You Find a Tier II Word?

Can You Find a Tier III Word?

Vocabulary Instruction: Three Tiers • Estimates indicate that about 8, 000 basic words need no instruction – Tier 1 • Estimates indicate that about 7, 000 words for Tier 2 or about 700 words per year. • Beck, Mc. Keown, and Kucan (2002) recommend teaching about 400 words per year K-12. Beck, I. L. , Mc. Keown, M. G. , & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words to life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction. NY: Guilford Press.

Teaching Tier II Words • Characterize a tier 2 word such as tend – to take care of something. • Explain meaning of tend in everyday life – If you tend something, say a garden, you take care of it by watering, fertilizing, pulling weeds, and keeping the soil loose around the new plants. Beck, I. L. , Mc. Keown, M. G. , & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words to life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction. NY: Guilford Press.

Altering Task Requirements for Teaching Tier II Words • Ask a Question: What do you think the word tend means? • Have You Ever? Describe a time when you tended something or someone. • Word Associations: After teaching several tier 2 words have students associate these with questions: Which word goes with baby? (tend). • Idea Completions: The Little Red Hen asked if the others would help her take care of her garden. Another word that means to take care of a garden we know is _____. Beck, I. L. , Mc. Keown, M. G. , & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words to life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction. NY: Guilford Press.

Altering Task Requirements for Teaching Tier II Words • Like a Test: Tend 1. Don’t care about how you look and what you do. 2. To take care of someone or something. 3. To act hard and serious. Beck, I. L. , Mc. Keown, M. G. , & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words to life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction. NY: Guilford Press.

Altering Task Requirements for Teaching Tier II Words • Like a Test Continued: The word tend means ask someone about something. True or False – Matching definitions with words in a list. – Paired words with a question: Which would you do if you had a puppy that needed to be taken care of ? mollycoddle tend Beck, I. L. , Mc. Keown, M. G. , & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words to life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction. NY: Guilford Press.

Word Webbing (Unfocused) asteroid * Based on Johnson, D. D. (2001). Vocabulary in the elementary and middle school. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Word Webbing (Focused) Examples asteroid Context Use Attributes * Based on Johnson, D. D. (2001). Vocabulary in the elementary and middle school. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Explicit Vocabulary Teaching I’ve Selected My 10 Words, Now What? Definition • Begin by looking up the word in a dictionary or glossary and get a definition. • Next construct a “student friendly definition” using your own words. If you have trouble doing this, consider purchasing this dictionary:

Explicit Vocabulary Teaching I’ve Selected My 10 Words, Now What? Context • Next find the page where the word is found the story or text to read the context. • List the context clues found in the text. • Ask the students to use the word in an oral sentence. • Write the word in sentence.

Active Context Word Learning Albasa will usually be found at grocery stores and restaurants. People like to eat albasa on their hamburgers, although albasa are tasty with a variety of dishes. Since albasa are a vegetable, they are also nutritious. One disadvantage of albasa is the strong odor which has been known to produce crying symptoms among those who slice them. Gipe, J. P. (1980). Use of a relevant context helps kids learn new word meanings. The Reading Teacher, 33, (5), 398402.

Context Vocabulary Teaching Albasa will usually be found at grocery stores and restaurants. People like to eat albasa on their hamburgers, although albasa are tasty with a variety of dishes. Since albasa are a vegetable, they are also nutritious. One disadvantage of albasa is the strong odor which has been known to produce crying symptoms among those who slice them. Gipe, J. P. (1980). Use of a relevant context helps kids learn new word meanings. The Reading Teacher, 33, (5), 398 -402.

Explicit Vocabulary Teaching I’ve Selected My 10 Words, Now What? Examples • Use pictures or video clips. • List examples of the word. • Use a thesaurus to find synonyms, antonyms, and Tier I words.

Teaching Vocabulary I’ve Selected My 10 Words, Now What? Characteristics/Attributes • Use pictures or video clips. • List characteristics or attributes of the word.

Frayer & Klausmeir Model Hochspannungstrohmabnehmer • • • Example: lightning rod, Ben Franklins’ kite and key Non-example: wooden post, plastic pole Relevant attributes: metal, touches an exposed electrical wire, found on top of a streetcar or light rail train • Irrelevant attributes: slender, lets off sparks • Superordinate term: electrical conductor • Coordinate term: electrical plug Frayer, F. D. & Klausmeir, H. J. (1969). A shema for testing the level of concept mastery. University of Wisconsin.

Explicit Vocabulary Teaching I’ve Selected My 10 Words, Now What? Category/Part of Speech • Determine part of speech. • Determine category of word meaning.

Explicit Vocabulary Teaching I’ve Selected My 10 Words, Now What? Definitions Use Word in Context Dictionary Look Up Student Friendly Find and Read it in the Book/Story Vocabulary Word Context Clue from Reading Write the Word in a Sentence Examples Category/Class/ Part of Speech Conceptual Understanding Characteristics

If you want more information please contact: D. Ray Reutzel, Ph. D. Emma Eccles Jones Professor Utah State University www. cehs. usu. edu/ecc Presentations Button Left Hand Side or IRA Board of Directors International Reading Association rreutzel@reading. org