Vocabulary Building
Chapter 8 READ 4251
DeVrie text
Dr. Elaine Roberts
What Teachers Need to Know
about Building Vocabulary
How proficient readers enrich their
vocabulary
How to assess vocabulary
How to build struggling reader’s
vocabulary
Factors Influencing
a Child’s Vocabulary
Life experiences
Vicarious experiences (videos, TV,
movies, CD-ROMs, Internet, books,
etc.)
Direct instruction
Five Ingredients for Direct
Instruction of Vocabulary
Words must be learned in context
Words must be related to previous
knowledge
Words must be fully understood so
students can use them in new
situations
Students need to use, hear, and see
the words repeatedly
Teachers need to enjoy learning
new words
Assessment of Vocabulary
Informal assessment
– Cloze tests
– Maze tests
– Zip tests
Formal assessment
– Standardized achievement tests
– Group diagnostic tests
– Individual diagnostic reading tests
Lucy Calkins Twist on Vocabulary from her
books, The Art of Reading and The Art of
Writing
 Students profit from read alouds, book talks, book
introductions with geared towards rehearsing and talking
about words and concepts in a book
 Pronounce unknown word and replace it with a synonym
that works in the same sentence (build webs of words
that are synonyms)
 Hang onto meaning and take a “stab” at the meaning
from context through life experience related discussions
 Students benefit more from extensive reading with
vocabulary discussions related to author’s style rather
than “kill and drill”
 The dictionary is for use after students try the above
Graphic Organizer
Demonstrating a Hierarchy of
Word Relationships
What Does This Checklist
Reveal about Students’
Vocabulary?
Language Experience Approach (LEA) for Vocabulary
Instruction
 Reading, writing, and the other language arts are treated
as interrelated
 Children’s experiences are used as the basis for the
material used in reading and writing
 Share an experience with students
 Discuss what they have experienced
 Use technical terms during this discussion
 Serve as a scribe for students as they create webs about
the experience
 Have the students dictate sentences about the
experience
 Write the text in the exact way the students dictate it
 Have the students read the passage
 Discuss sentences that are awkward and change them
 For vocabulary instruction, have the students dictate a
passage that includes new words and then read it
Variations of the LEA
Wordless books
Science experiments
Listening walk
Schoolyard safari
Cloud formations
Object descriptions
Strategies for
Vocabulary Building
Categorizing
Possible Sentences
Analogies
Exploring word origins
Crossword puzzles
Synonym/Definition Concentration
Wordo
Concept of a Definition
Strategies for
Vocabulary Building (cont.)
Scattergory
Multiple Meaning Race Track
Hink pinks
Dictionary guide words
Locating the correct dictionary
definition
Anticipation Guides (Voc and
Comprehension)
Personal Clue Cards
Possible Sentences
Based on New Vocabulary
Literature Circles Enhance Vocabulary
and Comprehension
 Heterogeneous groups read a book of interest and make
connections, debate and challenge each other, and ask
open ended questions – student centered
 Teacher is the floating facilitator and is usually not a
member of any group
 First, model and practice the literature circle roles with
emphasis on grand conversations for a week with
student “tryouts”
 Daniel’s six roles (role sheets are online):
 1. Artful Artist
 2. Word Wizard (Word Id and Vocabulary)
 3. Discussion Leader (themes, style, etc.)
 4. Dramatic Reenactor (quotes, favorite parts)
 5. Story Elements Correspondent (characters, place, plot,
etc.)
 6. Personal Connector
Activity for the Literature Circle Strategy
 Select members for the Literature
Circles
 Assign roles for the members of each
circle
 Assign reading to be completed by the
circles inside or outside of class
 Select circle meeting dates
 Help students prepare for their roles in
their circle
 Act as a facilitator