Vocabulary: What You Should Know…
Beck, Isabel, Margaret G. McKeown, and Linda Kucan. Bringing Words to Life. New
York: The Guilford Press, 2002.
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Vocabulary knowledge is strongly related to reading proficiency in particular and
school achievement in general

Research suggests that vocabulary instruction should involve directly explaining
the meanings of words along with thought-provoking, playful and interactive
follow-up

Instruction should offer rich information about words and their uses and provide
frequent and varied opportunities for students to think about and use words

Definitions are not an effective way to learn word meanings; introduce new
vocabulary by explaining a word’s meaning rather than providing a definition of
the word
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4 Stages of word knowledge
 Stage 1 = Never saw it before.
 Stage 2 = Heard it, but doesn’t know what it means.
 Stage 3 = Recognizes it in context as having something to do with ______.
 Stage 4 = Knows it well.
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3 Tiers (word wall)
 Tier 1 = most basic words; rarely require instructional attention
 Tier 2 = high frequency words for mature language users and found across a
variety of domains
 Tier 3 = low frequency of use and often limited to specific domains
Three Features of Instruction
1. Frequent encounters with words
 Multiple encounters of the word are needed in order to become a permanent
part of students vocabulary
2. Student Friendly Explanations
 Characterize the word and how it is used
o Be as particular as possible
o Pinpoint a word’s meaning by explaining its typical use
o Ask yourself, “When do I use this word particularly?” “Why do we
have such a word?”

Explain the meaning in everyday language
o Explain the concept in language that is readily accessible so students
can understand the concept with ease (characteristic meaning)

Include words such as something, someone, or describes because they anchor
the meaning for students so they can get an idea of how to use the word
o Ex. Ally
 Dictionary definition = one associated with another
 Student friendly explanation = someone who helps you in
what you are trying to do, especially when there are other
people against you
3. Engage students after presenting explanations
 Word Associations
o Associate the new word with a word that is already familiar; be sure to
have students explain their reasoning
o Ex. if the new vocabulary words are virtuoso and philanthropist, ask
students, “Which word goes with a gift to build a new hospital?” or
“which word goes with piano?”

Have You Ever…
o Helps students associate newly learned words with activities from their
own experience
o Ex. if the new vocabulary words are commend and banter, ask students
to “Describe a time when you might banter with someone, commend
someone.”

Idea Completions
o Sentence stems require students to integrate a word’s meaning into a
context in order to explain a situation
 Ex. The audience asked the virtuoso to play another piece of music
because…
 The skiing teacher said Maria was a novice on the slopes because…
o When might you…
o How might you…
o Why might you…

Context Interpretation
o Students respond to questions about sentences containing target words and
requires them to apply the word’s meaning to understand the context of its
use
 Ex. Mr. Robinson, the high school principal, was in a very good
mood after his meeting with the philanthropist. Why do you think
Mr. Robinson was happy?