Introduction
“I have observed teachers with a passionate interest in words and watched how they share
this love with children, and I find it very hard to describe how they do what they do. No book on
vocabulary instruction or set of activities can accomplish what these teachers do, spontaneously
in the classroom.” Thus, Ellin Keene in To Understand provides teachers with a reality check
before engaging with the following material.
The word study activities offered here are simply recipes for preparing students to ingest
words in a variety of ways. Choose and use what works. This guide is designed to increase word
consciousness through robust vocabulary instruction so that, in the words of one state’s
standards: “students use the power of language ethically and creatively.”
Relying heavily on Janet Allen’s philosophy, “…as a teacher I should not be teaching one
way to teach vocabulary for all words, for all my students, for the whole year. Rather, I should
be creating a language-rich environment with lots of reading, talking, and writing in which
varying levels of instruction occur.” This guide seeks to help teachers create that environment. In
Allen’s books (Words, Words, Words and Inside Words) she lists the ingredients to help students
learn and use academic and specialized vocabulary. If teachers desire language-rich classrooms,
they need to:
 Build background knowledge
 Teach words that are critical to comprehension
 Provide support during reading and writing
 Develop a conceptual framework for themes, topics, and units of study
 Assess students’ understanding of words and concepts.
It is wise to listen to Ellin Keene again before studying the succeeding pages. She
reminds teachers that, “We have long understood the need for vocabulary instruction that creates
a conceptual base for new words, helps children build a personal set of associations for the words
they know, and encourages students to use increasingly subtle and complex words in their
spoken and written language. Sadly, there is still too much focus in American classrooms on
handing out long weekly word lists, then asking children to look up their meanings and write
sentences that use the words in an appropriate context.”
To counteract this negative focus, she describes a lively snapshot of teachers who
continually gift their students with the joy of words: “They pause during a read-aloud to marvel
at an author’s word choice; they reread lines just to let children appreciate the cadence of the
language; they interrupt everyone during composing to share the word one writer has chosen
because it perfectly captures the meaning he strives for. There are words and quotes posted
throughout their classrooms, pulled from children’s writing and well-loved books. They share
their pleasure when the words the author uses surprise them. They wisely select a few very
relevant words to study at a given time, helping children to build a conceptual (rather than a
definitional) understanding of each word associating other terms with it. They create situations in
which kids discover and teach each other words, and they ensure that children are hearing—and
using—an ever more sophisticated vocabulary as they speak and write.” (Peter Johnston’s
Choice Words also is a valuable guide for how to think carefully about the language we use in
our classrooms.)
The vocabulary instruction on the following pages is presented with the hope that
teachers will discover new ways to enrich their students by unlocking the power of words.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TEACHING VOCABULARY
Increase
A language-rich environment
The variety of instructional
approaches
Opportunities for learning new
words through wide reading
Strategies to learn unfamiliar words
Language/word awareness
Building of background knowledge
to increase vocabulary
Highlighting relationships between
difficulty of words and
comprehension
Direct instruction
Awareness that context clues vary in
degree of helpfulness to readers
Awareness that knowing a word
means more than knowing a
definition of a word
Exposure to words in meaningful
context
Immersion in vocabulary discussion
Teaching of word parts
Decrease
Looking up definitions as a single source
of word knowledge
Asking students to write sentences for
new words before they’ve studied the
word in depth
Notion that all words in a text need to be
defined for comprehension
Using context as a highly reliable tool
for increasing comprehension
Assessments that ask students for single
definitions
Drill-and-practice methods
Instructional Strategies and Tools
Within the following pages you will find Word Study tools designed to develop word
consciousness in students. The instructional strategies and tools are not an end-all but a
suggestion for use. The expectation is that you will take them and use them in a manner that will
foster life-long word study skills.
The FRAYER MODEL
This graphic organizer takes some time, so you would probably choose it when you are
introducing a concept or beginning a unit. The teacher would directly teach the critical attributes.
This could become an anchor chart and used as a reference throughout the unit, adding
information as the learning progresses.
In the example that follows, the teacher is introducing the word “anarchist” preceding a
unit on the 1920’s.
Frayer Model
Define the Concept
Is different from similar concepts
An anarchist is someone who
advocates (supports or defends)
the absence of political authority
Someone who criticizes authority
or government, but wouldn’t want
to destroy it.
Examples of the Concept are
Sacco and Vanzetti
Emma Goldman
Some rock groups like
The Dead Kennedys
Nonexamples of the concept are
A patriot
A senator or representative
Anyone who votes or runs
for office
I’ll remember the word by
I know that “-ist” refers to a person, like a “dentist” or “pharmacist”.
“an-“ means without and “-arkos” means ruler.
In comic books there sometimes is an “arch” villain. An anarchist would maybe not care if
others got hurt if they got in the way of the overthrow of authority.