SIOP FEATURE 9
KEY VOCABULARY EMPHASIZED
RICHARD GILBERT
INSTRUCTION ALIGNED BY OBJECTIVE
Graves & Fitzgerald,2006
• Content area texts that students must read include sophisticated
vocabulary
• Reading performance tests rely on wide-ranging vocabulary
knowledge
• EL’s vocabulary instruction must be accelerated
• EL’s acquisition of deep understanding of word meaning is very
challenging
ACADEMIC LANGUAGE HAS THREE KEY
ELEMENTS
• 1.
CONTENT WORDS
• KEY VOCABULARY WORDS,TERMS AND CONCEPTS
• 2.
PROCESS/FUNCTION WORDS
• WORDS THAT HAVE TO DO WITH FUNCTIONAL LANGUAGE
• E.G. HOW TO REQUEST INFORMATION
• ALSO TRANSITION WORDS
• “therefore”
• 3.
WORDS AND WORD PARTS THAT TEACH ENGLISH STRUCTURE
• WORDS THAT ENASTUDENTS TO LEARN NEW VOCABULARY
• ROOT WORDS
• E.G., ‘PHOTO’
• PHOTOCOPY, PHOTOGRAPH……
KEY VOCABULARY EMPHASIZED
Vocabulary development, critical for English
learners is strongly related to academic
achievement.
Key Vocabulary is more than just the key
content vocabulary.
Students should personalize word learning
Mnemonic Strategies
Personal dictionaries
Students should be immersed in words by rich
language environments
Word Walls
Personal Word Study Notebooks and Dictionaries
Comparing/Contrasting Words with the
same morphemic elements
(e.g.,photograph, photosynthesis, photogenic)
aid students in recognizing and using
workds around them.
Students should build on multiple sources of information to
learn words through repeated exposure
Letting students see and hear new words more than once and
drawing on multiple sources of meaning are important for
vocabulary development.