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Entry slip:
On a notecard, take a few minutes to write:
• In your mind, why is vocabulary instruction
important?
• What type of vocabulary instruction do you
currently do with your students?
• What subjects?
Share your responses with someone on the other side of the
room
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THE IMPORTANCE OF BACKGROUND
KNOWLEDGE
What students already know about the content is one of
the strongest indicators of how well they will learn new
information relative to the content.
Academic background knowledge affects more than just
“school learning.”
 Studies have also shown its relation to occupation and
status in life.
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THE CONSEQUENCES OF POVERTY
Findings in Figure 1.4 characterize the
relationship between poverty and academic
success after controlling for ethnicity, family
structure, and mother’s education.
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WHY VOCABULARY INSTRUCTION?
 Research indicates that vocabulary knowledge is highly correlated
with family income.
 Estimated 4,700 word difference between high and low
socioeconomic students (SES).
 Mid-SES 1st graders know 50% more words than Low-SES.
 High-SES 1st graders know twice the words of Low-SES.
Hart and Risley’s research indicates:
 By the time children in welfare homes are 1 year old, they have only
about 50% of the language experience of children from working-class
families and only 30% of the language experience of children from
professional families.
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Impact of Direct Vocabulary Instruction
Research shows a student in the 50th percentile in terms of
ability to comprehend the subject matter taught in school,
with no direct vocabulary instruction scores around the
50th percentile.
The same student, after specific content-area terms have
been taught in a specific way, raises his/her comprehension
ability to the 83rd percentile.
Stahl and Fairbanks, 1986
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ACQUISITION OF ACADEMIC BACKGROUND
KNOWLEDGE: INTERACTION OF 2 FACTORS
Fluid
Intelligence:
Our Innate Ability
to Process and
Store Information
Number and
Frequency of
Academically
Oriented
Experiences
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YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Although a certain level of innate intelligence is important to
academic success, learned intelligence is the stronger
correlate of success in school. (Marzano, 2004, p. 13)
Two ways we can enhance academic background
knowledge.
1. Direct Approaches
2. Indirect Approaches
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MAKE YOUR CASE FOR VOCABULARY INSTRUCTION
Read slides 5 through 10 and
discuss with your neighbor.
Build your case for: Why is
vocabulary instruction important?
For more details, read Chapter 1 in Building Background
Knowledge for Academic Achievement
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DIRECT APPROACHES
What does it mean?
Directly providing a variety of academically enriching
experiences, particularly for students whose home
environments do not do so naturally, outside of regular
school day activities.
Examples of direct experiences:
 Field trips to museums, art galleries, etc.
 School-sponsored travel and exchange programs
 Mentoring programs with members of the community
 Service learning
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INDIRECT APPROACHES
What does it mean?
Experiences that can be fostered on-site without the time
and resource commitment needed for direct approaches.
Example:
 Reading, talking/listening to others, or watching
educational television to gain experiences related to
Africa without physically traveling to Africa.
 Vocabulary Instruction
 Reading informational text/Literature Circles
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HOW DO YOU DETERMINE APPROPRIATE
VOCABULARY?



Discuss at content or grade level meetings to
determine vocabulary terms related to the standards
and content being taught
Use pre-made vocabulary lists
 Building Academic Vocabulary: Teacher’s Manual
(Marzano & Pickering)
 Building Background Knowledge for Academic
Achievement (Marzano)
 Teaching Basic and Advanced Vocabulary
(Marzano)
 For the Love of Words: Vocabulary Instruction That
Works: Grades K-6 (Paynter, Bodrova, et al)
McREL’s Compendium
 http://www.mcrel.org/standards-benchmarks/
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The continuous learning process:
For information to be anchored in permanent memory, it must have
linguistic (language based) and nonlinguistic (imagery based)
representations.
Permanent
Memory
Working
Memory
Sensory
Memory
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Six Steps to
Effective
Vocabulary
Instruction
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STEP 1:
THE TEACHER PROVIDES A STUDENT FRIENDLY
DESCRIPTION, EXPLANATION, OR EXAMPLE OF THE NEW
TERM





Provide learners information about the term.
Determine what the learner already knows about the term.
Ask learners to share what they already know as a means of monitoring
misconceptions.
Ask learners to share what they already know to use this knowledge as a
foundation for more learning.
Utilize examples, descriptions, but not definitions. Definitions are not a
recommended method for vocabulary instruction as they do not provide
learners an informal, natural way to learn new vocabulary.
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EXAMPLES: PAGE 15 - 17
Read paragraph 2 – 4 on page 16
Using the information presented here, how would you
describe the term habitat to your students?
Share with your neighbor.
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STEP 2:
STUDENTS RESTATE THE EXPLANATION OF THE NEW TERM
IN THEIR OWN WORDS

Students construct their own explanations based on what the teacher has
presented and write them in their academic notebooks, which are divided into
subject areas.

Remind learners to not copy, but use their own words.

Monitor students to determine if any confusion exists.

Provide more descriptions, explanations, or examples if necessary.

Request that students record these in their Academic Notebook Worksheet.
These notebooks can travel with the learner as he/she moves through each
grade level and become a compilation of vocabulary terms mastered.
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WIKI SPACES
CREATE A CLASS WIKI SPACE AS A
VOCABULARY JOURNAL
http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/leading_from_the_classroom/2010/11
/are_your_students_using_wikis_to_strengthen_vocabulary_skills.html
?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+
LeadingFromTheClassroom+(Leading+From+the+Classroom)
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STEP 3:
STUDENTS CREATE NONLINGUISTIC REPRESENTATION OF THE TERM:
PICTURE, SYMBOL, OR GRAPHIC REPRESENTATION






Share examples of other learners’ drawings or allow students to work in
teams to help those who complain they cannot draw.
Teach the concept of speed drawing for those who labor too long over their
work.
Ask a learner to share their work.
Use graphics from magazines or the internet.
Internet clipart resources:
 Madrid teacher
 Vocabulary quiz using images
Illustrating terms through symbols, drawing the actual term, illustrating with
a cartoon, or drawing an example of the term should be encouraged.
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EXAMPLES OF NONLINGUISTIC REPRESENTATIONS:




Graphic organizers (Kidspiration)
Drawings
Photographs
Pictographs
Students can also be encouraged to create
mental pictures and act out meanings of new
words.
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STEP 4:
STUDENTS PERIODICALLY ENGAGE IN STRUCTURED VOCABULARY
DISCUSSIONS THAT HELP THEM ADD TO THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF
VOCABULARY TERMS




Add to the vocabulary worksheet as appropriate under new information.
Encourage learners to identify prefixes, suffixes, antonyms, synonyms,
related words for the vocabulary term as “New Info” on the Academic
Notebook Worksheet.
If English is a second language to the learner, provide an opportunity to
translate the word into their native language (BabelFish)
A list of activities can be found at: Teachnet, Gameaquarium, ESL Bears,
Word Scrambler.
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POSSIBLE ACTIVITIES
Comparing terms
Classifying terms
Generating Metaphors using terms
Generating Analogies using terms
Revising initial descriptions or nonlinguistic
representations of terms
 Using understandings of roots and affixes to deepen
knowledge of terms





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FRAYER MODEL
Frayer’s model provides another interaction with the terms to clear
up any misunderstandings
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&expIds=17259,18167,2663
7,26699,27342,27404&sugexp=ldymls&xhr=t&q=frayer+model&
cp=4&wrapid=tljp128925918570908&um=1&ie=UTF8&source=univ&ei=s4jYTMfNCoG8lQfnuoj9CA&sa=X&oi=ima
ge_result_group&ct=title&resnum=2&sqi=2&ved=0CC8QsAQw
AQ&biw=1168&bih=668&tbm=isch
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BROWSE THROUGH PAGE 38 – 52
FOR IDEAS FOR REVIEW ACTIVITIES
PLAY FREE ASSOCIATION AT YOUR TABLE
TARGET TERMS ARE ON INDEX CARDS AT TABLE
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Step 5:
Periodically the students are asked to discuss the terms
with one another.
Pair-Share Strategy:
 Think: allow think time for learners to review their own descriptions
and images of the terms.
 Pair: put learners in pairs to discuss their descriptions, images, and
any new info related to the terms.
 Share: provide opportunity for groups to share aloud and discuss
conceptions and misconceptions.
Monitor as learners help each other identify and clear up confusion
about new terms.
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THINK-PAIR-SHARE
 Compare their descriptions of the term
 Describe their pictures to one another
 Explain to each other any new information they
have learned (“aha’s”)
 Identify areas of disagreement or confusion and
seek clarification
 Students can make revisions to their own work
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IDEAS FOR STUDENT DISCUSSION:
 Organize students into small groups asking
them to discuss terms in the vocabulary
section of the academic notebook.
 Prompts for discussion could include:

terms interesting to students

questions about specific terms

identify terms with multiple meanings

favorite terms

terms that were difficult to learn and why
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STEP 6:
PERIODICALLY STUDENTS ARE INVOLVED IN GAMES THAT
ALLOW THEM TO PLAY WITH THE TERMS
• Charades
• Pictionary
• Gestures
• Taboo
• Hangman
Great web site for classroom games
http://www.teachersdesk.org/spell_plans.html
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 Pyramid
 I Have, Who Has?
 Memory
 Name that Category ($100,000 Pyramid)
 Bingo (you give definition, kid marks the word)
 Create a skit (assign groups of 3 – 4 kids to make a
skit out of 3 vocab words)
 Kids make their own game / Gamigami
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GAMES: BROWSE PAGES 53 - 66
Play “Talk a Mile a Minute” with your
team
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Overview of the process and with examples and ideas for
games:
http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/vocab/strategies.html#Step_1
http://quizlet.com/
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REFLECT ON THE VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
PROCESS… EXIT SLIP
 How is it different from traditional vocabulary
instruction?
 Which steps in the process are value added
components?
 What parts of this are you already doing in your school
day?
 What would you have to do to fully implement this
process?
 How will you get started?
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