Intensifying Vocabulary
Intervention for
Kindergartners
Breda O’Keeffe1,
Michael Coyne, Sharon Ware, Ashley Capozzoli,
Joshua Wilson, Betsy McCoach, John Madura
Utah Multi-Tiered Systems of Support
Conference, June 2013
1University
of Utah
Department of Special Education
This Session
Importance of Vocabulary
 Conceptual framework for early literacy
instruction
 Early Vocabulary Instruction
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Choosing Words
Defining Words
Lesson Planning
Example Study
Example Instructional Activities
Results
Importance of Vocabulary
What we know from research:

Children enter school with meaningful
differences in vocabulary knowledge as a result
of differences in experiences and exposure to
literacy and language activities. (Hart & Risley, 1995)

The vocabulary gap grows larger in the early
grades. Children who enter with limited vocabulary
knowledge grow much more discrepant over time
from their peers who have rich vocabulary
knowledge. (Biemiller & Slonim, 2001)
Importance of Vocabulary
Language Comprehension
Word Reading
Specific
Comprehension
Typical
Readers
Difficulties
Mixed
Reading
Difficulties
Word Reading
Difficulties
Catts et al., 2005; Vellutino et al., 2007; Whitehurst & Lonigan, 1998
Implications



Students at-risk for language
difficulties
Code-based instruction alone is
insufficient
Oral language skills instruction is
needed (in addition to code-based)
A Conceptual Framework for
Reading/Literacy Instruction
Phonemic
Awareness
K
Alphabetic
Principle
1
Fluency
Vocabulary
2
Comprehension
3
A Conceptual Framework for
Reading/Literacy Instruction
Code Based
Instruction
Meaning Based
Instruction
K
1
2
3
A Conceptual Framework for
Reading/Literacy Instruction
 How
can you expand students’
vocabularies before they can decode
words?
Choosing Words: Three Tiers
•Low Frequency Words
•Teach when needed in
content areas
Tier Three
•High Frequency Words
•Teach a lot to build
Vocabulary Knowledge
Tier Two
•High Frequency
Words
•Teach only when
missing
Tier One
Tier one (Basic Words)
Made up of the most basic words
 Examples: clock, baby, home, dog
 Time spent on instruction:VERY LITTLE TO
NONE

Most students have these words in their
vocabulary, therefore these words do not need
to be taught.
What would be the exception?_____________
Tier Two (Mortar Words)
Made up of high frequency words for mature
language users
 Examples: coincidence, absurd, industrious
 Time spent on instruction: A LOT

Most students will benefit from instruction on
these words as it will add productively to their
language ability.
Tier Three (Brick Words)
Made up of low frequency words that are
limited to specific domains
 Examples: isotope, peninsula, trichotillomania
 Time spent on instruction: VERY LITTLE

Most students will only need to learn these
words within a specific content area they are
currently learning.
How to Choose Tier Two Words
1) Importance and Utility

Words that are characteristic of mature language
users and APPEAR ACROSS A VARIETY OF
DOMAINS (will generalize)
2) Instructional Potential

Words that are easy to teach and build rich
representations
3) Conceptual Understanding

Words for which students understand the general
concept but provide precision and specificity in
describing the concepts
Examples of Tier 1, 2 and 3 words
Tier 1: Basic
home
dog
happy
Tier 2: Mortar
analyze
approach
role
Tier 3: Brick
volcano
lava
pumice
Work with a partner and decide which category each word belongs in:
see
find
go
lexical major
boy
respond
abdominal
interpret
vaccine
come
peninsula
again
consequence
over
lathe
consist
glaciated
require
vary
look
molt
significant
isotope
Defining Words
 Student-friendly
definitions
Convey basic meaning of the word
 Definition (formal or informal)
 Synonym
 Demonstration

Defining Words
 Definitions
 Must
and synonyms:
be understandable to the
students!!!
 Should be as concise as possible.
 Don’t worry about subtle nuance;
definitions should get students in the
ballpark.
 Demonstrations:
 Must clearly convey the meaning.
Defining Words

The most common errors in vocabulary
instruction:
 Using words the students may not know.
 Using too many words.

Watch out for definitions that students
do not understand!
 “A glerm is a fribby zog.”
Defining Words
Formal Definition:
 Name a larger class, then name a
specifier:
 A cooper is a person who
makes barrels.
Defining Words
Informal Definition:

Give any phrase that clearly conveys
the meaning of the target word:
 When you are gleeful, you are
very, very happy.
Lesson Planning
Grades K-2:
Story book reading
 BEFORE: Introduce key vocabulary & definitions
orally before reading story
 DURING: Teacher reads story aloud, students listen
for and identify “magic” words
 AFTER: Vocabulary extension activities after story
Grades 3 and higher:
 Students read text
 Other procedures the same
Example Study
Research Questions

To what extent do K students who
are at risk for language difficulties
benefit from Tier 1 and Tier 2
vocabulary interventions?

Can we “scale up” tiered
vocabulary supports?
Method
 Population:
K
students in rural, urban schools
 Included students in SPED and ELL
 19 classrooms, 236 students total:
 Tier
1 = 167
 Tier 2 = 69
 17 Tier 2 instructional groups
Tier 2:
Supplemental Vocabulary
Intervention
PPVT < 95
Tier 1:
Classroom Vocabulary
Instruction
Tier 1 Instruction
 Elements

of Reading Vocabulary
(Beck & McKeown)
 Whole
class instruction
 20-30 min/day, 5 days/wk, 20-24 wks
 Delivered by K teachers



Introduced words (5 per week)
Read stories
Conducted follow up activities
Beck, I.L., McKeown, M.G., & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words
to life: Robust vocabulary instruction. New York: Guilford.
“These bricks will
make a fine,
sturdy house,”
said the third little
pig.
Sturdy means strong. Now I’ll say the sentence again with
word that mean sturdy. “These bricks will make a fine
strong house.” In the picture the little pig says that the
bricks (point to the bricks) will make a sturdy, or strong,
house. Everyone say sturdy.
Tier 2 Instruction
 In
addition to Tier 1
 Standard protocol
 Focused on 3 words per week
 Small groups (3-5 students)
 20-30 min/day, 4 days/wk, 20-24 wks
 Delivered by school personnel
Tier 2 Instruction
 Multiple
exemplars
 Increased opportunities to respond
 Error corrections
 Model, lead extended responses
 Relate to personal experience
 Games!
Extended Instruction
 Simple explanation of target words provided
within the context of the story. Extended
activities after story reading.
 Extended vocabulary instruction is
characterized by explicit, conspicuous
teaching that includes using both contextual
and definitional information, giving multiple
exposures of target words in varied contexts,
and encouraging deep processing.
(Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2002; Stahl, 1986; Stahl &
Fairbanks, 1986)
Tier 2 Instruction

Let’s play a word game. I’ll tell you about some things. If
you think it is strong, say “That’s sturdy!” If you think it is
not very strong, say “Uh oh, that’s not very sturdy!”

Examples/Nonexamples:
• A big jet airplane in the sky.
• A little paper airplane on a windy day.
• A tall tower made of cards.
• This school.
• A big huge rock.
• A snowman on a hot sunny day.
Extended Instruction
Let’s play a game about
our magic word drenched.
I’ll show you some
pictures. If you think the
picture shows something that
looks drenched, or really wet,
put your thumb up like this
and whisper, “That looks
drenched”.
If the picture doesn’t
show something that looks
drenched, put your thumb
down and don’t say anything.
Extended Instruction
(Show picture) Do these
children look drenched?
If you held up your thumb
like this, you’re right! The
children in this picture look
drenched, or really wet.
“The children laughed as they
got drenched playing in the
water fountain.”
Extended Instruction
Picture 1 (Person in the rain)
The person in this picture is
drenched, or really wet.
This picture reminds me of a
time when I was outside at a picnic.
The skies got very dark and it
started to rain. I ran to get inside
the nearest building, but it was too
late. I got drenched from the rain.
I felt cold and wet until I changed
my clothes.
(remove picture) Tell me about
a time when you were drenched
from the rain.
Scaffolding Student Responses
Ask: Does this picture show someone who is
active?
If student
answers
correctly, say:
Yes, that’s right! Why does/doesn’t this
picture show someone who is active?
(Students should say something like: “The
kids are playing soccer!” or “The girl is
sleeping!” or relate to the definition.)
If student
answers
incorrectly, say:
This picture does/doesn’t show
someone active, because it
does/doesn’t show someone moving
around or doing something. Let’s try
again. Does this picture show someone
who is active?
Measures: Pretest
Receptive
Expressive
 PPVT
 EVT
(Assignment
Variable)
 WJ Listening
Comprehension
 Target word
measure
 Target
word
measure
Measures: Post test
Receptive
Expressive
 PPVT
 EVT
 WJ
Listening
Comprehension
 Target word
measure
 Target
word
measure
 Story Retell
 Comprehension
 Language sample
Regression Discontinuity
 Quasi-experimental
design
 Assignment variable is known
post
pre
http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/quasird.php
post
pre
http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/quasird.php
Results: Receptive
d = .88
Results: Expressive
d = 1.20
Results: PPVT Posttest
d = .20
Limitations, Future Research
 Difficult
to get generalized results
 Words, instructional
 Non-responders
 Tier
design
remain
3?
 Fitting
it all into a school day
 Scaling
up further
Contact
Breda O’Keeffe
 breda.okeeffe@utah.edu