Vocabulary
Vocabulary
is the ability to read a text quickly, accurately, and with
proper expression (McKenna & Stahl, 2003; NRP, 2000).
Learning Vocabulary
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Depth of knowledge about a word is developed over multiple exposures to words in
multiple contexts
Important Factors
o Number of exposures to a word
o Context surrounding the word
o The relevance of the word to the overall meaning of the passage
o Vocabulary knowledge is highly correlated with overall achievement (National
Reading Panel, 2000)
o In the content areas, vocabulary instruction is essential to expanding conceptual
knowledge and understanding more advanced ideas (Blachowicz, Fisher, WattsTaffe, 2005)
Incremental Progression of word learning (Nagy & Scott, 2000)
1.
2.
3.
4.
Unknown (I’ve never heard that word)
Knowledge that the word exists (I’ve heard that word before)
Partial knowledge (I kind-of know that word)
Complete knowledge (I know this word’s meaning well enough to use it correctly in
speaking and writing)
Rationale for Teaching Vocabulary:

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Vocabulary affects comprehension
o Strong correlation (around r = .80)
o Vocabulary and comprehension influence each other (Stahl & Nagy, 2006)
Large individual differences in vocabulary knowledge are evident early in school
o By the end of the second grade, disadvantaged students lag 2 years behind the
average students in their class and 4 years behind students in the upper quartile
National Reading Panel (2000) findings:
o Need for direct instruction
o Repetition and multiple exposures in rich contexts
o Restructuring of tasks for low-achieving or at-risk students
o Activities entailing active engagement
o Mixed methods for optimal results
o Need for sensitive measures to detect differences
Strategies for Teaching Vocabulary
Foster
Incidental
Learning


Word Play
 Use games, riddles, plays, songs, puzzles to teach vocabulary
 Highly motivating
(Blachowicz & Fisher, 2004)
 Teach strategies to help students use text to determine the meaning of
an unknown word meaning
Teach
Contextual
Strategies

Teach Word
Structures

“Goldilocks”
words

Word Wizard

Picture Walk

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STAR Model of
Direct
Instruction

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Discuss new words you “run across” during reading
Provide a literature rich classroom environment with wide range of
books available
High teacher interest in
Teach root word, prefix and suffix meanings to help students figure out
word meanings
Compound words
Choose words that are not too easy, not too hard, but just right
(Baumann & Kame’enui, 2004)
Students should be taught words in their Zone of Proximal
Development, learning simpler versions of words prior to more
complex versions (Biemiller & Slonim, 2001)
Post interesting vocabulary on wall and use a poster to keep track of
when a student uses new vocabulary in conversation or reports that
they heard it used outside of class
(Beck, Perfetti, & McKeown, 1982)
Introduction is conversational
Conversation prompts student engagement in activating background
knowledge
Teacher provides overview of plot, theme, or important ideas
Teacher uses the book’s language and vocabulary in the discussion
Select the words to teach
o Choose words that are essential to text comprehension, that
students are likely to encounter again
Teach the words before, during, and after reading
Vocabulary
Webs
Keyword
Method
o Explain the words before readings, discuss them in context,
review meanings after reading
 Active Analysis and Application
o Assign pairs of students a word and have them find it in text,
mark it with a sticky note, and analyze it’s meaning, present the
definition to the class, and use it in a personal context
 Revisit the words in a future context
o Questioning after reading, use in writing, personal vocabulary
notebooks
(Blachowicz, 2005)
 Teach connections between words through synonym webs that show
the relations between words that have the same meanings and words
that have multiple meanings (Paul & O’Rourke, 1988)
 Recoding – imagine a part of what the word looks or sounds like that
can be pictured easily (apex sounds like ape, so the student pictures an
ape)
 Relating – student relates the definition to the pictured word to help
him/her picture the meaning (apex is the highest point, so student
imagines an ape at the top of the Empire State Building)
 Retrieving – student recalls the word by picturing the image
(Mastropieri, 1988)
Resources and References:
Baumann, James F. and Kame’enui, Edward J. (2004). Vocabulary Instruction: Research to
Practice. NY: The Guilford Press
Biemiller, A., & Slonim, N. (2001). Estimating root word vocabulary growth in normative and
advantaged populations: Evidence for a common sequence of vocabulary acquisition.
Journal of Educational Psychology, 93(3), 498-520.
Blachowicz, D. L. Z. & Fisher, P. (2004). Putting the “Fun” back in Fundamental. In E. Kame’enui
& J. Baumann (Eds.), International Handbook of Literacy and Technology (Vol. 2).
Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Blachowicz, C. L. Z., Fisher, P. J., & Watts-Taffe, S. (2005). Integrated vocabulary instruction:
Meeting the needs of diverse learners in grades K-5. Naperville, IL: Learning Point
Associates.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2000). Report of the
National Reading Panel. Teaching children to read: an evidence-based assessment of the
scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction.
Retrieved Month, date, year, from
http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/nrp/smallbook.htm.
Mastropieri, M. A. (1988). Using the keyword method. Teaching Exceptional Children, 20
(Winter), 4-8. McKenna, M. C. & Stahl, S. A. (2003). Assessment for Reading Instruction.
New York: Guilford.
Paul, P. V. , & O’Rourke, J. P. (1988). Multimeaning words and reading comprehension:
Implications for special education students. Remedial and Special Education, 9 (3), 4252.
Stahl, S. A., & Nagy, W. E. (2006). Teaching word meanings. Mawhah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates
Special thanks to Amy Elleman, Ph.D. for sharing her materials from her SPED 2830 reading
course to assist in development of this tip sheet.
Links:
http://www.learningpt.org/pdfs/literacy/vocabulary.pdf
http://www.readingrockets.org/atoz/vocabulary/
 Vocabulary information, articles, strategies
http://www.adlit.org/article/c138/
 Vocabulary information, articles, strategies related to adolescent learners
http://www.ldonline.org/
 Resource for information related to students with Learning Disabilities –search
vocabulary for articles and strategies
http://www.readwritethink.org/
 Resources for lesson plans & strategies for instruction – Search “vocabulary”