Sandi Yellenberg
Santa Clara County Office of Education
Strategic Science Teaching © 2012
Los Angeles County Office of Education
Used with Permission from the Santa Clara County Office of Education
http://sst.lacoe.edu
Think-Pair-Share:
 Think (30 sec.)
 Pair
 Share:
 Choose
“A” and “B”
 “A” shares (30 sec.)
 “B” shares (30 sec.)
The bad news:
 Knowledge gap in SES groups:
 High SES 1st grades know twice as many words as low
SES classmates
 By high school, they know 4 times as many words!
 High SES 3rd graders have vocabularies equal to the
lowest-performing 12th graders!
The good news:
 We can make a difference if we begin teaching
vocabulary in robust ways . . . vigorous, strong and
powerful in effect
 Robust approach includes direct explanation,
thought-provoking, playful and interactive follow-up.
Beck, et al.
A – I’ve seen it done
B – I’ve seen it done too often
C – I confess – I’ve done it
D – Do people really do this?!?
1. “If I speak slower and louder, they’ll learn it.”
2. Have students write the words in their vocabulary
lists multiple times.
3. Have students write out vocabulary lists.
4. Use vocabulary words in a sentence.
5. Look up vocabulary words in the dictionary and
copy the definitions.
Curriculum Leadership Council,
2008-2009
4
Vocabulary knowledge is the single
greatest contributor to reading
comprehension and thus a strong
predictor of overall academic
achievement.
--Kate Kinsella, Isabel Beck, Robert Marzano,
Doug Fisher, et. al.
Thinking of words as belonging in
three tiers—Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier
3—can help deepen and refine our
understanding of academic
vocabulary and help us decide
which words are worth teaching.
Examples—
table
happy
baby
nose
purple
angry
hamburger
Content specific vocabulary
brick words = Tier 3
Transportable vocabulary
mortar words = Tier 2
(words that are used across
the curriculum in multiple
disciplines)
Examples—
carcinogens
mitosis
unhygienic
lithosphere
Kelvin
carbohydrate
potential energy
Doppler effect
Examples—
 classify
conduct
monitor
investigate
declaration
harmony
maintain
 Importance
and utility: Is it a word that
students are likely to meet often in the
world?
Instructional
potential: How does the
word relate to other words, to ideas
that students know or have been
learning?
Conceptual
understanding: Does the
word provide access to an important
concept?
We teach too many Tier I
words, not enough Tier 2
words, and we’re just about
right-on with our teaching of
Tier 3 words.
--Doug Fisher, “Secondary Literacy
Conference Spring 2007”, Anaheim CA
What do you think
Doug Fisher means?
 Read
assigned text twice
First
for overall comprehension
Second, to select Tier 2 and Tier 3
words.
 Circle
Tier 2 words, underline Tier 3 words.
(or indicate with different color highlighters)
Identify
Tier 2 words you’ve
identified, and compare to
others in your group. Were
there differences?
Report out two Tier 2 words that
are most likely to cause student
confusion or misunderstanding
The solar system consists of the sun and all the
planets and other bodies that revolve around
the sun. Planets are any of the primary bodies
that orbit the sun. Scientists have long
debated the origins of the solar system. In the
1600’s and 1700’s, many scientists thought that
the sun formed first and threw off the
materials that later formed the planets. But in
1796, the French mathematician Pierre-Simon,
marquis de Laplace, advance a hypothesis that
is now know as the nebular hypothesis.
From: Holt’s California Edition of high School Earth Science
textbook
The solar system consists of the sun and all the
planets and other bodies that revolve around
the sun. Planets are any of the primary bodies
that orbit the sun. Scientists have long
debated the origins of the solar system. In the
1600’s and 1700’s, many scientists thought that
the sun formed first and threw off the
materials that later formed the planets. But in
1796, the French mathematician Pierre-Simon,
marquis de Laplace, advanced a hypothesis
that is now know as the nebular hypothesis.
= Tier 2 words
= Tier 3 words
From: Holt’s California Edition of high School Earth Science
textbook
What are the implication of this
information?

Does this misunderstanding of Tier
2 words cause a gap in student
comprehension?

Is it obvious which are Tier 2
words?



Word Building: Visuals, Realia, Demonstrations, Text
glosses, Personal dictionaries
Word Knowledge: Cognates, Prefixes, Suffixes,
Roots, Word generation

Word Practice: Role play, Writing, Vocabulary games,
Mix & Match

Word Study: 4 corners vocabulary, Frayer maps, Word
sorts

Word Awareness: Familiarity ratings, Shades of
meaning, RIP words
Source: Dr. Deborah Short, March 7, 2009 Academic Success
Conference, SCCOE

Use visual supports and student-friendly
examples
 Practice each word 12-15 times
 Teach academic words explicitly
 Build in daily vocabulary routines, oral and
written reviews
 Connect to themes, essential questions
 Develop word consciousness
 Teach word learning strategies
 Be explicit about multi-meaning words
Source: Dr. Deborah Short, March 7, 2009 Academic Success
Conference, SCCOE