Developing General and Content-Area
Vocabulary Knowledge
1
Goal and Objectives
• Vocabulary Research – a review of what research has shown us
regarding vocabulary and learning
• Types of Vocabulary—a review of the four types of vocabulary
• Types of words – a review of the three tiers of words
• Word Selection—a review of strategies that can be used to
select which vocabulary words to teach
• Instructional Strategies—a review of research-based
instructional strategies that can be used to teach vocabulary
• Strategy Practice—the opportunity for participants to practice
strategies that can be used to differentiate vocabulary instruction
2
Why Teach Vocabulary
3
Warm-Up Activity
Key Vocabulary Words:
fantods
quidnunc
squiffed
skosh
ort
snollygoster
spanghew
pilpul
thewy
Reading Selection:
The town quidnunc reported that last night a thewy snollygoster, who
was no doubt squiffed, spanghewed a small toad at the bartender after a
fight started. Apparently the man sitting next to him took a skosh, merely
an ort, from his plate. His action caused many pub patrons to experience
fantods and resulted in a pilpul between those who took different sides in
the altercation.
4
•
•
fantods
ort
•
pilpul
•
•
•
•
•
•
quidnunc
skosh
snollygoster
spanghew
squiffed
thewy
A state of nervous irritability
A scrap of food left after a meal is
completed
A nitpicking, unproductive
argument
A busybody or gossip
A small amount
A shrewd, unprincipled person
To cause a frog or toad to fly up in the air
Intoxicated
Muscled, brawny
The town busybody reported that last night a brawny unprincipled
man, who was no doubt intoxicated, threw a frog at the bartender after
a fight started. Apparently the man sitting next to him took a small
amount, merely a scrap, from his plate. His action caused many pub
patrons to experience irritability which resulted in an unproductive
argument between those who took different sides in the altercation.
5
Why We Should Teach Vocabulary
• Learning is fundamentally and profoundly dependent
on vocabulary knowledge.
• Vocabulary knowledge is highly correlated with overall
reading achievement.
• Vocabulary deficiencies are a primary cause of
academic failure in Grades 3–12.
• Vocabulary knowledge affects a student’s ability to
participate fully in both social and academic activities.
• Significant disparities exist in word knowledge among
students.
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Why Students Struggle With Vocabulary
Meaningful Differences
Words Words Heard Words Heard Words
Heard in a 100-Hour
in a 5,200
Heard in
per Hour
Week
Hour Year
4 Years
Welfare
616
62,000
3 million
13 million
Working
Class
1,251
125,000
6 million
26 million
Professional
2,153
215,000
11 million
45 million
7
“The Rich get Richer and the Poor get Poorer”
They do not
expand their
vocabularies
and background
knowledge.
Children
who fail at early
reading, begin to
dislike reading.
Their limited
vocabularies
interfere
with their
comprehension.
They read less
than their peers
who are stronger
readers.
Their limited
comprehension
contributes to
reading failure.
8
Research Regarding Vocabulary
• Once vocabulary
differences are firmly
established in children,
they are very difficult to
reverse
Biemiller, 1999; Hart & Risley, 1995
• There is currently little
emphasis on the
acquisition of vocabulary
in school
Biemiller, 2001; Scott, Jamieson, &
Asselin, 1998; Watts, 1995
9
Research Regarding Vocabulary
• Word knowledge is
essential for
comprehension
Davis, 1944
• Oral interactions and wide
reading in a variety of text
types is to be encouraged
and supported
Nagy & Herman, 1987
10
How Many Words Are
in the English Language
11
How Many Words Do You Know?
Researchers estimate that the average adult vocabulary may
total as many as 50,000 words.
How many words did you learn though direct instruction of
word meaning?
Conservative estimates put the figure at no more than 5,000
words.
50,000 -- known words
5,000 -- taught directly
How were 45,000 words learned?
12
What does it mean to “know” a word?
• “…knowing a word is not an
all-or-nothing proposition; it is
not the case that one either
knows or does not know a word.
Rather, knowledge of a word
should be viewed in terms of the
extent or degree of knowledge
that people can possess.”
Beck & McKeown, 1991
13
Stages of Vocabulary
Development
1. Never heard of it before.
2. Heard it, but you don’t know what it
means.
3. Recognize it in context – has something
to do with _____________.
4. Know it well and use it in spoken and
written language.
14
What are the different
types of Vocabulary and
different types of words
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Types of Vocabulary
1. Listening: The words we need to know to
understand what we hear or listen to.
2. Speaking: The words we use in speaking.
3. Reading: The words we need to know to
understand what is presented to us in text.
4. Writing: The words we use when writing.
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National Reading Panel (2000)
Key Findings
• Vocabulary instruction should be incorporated into reading
instruction.
• Vocabulary items that are required for a specific text
should be taught directly.
• The more connections that can be made to a specific word,
the better it is learned.
• Pre-instruction of vocabulary in reading lessons has been
shown to have significant effects on learning outcomes.
• Teachers should select vocabulary words that are important
for understanding text and that students will encounter
often.
• Dependence on a single vocabulary instruction method will
not result in optimal learning.
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Type’s of Vocabulary Words
• Tier 1: Basic common words. These words rarely
require direct instruction and typically do not have
multiple meanings. Sight words, nouns, verbs,
adjectives, and early reading words. There are
about 8,000 words included I tier one.
– Examples are: book, girl, said, run, dog
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Type’s of Vocabulary Words
• Tier 2: These words consist of high frequency words that occur
across a variety of domains. Standards for tier 2 words include
– Important for reading comprehension
– Contain multiple meanings
– These are words that allow students to describe concepts in a detailed
manner
– Words likely to appear in a wide variety of texts
– Words that would be part of the written and spoken language of a mature
learner
– Words that students already have the concepts to define in “everyday
language”
– Words that can be used in a variety of ways so students can build rich
representations
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Examples of Tier 2 Vocabulary and
terms students usually use
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Detest – strong dislike or hate
Required – have to
Tend – take care of
Maintain – keep going
Performed – did
Fortunate – lucky
Benevolent - kind
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How Do You Identify Tier 2 Words?
“Think about whether the students already have ways to
express the concepts represented by the words. Would
students be able to explain these words using words that
are already well known to them?”
Beck, I. (2002)
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Practice Identifying Tier 2 Words
• Select the Tier 2 words in the following sentence
that you would choose to teach a fourth grader?
The scientist conducted an experiment to determine how
Gluons bind quarks to each other.
• Why did you choose these and not others?
22
Type’s of Vocabulary Words
• Tier 3: These words are low-frequency words that
occur in specific domains. Domains include
content-specific study in schools, hobbies,
occupations, geographic regions, technology
weather, etc. We usually learn these words when a
specific need arises.
– Examples of these words include: isotope, asphalt,
Revolutionary War, crepe, denominator, amino acid,
etc.
23
Can You Find a Tier III Word?
24
Type’s of Vocabulary Words
• Estimates indicate that about 8,000 basic words
need no instruction – Tier 1
• Estimates indicate that about 7,000 words for Tier
2
• There are approximately 400,000 words in the
English language in Tier 3
25
How can teachers select words
to increase students’ vocabulary
and increase comprehension
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Teaching Vocabulary
What Words Should I Teach?
• First, examine the type of text the students will be reading. Is it
narrative or informational? Teach Tier II words if the students will be
reading narrative, literary texts. Teach Tier III words if students will
be reading informational, expository texts.
• Next, examine the text to develop a list of 10 Tier II or Tier III words
to be taught during the week, 2 per day.
• Beck, McKeown, and Kucan (2002) recommend teaching about 400
words per year K-12.
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Teaching Vocabulary
What Does it Take to Teach a Word Effectively?
•Teaching specific words before reading helps both vocabulary learning and
reading comprehension.
•Vocabulary should be taught both explicitly and incidentally.
•Explicit vocabulary instruction should address the use of definitions, context,
and concept learning.
•Emphasize students’ active involvement in word learning.
•Relate new words to students’ prior knowledge and to other related words when
possible.
•Teach vocabulary in context.
•Repetition and multiple exposure are important for learning new vocabulary.
•Stimulate students’ awareness and interest in words.
•Build a language-rich classroom environment.
•Encourage students to read widely.
National Institute for Literacy (2007)
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What are effective strategies that
can increase vocabulary
development
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Methods of Effective Vocabulary Instruction
Incidental (Indirect)
Rich oral experiences
Word of the Day
Teacher read-aloud
Independent reading
Explicit (Direct)
Specific Word Strategies
• Provide examples and non-examples
• Explain the meaning
• Pronounce the word
• Elaborate on the meaning
• Provide opportunities for practice using the word in
text
Word Learning Strategies:
• Mnemonics
• Contextual Analysis
• Morphemic Analysis
Word Consciousness
• Semantic mapping
• Word play
• Word histories and origins
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Specific Word Strategies
• A word map is a visual representation of the word or
concept . It”
–Provides examples and non-examples
–Explains the meaning
–Provides opportunities for students to practice pronouncing the word
–Elaborates on the meaning
–Provides opportunities for practice using the word in text
Frayer Model Strategy for Teaching Vocabulary:
http://www.justreadnow.com/strategies/frayer.htm
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A Vocabulary Word Map.
32
33
Word Learning Strategies
•
Mnemonics:
– Systematic strategies for strengthening long-term
retention and retrieval of words and information
•
Contextual Analysis:
–
•
Vocabulary strategy whereby a reader attempts to
determine the meaning of an unknown word by the
way it is used in a sentence or passage
Morphemic Analysis:
–
Practice of identifying words by an analysis of the
meaningful parts of those words
34
How Mnemonic Instruction Works
• Mnemonics is a memory enhancing instructional strategy that involves
teaching students to link new information that is taught to information
they already know.
– Keyword Strategy
The keyword strategy is based on linking new vocabulary words to
keywords that are already encoded to memory.
– Letter Strategy
Teaching letter strategies involves the use of acronyms and
acrostics.
• Acronyms are words whose individual letters can represent
elements in lists of information.
• Acrostics are sentences whose first letters represent to-beremembered information,
35
Key Word Strategy
If a teacher is trying to teach her students the definition of the old English
word carline, she will first identify a good keyword. In this instance,
“car” is appropriate because it is easy to represent visually and it
sounds like the first part of the vocabulary word. Carline means
“witch” so the teacher shows the students a picture of a car with a
witch sitting in it. When asked to recall the definition of
carline, students engage in a four-step process:
– Think back to the keyword (car),
– Think of the picture (a car),
– Remember what else was happening in the picture (a witch was in the
car), and
– Produce the definition (witch) ( Scruggs & Mastropieri, n.d., p. 2).
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Key Letter Strategy – Acronyms and Acrostics
• ROY G BIV
Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.
• HOMES
Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior
• OIL RIG
Oxidation It Loses (electrons)
Reduction It Gains (electrons)
• Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally
Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition,
Subtraction.
• King Philip Cuts Open Five Green Snakes
Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
• Encourage students to make up their own!
37
Contextual Analysis
• Contextual Analysis (using context clues) - A strategy
readers use to infer or predict a word from the context in which it
appears. This is a strategy that is not easy to master.
– Sometimes a word is clearly defined in its context but most often, the
context provides only hints or clues as to the words meaning.
– Context clues include words, phrases, and sentences that tell something
about the unknown word.
– Clues can occur before the unknown word, after the unknown word, or
both and, often there is more than one clue to the word’s meaning.
– The most useful clues are usually within the same sentences as the
unknown word, but helpful clues can appear in other sentences or even in
other paragraphs. Illustrations and pictures can also provide clues.
– Context varies in degrees of helpfulness. Some context provides no clues
to the meaning and some may provide misleading clues. It is important
when using contextual analysis to ask, “Does this meaning make sense to
me in the context of what I am reading?”
38
Contextual Analysis
• Contextual Analysis continued
– Steps for instruction
• Identify the unknown word
• Look within the sentence to located possible clues
– definition, synonym, antonym, example, and general
• If necessary, look in the sentence just before and just
after the sentience in which the unknown word appears
• If the student thinks there are enough clues to take a
guess at the word’s meaning, he or she should do so,
then, check to see whether the guess makes sense in
the sentence
• If the student is still clueless, the consult another
resource such as a dictionary or peer for the word’s
meaning
39
Active Context Word Learning
Albasa
Albasa will usually be found at grocery stores and
restaurants.
People like to eat Albasa on their hamburgers, however
Albasa are tasty and can be eaten with a
variety of other dishes.
Since Albasa are a vegetable, they are also nutritious.
Gipe, J.P. (1980). Use of a relevant context helps kids learn new word meanings. The Reading Teacher, 33,(5), 398402.
40
Active Context Word Learning
One disadvantage of Albasa is the strong odor which has
been known to produce crying symptoms among those
who slice them.
• Albasa is an_______________________
41
Active Context Word Learning
Albasa
Albasa will usually be found at grocery stores and
restaurants.
People like to eat Albasa on their hamburgers, however
Albasa are tasty and can be eaten
with a variety of dishes.
Since Albasa are a vegetable, they are also nutritious.
One disadvantage of Albasa is the strong odor
which has been known to produce crying symptoms
among those who slice them.
42
Gipe, J.P. (1980). Use of a relevant context helps kids learn new word meanings. The Reading Teacher, 33,(5),
Morphemic Analysis
• Morphemic Analysis (using word parts) - A
strategy in which the meanings of words can
be determined or inferred by examining their
meaningful parts.
– Word Parts
• Root words (free morphemes)
• Affixes (bound morphemes)
– Prefixes
– Suffixes
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Morphemic Analysis
• Compound Words Instruction – provide a list of
compound words. Then ask the student to divide them
into the following categories:
– Words where the meaning is a combination of two parts
( sidewalk, birthday)
– Words where the meaning is related to, but not
completely represented by, the meaning of the two
morphemes (cowboy, shipyard)
Then discuss how when words fall in the second category
they have developed a slightly different meaning.
Students can draw pictures to compare possible
meaning compared to the real meaning.
44
Morphemic Analysis
• Instruction of Affixes there are three reasons for teaching
– There are relatively few and many are used in a large number of
words
– Most have relatively constant meanings that are easily definable
– Tend to have constant spellings.
45
Morphemic Analysis
• Instruction of Affixes
– Present the affix in isolation and also attach for words (in this
instance we are using a prefix) (e.g. con-, construct, converge,
conference, connect)
– Define the prefix (con- means put together)
– Use the words in sentences
•
•
•
•
Builders construct houses.
The train and the bus converged on the intersection.
The conference on dieting attracted 2,000 people.
He connected the TV and DVD payer with a cable.
46
Morphemic Analysis
• Instruction of Affixes (continued)
– Define the words
•
•
•
•
To construct means to put or fits together.
To converge means to come together at a point.
A conference is a meeting where people come together.
To connect things is to join together.
– After competing and discussing the words, give the students
opportunities to find other words exemplifying the prefix.
– Have the students add examples to vocabulary notebooks
47
Morphemic Analysis
• Incidental Instruction – Manzo and Manzo (1990 ) argue that morphemic
analysis is best taught incidentally.
– Watch for words in reading assignments that may be unfamiliar but have
familiar words parts.
– As these words are encountered
• Present the word with helpful morphemic elements underlined. (For
example auto bio graphy)
• Ask student to use the underlined words to determine the meaning if they
can and to explain their reasoning. If they correctly predict the word
meaning, write it under the word. If they do not predict the word meaning
• Give extra clues by writing easier words using the same morphemes.
Then ask for predictions. If student are still unable to predict the correct
meaning
• Give extra clues which are the morpheme meaning and ask for
predictions regarding the correct meaning.
48
Word Consciousness
• Word consciousness is the knowledge of and interest
in words:
– Word conscious students enjoy learning new words
and using words in a variety of ways.
– Word consciousness promotes an understanding of
how words and concepts are related across different
context.
• Strategies:
– Semantic Mapping
– Word Play
– Word Origins
49
Semantic Mapping
• Semantic mapping is a visual strategy for vocabulary
expansion and extension of knowledge by displaying
in categories words related to one another.
• Semantic mapping is an adaptation of concept
definition mapping but builds on students prior
knowledge . While it draws on prior knowledge it
recognizes important components and shows the
relationships among the components.
50
Semantic Mapping
• Select a word central to the topic
• Display the target word
• Invite the student to generate as many words as possible
that relate to the target word.
• Have the student write the generated words in categories.
• Have the student label categories.
• From this list, construct a map.
• Lead the class in a discussion that focuses on identifying
meanings and uses of words, clarifying ideas, highlighting
major conclusions, identifying key elements, expanding
ideas, and summarizing information.
51
52
thousands of
workers
millions of
dollars
packet
boats
Erie
Canal
line
boats
marriage
of the
waters
Governor
DeWitt
Clinton
creative
engineers
53
Semantic-Feature Analysis
• Semantic Feature Analysis strategy uses a grid to help students explore
how a set of concepts or words are related to one another. By
completing and analyzing the grid, students are able to see
connections, make predictions and master important concepts. This
strategy enhances comprehension and vocabulary skills.
– It illustrates how words are both similar and different
– It emphasizes the uniqueness of each word.
– It draws on students' prior knowledge and uses discussion to elicit
information about word meanings.
– It can be used before, during, and after reading.
– It can be used individually, small groups or in whole group setting.
54
Semantic-Feature Analysis
How to use semantic feature analysis
• Select a category or topic for the semantic feature analysis.
• Provide students with key vocabulary words and important features
related to the topic.
• Vocabulary words should be listed down the left hand column and the
features of the topic across the top row of the chart.
• Have students place a "+" sign in the matrix when a vocabulary word
aligns with a particular feature of the topic. If the word does not align
students may put a "–" in the grid. If students are unable to determine a
relationship they may leave it blank.
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Semantic-Feature Analysis
Science
56
Semantic-Feature Analysis
Social Studies
FDR
JFK
Nixon
Reagan
Clinton
+
+
-
-
+
+
-
+
-
-
-/+
+
-
-/+
-/+
+
-
+
+
+
-
+
+
-
-
+
-
-/+
+
-
Democrat
War Time President
Congress of Same Party
Re-Elected
Served in Congress
Won Majority of Popular Vote
57
Word Play
• Word play is games, riddles, jokes and puzzles is not
only highly motivating, it has a strong research based
– Word play is motivating and an important component of
the word rich classroom
– Word play calls on students to reflect metacognitively on
words, word parts, and how words are used in context.
– Word play requires students to be active learners and
capitalizes on possibilities increased learning as the class
interacts socially
– Word play increases domains development of word
meaning and students’ understanding of how words are
interrelated as it engages students in practice and
rehearsal of words.
58
Word Play
• Pictionary, Charades, Password, Taboo
• Word Sorts
• Word of the Day
– http://wordsmith.org/words/today.html
• Hinky Pinky
– http://www.kith.org/logos/words/upper/H.html
• Dictionary Game
– http://www.justreadnow.com/strategies/dictionary.htm
• RIVETS
– http://www.justreadnow.com/strategies/rivet.htm
59
Word Origins
• Places. Words that owe their meaning to a particular place.
– Marathon
• Acronyms Words formed for the initials letter of other words.
– Laser, scuba
• Portmanteau words. Words that are formed by blending portions of one word
with another
– Medicaid
• Clips. Words formed when they are shortened in length
– Perks
• Name of people. Words owe their heritage to famous individuals
– Maverick
• Borrowed words from other languages.
– Pretzel
http://www.worldwidewords.org/index.htm
60
Differentiated Instruction
Basic Principles:
Differentiate by:
• Instruction is based on
student differences.
• Students have choice.
• Instruction takes place in
small, flexible groups.
•
•
•
•
Content
Process
Product
Student:
– Readiness
– Interest
– Learning profile
61
The Role of the Teacher Leader
To improve students’ vocabulary knowledge and, ultimately, their academic
literacies, you, as a teacher leader could:
– Discuss with your colleagues the importance of teaching content-area
vocabulary words and review the research-based guidelines of effective
vocabulary instruction.
– Share with your colleagues some of the techniques you are using,
especially the ones that receive a positive response from your students.
– Invite colleagues to visit one of your classes as you implement a particular
activity or strategy (e.g., possible sentences) and ask for their feedback.
– Interact with teachers from other academic disciplines. In one instance, a
ninth-grade teacher agreed to teach Latin and Greek prefixes and roots that
appeared in the ninth-grade science textbook. In return, the science
teacher agreed to include the targeted words on his unit exams.
– Co-teach a particular strategy or activity such as the word map or the
semantic feature analysis with a teacher from a different content area who
teaches the same students you teach (i.e., tenth graders).
– Persuade the principal to require teachers to use the A.Word.A.Day
website as a way to enhance students’ interest in vocabulary development.
62
Summary
To develop students’ deep and full understanding of words, teachers
should:
• Emphasize the vocabulary of their content area as they encourage
students to become independent word learners.
• Use a variety of vocabulary strategies (e.g., word maps, concept cards)
that students can use independently as they read and study their
assignments.
• Reinforce students’ mastery of important skills such as contextual
analysis, the dictionary, and morphemic analysis.
• Remember that all these skills and strategies are more powerful and
useful when anchored in content-area lessons that emphasize
demonstrations, modeling, small-group interactions, and class
discussion.
• Remember that none of these strategies is mutually exclusive; they can
and should be used together (e.g., word histories and contextual
analysis).
• Use a variety of reinforcement and evaluation techniques to help
students master the full and deep level of word knowledge.
63