DIRECTIONS
1) Locate vocabulary words that are critical to comprehension and understanding of abstract concepts in text.
2) Record these words in the chart below, including the paragraph where they are located.
3) Examine each word’s structure and context to identify the appropriate instructional approach.
VOCABULARY PLANNING CHART
Paragraph
#
3
Target
Words
EXAMPLE:
transport
5
EXAMPLE:
diminish
Instructional
Approach
Word Part
Meanings
Context
Clues
Teacher Modeling
Student Tasks
What will I explicitly point out to students?
What will I ask students to do?
(trans = across)+(port = to carry) = to carry
across
 Highlight root word; circle prefix
 Record word part meanings in journal
clues in text include:
decrease, shrink, dropped off over time
 Circle target word
 Highlight context clues
Vocabulary Instruction
Plan and record the following:
 Teacher modeling: How to derive word meaning(s) from word parts, context, or both.
NOTE: Locate meanings of word parts at www.dictionary.com. Type target word in search window. Look for the “Word
Origins” section under the target word to find meanings of prefix, root, and/or suffix in the word.

Student tasks
1
PLANNING A COMPREHENSION LESSON: Vocabulary Task
Vocabulary Instruction
Comprehension is both a journey and a destination. Text is its driving force because the roads of
comprehension are paved with the language of text. Quality instruction carefully weaves both
vocabulary and comprehension together. In order to effectively plan vocabulary instruction, it is
necessary to align the instructional approach with the language features of the specific text selected for
the lesson.
Selection of Target Vocabulary Words
Words used in vocabulary instruction need to target student comprehension of the text and, therefore,
need to be carefully selected. The number of target words identified for instruction will vary across
texts and will depend upon the learning needs of the students. It is highly likely that a group of
students will need larger amounts of instructional support for some texts and less for others.
Therefore, the first planning question to ask is: Which words in this specific text do students not know
but need to know in order to understand:
 big ideas of the text?
 relationships that are crucial to the text (i.e., comparison/similarities, contrast/differences,
cause/effect, etc.)?
Words from text that relate to or answer these questions can emerge as target words for vocabulary
instruction. They are key to students’ overall comprehension of the text they are about to read.
Additional target words can be identified by thinking about other questions such as:
 Does the text contain concept words that are crucial to broad conceptual understandings?
 Does the text contain a supportive word that needs to be clarified in order for students to fully
understand the target word?
Examination of the Selected Words
Once a set of target words has been identified, the teacher will need to align the vocabulary
instructional approach with the text in order for it to be effective. The instructional approach can be
identified by carefully examining each target word’s structure and context.
 Word structure: Does the word contain a prefix, root, or suffix? Prefixes, roots, and suffixes are
word parts referred to as morphemes, the smallest unit of meaning. Using science terminology as
an example, the word transpiration contains the prefix trans which means “across,” the root spire
means “to breathe,” and the suffix tion means “an act, condition, or process.” Instruction that
focuses on the meanings of word parts or morphemes is called morphemic analysis. It shows
students how to unlock unfamiliar word’s meanings by combining the individual meanings of a
prefix, root, and suffix. Using the same word to illustrate, students can analyze the meanings of
the various word parts that the teacher has taught them in order to hypothesize that the word
transpiration means “the process of breathing across.” Research has identified morphemic
analysis as effective in empowering student vocabulary development.
 Context: Is the word surrounded by clues to its meaning?
Everyone comes across words they do not know as they read, particularly, while reading complex
text. To find out unfamiliar words meanings while reading, a common strategy of efficient readers
is the use of clues the author uses, called context clues. Context clues are words, phrases,
sentences, and punctuation surrounding an unfamiliar word that can explicitly define the word or
2
hint at its meaning. These clues can be small words or phrases: or, in other words, known as, also
called. Readers can find enough information in text to figure out the meaning of an unknown
word. Using an excerpt from a complex text as an example, examine a paragraph from Joy
Hakim’s The Story of Science: Newton at the Center. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Books: 2005,
cited in the Appendix B, pg. 137 of the Common Core Standards. Think about the clues to the
meaning of the word probability.
Probability, a branch of mathematics, began with gambling. Pierre de Fermat (of the famous Last Theorem),
Blaise Pascal, and the Bernouillis wanted to know the mathematical odds of winning at the card table.
Probability didn’t tell them for certain that they would or wouldn’t draw an ace; it just told them how likely it
was. A deck of 52 cards has 4 aces, so the odds of the first drawn card being an ace are 4 in 52 (or 1 in 13).
The clues within the passage alert readers to understand that probability refers to gambling,
mathematical odds, a level of uncertainty, and the likelihood of outcomes. Unfortunately, students
can have difficulty locating or using such clues effectively. Therefore, it is important that teachers
prepare to model and provide explicit examples in the effective identification and use of clues in a
wide variety of different contexts.
Texts used in elementary classrooms contain a variety of general academic vocabulary words that
would require the teacher to explicitly model context analysis in his or her instruction. The first text
example in the box below is extracted from a September 2009 National Geographic Explorer article,
Seeing Eye to Eye. Three of the sentences contain three vocabulary words, one per sentence, that
lend themselves as opportunities for contextual analysis instruction. The target words for vocabulary
instruction are in italics: reflects, refracts, and absorbed. In bold font, the signals that provide clues to
the meanings of each of these words are the same: a comma immediately behind the target word,
followed by the word or. This pair is one of the most common set of signal clues, and the definition is
not far behind. The definition for each target word is underlined.
A light reflects, or bounces off objects. It also refracts, or bends. And it can be
absorbed, or soaked up, by objects. These rules of light affect what, and how, we see.
Following this same contextual pattern across the grades, an effective means of contextual analysis
instruction is an oral approach that focuses on oral language development. This approach is
particularly helpful at any grade level when using complex texts. To stimulate oral language
development, students benefit from listening to text that contains:
 complex sentence structures
 general academic vocabulary such as the words listed in the text box above: reflects, absorbed
Texts that are too difficult for students to decode independently can provide an appropriate listening
challenge that expands their oral language development and content area concepts. Typically,
students’ listening comprehension is much higher than what they are able to read independently.
Listening comprehension precedes their decoding ability levels; therefore, teacher read alouds of
complex text are of paramount importance. During a read-aloud, teachers can capitalize upon
students’ listening comprehension by orally inserting words or phrases that define the meanings of
words in the text that are unfamiliar to them. Such an oral approach to contextual analysis can
increase the rate of student vocabulary development.
Two examples of this oral approach come from the story, Boom Town, by Sonia Levitin. In the text
box below, the first target word mending is in italics but the text does not contain any written context
clues. Therefore, as the teacher reads the story aloud, an oral context clue and definition are inserted
by the teacher with an emphasis in voice inflection so that listeners can clearly hear this embedded
3
definition of an unknown word. The parenthesis in the text box identifies what was inserted during
the read aloud. The inserted signal – or – is in bold font, and the definition is underlined.


I set the pie down to cool. I went off to do some mending (or sewing to fix some torn clothes).
(Someone digging for gold, or, in other words,) a prospector came in on the stage from St.
Joe, his clothes covered with dirt.
From the same story, the second example shows another way to orally insert a definition with signal
clues to help young listeners comprehend challenging texts and learn a new meaning at the same
time. The inserted information is identified by the parenthesis in the second bullet of the box above.
The information is inserted right before the target vocabulary word – prospector. Although the word
“A prospector” were the first words in the sentence, the teacher reads the story as if the first words
of the sentence are “Someone digging for gold . . .” This time, the signal words and target word
prospector are emphasized during the read aloud.
I Located Some Target Words . . . Now What?
Examination of a word’s structure as well as its context will inform teachers which of these two
approaches – or both – will be effective for vocabulary instruction. This analysis will result in one of the
following possibilities:
 The target word requires a morphemic analysis approach because the word contains meaningful
word parts (morphemes) but the text does not contain any clues to the word’s meaning.
 The target word requires a contextual analysis approach because the text contains clues to the word’s
meaning but the word itself does not contain any meaningful word parts.
 The target requires both morphemic analysis and contextual analysis approaches because the word
contains meaningful word parts and the text contains clues to its meaning.
 The target word does not contain word parts and is not surrounded by any clues in context. It is
important that the teacher provide a brief explanation of the word’s meaning in student-friendly
terms.
No matter what the resulting scenario, teachers can plan to use several tools to support their vocabulary
instruction. A few of these tools include:
 text-marking,
 interactive word walls,
 vocabulary journals,
 pictures, and
 pantomime.
Text-marking utilizes a highlighter, pen, or pencil to point out relevant:
 clues in text for instruction in context analysis.
 word parts for morphemic analysis.
The teacher refers to the word or word part in text and thinks aloud to explain the context clue or
word part meaning as he or she marks the text. For instance, using the example in the next text box
below, the teacher could use a highlighter and a pen to mark text and model contextual analysis by:
 drawing a box around the target word censorship
 highlighting the clues (, or) to the meaning of the word censorship with an orange highlighter
 underlining the word meaning: restricting access to ideas and information.
They waged a war of censorship, or restricting access to ideas and information.
4
Vocabulary Planning Scenario (See illustration located on page 5 of handout)
Mrs. Jones teaches fourth grade. She is planning a set of lessons using two complex texts:
 a book, Discovering Mars, written by Melvin Berger.
 a magazine article entitled Amazing Planets.
She knows that these particular complex texts will present challenging opportunities for her students
to grasp content-area words and concepts. While examining the language of the texts, she locates
several discipline-specific words such as astronomer, hydrogen, and ecliptic that are critical to the
comprehension of each text. During instruction, she plans to introduce these words as they are
encountered in text.
Next, Mrs. Jones preselects several general academic words from the story that are important to
overall text comprehension and also unfamiliar to students: mammoth, radiate, integrate. These
words are relevant for students’ future writing and reading about various topics across the
curriculum.
Once these vocabulary words are identified, Mrs. Jones looks at both the structure and context of each
word to determine the best instructional approach for teaching them. First of all, Mrs. Jones notices
that many of these words have word parts -- prefixes, roots, and suffixes. For instance, Mrs. Jones can
point out that the morpheme astro- means “star” in both of the words astronomer and astronomical.
The structure of these words indicates that her instruction needs to include morphemic analysis. Prior
to reading the story, Mrs. Jones plans to model for students how to analyze each word. [EXAMPLE: “In
the word hydrogen, the prefix hydro means ‘water or fluid.’ ”]
Students will record the target vocabulary words in their vocabulary journals, highlight each word part,
and record their meanings. Mrs. Jones prepares to post each word part, its meaning, and the target
words on the vocabulary word wall. During reading, both she and the students will refer to their
vocabulary journals and word wall. These tools serve as a reminder to use the words during text-based
discussions and while writing. After text-reading, she plans to have students record various additional
words that share the same word parts on graphic organizers. She will add the graphic organizers to
their word wall for future reference in those times when students encounter these words in text or
choose to use them in discussion or writing.
Next, Mrs. Jones looks for potential context clues surrounding each of the target words. She specifically
searches for punctuation, conjunctions, or phrases that a good reader uses as clues to infer meaning of
the word. She located several clues in nearby text and plans to model contextual analysis. For example,
the comma following the word ecliptic signals a definition: “a shallow plane which is parallel to the
Sun’s equator.” (See text box below)
Most objects in orbit around the Sun lie within the ecliptic, a shallow plane which is parallel to the Sun's equator.
Where possible, Mrs. Jones looks for opportunities to use a picture or an artifact. She has a picture
that illustrates the target word ecliptic so she will place it next to the target word on the word wall
after introducing it.
Vocabulary Instruction Across the Year
From lesson to lesson, whenever text permits, Mrs. Jones uses both morphemic and contextual
analysis to support her students’ word learning skills. She explicitly models how to identify the
meanings of words as they encounter them in text and displays the word on the word wall.
Systematically throughout the week, Mrs. Jones asks the students strategic questions about these
words to engage them in various thinking tasks, challenging student application. She communicates
her expectation that students apply the target words at every opportunity during discussion and
writing. As a result, Mrs. Jones has witnessed consistent increases in her students’ reading
comprehension.
5
Sample Vocabulary Word Wall and Its Interactive Use (Refer to page 5 of handout)
Vocabulary paves the way to comprehension. The following illustration is a sample of an interactive
vocabulary word wall. It depicts each of the following:
 sample word wall features (i.e., word parts &their meanings, semantic maps, word family lists, shades
of meaning continuum)
 its interactive use, and
 its changing priorities across the school year.
The items in this illustration represent only a portion of an interactive word wall. Using a wide range of
graphic organizers is one example of another word wall feature. Daily and throughout the year, new
words are added, reorganized, and referenced in daily discussions that challenge students to think and
employ these words in their speaking and writing. The word wall grows and changes over time,
reflecting students’ academic vocabulary growth. Paving the road to comprehension is an ongoing
process of building and applying as often as possible.
6
FALL Priorities
WINTER Priorities
•Introduce new words
•Word work
• Begin applying words: discuss/write
SPRING Priorities
• Continue adding new words
• Ongoing word work
• Continue applying words in discussion
and writing
Adjective
portable
hydrogen
astronomer
astronomical
ecliptic
Prefix
astro = star
hydro = water or fluid
Nouns
hydration
hydrant
hydroplane
Roots
ami = friend
Suffix Meanings
er = one who
less = without
ate = action or having
Nouns
airport
porter
transportation
hydr
mammoth
Verbs
hydrate
hydrated
hydrating
Prefix
ex = out
hemi = half
trans = across
radiate
integrate
exuberant
FALL Interaction
 Last week we learned the word “enormous.’ Which
words on the wall mean the same as ‘enormous?”
 Which word would you say is “more enormous” than
the other: mammoth or astronomical?
 What word on the wall requires a combining action?
What could be integrated? Now that you have
mentioned what could be integrated, work with a
partner to draft a sentence using the word
“integrated.”
 I see a word on the wall that represents something
you cannot smell or see. Which word is it? Why is
it colorless and odorless?
port
Verbs
export
transport
hostility
Roots
sphere = round
port = to carry
Suffix Meanings
tion = act, condition, process
est = most
WINTER Interaction
 Here are two words from our word wall: exuberant, hostile. Which
word best describes the main character’s mood in the text?
 Of all the words we’ve learned so far this year, which word best
describes the effect that this event in text had upon the character?
Read aloud the portion of text that supports your answer.
 Think about the last two stories that we’ve read. Select a word from
the word wall to answer this question: What caused the characters
in both stories to struggle with finding a solution to their conflicts? In
your journal, write your response using that word and text evidence.
• Continue adding new words
• Ongoing word work
• Habitual use of words in class
discussion & writing
Destructive
Constructive
- CONTINUUM -
Prefix
co = together
con = together
de = away from (or down)
Roots
struct = to build
Suffix Meanings
tion = act, condition, process
serene
picturesque
SPRING Interaction
 Where would I place the following words on the
word wall continuum: hostility, harmony, and
cooperation? Which words could have a
“destructive” effect? Which could be considered
“constructive” and why do you say that?
 Draft a written response to this informational text
that we just read, using evidence from the text to
support your viewpoint. Use as many academic
words from the word wall as possible.
 The text states, “Alliance from necessity is safe just
while it has to be.” Using a word from the word
wall, how would you describe the alliance between
the cat and the rat in this poem?
TEACHER LAUNCHES DISCUSSIONS
7