Vocabulary: Defining Best Practice in Reading First Schools Michael C. McKenna University of Virginia

Today’s Goals Learn about how children acquire word meanings Examine research findings on vocabulary instruction Discuss scientifically-based instructional approaches Form an action plan for your schools

What are some ways elementary-school children learn new vocabulary? What are some ways elementary-school teachers typically teach new vocabulary?

Is the word vocabulary in your vocabulary? Let’s look at how this term has been defined. Each of us has not just one vocabulary, but many!

word-hoard estuary argon id A thousand years ago, the Anglo-Saxons had the concept of vocabulary, but they called it something different. The term they used suggests how valuable they thought words to be.

What is vocabulary? Speaking vocabulary Listening vocabulary Reading vocabulary Writing vocabulary General vocabulary Technical vocabulary Meaning vocabulary Modality Domain

What is vocabulary? Speaking vocabulary Listening vocabulary Reading vocabulary Writing vocabulary General vocabulary Technical vocabulary Meaning vocabulary Modality Domain Vocabulary can be defined in terms of the four basic language processes.

What is vocabulary? Speaking vocabulary Listening vocabulary Reading vocabulary Writing vocabulary General vocabulary Technical vocabulary Meaning vocabulary Modality Domain Or in terms of subject area.

What is vocabulary? Speaking vocabulary Listening vocabulary Reading vocabulary Writing vocabulary General vocabulary Technical vocabulary Meaning vocabulary Modality Domain

What is vocabulary? Speaking vocabulary Listening vocabulary Reading vocabulary Writing vocabulary General vocabulary Technical vocabulary Meaning vocabulary Modality Domain Meaning vocabulary is an umbrella term that refers to all the words we know the meanings of.

One of the best books available on meaning vocabulary will appear in May. It’s by Stahl and Nagy.

1755 Dictionary of the English Language This is a banner year for the English language. 250 years ago, in London in 1755, the first standard English dictionary appeared. It was the work of a single individual, Dr. Samuel Johnson. It took him 9 years to compile it.

114,000 words 1755 Dictionary of the English Language Johnson defined some 114,000 words.

114,000 words impertransibility queck nould 1755 Dictionary of the English Language 114,000 words impertransibility queck nould Many of these words are no longer used!

114,000 words 1755 Dictionary of the English Language 2005 Oxford English Dictionary (3rd ed.) Today, the world standard is the Oxford English Dictionary, or OED. The 3rd edition is now being prepared, though it is not scheduled to be completed until 2018.

114,000 words 660,000+ words 1755 Dictionary of the English Language 2005 Oxford English Dictionary (3rd ed.) So far, over 660,000 words have been defined. 660,000+ words

660,000+ words webcam cyberphobic doh 2005 Oxford English Dictionary (3rd ed.) Many are from technical fields. But what about doh? 660,000+ words

Doh! It’s the expletive popularized by Homer Simpson!

English users follow set rules for coining new words, thus adding greatly to the number of potential words in the language. The true number of words in English is never precisely known. Some experts contend that the number is almost limitless because of rules that allow us to coin new words.

The postman likes our street because it is dogless. English users follow set rules for coining new words, thus adding greatly to the number of potential words in the language. The postman likes our street because it is dogless. Any English user will know the word dogless, even tough it appears in no dictionary. Not even the OED!

Are you a logophile? This word is built from logo (word) and phile (lover).

Are you a logophile? words

A Vocabulary Challenge To comprehend what we read, at least 95% of the words must be recognized automatically. How is this possible given the number of words in English? English contains more words than any other language. How can anyone learn enough of them to reach this magic level of 95% automatic word recognition? The answer is that a small number of words occur repeatedly. The word the, for instance, accounts for 7% of all text! So reaching 95% is not that difficult.

50K 40K 30K 20K 10K Large differences in the meaning vocabulary of children have already developed by the time children reach kindergarten. Hart and Risley (1995) estimated that the children of college professors averaged knowing about 5,000 words compared with children of working-class and welfare parents, who averaged around 1,500. 5,000 • 1,500 • K 12

50K 40K 30K 20K 10K 45,000 17,000 Studies of high school seniors allow us to project an ever-widening gap as children pass through school. (Note that the 12th-grade figures are not from Hart and Risley. This graph is simply a composite to illustrate the Matthew Effect in vocabulary development.) 5,000 1,500 K 12

“Vocabulary levels diverge greatly during the primary years, and virtually nothing effective is done about this in schools.” (p. 29) Biemiller is a professor at the University of Toronto. His studies of Canadian children probably generalize to American children. He maintains that the biggest gaps occur in the primary years and that the rate of learning is about the same for the highest- and lowest-achieving children thereafter. This second contention has been disputed. Andy Biemiller Biemiller, A. (2004). Teaching vocabulary in the primary grades.In J.F. Baumann & E.J. Kame’enui (Eds.), Vocabulary instruction: Research to practice (pp. 28- 40). New York: Guilford.

Oral vocabulary at the end of first grade is a significant predictor of comprehension ten years later. This stark finding indicates the true importance of vocabulary. Of course, there are many other predictors as well. Cunningham, A.E., & Stanovich, K.E. (1997). Early reading acquisition and its relation to experience and ability 10 years later. Developmental Psychology, 33, 934-945.

Why is a large vocabulary associated with good comprehension? While it may seem self-evident that comprehension relies heavily on word knowledge, no one is certain exactly how it helps. At least five theories have been suggested.

The Instrumental Hypothesis Vocabulary aids comprehension by providing the reader with a tool, or instrument. In other words, there’s a simple cause-and-effect relationship.

The Knowledge Hypothesis It’s not so much the words themselves that help, but the knowledge they represent. According to this hypothesis, it is not the knowledge of the words per se that makes one a better reader, but knowledge of the concepts they represent. An example may be helpful in distinguishing the knowledge hypothesis from the instrumentalist hypothesis: Imagine you give students a simple vocabulary test containing one word, photosynthesis, and only half of them pass. Then you give them a text to read, on the subject “how plants make their own food.” Imagine further that this text is written in relatively simple language, and does not contain the word photosynthesis. Finally, you give the students a comprehension test covering the contents of the passage they read. The prediction is that students who know the word photosynthesis will be better at understanding the text than the students who do not. But it is not knowledge of the word itself that made the difference, since (according to our assumption), this text does not contain that specific word. Although this example may seem a little contrived, it illustrates a general principle that has been strongly documented: A readers’ knowledge of the topic of a text determines how well he or she will understand that text. It is not that knowledge of the individual words plays no role; but the knowledge of individual words is simply the tip of the iceberg; it is the rich, interconnected knowledge of concepts that really drives comprehension. (Stahl & Nagy, 2005)

The Aptitude Hypothesis Comprehension and vocabulary are correlated “not because one causes the other, but because both reflect a more general underlying verbal aptitude.” – Stahl & Nagy (2005) According to this hypothesis, vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension are correlated, not because one causes the other, but because both reflect a more general underlying verbal aptitude. Students with high verbal ability will be better word learners, and end up with larger vocabularies. Students with high verbal ability are also better at understanding what they read. So such students will get high scores on both vocabulary tests and comprehension tests, but a direct link between reading ability and vocabulary is not, according to this hypothesis, logically necessary. (Stahl & Nagy, 2005) Maybe another way to put this would be: Smart people know more words and smart people comprehend better. Both are simply the result of being smart.

A larger vocabulary means The Access Hypothesis A larger vocabulary means a deeper understanding of words (including nuances of meaning) quicker access to words in the lexicon flexibility in deciding among multiple meanings People who know more words also have deeper, and more fluent, knowledge of the words they have in common with those with smaller vocabularies. This is especially important to get the correct shade of meaning used in a particular context (Kintsch, 1998). A person with a larger vocabulary therefore has an advantage in terms of being able to access the meanings of even common words more quickly. Because automaticity, as well as accuracy, of word knowledge is important for comprehension (reference), being able to access word meanings more quickly results in better comprehension of text. (Stahl & Nagy, 2005)

Being a better reader makes it possible for you to read more The Reciprocal Hypothesis Having a bigger vocabulary makes you a better reader. Being a better reader makes it possible for you to read more Reading more gives you a bigger vocabulary Stanovich (1986) and others have suggested what could be called the reciprocal hypothesis – that is that the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension goes both ways. On the one hand, it seems plausible (as asserted by the instrumental hypothesis) that knowing more words would make one a better reader. On the other hand, being a better reader generally means that one reads more; and if much of a person’s vocabulary is gained through reading, one would expect better readers to develop larger vocabularies. One can think of this relationship in terms of a circle: Having a bigger vocabulary makes you a better reader; being a better reader makes is possible for you to read more; and reading more gives you a bigger vocabulary. This circular relationship tends to increase differences over time. One the positive side, better readers tend to read more, get bigger vocabularies, and become even better readers. On the negative side, poorer readers tend to read less, fail to develop large vocabularies, and find reading increasingly difficult as the vocabulary demands of the texts they have to read increase. (Stahl & Nagy, 2005)

Four Obstacles to Acquiring a Large Vocabulary The number of words in English is very large. Academic English differs from the kind of English used at home. Word knowledge involves far more than learning definitions. Sources of information about words are often hard to use or unhelpful. – Stahl & Nagy (2005) Re the 2nd point, the differences in home and school English are very important. At home, utterances might be clipped and not even involve complete sentences. Moreover, they are always contextualized and are therefore filled with pronouns (“You gonna eat that?”). The context makes the meaning clear. But school English is far different, relying on complete sentences and much richer vocabulary usage. Re the 4th point, Stahl and Nagy refer to dictionaries and other tools that may trouble older students.

How do we learn words from experiences? Imagine an out-of-school context in which you must attempt to learn the meaning of a new word you hear someone else use.

gavagai This example, recounted by Stahl and Stahl (2004), illustrates how limited a single encounter with a new word is likely to be. Does gavagai mean rabbit? Running? Running rabbit? Wild game? Something entirely different? An aborigine points to a running rabbit and says “Gavagai.” Can you infer the word’s meaning?

Each encounter with a word helps a child narrow its meaning Each encounter with a word helps a child narrow its meaning. For example, if he next hears the word gavagai used to refer to a sitting rabbit, the child will infer that running is not connected with the meaning.

Young children learn word meanings from one-on-one interactions with parents and siblings. These interactions may be rich or poor. Consider two examples based on Hart and Risley’s (1995) comparison of families of different socioeconomic levels. Many of the children in their study tended to ask the question (next slide) regardless of whether their parents were well educated. Note the differences in how their parents responded! Imagine the long-term effects of such responses on vocabulary growth!

Yeah. Do I have to eat these?

“Motherese” Yes, because they have vitamins that will help you grow and get stronger. Do I have to eat these?

What does it mean to know a word?

A Continuum of Word Knowledge No knowledge A vague sense of the meaning Narrow knowledge with aid of context Good knowledge but shaky recall Rich, decontextualized knowledge, connected to other word meanings Beck, McKeown, and Kucan suggest a continuum of word knowledge. The ideal is a thorough appreciation involving “decontextualized” understanding. That is, even without a specific context, the word alone calls to mind an abundance of useful associations.

A Continuum of Word Knowledge No knowledge A vague sense of the meaning Narrow knowledge with aid of context Good knowledge but shaky recall Rich, decontextualized knowledge, connected to other word meanings In between the extremes, our knowledge of a particular word may be relatively weak or strong.

The Reading System (Adams) Reading Writing Speech Context Processor Meaning Processor The model of the reading process described by Marilyn Adams involves making meaning from print, using various tools: -our knowledge of spelling and phonics -our ability to appreciate how words are used in context. Orthographic Processor Phonological Processor

The Reading System (Adams) Reading Writing Speech Context Processor Lexicon Meaning Processor We might add that reading requires us to draw upon stored knowledge of words as we encounter them in print. Orthographic Processor Phonological Processor

That part of long-term memory devoted to word knowledge lexicon That part of long-term memory devoted to word knowledge The lexicon is the term psychologists use to refer to our memory of word meanings. It might best be thought of as a vast, interconnected network. When we read the word cat, this word is accessed in the lexicon, along with the various connections we have associated with it. This process is sometimes called “lexical access.”

How is a word stored in the lexicon? Let’s take a closer look at that vast, interconnected network of words and what they mean.

cat The word cat is not stored by itself. That would not help us!

c-a-t cat /kat/ It calls to mind a visual image (perhaps many), a spelling, and a pronunciation.

“meow” c-a-t cat 4 legs /kat/ pet We may also have learned features associated with cats – the sound they make, how many legs they have, and the fact that many people keep them as pets. pet

animal “meow” c-a-t cat 4 legs /kat/ pet lion We might also learn that cats belong to a larger category (animals) and that there are specific types of cats, including lions. pet lion

animal mammal “meow” c-a-t cat 4 legs /kat/ pet lion As our sophistication grows, we might learn that cats belong to another category (mammals) that is smaller than animals. This knowledge helps refine our understanding of the word. Keep in mind that two people with different levels of knowledge can still communicate about cats. A vet can speak with a child, for example, but the difference in their lexicons (deep versus superficial) can be vast. pet lion

animal mammal “meow” c-a-t cat 4 legs /kat/ pet lion Our specific experiences with particular cats are also tied to the lexicon. pet lion

animal mammal “meow” c-a-t cat dog 4 legs /kat/ pet lion Let’s branch out a bit. The word dog is also in the lexicon. pet lion

animal mammal “meow” c-a-t cat dog 4 legs /kat/ pet lion It belongs to the same category (mammals) and shares some, though not all, of the same features pet lion

animal mammal “meow” c-a-t cat dog 4 legs /kat/ pet lion Visual images for dog are also stored, together with many other images. The images are thought to work together in a separate but connected system. pet lion

Dual Coding Theory Two systems are involved in learning words. One contains verbal information, the other non-verbal (images). When we learn a word, real-world images that we associate with the concept are also stored. Accessing a word in the lexicon therefore involves both the verbal system and non-verbal (imagery) system. ~ Moral ~ When teaching new words, use pictures and other images where possible. Marzano describes our learning a new word as “dual coding.” Images work together with verbal information. This may be theoretical, but the lesson for teachers is simple and practical!

animal mammal “meow” c-a-t cat dog 4 legs /kat/ pet lion Take another look at our snippet from a child’s lexicon. Let’s remove the verbal network. pet lion

The Nonverbal (Imagery) System What remains is the image system. In a world without language, this system alone would be available to help us interpret the world.

New meanings and even new pronunciations of a word may be added to a child’s lexicon over time. próduce prodúce produce As a child matures, new words are added daily rtio the lexicon. In addition, new meanings and sometimes new pronunciations of previously learned words are added. Raw veggies to make

lean K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ••• To rest one object against another To rely on another person for support Here’s an example. The word lean is initially learned around fourth grade as the act of allowing one object to rest against another. It is typically not until eighth grade that children learn that one person might lean on someone else for emotional support. K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ••• Biemiller, A. (2004). Teaching vocabulary in the primary grades.In J.F. Baumann & E.J. Kame’enui (Eds.), Vocabulary instruction: Research to practice (pp. 28- 40). New York: Guilford.

Is wide reading enough? We obviously know thousands of words that were never formally taught to us in school. We picked up their meanings through incidental exposures. If this is the case, why bother teaching vocabulary at all? Why not provide children with opportunities to bump into new words through reading and conversation? Wouldn’t that be enough?

Why Wide Reading Why Wide Reading Is Enough Is Not Enough Vocabulary size and the amount a child reads are correlated. Direct instruction cannot possibly account for the number of word meanings children acquire. Context is generally unreliable as a means of inferring word meanings. Most words occur too infrequently to provide the number of exposures needed to learn them. Ironically, there are persuasive arguments on both sides. Marzano, R.J. (2004). The developing vision of vocabulary instruction. In J.F. Baumann & E.J. Kame’enui (Eds.), Vocabulary instruction: Research to practice (pp. 100-117). New York: Guilford.

“There is no obvious reason why direct vocabulary instruction and wide reading cannot work in tandem.” – Marzano (2004, p. 112) As Marzano points out, teachers really don’t have to make a choice. They can do both! And in the case of technical vocabulary (science, math, and social studies terms), direct instruction is desirable. Robert Marzano

The Vocabulary Catch-22 Children need to learn more words to read well, but they need to read well to learn more words. McKenna, M.C. (2004). Teaching vocabulary to struggling older readers. Perspectives, 30(1), 13-16. You may recall the novel, Catch-22. It tells of war-weary soldiers in World War II who wanted to leave the army and return home. Some of them considered pleading insanity, since insanity was grounds for discharge. But there was a catch (Catch 22). If you were sane enough to realize that war was horrible, you could not be insane enough to be discharged. The same reasoning applies to relying only on wide reading to learn new words. The worst readers will be left with little to go on.

Perhaps one of the most important reasons why teachers need to pay attention to vocabulary is that vocabulary knowledge is cumulative. The more words you know, the easier it is to learn yet more words. – Stahl & Nagy (2005) Stahl and Nagy put this same idea a bit differently. For our poorest readers, vocabulary development cannot be left to chance.

What about context clues? How useful is context as a tool for inferring the meaning of a new word? If wide reading is useful, then context must be useful as well. But how useful?

Four Types of Contexts Directive (provides powerful clues) “Sue was talkative but Bill was taciturn.” 2. General (helps categorize a word) “She’d had measles, mumps, and varicella.” 3. Nondirective (offers very little help) “The dress was taupe.” 4. Misdirective (can be misleading) “He was huge, muscular, and adroit.” – Beck & McKeown (2004) Beck and McKeown describe for levels of context. These range from extremely useful to downright misleading. By the way, I concocted these example from relatively rare words so that adults could better appreciate the power of context (or lack of it). Taciturn = quiet, tending not to speak Varicella = the technical term for chicken pox Taupe = brownish gray Adroit = agile, dexterous

Teaching Students about Context Remind them that context does not always provide strong clues. Remember that many students may have difficulty making inferences about words from context. Model the process when possible. – Beck & McKeown (2004) Because context is not always effective, children need to realize that it cannot be relied upon. Moreover, some of the poorest readers tend to be poor in their ability to discern meanings from context.

Three Broad Categories of Clues 1. Pictorial and Typographic The crescent moon shone on the lawn. “My dad calls that a ‘fingernail moon,’ ” said Ed. There are three broad categories of context clues. Some operate outside the words themselves. These include pictures, punctuation, italics, etc.

Three Broad Categories of Clues 2. Syntactic A zerp was jumming the zum. The grammatical structure of a sentence (its syntax) can provide clues as well, but they are not strong. In this example based on nonsense words, what can we tell about the meaning of zum? Only that it is a noun!

Three Broad Categories of Clues 3. Semantic She peeled a juicy, red zum. Semantic clues are based on the meanings of surrounding words. When these words are familiar, we are in a better position to figure out the meaning of zum. What conclusions can you draw now?

Some Types of Semantic Clues Definition The vole, a small rodent, has a short tail. Antonym Sue was adroit but Bill was clumsy. Synonym The soup was hot – scalding, in fact. Example Periwinkle was her favorite color. General The room was disheveled. Clothes and dirty dishes were everywhere. Chairs were overturned, and trash littered the floor. Series Would you like cake, peach pie, or a flan? Mood The day was dull and dark. Clouds hung low and a feeling of melancholy was everywhere. Experience A pair of crows cawed raucously. Expression He was as famished as a bear. Here is a list of semantic clues drawn from various basal series over the past half century. Again,the examples are based on rare words to better show how the clues work. Some of these clues are quite rare. Are they really worth teaching? Edwards and her colleagues suggest teaching only the first five. Edwards, E.C., Font, G., Baumann, J.F., & Boland, E. (2004). Unlocking word meanings: Strategies and guidelines for teaching morphemic and contextual analysis. In J.F. Baumann & E.J. Kame’enui (Eds.), Vocabulary instruction: Research to practice (pp. 159-176). New York: Guilford.

Some Types of Semantic Clues Definition The vole, a small rodent, has a short tail. Antonym Sue was adroit but Bill was clumsy. Synonym The soup was hot – scalding, in fact. Example Periwinkle was her favorite color. General The room was disheveled. Clothes and dirty dishes were everywhere. Chairs were overturned, and trash littered the floor. Series Would you like cake, peach pie, or a flan? Mood The day was dull and dark. Clouds hung low and a feeling of melancholy was everywhere. Experience A pair of crows cawed raucously. Expression He was as famished as a bear. Edwards, E.C., Font, G., Baumann, J.F., & Boland, E. (2004). Unlocking word meanings: Strategies and guidelines for teaching morphemic and contextual analysis. In J.F. Baumann & E.J. Kame’enui (Eds.), Vocabulary instruction: Research to practice (pp. 159-176). New York: Guilford.

But remember . . . Teaching context clues through contrived contexts is unlikely to transfer to natural contexts. – Beck, McKeown, & Kucan (2002) The examples I contrived may be interesting but try finding real examples in print! Of course, a major exception is the definition clue, which is found in content area materials whenever a new term is introduced. But is this really a “clue”?

How do I know which words to teach? Let’s assume that we will not rely exclusively on wide reading to fuel vocabulary growth. This is a wise decision for our poorer readers! But is makes another decision necessary – which words to teach.

Two characteristics that make a word inappropriate for teaching: We can’t define it in terms that the students know. The students are not likely to find the word useful or interesting. – Beck & McKeown (2004) Beck and McKeown offer two common-sense rules of thumb. They’re common mistakes, however. I observed a fourth-grade teacher as she violated the first rule. She anticipated that her students might not know the word scrubbed, which appeared in the story they were reading. So she wrote the dictionary definition of scrub on the board prior to reading : “to wash vigorously.” The second rule is routinely violated as well. Some teachers feel they must preteach every unknown word, even rare ones. Biemiller and others recommend ignoring such words.

A group of words formed from a single root word word family A group of words formed from a single root word history historic prehistoric historical historian To get at the question of which words to teach, we first have to think about the notion of a word family. There is apt to be a slight confusion over the terms root word and base word. Donald Bear and his colleagues address this question constructively. While the two terms are often used interchangeably, there is a technical difference. A base word is a word that can stand alone (drinkable). A root word might not be able to do so since it is derived from another language (e.g., visible). We might conclude that root words are the broader category. (See Words Their Way, 3rd ed.)

Beck and McKeown’s Three Tiers Tier 3 • Rare words • 73,500 word families K-12 • Usually content-area related • Examples: isotope, estuary Tier 2 • Important to academic success • 7,000 word families • Not limited to one content area • Examples: fortunate, ridiculous Tier 1 • The most familiar words • 8,000 word families • Known by average 3rd grader • Examples: happy, go Beck and McKeown use the idea of word families to suggest three tiers of words.

Beck and McKeown’s Three Tiers Tier 3 • Rare words • 73,500 word families K-12 • Usually content-area related • Examples: isotope, estuary Tier 2 • Important to academic success • 7,000 word families • Not limited to one content area • Examples: fortunate, ridiculous Tier 1 • The most familiar words • 8,000 word families • Known by average 3rd grader • Examples: happy, go The most familiar words are learned without instruction by the end of grade three. They include about 8,000 families.

Beck and McKeown’s Three Tiers Tier 3 • Rare words • 73,500 word families K-12 • Usually content-area related • Examples: isotope, estuary Tier 2 • Important to academic success • 7,000 word families • Not limited to one content area • Examples: fortunate, ridiculous Tier 1 • The most familiar words • 8,000 word families • Known by average 3rd grader • Examples: happy, go The next 7,000 families are extremely important, especially for understanding academic English. These words are mostly general in nature – not limited to a particular subject.

Beck and McKeown’s Three Tiers Tier 3 • Rare words • 73,500 word families K-12 • Often content-area related • Examples: isotope, estuary Tier 2 • Important to academic success • 7,000 word families • Not limited to one content area • Examples: fortunate, ridiculous Tier 1 • The most familiar words • 8,000 word families • Known by average 3rd grader • Examples: happy, go Tier 3 includes all other words. Most of these are extremely rare. They include content-area words. By the end of high school, students are likely to have encountered 73,500 families. But are they all worth teaching? No!

Beck and McKeown’s Three Tiers Tier 3 • Rare words • 73,500 word families K-12 • Often content-area related • Examples: isotope, estuary Tier 2 • Important to academic success • 7,000 word families • Not limited to one content area • Examples: fortunate, ridiculous Tier 1 • The most familiar words • 8,000 word families • Known by average 3rd grader • Examples: happy, go Tier 2 words should form the basic of any systematic effort to teach vocabulary in the elementary grades.

Beck and McKeown’s Three Tiers Tier 3 • Rare words • 73,500 word families K-12 • Often content-area related • Examples: isotope, estuary Tier 2 • Important to academic success • 7,000 word families • Not limited to one content area • Examples: fortunate, ridiculous Tier 1 • The most familiar words • 8,000 word families • Known by average 3rd grader • Examples: happy, go These words are not too familiar and not too rare. As Goldilocks might have said, “They’re just right!” “Goldilocks” Words – Stahl & Stahl, 2004

How intensive should vocabulary instruction be? Research into vocabulary has led to valuable suggestions for teachers. Let’s consider the major principles.

Three Types of Words To Teach As you examine the three types of words identified by Graves, keep in mind that they are relative to a particular child. Beck and McKeown’s three tiers are not relative to what a certain child may know; rather, they’re defined by the frequency with which words appear in text. So the three tiers and Graves’ three types are not really comparable. They represent two different ways of looking at the same task: teaching vocabulary. Graves, M.F. (1986). Vocabulary learning and instruction, In E.Z.Rothkopf (Ed.), Review of research in education (Vol. 13, pp. 49-91). Washington, DC: AERA.

1. Words already in the student’s oral vocabulary, which he or she needs to learn to recognize in print. These are words that a child needs to learn to decode or recognize by sight. (Stahl & Nagy, 2005)

2. Words not in the student’s oral vocabulary, but which are labels for concepts already familiar to the student. The student may need to learn that apologize means to say one is sorry, or that elaborate means pretty much the same as complicated. These words may represent different shades of meaning from their synonym, but knowledge of the more frequent synonym will usually get a reader through a text containing that word. The different shades will be learned through continued exposure. Less intensive instruction may suffice. (Stahl & Nagy, 2005)

3. Words not in the student’s oral vocabulary that refer to concepts new to the student. For example, the student may not know the word osmosis, or feudalism, or exponential. In such a case, it is not simply a matter of not knowing the word: The student is likely to be totally unfamiliar with the concept. In this case, a definition or other brief explanation is unlikely to help. Rather, a teacher would need to spend a great deal of time examining such concepts. (Stahl & Nagy, 2005)

W3 W2 W1 Known Concepts not Yet Associated with New Words Words in Oral Vocabulary This diagram may help clarify the three types of words. (The W’s are my invention, not Graves’ terminology.) W3 W2 W1

W3 W2 W1 Known Concepts not Yet Associated with New Words Words in Oral Vocabulary W3 W2 W1

W3 W2 W1 Known Concepts not Yet Associated with New Words Words in Oral Vocabulary W3 W2 W1

W3 W2 W1 Known Concepts not Yet Associated with New Words Words in Oral Vocabulary W3 W2 W1

What are some of the guiding principles of teaching vocabulary? Research into vocabulary has led to valuable suggestions for teachers. Let’s consider the major principles.

Preteach key words to improve comprehension. Guiding Principle Preteach key words to improve comprehension. At first, this idea seems self-evident. If a teacher ensures word knowledge in advance, comprehension will improve when the students actually read. But experts are split on how far to go. Beck, McKeown, and Kucan recommend limited preteaching, preferring to handle most unfamiliar words on the fly, at the moment they are encountered in shared reading or during a read-aloud. Stahl and Nagy believe that more detailed preteaching is worthwhile. And of course, when older students are expected to read a selection independently, there is no chance to define words as they are encountered, and preteaching is more critical. Now let’s consider a famous example from a research study . The following paragraph is from a fifth-grade social studies text. Read it and see if you have any comprehension difficulties.

In 1367, Marain and the settlements ended a seven-year war with the Langurians and Pitoks. As a result of this war, Languria was driven out of East Bacol. Marain would now rule Laman and the other lands that once belonged to Languria. This brought peace to the Bacolean settlements. The settlers no longer had to worry about attacks from Laman. The Bacoleans were happy to be part of Marain in 1367. Yet a dozen years later, these same people would be fighting the Marish for independence, or freedom from United Marain’s rule. As you might have suspected, there’s a trick involved. Some of the key terms have been replaced by nonsense words. Even the four digits of the date were scrambled. Take a look at the original text.

In 1763, Britain and the colonies ended a seven-year war with the French and Indians. As a result of this war, France was driven out of North America. Britain would now rule Canada and the other lands that once belonged to France. This brought peace to the American colonies. The settlers no longer had to worry about attacks from Canada. The Americans were happy to be part of Britain in 1763. Yet a dozen years later, these same people would be fighting the British for independence, or freedom from Great Britain’s rule. No doubt you found this a little easier. But the participants in the study were not teachers. They were fifth graders. Surprisingly, they found both versions equally difficult! This little experiment illustrates how powerful an effect preteaching important words can have on comprehension.

Provide more than definitions. Guiding Principle Provide more than definitions. Definitions are only a start. Some teachers fall into the trap of assuming that if a child can match a word to its definition, the word’s meaning has been acquired.

WORD = DEFINITION Stimulus Response This reasoning hearkens back to stimulus-response behaviorist notions. I say the word, you say its definition.

WORD = DEFINITION Stimulus Response truncate “to cut off” Here’s an example from a middle grades vocabulary series. My daughter found this definition of truncate in her book. (Truncate really means to abbreviate in some manner, especially when using calculators and printers. A decimal might be truncated, for example, or a printout could be truncated if the margins aren’t set properly.) But based only on the definition she found, she was misled. Here’s the sentence she wrote to illustrate her understanding of the word.

“She truncated the lights.” WORD = DEFINITION Stimulus Response truncate “to cut off” “She truncated the lights.”

Combine definitions and contextual examples. Guiding Principle Combine definitions and contextual examples. To really understand a word, an assortment of contexts is needed, plus multiple exposures over time. These contexts might come from wide reading, read-alouds, or direct instruction. (Note how the examples I provided for truncate might have helped you appreciate its meaning.)

Minimize rote copying of definitions. Guiding Principle Minimize rote copying of definitions. Children gain little very little from this tedious exercise. It keeps them occupied, however, and probably serves a classroom management function for some teachers.

Introduce new words in related clusters. Guiding Principle Introduce new words in related clusters. Most of the effective teaching strategies are based not on teaching a list of unrelated words. They are based on groups of words that have connections in meaning.

clustering words is natural! antennae leg thorax wing abdomen In content subjects, clustering is natural. Ironically, this fact gives teachers an edge in teaching technical terms. Note how the labeled diagram of an insect presents a group of words in a way that illustrates their relationships. In content areas, clustering words is natural!

But general vocabulary words can be clustered if you work at it! General vocabulary (words not associated with a particular content subject) can be clustered as well.

Here’s a commonplace example.

This is less common. This teacher has introduced new words around a theme – moods.

Provide brief, periodic review. Guiding Principle Provide brief, periodic review. This notion is one of the most reliable principles of learning. It always works. In fact, some psychologists speak of it not as a principle, but a law.

A Thought Experiment Einstein was famous for “thought experiments.” These were experiments he lacked the time or resources to actually carry out. He just thought about what would happen if he did conduct them. Let’s try one. We’ll have two groups of people and we’ll teach the same 20 words to each group.

Group 1 Receives 1 hour of direct instruction on 20 new words Spends 1 full hour of intense review on all 20 words This hour is uninterrupted. We’ll teach the 20 words in an hour to Group 1. We’ll follow up later with a one-hour, uninterrupted intensive review.

Group 2 Our second group will receive the same instruction. In fact, we might combine the two groups for the initial introduction of the 20 words.

Group 2 Receives 1 hour of direct instruction on 20 new words Spends 1 full hour of intense review on all 20 words And Group 2 will also receive an hour of review.

Group 2 Receives 1 hour of direct instruction on 20 new words Spends 1 full hour of intense review on all 20 words This hour is broken into 6 10-minute sessions, 1 per month for 6 months. But for Group 2, the hour will be divided across time into 6 10-minute segments. So, both groups will get the same amount of review. It will just be scheduled differently.

Assuming that no one encountered any of the 20 words again, which group would do better on a test after a delay of 10 years? Group 2 will do far better on any delayed test.

Massed vs. Distributed Practice The difference can be described in terms of massed practice (lengthy, intensive review) versus distributed practice (brief, periodic review).

What did the National Reading Panel conclude about teaching vocabulary? Now let’s examine the Panel’s findings.

NRP Findings on Vocabulary Teaching vocabulary improves general comprehension ability. Preteaching vocabulary helps both word learning and comprehension of a selection. Much vocabulary is acquired through incidental exposure. Repeated exposures in a variety of contexts are important. The NRP looked at the effects of vocabulary instruction on comprehension. They looked at 2 very different issues: Whether overall comprehension ability is improved. Whether comprehension of a particular passage is improved. The answer to both questions is yes! They also found that many words are learned through incidental exposures and that these exposures must be numerous and in a variety of contexts to be effective.

NRP Findings on Vocabulary A combination of definitions and contextual examples works better than either one alone. Many instructional methods can be effective in teaching vocabulary. Instructional methods should result in active engagement. Both direct and indirect methods should be used. The panel stressed the importance of combining definitions with contextual examples. Fortunately, there is no one best way to teach vocabulary effectively. Many approaches have been validated. All of them actively engage students in learning words. The panel recommended that direct and indirect approaches be combined. (You’ll recall Marzano’s echoing of this idea.)

NRP Findings on Vocabulary The more connections that are made to a word, the better the word tends to be learned. Computer applications can be effective. The effectiveness of some instructional methods depends on the age or ability of the children. Think of a word as a hub, with spokes leading to all of our associations with that word. The more spokes, the better developed our knowledge of the word’s meaning. The panel was not very specific about technology, saying only that some software had shown promise. It is also well to remember that certain instructional techniques may be more appropriate for some ages and ability levels. This would be true, for instance, in the case of techniques that require strong decoding ability.

What the NRP said they didn’t know about vocabulary instruction Which methods work best with students of different ages and abilities? How can technology best be used to teach vocabulary? How is vocabulary best integrated with comprehension instruction? What combinations of instructional methods tend to work best? What are the best ways to assess vocabulary? We still need to research which methods are most appropriate at particular ages and with students of different ability levels. Software applications are also not very well researched at this point. It is probable that some instructional approaches work well in tandem, but there’s little evidence as to which ones. Nor is there evidence about how vocabulary and comprehension instruction are best integrated. A lingering problem is how best to assess vocabulary. Existing formats, such as multiple-choice synonyms and pictorial representations of word concepts, leave much to be desired.

To what extent do you see these findings reflected in your core materials?

What are some of the most effective ways of teaching vocabulary? The following list represents research-based instructional approaches. We’ll examine each of them in turn. Be on the lookout for what they have in common.

Some Research-Based Techniques Read-Alouds Semantic Feature Analysis Graphic Organizers List-Group-Label Semantic Maps (word webs) Word Lines Word Sorts Possible Sentences

Read-Alouds

“Adding three root words a day is the average daily number of words learned by primary age children with the largest vocabularies.” (p. 37) Biemiller’s main approach to ensuring that these words are taught is the read-aloud. In a moment, we’ll look at the specific program he developed and researched. Biemiller, A. (2004). Teaching vocabulary in the primary grades.In J.F. Baumann & E.J. Kame’enui (Eds.), Vocabulary instruction: Research to practice (pp. 28- 40). New York: Guilford.

3 words x 140 days  400 words per year “Adding three root words a day is the average daily number of words learned by primary age children with the largest vocabularies.” (p. 37) 3 words x 140 days  400 words per year His math is based on the fact that about 40 days in the school year are probably not going to permit business as usual since other demands will be present. Biemiller, A. (2004). Teaching vocabulary in the primary grades.In J.F. Baumann & E.J. Kame’enui (Eds.), Vocabulary instruction: Research to practice (pp. 28- 40). New York: Guilford.

Planning a Read-Aloud Choose engaging, well-illustrated books. A number of words should be unknown to about half the students. Choose 3 target words that are important for comprehension but likely to be unfamiliar. Keep track of the words you choose. Plan to repeat the read-aloud. Plan for small-group sessions (2-5 students). Plan multiple exposures in the days following. It’s not possible to gauge with precision how many words in a potential book are not known by half the students. We just use this as a target based on subjective analysis. Keeping track of the words selected for instruction is important so that later exposures can be planned. It may seem unusual to do a read-aloud with less than the whole class. This will require that the teacher repeatedly deliver it to small groups. It may be that the smaller numbers help ensure greater attentiveness.

Conducting a Read-Aloud Be “performance oriented”; read with expression. Include “rich, dialogic discussion.” Activate prior knowledge. Link the story to experiences of students. Elicit responses from students. Give direct, clear, and simple instruction in word meanings before the read-aloud. Give a sentence context from the story in advance. Discuss words before and after the story. Ignore rare words. (Biemiller) Embed quick definitions while reading. (Biemiller) Do not display pictures while reading (Beck et al.) These suggestions are drawn from research summarized by several authors.

Storybook Intervention Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Book 1 Intro & 1st Read-Aloud Book 2 2nd Read-Aloud Vocabulary Activities This system was researched using two books in a 6-day cycle. Each book is read aloud twice, on alternate days. Could the cycle be reduced to 5 days? If so, how? Coyne, M.D., Simmons, D.C., & Kame’enui, E.J. (2004). Vocabulary instruction for young children at risk of experiencing reading difficulties: Teaching word meanings during shared storybook readings. In J.F. Baumann & E.J. Kame’enui (Eds.), Vocabulary instruction: Research to practice (pp. 41- 58). New York: Guilford.

Three Read-Alouds per Day Book Interruptions New Book None Old Book 1 Some, to remind students of words Old Book 2 Biemiller’s system cycles three books at a time. He does not recommend interrupting the read-aloud with vocabulary instruction during the initial read-aloud. There are three read-alouds a day. Biemiller, A. (2004). Teaching vocabulary in the primary grades.In J.F. Baumann & E.J. Kame’enui (Eds.), Vocabulary instruction: Research to practice (pp. 28- 40). New York: Guilford.

Warning! Spending too much time discussing read-alouds may detract from valuable reading practice. – Stahl (1998). Stahl’s caveat is a good reminder that a balance must be struck in the primary years between vocabulary instruction and the other components of learning to read, such as decoding and fluency.

A Closer Look at Definitions golf Let’s look at how a conventional definition is structured. We’ll limit ourselves to nouns. As an example, consider the word golf. You’ve doubtless never actually looked up this word, but (trust me) it’s in the dictionary! Would you agree with this definition? [Twain’s] Well, it has the general form of a definition, but it lacks the right content. In fact, it’s only humorous if you already know what golf is. Here’s the true definition.

golf n. a good walk spoiled (Mark Twain) 2. a game in which a player using special clubs attempts to sink a ball with as few strokes as possible into each of the 9 or 18 successive holes on a course (Webster)

a game in which a player using special clubs attempts to sink a ball with as few strokes as possible into each of the 9 or 18 successive holes on a course This definition, like nearly all definitions of nouns, has two components.

class distinguishing features a game in which a player using special clubs attempts to sink a ball with as few strokes as possible into each of the 9 or 18 successive holes on a course

class distinguishing features a game in which a player using special clubs attempts to sink a ball with as few strokes as possible into each of the 9 or 18 successive holes on a course A good definition tells the class, or category, to which a concept belongs. It also tells how that concept differs from other members of the same category. From this definition, we can see that golf is a member of the class, games. It can be distinguished from other games by its features.

class distinguishing features The notion of a good definition goes back 25 centuries – all the way to Aristotle! Aristotle

Semantic Feature Analysis Semantic Feature Analysis (Feature Analysis, for short) is based on Aristotle’s notion of a good definition. It is a very simple technique. We begin with a lopsided “T” chart.

humans adult female woman + + man + o girl o + boy o o

games clubs ball o golf + + hockey + o basketball o + In the upper left-hand corner, we write the name of our class (that is, our category).

games clubs ball o golf + + hockey + o basketball o + Below it, we write the members of that class. Of course, a complete list may not be possible.

games clubs ball golf + + hockey + o basketball o + Across the top, we write features that these class members may or may not have. We’re mostly interested in features that are important.

games clubs ball golf + + hockey + o basketball o + If a member possesses the feature, we write a plus.

games clubs ball golf + + hockey + o basketball o +

games clubs ball golf + + hockey + o basketball o +

games clubs ball golf + + hockey + o basketball o + If it lacks a feature, we write a zero or minus.

games clubs ball golf + + hockey + o basketball o +

games clubs ball golf + + hockey + o basketball o + Now let’s look at an example that is less familiar.

popinary This word is archaic, so few if any of you will know what it means. It’s a very simple concept, however.

popinary “a fry cook” I found this old word in an unusual source, which is now unfortunately out of print.

popinary “a fry cook” Given this definition, to what class would a popinary belong? [Answer: cooks] Mrs. Byrne's Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure, and Preposterous Words: Gathered from Numerous and Diverse Authoritative Sources

cooks fries makes bakes things salads popinary + o o chef + + + baker + o + adult female We set up our Feature Analysis chart this way.

cooks fries makes bakes things salads popinary + o o chef + + + baker + o + adult female Next, we add other members of the same class.

cooks fries makes bakes things salads popinary + o o chef + + + baker + o + adult female And then features across the top.

cooks fries makes bakes things salads popinary + o o chef + + + baker + o + adult female From the definition, we can put a plus here.

cooks fries makes bakes things salads popinary + o o chef + + + baker + o + adult female And a zero in the remaining columns.

cooks fries makes bakes things salads popinary + o o chef + + + baker + o + adult female

cooks fries makes bakes things salads popinary + o o chef + + + baker + o + adult female A chef, of course, performs all of these functions.

cooks fries makes bakes things salads popinary + o o chef + + + baker + o + adult female Does a baker fry things? Well, yes, if you include deep frying.

cooks fries makes bakes things salads popinary + o o chef + + + baker + o + adult female But bakers don’t make salads.

cooks fries makes bakes things salads popinary + o o chef + + + baker + o + adult female Sometimes a feature analysis chart can be a little trivial. Bakers do bake, after all. One teacher argued that bakers also make an important contribution to salads. Can you tell me what? [croutons]

cooks fries makes bakes things salads popinary + o o chef + + + baker + + + adult female We could change the zero to a plus if we accepted this argument. But this would cause a problem. Notice that the rows for chef and baker are identical. According our chart, these two jobs are the same. What can we do to solve this problem? One approach is to add another feature, where one is plus and one isn’t. Another approach is to change a plus to the letter “s.” This stands for sometimes. This is frequently the case in the real world. (Aristotle actually referred to “fuzzy” categories.)

cooks fries makes bakes things salads popinary + o o chef + + + baker s + + adult female Notice that a child can actually write a formal definition once the chart is complete. Example” A chef is a cook who fries things, makes salads, and bakes. This may sound a bit awkward, but Aristotle’s two ingredients are there. (No pun intended.)

Characters Wise Adventurous Frog Toad Curious George Feature analysis can be used with fiction as well. Storybook characters can be compared and contrasted. A key to the success of this technique is to discuss the chart after it has been constructed, looking together for similarities and differences.

IRA has published a book on Feature Analysis, though the technique is really quite simple.

How can feature analysis be used in the primary grades? How early can it be effective?

Graphic Organizers

A graphic organizer is a diagram that shows how key terms are related. Some take a broader view of graphic organizers and include charts as well as diagrams. This definition is from Teaching through Text, a very famous book by McKenna and Robinson!

What’s so great about them? There are in many reasons.

What’s so great about them? They help kids “see” abstract content. There is little to “read.” They are easy to construct and discuss. Technical terms can be taught in clusters. They enhance recall and understanding. They have an impressive research base. The first bullet refers to the imagery system. (Remember Marzano?) The diagram supplies a type of visual image that may assist word learning.

Time Lines (and other continua) By continua, I mean all sorts of straight-line scales. They don’t have to represent time. It could be almost any concept that we can represented as a matter of degree. Temperature, for instance.

Columbus Pilgrims American reaches land at Revolution North America Plymouth begins 1500 1600 1700 1800 Some time lines show absolute dates.

Goldilocks. Goldilocks. Goldilocks finds cottage Goldilocks Goldilocks Goldilocks finds cottage eats porridge goes upstairs In fiction, precise dates may not matter. Time lines can show a sequence of events in such cases.

egg adult larva Time lines are useful in science for depicting processes. This one is adapted from a second-grade science text. pupa

Tree Diagrams A tree diagram shows how large concepts can be subdivided into components. They are called trees because they have branches, but in reality they appear to grow upside-down!

Musical Instruments This example starts with a large concept (musical instruments) at the top of the diagram.

Musical Instruments wind nonwind It breaks this concept down, first into wind and nonwind …

Musical Instruments wind nonwind brass woodwind Then into the four basic kinds of instruments …

Musical Instruments wind nonwind brass woodwind string percussion

brass woodwind string percussion Musical Instruments wind nonwind brass woodwind string percussion And finally into specific instruments. Note that the lower you go in a tree diagram, the smaller the concept. trumpet clarinet violin drum

Venn Diagrams In a tree diagram, we deal with clear-cut categories. Concepts lie cleanly on one branch or another. In a Venn diagram, however, a concept might fall into more than one category at the same time. Venns are useful for displaying these overlapping classifications.

Venns were named for the mathematician who invented them.

The simplest Venn is a single circle The simplest Venn is a single circle. Objects either go inside or outside.

Even a preschooler can learn to classify at this level Even a preschooler can learn to classify at this level. Pictures containing green go inside the green circle.

Two overlapping circles is perhaps the most common Venn in schools. They permit useful comparisons and contrasts. A two-circle Venn can be used in two ways: Each circle can represent a feature. Objects with that feature go inside that circle. Objects with both features go into the overlap area (called the intersection). 2. Each circle can represent an item or object. Features go into the item’s circle. Shared features go into the intersection.

Frog and Toad Curious George No people Animal Characters Could happen Animals talk This example is of the 2nd kind. There is one circle for each of the two book series. Features are then categorized. You might take issue with whether the events in the Curious George books could actually happen!

Blue People Tall People Thin People Three-circle Venns are rarely useful in education, certainly not in the primary grades. An example might help clarify their logic, however. Piaget developed a game in order to study children’s growth in logical thinking. They were given cards with stick figures, varying by color, height, and thinness. There were 7 possible combinations. (Count them!) Tall People Thin People

Blue People Tall People Thin People

Blue People Tall People Thin People He discovered (this may shock you) that children could handle two-circle Venns before they could handle three-circle Venns! Tall People Thin People

drugs stimulants depressants alcohol barbituates caffeine dexadrine A third-grade example involves my daughter Katy. She was struggling with a health chapter about drugs. When I asked what the problem was, she said that there were too many big words. So I considered how I might arrange them into a graphic organizer.

drugs stimulants depressants alcohol barbituates caffeine dexadrine The chapter dealt only with stimulants and depressants. Examples of each type were described. At first, I thought of a Venn. However, the 2 circles would not have had anything in the intersection since no drug is both a stimulant and a depressant.

drugs stimulants depressants caffeine dexadrine alcohol barbituates A tree diagram worked much better. Katy admitted that the diagram helped her understand. Out of curiosity, I suggested that she show it to her teacher. The next evening at dinner, I asked what her teacher had had to say about our “word picture.” Katy smiled naïvely. “My teacher said, ‘Gee, your dad must know a lot about drugs!’”

Labeled Picture antennae leg thorax wing abdomen We’ve seen this labeled picture before. Note how it too meets the definition of a graphic organizer – a diagram that shows how key terms are related. In the case of labeled pictures, the relationship is space. Labeled Picture

Which types of graphic organizers are likely to be effective with primary children? What about science and social studies materials?

List-Group-Label Hilda Taba One of the earliest vocabulary techniques was List-Group-Label. Hilda Taba’s pioneering idea later led to many related techniques. (She was an Estonian educator, who died in 1967, the same year her book appeared describing List-Group-Label.) As you might judge from the name, List-Group-Label has 3 steps. Hilda Taba

Students suggest logical ways to group the words. Label List Students brainstorm all the words they can recall at the end of a unit. Group Students suggest logical ways to group the words. Label Students suggest a label for each group they form. You can see why List-Group-Label works best at the end of a unit. For a new and unfamiliar topic, students may have little to “list.”

Students suggest logical ways to group the words. Label List Students brainstorm all the words they can recall at the end of a unit. Group Students suggest logical ways to group the words. Label Students suggest a label for each group they form. Grouping is done collaboratively. The groups children form may be unpredictable – so be prepared to be flexible!

Students suggest logical ways to group the words. Label List Students brainstorm all the words they can recall at the end of a unit. Group Students suggest logical ways to group the words. Label Students suggest a label for each group they form. For a group that is logically formed, a label almost suggests itself. Now let’s look at an example based on snakes.

no legs garter boa venom cobra fang scales coral tail rattle copperhead trees holes ground During the listing step, words suggested by students are random. They should be written on one half of the available board or one half of a transparency. Save the other half for grouping.

no legs garter boa venom cobra fang scales coral tail rattle copperhead trees holes ground The student-generated words might look like this. Remember, they’re randomly suggested in a brainstorming session so they have a disorganized appearance.

Things Snakes Might Have rattle scales fang no legs venom tail Kinds of Snakes garter boa copperhead cobra coral Things Snakes Might Have rattle scales fang no legs venom tail Where Snakes Are Found trees holes ground no legs garter boa venom cobra fang scales coral tail rattle copperhead trees holes ground Next, the students form groups of words that seem to hang together.

Things Snakes Might Have rattle scales fang no legs venom tail Kinds of Snakes garter boa copperhead cobra coral Things Snakes Might Have rattle scales fang no legs venom tail Where Snakes Are Found trees holes ground no legs garter boa venom cobra fang scales coral tail rattle copperhead trees holes ground Finally, they settle on a name descriptive of each group.

Can List-Group-Label be useful in the primary grades Can List-Group-Label be useful in the primary grades? Would it need to be modified?

Semantic Maps (Word Webs) Semantic maps grew directly out of List-Group-Label. In fact the initial steps are the same.

Students offer ideas related to a topic. Mapping Brainstorming Students offer ideas related to a topic. Mapping Teacher and students form categories and map the words into a diagram. Reading Students read a nonfiction selection. Completing the Map Teacher and students revisit the map and together refine and expand it. However, semantic mapping begins before reading. The terms students can suggest about a topic are fewer in number at that point, of course. But the biggest difference is the fact that once the groupings are made, a map-like diagram is constructed, with the topic placed in the center. After the students read, they can add additional terms to the map.

Things Snakes Might Have rattle scales fang no legs venom tail Kinds of Snakes garter boa copperhead cobra coral Things Snakes Might Have rattle scales fang no legs venom tail Where Snakes Are Found trees holes ground no legs garter boa venom cobra fang scales coral tail rattle copperhead trees holes ground So, from this point in List-Group-Label, we go to …

Snakes Kinds Where rattle no legs scales venom fang tail Things Snakes Might Have Snakes Kinds Where garter boa copperhead cobra coral This! trees holes ground

Semantic maps have the advantage of mirroring how words are stored in the lexicon. Compare a semantic map with a diagram of how a word is stored in the lexicon.

animal mammal “meow” c-a-t cat dog 4 legs /kat/ pet lion The similarity is noteworthy. It suggests that semantic mapping is an activity that builds on how words are stored. pet lion

A striking metaphor is that of a real spider web A striking metaphor is that of a real spider web. When an insect flies into it, the more strands it touches, the greater the likelihood that it will stick. If we want words to stick in the lexicon, we need to attach them to as many strands (associations) as possible.

IRA has published a book on semantic mapping that is still quite useful. The technique is simple, however, though the numerous examples and suggestions are helpful.

Word Lines Recall that word lines are really another kind of graphic organizer, related to the time line.

A word line is used to arrange a cluster of related terms along a scale.

hot cold In this example, the line represents temperature. The anchors are everyday antonyms already known to the students.

hot tepid cold Meanings of the target words are introduced, and the words are then arranged along the line at appropriate points.

hot tepid cold sweltering

hot tepid cold sweltering chilly

hot tepid cold sweltering chilly

Can you think of additional examples of word lines, perhaps not based on antonym anchors?

Word Sorts Sorting words is another categorization activity. The words do not need to be closely connected. In fact they can represent different categories within the same general topic.

Open Sort thorax pupa abdomen antennae wing larva adult head egg leg Categories are not given. thorax pupa abdomen antennae wing larva adult head egg leg In an open sort, the teacher simply provides the words, usually on slips of paper, and asks the students to work collaboratively to group them.

Closed Sort Parts Stages In a closed sort, the category names are given first. Clearly, a closed sort is easier than an open sort. Teachers who want to involve students in this activity should begin with closed sorts and progress to open ones.

Closed Sort Parts Stages thorax pupa abdomen egg wing larva head adult leg antennae Notice that a word sort is a close relative of List-Group-Label. It’s worth noting that words can also be sorted on the basis of phonology and orthography. Word sorts based on meaning are sometimes called concept sorts.

Now try your hand at an open word sort!

An excellent resource for word sorts is Words Their Way, by Bear et al.

Possible Sentences This technique is a before-and-after approach useful for nonfiction texts and units.

Add a few familiar terms. Present a list of 8-12 words the students will encounter in the new text. Add a few familiar terms. Ask for sentences containing at least two of the words. Teach the text. Return to the sentences. Together decide whether they are correct or can be edited to make them so. A list of 8-12 words is shown to the students at the beginning of the lesson. Most will be unknown. The students are asked to generate sentences that contain at least two of the unfamiliar words. The teacher writes these sentences down without comment, perhaps on a transparency. The sentences may or may not be correct. After the lesson (or reading), the class reconsiders the sentences. Together they discuss whether each sentence is correct or can be edited to make it correct. Possible sentences is a low-risk activity since the teacher begins by telling the students that they are not expected to know the words (since they haven’t studied them) and that their sentences are purely guesses.

connotation word family dual coding lexicon syntactic clue distributed practice eponym toponym popinary word definition Had we begun this talk with possible sentences, a list like this might have been displayed. Can you suggest a sentence or two using at least two of the new words?

Some Research-Based Techniques Read-Alouds Semantic Feature Analysis Graphic Organizers List-Group-Label Semantic Maps (word webs) Word Lines Word Sorts Possible Sentences Take another look at the SBRR instructional techniques we’ve just discussed.

What do all of these techniques (except one) have in common? They involve clusters of related words. They encourage children to categorize. These qualities might be used to create still more effective techniques. The ones we’ve studied can also be mixed creatively to form interesting hybrids.

What’s the exception? The exception is read-alouds based on fiction. When we decide on a few key terms to preteach, the odds are that they are unrelated.

Huckleberry Finn fan-tods yallerboys mudcat An example from classic literature might illustrate how graphic organizers might be used with fiction. Mark Twain deliberately incorporated Southern dialect terms into Huckleberry Finn to lend flavor to the prose. Can you tell the meanings of these terms? Fan-tods = the blues, depression Yallerboys = gold coins Mudcat = a type of catfish held in low regard What do the meanings of these words have in common? [Answer: Nothing!] No graphic organizer can be drawn that relates them, simply because they aren’t related. You can teach them if you like, but graphic organizers (and most of the other techniques we’ve discussed) would be out of the question.

Illinois Missouri Kentucky Tennessee Arkansas Mississippi Louisiana A graphic organizer for this book can still be created, however. It is a combination labeled picture and time line. A teacher can trace the journey of Huck and Jim as their raft floats down the Mississippi. Louisiana

• Illinois Missouri Kentucky Tennessee Arkansas Mississippi Louisiana Hannibal Illinois • Missouri Kentucky Tennessee Arkansas Mississippi They begin at Hannibal, Missouri, and have an adventure first on one side of the river, then on the other, zigzagging their way toward New Orleans. Louisiana

• Illinois Missouri Kentucky Tennessee Arkansas Mississippi Louisiana Hannibal Illinois • Missouri Kentucky Tennessee Arkansas Mississippi In this organizer, the words most important to comprehension are included. These are the names of people and places. (Not dialect terms!) Louisiana

More Suggestions

Echo student talk, using richer vocabulary. Wonderful. I hope you told me exactly what you saw on your trip to the zoo. I wrote this. Make a habit of rephrasing and elaborating on what students say, using complete sentences and rich vocabulary.

“Sprinkle” your classroom with vocabulary. Beck & McKeown (2004) Look for opportunities to inject Tier 2 words into class discussions.

Talk around words. Stahl & Stahl (2004) Raise students’ word consciousness by talking about words as occasions arise.

Be a Word Wizard! wary scowl ridiculous fortunate Tom  Sue Ed Juan   Maria Lakesha Paul Jack When a group of new words has been introduced, a teacher can help ensure that students revisit them by giving the children the opportunity to become Word Wizards. The words are placed in a chart, along with students’ names. Whenever a child uses one of the words, a check is placed in the corresponding box. The teacher may set any criterion for becoming a Word Wizard. For example, a child may be required to use each word once, or each word twice, etc. – Beck & McKeown (2004)

Would a fortunate person scowl? Ask “silly questions.” – Beck & McKeown (2004) Would a fortunate person scowl? When unfamiliar words from a story are pretaught, the words are usually unrelated. (This is unlike nonfiction.) When a group of words do not have connected meanings, silly questions can be asked that connect two of the words. The questions are “silly” because the words are not often thought of together.

Encourage word play (including teachers!) Sometimes the origins of words can add appeal. We are striving both to raise word consciousness among students and to add additional strands to the “web” for each word in their lexicons. Word origins can sometimes serve this purpose. A brief account of a word’s origin appears between brackets in any dictionary entry. Usually, the origin lies an a previous language, such as Greek or Latin, but sometimes an interesting story is recounted.

Words Named for People (eponyms) einsteinium teddy bear boycott pasteurize watt decibel saxophone braille silhouette sousaphone zinnia sideburns shrapnel magnolia hooligan gardenia Some new words are named for people. These words are sometimes called eponyms. It helps to point out this fact, but of course a teacher must have a certain level of word consciousness to recognize such words in the first place!

Words Named for Places (toponyms) bikini tuxedo badminton hamburger californium uranium plutonium damask ottoman bayonet cologne frankfurter magenta marathon tangerine manila Words named for places (toponyms) are also frequently found in English.

Words with Unusual Stories bazooka bleachers blurb cowlick crowbar Dixie gas goatee googol gorilla jeep jumbo sandwich Pacific serendipity tank Some words simply have strange stories. Here are some examples, and remember that you can find all of these stories in the dictionary. Here are two examples: When the Earl of Sandwich didn’t want to leave a card game to eat, he instructed his cook to simply put a piece of meat between two slices of bread and bring it to him. The result was the sandwich. When explorers from North Africa made their way down the west coast thousands of years ago, they stopped for supplies near the equator and caught a glimpse of gorillas. They chose this Greek word because it means “a race of hairy women.” We can only imagine what they thought they saw!

Blends (Portmanteaus) beefalo bit brunch caplet cockapoo electrocute guestimate infomercial jack rabbit liger lox modem moped motel sitcom skort Blend words have portions of two individual words. Blends are everywhere. They are also easy for kids to coin. (Blends can also help convey the troublesome lesson that a root word sometimes must change to accommodate a suffix.)

More Blends . . . slurb smog snazzy splatter spork (why not foon?) squiggle tangelo telethon tiglon transister twiddle zap zedonk breen

Acronyms scuba radar sonar laser snafu fubar Acronyms preserve the first letter or letters of each word in a phrase. scuba = self-contained underwater breathing apparatus radar = radio detecting and ranging sonar = sound navigation ranging laser = light amplification through stimulated emission of radiation snafu = situation normal – all fouled up fubar = fouled up beyond all recognition Can you think of others?

principle rule principal pal Mnemonics principle rule principal pal Mnemonics are memory tricks that help us recall a fact.

What’s the difference between a fiddle and a violin? Connotations What’s the difference between a fiddle and a violin? The denotation of a word is the “official” definition. But we often have additional associations as well. Connotations are the associations we have for a word beyond the actual definition. The word golf might connote country clubs and beautiful landscaping, for instance. The word fiddle connotes a different sort of music than the word violin. A music expert from NPR recently asked a group of Georgia middle school students this question. One boy said, “I’ll tell you the difference. A violin has strings, and fiddle has strangs!”

children’s vocabularies in What can we do increase children’s vocabularies in Title I schools?

1. Make vocabulary a schoolwide goal Amend your plan. Establish instructional goals. Raise consciousness. Communicate expectations. Title I schools that have gone “schoolwide” have developed improvement plans. These plans have academic goals. One of them could be vocabulary instruction.

2. Provide professional development Focus on research-based methods. Ensure ties to actual materials. Provide follow-up to aid implementation. Vocabulary is seldom a target of professional development. Why not encourage our schools to make it one?

3. Establish teacher study groups Organize groups by grade level. Provide time for discussion. Reward participation. Encourage administrator participation. Select resource books. There are a number of great books ideal for teacher study groups. I’ve mentioned a few already. Here are some more.

Ganske’s main focus isn’t vocabulary, but she does have important things to contribute to this topic.

Bill Nagy’s brief book dates to 1988, but it’s still quite current and an interesting read.

Steve Stahl’s pamphlet does a great job of summarizing key instructional techniques.

Steve’s PDK booklet does much the same job.

4. Consider supplemental and intervention programs Tie their use to assessments. Establish guidelines for use. Locate product reviews. The FCRR has reviewed a few vocabulary interventions.

http://www.fcrr.org

“In the long run, effective intervention will involve extended vocabulary work as a normal part of a primary curriculum.” (p. 34) We really must make a commitment to improve vocabulary instruction in our schools. We can’t afford to allow it to be like the weather – something everyone talks about but nobody does anything about. Andy Biemiller Biemiller, A. (2004). Teaching vocabulary in the primary grades.In J.F. Baumann & E.J. Kame’enui (Eds.), Vocabulary instruction: Research to practice (pp. 28- 40). New York: Guilford.

Where do we start in our schools? What steps can we take to promote greater vocabulary growth?

Suggested References Baumann, J.F., & Kame’enui, E.J. (2004). Vocabulary instruction: Research to practice. New York: Guilford. Bear, D.R., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S.R., & Johnston, F. Words their way (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Beck, I.L., McKeown, M.G., & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words to life: Robust vocabulary instruction. New York: Guilford. Nagy, W.E. (1988). Teaching vocabulary to improve reading comprehension. Newark, DE: IRA. Stahl, S.A. (1999). Vocabulary development. Cambridge, MA: Brookline Books. Stahl, S.A., & Kapinus, B.A. (2001). Word power: What every educator needs to know about teaching vocabulary. Washington, DC: NEA. Stahl, S.A., & Nagy, W.E. (2005). Teaching word meanings. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.