Teaching Vocabulary to Struggling Readers Michael C. McKenna Georgia Southern University

What is vocabulary?

word-hoard id argon estuary

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

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

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

1755 Dictionary of the English Language

1755 Dictionary of the English Language 114,000 words

1755 Dictionary of the English Language 114,000 words impertransibility queck nould

1755 Dictionary of the English Language 2005 Oxford English Dictionary (3 rd ed.) 114,000 words

1755 Dictionary of the English Language 2005 Oxford English Dictionary (3 rd ed.) 114,000 words 660,000+ words

2005 Oxford English Dictionary (3 rd ed.) 660,000+ words webcam cyberphobic doh

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.

Are you a logophile?

50K 40K 30K 20K 10K 0 K12 5,000 1,500

50K 40K 30K 20K 10K 0 K12 5,000 1,500 45,000 17,000

How do we know which words to teach?

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’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’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’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

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

What are some of the guiding principles of teaching vocabulary?

Preteach key words to improve comprehension. Guiding Principle

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 Yet a dozen years later, these same people would be fighting the Marish for independence, or freedom from United Marain’s rule.

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 Yet a dozen years later, these same people would be fighting the British for independence, or freedom from Great Britain’s rule.

Provide more than definitions. Guiding Principle

WORD =DEFINITION

StimulusResponse

WORD =DEFINITION StimulusResponse truncate“to cut off”

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

Combine definitions and contextual examples. Guiding Principle

Connotations What’s the difference between a fiddle and a violin?

Introduce new words in related clusters. Guiding Principle

wing antennae leg abdomen thorax In content areas, clustering words is natural!

But general vocabulary words can also be clustered – if you work at it!

Stress the connections among related terms. Guiding Principle

Stress connections among unrelated terms. Guiding Principle “Silly Questions” Would a hermit be gregarious? Could a virtuoso be a rival? – Beck & McKeown

Stress connections among unrelated terms. Guiding Principle

Tie new words to old knowledge. Guiding Principle

“Comprehension is building bridges from the new to the known.” – Pearson & Johnson

Provide brief, periodic review. Guiding Principle

massed vs. distributed practice

Maximize the volume of reading that students do. Guiding Principle

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),

Minimize rote copying of definitions. Guiding Principle

What are some research- based ways of teaching vocabulary?

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

Read-Alouds

Semantic Feature Analysis

popinary

“a fry cook”

humansadultfemale woman + + man + o girl o + boy o o

cooksfriesmakesbakes thingssalads popinary + o o chef baker + o +adultfemale

cooksfriesmakesbakes thingssalads popinary + o o chef baker + o +adultfemale

cooksfriesmakesbakes thingssalads popinary + o o chef baker + o +adultfemale

cooksfriesmakesbakes thingssalads popinary + o o chef baker + o +adultfemale

cooksfriesmakesbakes thingssalads popinary + o o chef baker + o +adultfemale

cooksfriesmakesbakes thingssalads popinary + o o chef baker + o +adultfemale

cooksfriesmakesbakes thingssalads popinary + o o chef baker + o +adultfemale

cooksfriesmakesbakes thingssalads popinary + o o chef baker + o +adultfemale

cooksfriesmakesbakes thingssalads popinary + o o chef baker + o +adultfemale

cooksfriesmakesbakes thingssalads popinary + o o chef baker + o +adultfemale

cooksfriesmakesbakes thingssalads popinary + o o chef baker + + +adultfemale

cooksfriesmakesbakes thingssalads popinary + o o chef baker s + +adultfemale

PlanetsMoon/sRocky SurfaceRings Mercury o+ o Venus o+ o Earth ++ o Mars ++ o Jupiter +o + Saturn +o + Uranus +o + Neptune +o + Pluto ++ o

Graphic Organizers

A graphic organizer is a diagram that shows how key terms are related.

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.

Semantic Maps (Word Webs)

Ben Franklin Founding Father Poor Richard’s Almanac Electricity (kite) Philadelphia Invented bifocals Daylight Savings

Word Lines

hot cold

hot tepid cold

hot tepid cold sweltering

hot tepid cold swelteringchilly

Word Sorts

thoraxpupa abdomenantennae winglarva adulthead eggleg Open Sort Categories are not given.

Closed Sort PartsStages

thoraxpupa abdomenegg winglarva headadult leg antennae Closed Sort PartsStages

List-Group-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.

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.

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.

no legsgarter boa venom cobra fang scales coral tail rattle copperhead

no legsgarter boa venom cobra fang scales coral tail rattle copperhead

no legsgarter boa venom cobra fang scales coral tail rattle copperhead Kinds of Snakes garter boa copperhead cobra coral Things Snakes Might Have rattle scales fang no legs venom tail

no legsgarter boa venom cobra fang scales coral tail rattle copperhead Kinds of Snakes garter boa copperhead cobra coral Things Snakes Might Have rattle scales fang no legs venom tail

Possible Sentences

1.Present a list of 8-12 words the students will encounter in the new unit. 2.Add a few familiar terms. 3.Ask for sentences containing at least two of the words. 4.Teach the unit. 5.Return to the sentences. 6.Together decide whether they are correct or can be edited to make them so.

Please suggest a sentence containing at least two of the following terms: connotation word family lexicon syntactic clue distributed practice eponym toponym popinary

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

1. Make vocabulary a schoolwide goal  Amend your plan.  Establish testable goals.  Raise consciousness.  Communicate expectations.

2. Provide professional development  Focus on research-based methods.  Ensure ties to actual materials.  Provide follow-up to aid implementation.

3. Establish teacher study groups  Organize groups by grade level.  Provide time for discussion.  Reward participation.  Encourage administrator participation.  Select resource books.

4. Consider supplemental and intervention programs  Tie their use to assessments.  Establish guidelines for use.  Locate product reviews.

~mmckenna