1. Kinds of Words: Tier 1,2,3 Tier 1:
Rarely require instructional attention in school
High frequency of use
E.g., happy, jump, clock
Tier 2:
High utility
High frequency for mature language users
Found across a variety of domains
Vary according to age and development
Words that we sometimes assume student know, but often they have only “heard” the word..
E.g., glance, confident, commotion, regret
Tier 3:
Low frequency, often limited to content-specific domains
Important to learn when specific need arises
Often critical for content area learning
E.g., peninsula, habitat, climate, evaporation
(adapted from Isabel Beck & Margaret McKeown, Bringing Words to Life

2. A Few Key Points from Research about Vocabulary Development
1. Vocabulary is one of the strongest contributors to comprehension.
2. Significant differences among students’ levels of vocabulary acquisition are present from a very early age, and it takes intentional, focused effort – from the earliest years onward -- to close those gaps.
3. It’s important to think carefully about WHICH words to teach. (next slide addresses this…)

3. A Few Key Points from Research [continued]
4. There are different levels of
“ knowing” a word
Words are labels for concepts or relationships
Not an all-or nothing situation!
More like a continuous process, building degrees of understanding, forming a network of understandings
Highly influenced by prior knowledge
Try this with “jib”
5. There are some key conditions for vocabulary development (language-rich environments, connections to real-life experiences, etc.)

4. A Few Key Points from Research, [continued]
6.Vocabulary instruction needs to include:
Explicit, direct instruction of words and
Opportunities for incidental learning ( through carefully selected teacher read-alouds, use of rich language in classroom , discussion, wide reading)
7. The most effective approaches to vocabulary development include:
Active learning
Connections to previous knowledge of concepts, related words
Multiple repetitions ( are needed!) Keeping words accessible/visible is key to accomplishing this!

5. A Possible Way to Manage the Explicit Teaching Portion of Vocabulary Development
* * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * *
Collect and explore Tier 2 words On Friday, select “keepers” *
* over the course of a week * * * for explicit instruction *
(e.g. from read aloud, discussion, * and continual review in *
* grade-level text). * * * following weeks. *
* * * * * * *
* * * *
* * * *
Keepers
* * *
* *
Direct instruction of Tier 2 (“Keeper”) words and review of previously studied words would be happening simultaneously throughout each week as well as pre-reading and incidental vocabulary instruction.
Periodic assessment of “Keepers” would also take place –perhaps every other week, using some of the current “keepers” and some from previous weeks.
S. Biggam, N Woods, 2005

6. A few sample tools or strategies for assessing vocabulary within the classroom
Sample approaches:
Add a checklist or rubric to a vocabulary activity (e.g.,
Semantic Feature Analysis
Word Lines
Polar Opposites Ladder
Frayer model
Concept Circles (Vacca and Vacca, 1986)
Have a two- or three-minute vocabulary review conference. Check the meaning of five to ten words.
Have students do partner quizzes, on five or ten previously studied words (handle like a spelling test)
Have an “everyone gets 5” quiz : students are handed index cards of five previously studied words; they write a sentence and/or otherwise demonstrate their knowledge of the word. ( drawing, graphic etc.)
Vocabulary Rating Sheet (“How Well do I Know This Word?”)
Pose “Meaningful Use” vocabulary questions or quick vocabulary-checking activities

7. Vocabulary Rating Scale
I know what this word means and can use it in a sentence.
I pretty much know what this word means.
I have heard of this word.
I have not heard of this word.

8. Sample “Meaningful Use” vocabulary questions or quick vocabulary-checking activities
Applause/applause; Clap if you agree:
Soccer is a gentle sport.
Ice cream is usually bitter.
Riding a bike can be exhausting.
YEA/Nay: Could a container be hollow?
Which would be more likely to hover: a hummingbird or a shark?
Would you be more dubious if your mother baked a cake or if your grandmother ran a marathon?
If what I say could be “leisurely”, say “it could be leisurely. If not, say “no way”
E.g., a marathon, a stroll, a saunter, a shuffle, a jog, a sprint, a nap
Why might an animal snarl at someone?
Tell about some time when something was a coincidence.
Which would you do if you wanted to look quickly at someone or something? Glance or gape?
When would condolences not be appropriate?
Evasive people like to say exactly what they mean. True? False?
(adapted from Isabel Beck, Bringing Words to Life, 2002

9. See if you can come up with a “meaningful use” vocabulary task or question for two of the words in any given row…
K- 2: alert, stranded, cautiously
3-6: dreary, subtle, intrigued
6-8 : irrelevant ,spectacle, constrained

10. Caveats: Vocabulary Assessment
It IS important to do
If we do not assess vocabulary, we do not know whether or not students are learning, we do not know which students need more focus on vocabulary, and we do not know if our instruction is effective…
But… keep in mind…
There is no single agreed-upon “list” of what words should be known at a certain age.
It probably takes a couple of years of intentional vocabulary work to show an impact on a standardized reading measure, because of the sampling of words from a broad domain. (Beck, 2005)
There are different levels of “knowing” a word.
There are different ways of displaying knowledge of a word.

11. Thinking ahead – how might this information be used?
What kinds of patterns might be seen?
How differentiation might take place?
in a classroom setting?
in other settings?

12. A Few Vocabulary Resources
Words Words Words by Janet Allen
Bringing Words to Life by Beck, McKeown and Kucan
Teaching Vocabulary in All Classsrooms: Building Background Knowledge for Academic Achievement. ASCD. By Robert Marzano