1. Best Practices in Vocabulary Instruction: Modified Self-Selected Vocabulary in Action
Wendy Otto Pliska, Hamilton School District

2. Part One: CCSS & Content Area Vocabulary

3. Intermediate vs. Secondary Vocabulary Needs
“as children reach school age, new words are introduced less frequently in conversation, and consequently vocabulary acquisition eventually stagnates by grade 4 or 5 unless students acquire additional words from written context” (Hayes & Ahrens, 1988).
at most between 5 and 15 percent of new words encountered upon first reading are retained, and the weaker a student’s vocabulary is the smaller the gain (Daneman & Green, 1986; Hayes & Ahrens, 1988; Herman, Anderson, Pearson, & Nagy, 1987; Sternberg & Powell, 1983).
[but] research shows that if students are truly to understand what they read, they must grasp upward of 95 percent of the words (Betts, 1946; Carver, 1994; Hu & Nation, 2000; Laufer, 1988).

4. What does the research say?
the difference in students’ vocabulary levels is a key factor in disparities in academic achievement (Baumann & Kameenui, 1991; Becker, 1977; Stanovich, 1986)

5. Lexical Dexterity
For a reader to grasp the meaning of a word, two things must happen:
1. the reader’s internal representation of the word must be sufficiently complete and well articulated to allow the intended meaning to be known to him or her;
2. the reader must understand the context well enough to select the intended meaning from the realm of the word’s possible meanings (which in turn depends on understanding the surrounding words of the text).

6. Lexical Dexterity Research suggests…
…students need incremental, repeated exposure in a variety of contexts to the words they are trying to learn.
When students make multiple connections between a new word and their own experiences, they develop a nuanced and flexible understanding of the word they are learning.
…students learn not only what a word means but also how to use that word in a variety of contexts, and they can apply appropriate senses of the word’s meaning in order to understand the word in different contexts.
(Landauer & Dumais, 1997; Landauer, McNamara, Dennis, & Kintsch, 2007; Nagy, Herman, & Anderson,1985).

7. Tiers of Vocabulary Tier One words words of everyday speech
usually learned in the early grades,
not considered a challenge to the average native speaker, though English language learners of any age will have to attend carefully to them.
While Tier One words are important, they are not the focus of this discussion.
a model for conceptualizing categories of words readers encounter in texts and for understanding the instructional and learning challenges that words in each category present.

8. Tiers of Vocabulary Tier Two words
the Standards refer to as general academic words
more likely to appear in written texts than in speech.
appear in all sorts of texts: informational texts (relative, vary, formulate, specificity, and accumulate), technical texts (calibrate, itemize, periphery), and literary texts (misfortune, dignified, faltered, unabashedly).
often represent subtle or precise ways to say relatively simple things—saunter instead of walk, for example.
These are perfect words for targeted, explicit instruction
Tier Two words are found across many types of texts, they are highly generalizable.
a model for conceptualizing categories of words readers encounter in texts and for understanding the instructional and learning challenges that words in each category present.

9. Tiers of Vocabulary Tier Three words
Standards refer to as domain-specific words
specific to a domain or field of study (lava, carburetor, legislature, circumference, aorta)
key to understanding a new concept within a text.
specific and closely tied to content knowledge.
Recognized as new and “hard” words for most readers, they are often explicitly defined by the author of a text, repeatedly used, and otherwise heavily scaffolded (e.g., made a part of a glossary).
a model for conceptualizing categories of words readers encounter in texts and for understanding the instructional and learning challenges that words in each category present.
Tier Three words are far more common in informational texts than in literature

10. Examples of Tier Two & Three Words

11. Examples of Tier Two & Three Words

12. Instructional Implications
Many kids cap out at Tier 1 or 2 WHY?
Explicit instruction is necessary to give kids access to content materials and complex texts
Key questions for teachers are…
How do we measure the difficulty of a word?
Is it necessary for a student to know that word?
… because they don’t read or hear academic language at home

13. Practice
Activity: Using one of our sample texts, choose a section and identify the Tier 2 & Tier 3 words

14. Focus:
Knowing the word
Knowing how, why, & when to use the word

15. Helping Students Recognize & Analyze the Impact of Word Choice

16. Which is most accurate? Columbus discovered America
Columbus invaded America
Columbus pillaged America

17. “The Dilemma of a Carnivore”
Shrinks call this "cognitive dissonance." You munch a strip of bacon, then pet your dog. You wince at the sight of a crippled horse but continue chewing your burger. Three weeks ago, I took my kids to a sheep and wool festival. They petted lambs; I nibbled a lamb sausage. That's the thing about humans: We're half-evolved beasts. We love animals, but we love meat, too. We don't want to have to choose. And maybe we don't have to. Maybe, thanks to biotechnology, we can now grow meat instead of butchering it.”
William Saletan, Washington Post, 5/28/06

18. “The Dilemma of a Carnivore”
Shrinks call this "cognitive dissonance." You munch a strip of bacon, then pet your dog. You wince at the sight of a crippled horse but continue chewing your burger. Three weeks ago, I took my kids to a sheep and wool festival. They petted lambs; I nibbled a lamb sausage. That's the thing about humans: We're half-evolved beasts. We love animals, but we love meat, too. We don't want to have to choose. And maybe we don't have to. Maybe, thanks to biotechnology, we can now grow meat instead of butchering it.”
Highlight two word choices: shrinks vs psychiatrists or therapists, and beasts vs beings or animals
William Saletan, Washington Post, 5/28/06

19. Negative Positive Connotation Spectrum Gaunt Lanky Thin Slim slender
Skinny
Group 1
Thin, slender slim,, gaunt, lanky, skinny
Group 2
Aggressive, assertive, domineering, dynamic, pushy, forceful
Group 3
Shrewd, egghead, bright, clever, brilliant, cunning, smart, intelligent, brainy

20. Vocabulary in the Classroom…
This activity takes place in my Freshman Seminar class.
This is a freshman study skills/reading course open to at-risk freshmen based on recommendations from 8th grade teachers and counselors.
Students generally struggle with organization, study skills, and reading, but are usually not EEN, although some are ELL
My class size varies from per semester

21. Goals of the Program
Help students to regain self-awareness when they don’t understand a word
Give students choice
Expose students to unfamiliar words
Teach students vocabulary acquisition strategies they can use on their own in other classes
Help students think metacognitively about their own vocabulary learning

22. Goals of the Program, continued
Teach students the difference between memorizing a definition and understanding a word
Create vocabulary assessments that go beyond knowledge and comprehension questions
Encourage students to use their new words in other contexts/classes
Get students excited about new words!

23. The first part last: the results
Every semester, approximately 100 of our new vocabulary words are included in the final exam
Results:
Spring 2009 (16 total students in class)
Average final exam score = 89% correct
1 student earned 100%
3 students earned 99%
2 students earned 97%
Fall 2008 (14 total students in class)
Average final exam score = 91% correct
1 student earned 99%
3 students earned 98%

24. What do we do? Weekly schedule
Thursdays: Each student contributes 3 new words
Fridays: All words go on board; we discuss, vote, and discuss our six “winners”
Mondays: 6 flashcards are due (one for each new word)
Tuesdays: 6 word boxes are due (one for each word)
Wednesdays: Vocab Review Game
Thursdays: Take Weekly Quiz, bring 3 new words

25. Thursdays: 3 New Word Sheets

26. Fridays: Voting on New Words

27. Mondays: 6 Flashcards due
Word on the front
Definition on the back

28. Tuesdays: Word Boxes due

29. Key Elements of Word Boxes
Rate Your Knowledge:
K - I know it; H - I have a hunch what it means; S - I’ve seen it but I don't know it; and N - I've never seen it before today.
Helps student reflect upon their own understanding of the word
Also helps dispel the idea that you either know a word or you don’t
(Buehl, 2005)

30. Key Elements of Word Boxes
Identify Part of Speech – helps to eliminate misuse of words within sentences
Common Context and Usage – helps students identify words that are usually only used in a certain context (i.e. legitimate is often used when discussing legal issues)

31. Key Elements of Word Boxes
Meaning and Examples
When discussing words with students, I actively discourage them from just writing down the dictionary definition
Instead, talking about how a word is used, examples, synonyms, characteristics, etc., can help a student gain a more mature understanding of the word
(Buehl, 2009, p176)

32. Key Elements of Word Boxes
Two-Part Create Your Own Sentence:
First… Who would use this word?
This helps students think about actual word usage
Using this prompt first helps avoid bland, vague sentences (i.e., “Bob is legitimate”)
Next… How would s/he use this word?
Students then write a sentence from the point of view of the speaker they’ve identified
(Buehl, 2009, p177)

33. Key Elements of Word Boxes
Identifying the context clues in the student-generated sentence helps students focus on:
Creating specific, descriptive sentences
What context clues are

34. Side Note on Assessment Policy
Inspired by the work of Ken O’Connor (How to Grade for Learning), I have a No-Zeroes, No-Excuses homework policy
If a student does not have his or her vocabulary practice work done on time, s/he will owe me the time it takes to complete the work. This can be after class, during lunch, and/or after school.
This guarantees that students complete the formative work needed to learn words
This policy also trains students to do their work; since they will be completing it anyway, they are much more likely to get it done on time
In addition, I only include summative assessments (weekly vocabulary quizzes) in the grade book… this allows students to take risks and make mistakes on the practice (formative) work without being afraid of bad grades

35. Wednesdays: Vocabulary Review
Most Popular and Easiest = Vocab Bingo
Simply have students write one vocabulary word in each square
You read off definitions, examples, synonyms, etc… and if a student has that word, they mark it off
Helps students review words in a fun way!

36. Wednesdays: Vocabulary Review
Another option: Vocab Battleship
This is played in a similar way to the board game Battleship
Students use a manila file folder as their game board
On the top flap, students “hide” their words (one per box)
On the bottom flap, students guess at the location of their opponent’s words
If a student finds one of her opponent’s words, she must be able to correctly give the definition of the word in order to gain the point
Teacher or extra student can be the mediator

37. Additional Vocabulary Review
Quizlet
is a great, free website teachers and students can use to create vocabulary review lists
I create a cumulative word list (with definitions) that students can log in to and use to review

38. Thursdays: Weekly Vocabulary Quiz
Each weekly quiz contains 20 questions:
8 “Knowledge” questions (fill in the blank)
6 “Application” questions (“Connect Two” sentences) [Buehl, 2009, p ]
6 “Analysis” questions (simple analogies)
Students are given a word bank
Any of the words from our cumulative list may appear on the quiz; students do not know ahead of time which ones will be on the quiz

39. FAQ’s Q: What if kids only pick the easy words?
A: Most kids are pretty honest; individual low-achievers conference with the teacher
A: Most students rise to the challenge; they actually enjoy stumping the teacher!
A: See the Spring 2009 Cumulative Word List (next slide)

40. Spring 2009 Cumulative Word List
Amanuensis
Angst
Attentive
Autopsy
Barb
Barrack
Benign
Besotted
Blunt
Bombardment
Bravado
Caliber
Canvas
Catacombs
Celtic
Chasm
Cleft
Contemplate
Creatine
Culpable
Debonair
Dilapidated
Discrimination
Dreary
Duct
Dumbfounded
Egregious
Emaciation
Euphoric
Exasperating
Exorbitant
Extemporaneous
Falsetto
Feeble
Flippantly
Flirtatious
Foe
Foreboding
Fracas
Frivolous
Frolic
Gala
Grisly
Haggle
Haughty
Heatedly
Heifer
Herculean
Idiosyncrasy
Holistically
Incredulous
Indecipherable
Inebriated
Insubordinate
Intrigued
Irascible
Jape
Kamikaze
Keen
Kosher
Lieutenant
Loquacious
Luscious
Malarkey
Maul
Murky
Narcissistic
Nil
Notorious
Nymph
Oblivion
Palindrome
Penitentiary
Picturesque
Platoon
Pansy
Paranormal
Promiscuous
Prude
Quizzical
Reap
Redundant
Regimen
Rendezvous
Revulsion
Ribald
Saccharine
Salacious
Savvy
Seductive
Serene
Sexagenarian
Slay
Telekinetic
Thrum
Torrid
Twilight
Unmoor
Unrequited
Vague
Vandal
Yiddish

41. FAQ’s, cont’d
Q: How could you adapt this to multiple sections of a course (so that a teacher doesn’t have to create multiple new quizzes every week)?
A: My suggestion would be to let each class contribute 2 words to the cumulative list, and all classes are quizzed on the same list

42. FAQ’s, cont’d Q: Why does this work? A: Several reasons:
Students must complete multiple formative (practice) activities, so they are learning and reviewing words several days/week
The word list is cumulative, so students don’t merely memorize, test, and forget
In class, we focus on talking about a word and using it in multiple ways, not just writing down the definition

43. References
Buehl, D. (2005, June). Learning vocabulary in context. In Reading room. Retrieved October 8, 2009, from Wisconin Education Association Council website:
Buehl, D. (2009). Connect two. In Classroom strategies for interactive learning (3rd ed., pp ). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Buehl, D. (2009). Student-friendly vocabulary explanations. In Classroom strategies for interactive learning (3rd ed., pp ). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
O’Connor, K. (2002). How to grade for learning: Linking grades to standards. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Rosenbaum, C. (2001, September). A word map for middle school: A tool for effective vocabulary instruction. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 45(1), Retrieved from EBSCOhost database.
Ruddell, M. R., & Shearer, B. A. (2002, February). “Extraordinary,” “tremendous,” “exhilarating,” “magnificent”: Middle school at-risk students become avid word learners with the Vocabulary Self-Collection Strategy (VSS). Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 45(5), Retrieved from EBSCOhost database.