Vocabulary: A Powerful Connection to Comprehension

1
Vocabulary A Powerful Connection to
Comprehension

• Tamara Konrade
• tamarak_at_essdack.org

2
4 Types of Vocabulary
Listening words we understand when others talk to us Speaking words we use when we talk to others
Reading words we know when we see them in print Writing words we use when we write
3
(No Transcript)
4
Why Vocabulary is Important
5
The Vocabulary Gap
Grade Average Student (2.4 root words per day) Bottom 25 (1.6 root words per day)
End of Pre-K 3,440 2,440
End of K 4,300 3,016
End of Grade 1 5,160 3,592
End of Grade 2 6,020 4,168
Anglin 1993 Biemiller and Slonim 2001
Biemiller 2005
6

• Research shows that average students learn
  approximately 7 words per day (Miller, 1978).
• At-risk students are learning less than 1-2 words
  per day or none at all.

7
How Vocabulary is Learned

• Indirectly Children learn the meanings of most
  words through everyday experiences
• having conversations with adults and peers
• hearing stories
• reading extensively
• Directly Children learn vocabulary when they
  are explicitly taught both individual words and
  word-learning strategies
• morphemic analysis
• contextual analysis

8
Variation in Amount of Independent Reading
Anderson, R. C. (1992)
9
Common and Uncommon Words
FREQUENT WORDS RARE WORDS
Adults talking to children 95.6 9.9
Adults talking to adults 93.9 17.3
Prime-time TV adult 94.0 22.7
Childrens Books 92.3 30.9
Comic Books 88.6 53.5
Books-Adult 88.4 52.7
Popular Magazines 85.0 65.7
Newspapers 84.3 68.3
Abstracts of Scientific Papers 70.3 128.2
Frequent words percentage of text from most
frequent 1,000 words Rare words number of rare
words (not in most common 10,000) per 1,000
tokens Source Hayes and Ahrens 1988
10
Selecting Words

• Target vocabulary should include
• Words that are important for understanding the
  text or content (and that are not explained
  within the text).
• Words that students will encounter often,
  functionally important words.

Kindergarten (Read Aloud) Grade 1 (Read Aloud) Grade 2 (Read Aloud) Grade 2-8 (Independent Text)
3-4 words per book at 1-2 books per week. 4-5 words per book at 1-2 books per week. 5-6 words per book at 1-2 books per week. 3-10 words per selection at one selection per week.
Based on Beck et al. 2002
11
Selecting Words to Teach
Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3
Description Basic words that most children know before entering school Words that appear frequently in texts and for which students already have conceptual understanding Uncommon words that are typically associated with a specific domain
Examples clock, baby, happy sinister, fortunate, adapt isotope, peninsula, bucolic
(Beck, McKeown, Kucan, 2002)
12
(No Transcript)
13
Demands of Text

• Narrative
• Unnecessary to know all the word--gist of the
  story.
• Learning new words often involves learning a new
  term for a known concept.
• Words are usually unrelated to each other.
• Expository
• Word meanings are closely tied to major topic.
• New vocabulary is rarely associated with familiar
  concepts.
• Words are often related to each other (e.g.,
  metamorphosis, pupa, and larvae).

14
B3 Vocabulary Tested Indicators

• ?Context Clues (3-HS)
• definitions, restatements, examples,
  descriptions, comparison-contrast, clue words,
  cause-effect
• ?Structural Analysis (3-HS)
• roots, prefixes, suffixes
• ?Figurative Language (6-HS)
• similes, metaphors, analogies, hyperbole,
  onomatopoeia, personification, idioms, imagery,
  and symbolism

15
B3 Vocabulary Tested Indicators

• ?Context Clues (3-HS)
• definitions, restatements, examples,
  descriptions, comparison-contrast, clue words,
  cause-effect
• ?Structural Analysis (3-HS)
• roots, prefixes, suffixes
• ?Figurative Language (6-HS)
• similes, metaphors, analogies, hyperbole,
  onomatopoeia, personification, idioms, imagery,
  and symbolism

16
Contextual Analysis

• Clue instruction appears to be more effective
  than other instruction types or just practice.

Analysis by Fukkink and de Glopper (1998)
17
Context Clues

18
Contextual Analysis Strategy

• Look for Context Clues in the words, phrases, and
  sentences surrounding the unfamiliar word.
  Determine
• Signal Words or Punctuation
• Type of Context Clue

Highlight different context clues you find in the
article.
19
B3 Vocabulary Tested Indicators

• ?Context Clues (3-HS)
• definitions, restatements, examples,
  descriptions, comparison-contrast, clue words,
  cause-effect
• ?Structural Analysis (3-HS)
• roots, prefixes, suffixes
• ?Figurative Language (6-HS)
• similes, metaphors, analogies, hyperbole,
  onomatopoeia, personification, idioms, imagery,
  and symbolism

20
Facts about Prefixes

• Twenty prefixes account for 97 percent of the
  prefixed words in school reading materials.
• Four prefixes (un-, re-, in-, and dis-) account
  for 58 percent of all prefixed words.

21
Structural Analysis
Highlight your grade level prefixes and suffixes.
22
Structural Analysis Strategy

• Look for the Root Word. What does it mean?
• Look for a Prefix. What does it mean?
• Look for a Suffix. What does it mean?
• Put the Meanings of the Word Parts Together. What
  is the meaning of the whole word?

23
B3 Vocabulary Tested Indicators

• ?Context Clues (3-HS)
• definitions, restatements, examples,
  descriptions, comparison-contrast, clue words,
  cause-effect
• ?Structural Analysis (3-HS)
• roots, prefixes, suffixes
• ?Figurative Language (6-HS)
• similes, metaphors, analogies, hyperbole,
  onomatopoeia, personification, idioms, imagery,
  and symbolism

24
(No Transcript)
25
Vocabulary Activities

• Kansas Parent Information Resource Center
  http//www.kpirc.org

26
Attributes Roll the Dice

1. Start with the stack of reading standards
   vocabulary cards.
2. Choose a vocabulary card and roll the dice.
3. Give attributes or something youve learned for
   each vocabulary word you draw (roll a 3 3
   attributes).

27
Alphaboxes

• At your table, write one word that relates to the
  state reading assessment.

28
Word Sorts

• Sort the words relating to reading standards into
  categories.

29
Graphic Organizers
30
Pictures / Objects / Videos
31
A Checklist for Instruction

• Reflect on the checklist on page ??
• Write one goal that you have in regard to
  vocabulary instruction.