VOCABULARY INSTRUCTION

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VOCABULARY INSTRUCTION

• Pam McMeniman

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Overview of sessions

• Session One
• Vocabulary acquisition
• Did you know
• Tiers of Vocabulary

• Session Two
• Choosing Vocabulary
• Vocabulary Strategies
• Wordly Wise 3000

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Vocabulary is

• The words we use to communicate
• ready access to lexical items
• Gained from experience with extended discourse
• Transferred from oral to written language
• Judy K. Montgomery, Ph.D. CCC-SLP

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Students can increase their vocabulary if they
have

• wide ranging experiences
• sufficient number of exposures
• active engagement
• consistent direct instruction
• useful word learning strategies

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Number of Exposures Needed to Learn a New Word

• Level of Intelligence IQ Required Exposures
• Signif. above average 120-129 20
• Above average 110-119 30
• Average 90-109 35
• Slow learner 80-89 40
• Mild cognitive impairment 70-79 45
• Moderate cog impairment 60-69 55
• (Gates, 1931 McCormick, 1999)

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Model, Model, Model

• Young Children

• Elementary Children

• Self Talk Im walking up this big hill.
• Parallel Talk Youre walking up this big hill.
• Expanding Child- I see hill. Adult- You see
  the big hill.
• Reinforcing
• Repeating

• Self Talk Im trudging up this massive hill.
• Parallel Talk Youre trudging up this massive
  hill.
• Expanding Child- I can imagine him doing
  that. Adult- Oh, you can imagine Thomas
  trudging up the massive hill.
• Repeating

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Vocabulary also

• Plays a critical part in learning to read
• Helps children make sense of the words they see
  by comparing them to the words they have heard
• Is one of the 5 building blocks of reading
• Can be divided into four types

Judy K. Montgomery, Ph.D. CCC-SLP
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Four types of vocabulary

• Listening
• Speaking
• Reading
• Writing
• Judy K. Montgomery, Ph.D. CCC-SLP

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Teaching Students to Read

• Phonemic awareness
• Phonics
• Fluency
• Vocabulary
• Text comprehension
• National Reading Panel, 2001

http//www.edtech-associates.com/5-building-blocks
.htm
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Vocabulary Demands on Students are Daunting

• 450,000 words in English- largest vocabulary of
  languages in use today
• Students must learn 3,000 words per year by 3rd
  grade.
• Only 400 words a year are directly taught by
  teachers.

• Academic demands are high
• However, everyday speech consists of only 5,000-
  7,000 words.
• Conversation cannot make up the difference
  (Frey Fisher)

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The Myth of Age or Grade Level Vocabulary

• Students do not learn vocabulary words based on
  their age or their grade.
• They learn words based on their experiences.
• (Beck, et al, 2002)

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What does research tell us?

• Most vocabulary is learned indirectly
• Some vocabulary must be taught directly
• Poor vocabulary is a hallmark of language,
  literacy, and cognitive disabilities

Judy Montgomery Ph.D. CCC-SLP
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Children learn word meanings indirectly in three
ways

• Daily conversations and oral language experience
  with adults and other children
• Listening to adults read to them
• Reading extensively on their own
• Judy Montgomery Ph.D. CCC-SLP

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Students with special needs, or at risk, often do
not learn words indirectly because

• They dont engage in conversation as often
• They dont alert to new or interesting words
• They often dont listen carefully when read to
• They usually dont read on their own
• Judy Montgomery Ph.D. CCC-SLP

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Who has difficulty with vocabulary?

• Students with communication disorders
• Students with cognitive challenges
• Students with hearing loss
• Students in special education classrooms
• Judy Montgomery Ph.D. CCC-SLP

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These students need direct instruction in
vocabulary

• Direct instruction/intervention includes
• Specific word instruction
• Word learning strategies
• Intensive work
• Repetitions
• Active engagement
• Judy Montgomery Ph.D. CCC-SLP

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Vocabulary Four Steps to knowing

• Never heard the word before
• Heard it, but dont know what it means
• In context, I know it has something to do
  with_____
• Know it and use it
• (Beck, McKeown Kucan, 2002 Carey, 1978)

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Did you know

• Directly teaching word parts- affixes, base
  words, roots - greatly enhance vocabulary because
  60 of English words have Latin or Greek origins
  (Armbruster Osborn, 2001).
• There are twenty common prefixes that account
  for 97 of the prefixed words in printed school
  English (White, Sowell Yanagihara, 1989).

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Did you know

• Word learning depends how well a child is able to
  make connections between words. (Hoover
  Storkel, 2005).

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Word Associations

• In order to make a connection with a new word a
  student must
• First, realize he doesnt know the word
• Select information in the context that gives the
  unknown word meaning
• Combine clues and make a guess about the words
  definition
• Finally, refine the definition upon encountering
  further information (check if it makes sense)

• This requires
• Good reasoning
• Good attention and motivation
• Good working memory
• Also, good contextual cues

Beck, McKeown, Kucan
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Model use of contextual cues

• Model how one might derive the meaning
• For example Obstinate must mean something that
  a horse could be, it has to be something that
  would make a horse hard to control. Maybe
  scared, a horse could be scared, and because he
  was scared, he might act up and be hard to
  control. But is says the horse acted this way
  often and that the rider was angry about it. I
  dont think a rider would be angry at a scared
  horse. Obstinate must be a way a horse acts that
  riders dont like. It could mean stubborn,
  because horses can get stubborn and some horses
  can get stubborn often. When they do, its hard
  for a rider to get them to do what she wants.
• (Beck, McKeown, Kucan)

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Scaffold students use of contextual cues

• The deer would be able to eat all they wanted in
  the meadow, for there was an abundance of grass.
• Why would the deer be able to eat all they
  wanted?
• How much grass must be in the meadow?
• So, what do you think abundance means?
• (Beck, McKeown, Kucan)

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Did you know

• Challenging students to create original sentences
  with target words increases personal interest and
  word learning (Beck, et al, 2002).
• The use of opposition (antonyms) in defining
  terms helps to establish extremes of a words
  meaning. Synonym production is improved by
  antonym production, although the reverse has not
  been shown to be true (Powell, 1986).

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A few more...Did you know

• Vocabulary knowledge, story comprehension, and
  story sequencing are the language skills with the
  strongest relationship to improved reading
  outcomes (Snow, Tabors, Nicholson Kurland,
  1994).
• Words are used to think. The more words we know,
  the finer our understanding of the world (Stahl,
  1999).

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Reference

• Bringing Words to LifeRobust Vocabulary
  Instruction
• By
• Isabel L. Beck
• Margaret G. McKeown
• Linda Kucan

• by

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Choosing Words to Teach
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Tier 1

• Basic words
• Baby, happy, walk, clock
• Rarely require direct instruction in school
• (Beck, McKeown, Kucan)

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Tier 3

• Tier 3
• Low frequency words
• Often limited to specific domain
• Isotope, peninsula, refinery
• Best learned when a specific need arises
• Such as a geography lesson
• (Beck, McKeown, Kucan)

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Tier 2

• Tier 2
• High frequency words for mature language learners
• Found across a variety of domains
• Coincidence, absurd, industrious, fortunate
• (Beck, McKeown, Kucan)

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Tier 2

• Because of the large role tier 2 words play in a
  language users repertoire, rich knowledge of
  words in the second tier can have a powerful
  impact on verbal functioning.
• Instruction directed toward Tier 2 words can be
  most productive.
• (Beck, McKeown, Kucan)

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Some Criteria for Identifying Tier Two Words
Beck, McKeown, Kucan
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How to Select Vocabulary Words to Teach- the Big
Q!

• About 7,000 words in Tier 2
• Teach 400 per year
• Research shows this will have impact
• Which 400 words?
• Instruction vs. intervention
• (Beck, et al, 2002)

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Intervene Using Tier 2 Words

• Choose fiction or non-fiction being read in class
• Read one page
• Highlight all the Tier 2 words
• Select 3 of the most useful ones

• Student definitions from context
• Provide student friendly definitions
• Practice repeatedly
• Use in oral communication
• Reinforce in reading and writing.
• (Beck et al, 2002)

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Focus on Selected Words

• 1. Teach the words explicitly for 5 sessions.
• 2. Use student-friendly definitions
• 3. Search for the words in other places
• 4. Over-use in both oral and written language
  activities
• 5. Say them and read them.
• Review words one month later
• (Judy Montogomery, Ph. D. CCC-SLP)

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Choosing Vocabulary for Early Readers

• Young childrens vocabulary development do not
  come from the text children are asked to read
  early in the course of reading acquisition.
• The words in the stories are not appropriate for
  enriching childrens vocabularies but some of the
  ideas in the simplest stories can be
  characterized by sophisticated words.
• Young childrens listening and speaking
  competence is more advanced than their reading
  and writing competence. (Beck et al,
  2002)

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Developing Vocabulary
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Day I Introducing VocabularyProblems with
dictionary definitions

• Often weak in differentiation
• Use vague language
  
• Misinterpreted
• Offer little guidance in how to use the word.
• (Beck, McKeown, Kucan)

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Day I Introducing Vocabulary

• Explain meanings in everyday language
• Develop student friendly explanations
• Say each word. Break up into syllables.
• Explain the words typical use
• Often include words such as something, someone,
  or describes (These words anchor the meaning so
  students have an idea how to use the word)
• Convey word meaning through instructional context
• Branch off into multiple uses (cake can be a
  verb)
• (Beck, McKeown, Kucan)

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Creating a Student Definition

• What is it called?
• What is the category?
• What do you do with it?
• What does it do?
• What does it look like?
• What parts does it have?
• What does it feel like?
• Where can I find it?

• Build a Definition
• A 1________ is a(n) 2_______ that 3_______ .
  It 4, 5, 6, or 7_________ and _______.
• Write the definition

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Day 2Word Meaning

• Receptive task
• Coast
• the edge of the ocean
• the edge of the moon
• the edge of your seat
• the edge of a square

• Expressive task
• If the food that I name is a very small piece of
  food say morsel. If it isnt dont say
  anything.
• One Cheerio
• A whole pie
• A raisin
• A turkey dinner
• A cake crumb

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Day 3Sentence Stems

• Ill say some things, and you tell me how they
  could protect you
• A pot holder
• A smoke alarm
• Mittens
• Seat belts

• While I stood by the swamp in my rubber boots I
  could hear
• When I heard there would be no school today, I
  leaped
• The grey and white squirrel leaped onto the tree
  trunk and

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Day 4Making Connections

• You choose. Why?
• Is imagine more like dreaming or sneezing? Why?
• Is snarl something a fish might do or a lion
  might do? Why?
• Is grumpy a way you might feel or a way you might
  movegt Why?

• Choose between target words
• Which would you probably do if you had trouble
  seeing clearly?
• focus gape
• Which would you do more quickly?
• glimpse scrutinize

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Day 5

• Children create examples
• If there was an emergency at the amusement park,
  what might have happened?
• If you had a friend who watched TV all the time,
  how might you coax him into getting some exercise?

• Assess through multiple choice with wording
  different from the ones students worked with.
• coast
• a. the land along the edge of a puddle
• b. the land along the edge of a cliff
• c. the land along the edge of the ocean
• d. the land along the edge of a lake

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Re-cap

• Introduce Vocabulary/Read a story
• Contextualize the word within the story
• Have the children say the word.
• Provide a student-friendly explanation of the
  word
• Present examples of the word used in contexts
  different from the story context
• Engage children in activities that get them to
  interact with the words
• Have children say the word

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Wordly Wise 3000

• Pros

• Cons

• Good use of Tier 2 vocabulary
• Pictures
• Daily exercises
• Stories to make connections
• Crossword puzzles
• Good examples of word usages in a number of
  contexts
• Wordly Wise 3000 Web
• http//www.wordlywise3000.com

• Time
• Work book
• Approach to expressive tasks vs. written tasks
• Work book may be difficult for struggling
  students, would need to modify

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Other Ideas

• Retrieval Strategies
• Count out syllables
• Opposites, prefixes, verb endings, plurals,
  categorizing words

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Check out these websites.

• www.curruculumproject.com/loopwriter.htm
• http//bookbuilder.cast.org
• http//wordwebvocabulary.com/bonus/WWV-Overview.pd
  f
• www.dictionary.com
• http//www.edtech-associates.com/5-building-blocks
  .htm
• http//puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/
• http//teacher.scholastic.com/dictionary/

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BRINGING WORDS TO LIFE

• CREATE FREQUENT ENCOUNTERS WITH NEW WORDS,
  Repeat, Repeat, Repeat
• Make your own Thesaurus
• Challenge students to apply vocabulary words from
  past stories to the ones being read
• Word Wizard
• Tally word usage
• Suggestion Box