Teaching Vocabulary

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Teaching Vocabulary to Struggling
Readers Michael C. McKenna Georgia Southern
University
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What is vocabulary?
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word-hoard
estuary
argon
id
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What is vocabulary?

• Speaking vocabulary
• Listening vocabulary
• Reading vocabulary
• Writing vocabulary
• General vocabulary
• Technical vocabulary
• Meaning vocabulary

Modality Domain
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What is vocabulary?

• Speaking vocabulary
• Listening vocabulary
• Reading vocabulary
• Writing vocabulary
• General vocabulary
• Technical vocabulary
• Meaning vocabulary

Modality Domain
6
What is vocabulary?

• Speaking vocabulary
• Listening vocabulary
• Reading vocabulary
• Writing vocabulary
• General vocabulary
• Technical vocabulary
• Meaning vocabulary

Modality Domain
7
What is vocabulary?

• Speaking vocabulary
• Listening vocabulary
• Reading vocabulary
• Writing vocabulary
• General vocabulary
• Technical vocabulary
• Meaning vocabulary

Modality Domain
8
What is vocabulary?

• Speaking vocabulary
• Listening vocabulary
• Reading vocabulary
• Writing vocabulary
• General vocabulary
• Technical vocabulary
• Meaning vocabulary

Modality Domain
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1755 Dictionary of the English Language
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1755 Dictionary of the English Language
114,000 words
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1755 Dictionary of the English Language
114,000 words
impertransibility queck nould
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1755 Dictionary of the English Language
114,000 words
2005 Oxford English Dictionary (3rd
ed.)
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1755 Dictionary of the English Language
114,000 words
2005 Oxford English Dictionary (3rd
ed.)
660,000 words
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webcam cyberphobic doh
2005 Oxford English Dictionary (3rd
ed.)
660,000 words
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English users follow set rules for coining new
words, thus adding greatly to the number of
potential words in the language.
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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.
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Are you a logophile?
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50K 40K 30K 20K 10K 0
5,000 1,500
K 12
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50K 40K 30K 20K 10K 0
45,000 17,000
5,000 1,500
K 12
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How do we know which words to teach?
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Beck and McKeowns 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

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Beck and McKeowns 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

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Beck and McKeowns 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

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Beck and McKeowns 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

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Beck and McKeowns 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

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What are some of the guiding principles of
teaching vocabulary?
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Preteach key words to improve comprehension.
Guiding Principle
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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 1367. Yet a dozen years later,
these same people would be fighting the Marish
for independence, or freedom from United Marains
rule.
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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 1763. Yet a dozen years later,
these same people would be fighting the British
for independence, or freedom from Great Britains
rule.
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Provide more than definitions.
Guiding Principle
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WORD DEFINITION
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WORD DEFINITION Stimulus Response
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WORD DEFINITION Stimulus Response trunca
te to cut off
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WORD DEFINITION Stimulus Response trunca
te to cut off She truncated the lights.
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Combine definitions and contextual examples.
Guiding Principle
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Connotations

• Whats the difference between a fiddle and a
  violin?

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Introduce new words in related clusters.
Guiding Principle
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antennae
leg
thorax
wing
abdomen
In content areas, clustering words is natural!
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But general vocabulary words can also be
clustered if you work at it!
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Stress the connections among related terms.
Guiding Principle
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Stress connections among unrelated terms.
Guiding Principle
Silly Questions Would a hermit be
gregarious? Could a virtuoso be a rival?
Beck McKeown
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Stress connections among unrelated terms.
Guiding Principle
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Tie new words to old knowledge.
Guiding Principle
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Comprehension is building bridges from the new
to the known. Pearson Johnson
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Provide brief, periodic review.
Guiding Principle
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massedvs.distributedpractice
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Maximize the volume of reading that students do.
Guiding Principle
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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), 13-16.
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Minimize rote copying of definitions.
Guiding Principle
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What are some research-based ways of teaching
vocabulary?
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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

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Read-Alouds
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Semantic Feature Analysis
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popinary
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popinary

• a fry cook

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humans adult female woman man
o girl o boy o o
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cooks fries makes bakes things salads popina
ry o o chef
baker o adult female
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cooks fries makes bakes things salads popina
ry o o chef
baker o adult female
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cooks fries makes bakes things salads popina
ry o o chef
baker o adult female
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cooks fries makes bakes things salads popina
ry o o chef
baker o adult female
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cooks fries makes bakes things salads popina
ry o o chef
baker o adult female
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cooks fries makes bakes things salads popina
ry o o chef
baker o adult female
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cooks fries makes bakes things salads popina
ry o o chef
baker o adult female
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cooks fries makes bakes things salads popina
ry o o chef
baker o adult female
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cooks fries makes bakes things salads popina
ry o o chef
baker o adult female
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cooks fries makes bakes things salads popina
ry o o chef
baker o adult female
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cooks fries makes bakes things salads popina
ry o o chef
baker adult female
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cooks fries makes bakes things salads popina
ry o o chef
baker s adult female
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Planets Moon/s Rocky Surface Rings Mercury
o o Venus o o Earth
o Mars o Jupiter
o Saturn o Uranus
o Neptune o Pluto
o
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Graphic Organizers
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A graphic organizer is a diagram that shows how
key terms are related.
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Whats 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.

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Semantic Maps

• (Word Webs)

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Founding Father
Daylight Savings
Poor Richards Almanac
Ben Franklin
Invented bifocals
Electricity (kite)
Philadelphia
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Word Lines
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hot cold
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hot tepid cold
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hot tepid cold sweltering

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hot tepid cold sweltering
chilly
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hot tepid cold sweltering
chilly
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Word Sorts
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Open Sort Categories are not given.
thorax pupa abdomen antennae wing larva adult
head egg leg
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Closed Sort Parts Stages
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Closed Sort Parts Stages
thorax pupa abdomen egg wing larva head adu
lt leg antennae
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List-Group-Label
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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.
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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.
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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.
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no legs garter boa venom cobra fang
scales coral tail
rattle copperhead
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no legs garter boa venom cobra fang
scales coral tail
rattle copperhead
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no legs garter 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
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no legs garter 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
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Possible Sentences
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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.

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Please suggest a sentence containing at least two
of the following terms
connotation word family lexicon syntactic
clue distributed practice eponym toponym popinary
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What can we do to increase childrens
vocabularies in Title I schools?
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1. Make vocabulary a schoolwide goal

• Amend your plan.
• Establish testable goals.
• Raise consciousness.
• Communicate expectations.

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2. Provide professional development

• Focus on research-based methods.
• Ensure ties to actual materials.
• Provide follow-up to aid implementation.

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3. Establish teacher study groups

• Organize groups by grade level.
• Provide time for discussion.
• Reward participation.
• Encourage administrator participation.
• Select resource books.

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4. Consider supplemental and intervention
programs

• Tie their use to assessments.
• Establish guidelines for use.
• Locate product reviews.

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http//oregonreadingfirst.uoregon.edu
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http//www.fcrr.org
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mmckenna_at_georgiasouthern.edu
http//www.georgiasouthern.edu/ mmckenna