= iumLisbeth Dixon-Krauss

Using literdture ds d (ontext for ted(hing vocabuldry

his resedr(h investigted the USeof ite2rture as d (ont xt fo

ted(hingundmlidrvoCbulary tohigh s(hool students, Two methods

of instrtionw e [ ompded,

©2001 International Reading Association(p). 310-3ISt)

310

After my students have been given a test on the assignecd words, theyseem to qcuickly forget these worcls without developing the skills nleed-ed to use these words in their writings. My students' inability to usetheir vocabulary w-ords in their speaking or writing is a frustrating andpuzzling problern.

(A ninth-grade teacher)

t his statement was an excerpt from a conversation I had with agraduate student in reading who asked hlow to improve vocabu-laty instruction in hier classroom. The teacher related her con-

cerns about how memorizing definitions is central to classroormvocabulary instruction. As otur discussion progressed I suggestedtaking a mediational approach to analyzing the vocabulary teachingproblemns she identified. First, we needed to clarify ther intendedputiposes for vocabulaty learning ancl then emnploy instructionalstrategies that mnatch those itntended pur-poses (Dixon-Krauss,1996b). S:he acknowledged that an inmportant underlying purpose forstudents to learn word meanings was to increase their reading vo-cabulary in order to facilitate com£nprelhension. But her intended pur-poses in the secondary school classes focused on older students'vocabtulatry acluisition for use withini the contexts of oral discussionsand written composition.

The classroomn research study described here emerged from thatcollaborative discussion. A meidiation model design" for classroom

lournal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 45:4 December 2001/January 2002

research was used to addiress the question of hiowto improve vocabulary instruction in ninth-gradeEnglish classes. This design has been used in cle-nentary classroom studies investigating the inte-gration of children's literature with social studiesinstruction (Dixon-Krauss, 1992), multiage partnerstorybook reading and dialogue journal writing(Dixorn-Krauss, 1995), and the use of Internet col-laboration for science and literacy instruction(1)ixon-Krauss & Peters, 1996).

The mediation model design is based onVygotsky's cultural-historical theory, particularlyhis use of dynamnic research metthodology and thezone of proximal development to integrate cogni-tive development with instruction (Vygotsky,1,986). The task of the teacher and researcher inapplying the zone concept to classroomn researchand practice focuses on determining the amountand type of mediational support needed whilelearning progresses. The mediation mnodel is dy-namic: the teachier's observations, analyses, deci-sions, and actions continuously evolve as thieresearch study cycles anid recycles through thethree-step design: (a) identif'ication of the prob-lem, (b) implementation of instruction, ancd (c)evaluation (Dixon-Krauss, 1 996a, 19961)).

Identification of the problemTFhe secondary school classroom teacher and I, theuniversity researcher, collected classroom observa-tions, related themn to the professional literature,and analyzed themii to idlentif'y the action researchproblem. With this process, not only clid we be-come nmore knowledgeable on the researc:h topicof vocabulary acquisition, but we also interpretedand applied tthat knowledge witliin the classroominstructional context.

classroomobservations. The study was conductedin two homogeneously tracked ninth-gradeEnglish I classes. Participants were 12 iiale and 31female stucdents. The teaclher described these stu-dents as ranging fromi low-average to high-averageachievement in language arts on the basis of herevaluation of students' class performance, gradles,and previous testing record. Classroom observa-tions revealed students' ability to memnorize defini-tions of their vocabulary worcds for tests. B£ut wvhenthey used their words in writinig assignm-lents, they

produced restatements of the definitions; incorrectusage of the words: or stilted, uninatural, and illog-ical sentences and paragraphs.

These observations were relatecl to the literatureon vocabulary growth and concept developmentand how instruction affects that developmnent. Thefollowing current vocabulary research topics andtheoretical issues were reviewed: (a) concept andvocabulary developmnent (Dixon-Krauss, 1996b;Vygotsky, 1986), (b) the effects of vocabulary in-strLuction on reading comprehension and writing(Anderson & Nagy, 1991; Duin & Graves, 1987;Pearson & Gallagh, 1984), and (c) incidental ver-sus direct instructional approaches to vocabularyacquisition (Beck & McKeown, 1991; Nagy &hierman, 1985).

Literature review. Vygotsky's idea of how sclhool-age students mnove from early dlevelopment ofeveryday spontaneous concepts to mature, systenm-atically structured scientific concepts provided agood theoretical basis for understannding the en-twined process of vocabulary growth and conceptdevelopmnent (Vygotsky, 1986). Words are labelsfor co>ncepts, ancl younger children initially learnwords and form categorical knowledge througlhdirect experience with concrete objects and eventsin the environment. Older students Operate at amore abstract level of potential concepts, learningthings they cannot directly see or experience.Scientific concepts are "worked out" as teachers orpeers provide mediational support througlh socialinteraction dturing school instruction. In this typeof verbal interaction, the word is lboth the meainsof communication and the focus or object of com-munication. Words are explained, compared, andreflected onI while they are used to share ideas.Through this process, the students learn to con-sciously regard and voluntarily nmanipulate con-cepts and relationships as they detach the wordfrom practical experiences and then apply itacross various contexts (Dixon-Krauss, 19961)).

Blachowicz and Lee (1991) suggested that vo-cabulary acquisition was a continuous processfromi students first recognizing the word and ap-plying a superficial imeaning to later understandingthe various meanings and rises of that word. B3eckand McKeown (1991) tracked vocabulary knowl-edge firoin no knowledge, to a general sense of theword, to narrow context-blound knowledge, to

Using literature as a context for teaching vocabulary 311

having knowledge but being unable to access itquickly, to rich decontextualized kniowledcge. Theninth graders with wihomn we workec (lisplayecd thesamne characteristics identified within these pro-gressioins of vocabulary development, includingknowing superficial meanings, having context-bound kn-owledge, and being unable to accessm-neanings for written or oral use.

Reviews of thie literature indicated that the mosteffective vocabulary instruction includes nmultipleexposures to words itn a variety of oral and writtencontexts, with the average estimated rate of vo-cabulaty growth approximately seven words perday (Aniderson & Nagy, 199,1; Beck & Mckeown,19911). A vast amiount of word knowleclge is ac-quired incidentally thlouigh wN7ide reading, discus-sion, or dialogue with parents ancl peers externalto the classroom, while learning words one at atime is relatively ineffective (Nagy & lerimlan,1985: Miller & (Gildea, 1987).

Ilhe relationship between extensive vocabularyknowledge and reading comprehension has beenwell established: however, the effects of teachingunfamiliar vocalbulary prior to reading a particularselectiton to increase comprehension were negligi-ble (Pearson & Gallagher, 1984; Pikulski, 1989:Stahl & Fairbanks, 1986). In contrast, it lhas beensuggestecd that comlpreliension of a story can pro-vide the conceptual base for understancding newvocabulary (Nagy & ITerrman, 1985, Weir, 1991).Teaching vocabulary and word study within thecontext of a text, both dlurintg ancl after reading,were effective in increasing vocabulary (Brett,Rothlein, & Ilurley, 1996; D)ole, Sloan, & Trathen,1.995; H[ennings, 2000).

Teachier modeling of unknown words in socialdiscourse withi stucdents ancd using those words toelaborate on comments tmnade by studcents 'duringstory discussion were other instructional methI odsrecormmended (11aggard, 1980; Weir, 1991). Tleteacher's use of vocabulary in class discussions ofliterature (LaFlamme, 1994) and students' writtenuse of vocabulary in literature response journals(Wbllman-Bonilla, 1989) reinforced word mnean-ings in both oral and written contexts, An underly-ing goal of all these strategies was to helpstucdents see the value of word study when newworcds were used in intelligible contexts.

Instructional strategies selected by the rinlthi-grade teacher for use in the classes included

312 Journal of Adolescer

teachlinlg vocabulary words withliin the context ofliterature study after the selection was read, ratherthan vice versa, and students' use of time vocabu-lary words in written responses to the literature.'1Teacher-researcher collaboration at the midpointof the study resultecl in adjusting instruction to fo-cus on a mediational perspective using teacher-student social interactions. The teachers and:stcuden-ts' oral use of thie vocabulary words in dis-cUssionls of the literature was added.

Implementation of instructionInstruction was conducted in 10 sessions over 4weeks. Students met every other dlay for 90-nminute classes. A pretest consisting of a list of 52words from the novel Animal Farm (Orwell,1946) was administered prior to the study. Studentswere told to write a definition for each word andwere prompted to use their background knowl-ecdge andl their understalndings of root words andinflectional endings as clues. From this list, 40target words that were unknown to all of thestudcents were idtentified as vocabulary for tuse inthe study.

Insitntionalmatedalsandacdivities. in the first ses-sion, two lists of target vocabulary words, conisist-ing of 20 words from iChapters I throughi 5 and 2(0wordIs fromii Chapters 6 through 10, were distributedto the students. 11mev were told that there would betwo vocabulary tests, one on the first list of 20wordIs and another on the second list. The novelAnimal Farm was introduced with a discussion ofthe political aspects of Orwell's writing. The literaryelements of character andt plot were discussed, anclan inforrmation sheet on keeping a literature re-sponlse journal was distributed and explained.

lnstruction includced six episodes of reading,written response., and discussion . First, the sttu-dents silently read assigned chapters of the novel.Next, students wrote individLual responses to thereadings describing the characters, their actions, orthe plot in their literature response journals.Finally, the teacher discussed the vocabularywords contained in the chapters read and theevents of the assigned chapters. An outline of thelesson plani for instructional episode three(Chapter 5) is founld in Figure 1.

it & Adult Literacy 45:4 December 20a1/January 21002

In thie first three episodes, the vocabularywords were taught using direct instrucion as out-lined in Figure 1. Tlhe words were defined with aword structure, origin, or mneaning cue added andthen used in a sentence by the teacher. Next, stu-dents were called on to inake up a sentence usingthe word or to give a synonymn for it, I'he wordlswere then located in the context of the assignednovel chapters. The definitions ancd sentencesused by the teacher were listed in the Holt,Rinehart and Winston text Lieements of Literature:Third Couwrse (Crinrmnins & Obermiller, 1989, pp.810-825). The following welre two examiples used:

1. articulate adj. able to express oneself easily andclearly. This word is based on the Latin rootmeaning "to speak dlistinctly." T'he studentschose Carmen as their spokesperson, since sheis the most aticulate memlber of the group.

2. blithelv adv. in a carefree or unconcerned man-ner, Blithe has remained a part of the Englishlanguage virtually unchanged for approximately800 years. Marilyt blitbely walked to the edgeof the cliff and peered over.

Students were directly prompted to use any of thewords on their vocabulary lists in their journlal en-tries. I'he assigned chapters of the novel were dis-cussed with the teacher focusing open-ended(luestions primarily on characters or plot.

Following thie third reading, writing, and discus-sion episode, the first five chapters of the novelwere discussed. Vocabulary Test I on the 20words fromn Chapters I through 5 was then adnmin-istered. 'I'he test included a list of the words with15 itemns of matching words witlh definitions and15 items of selecting a word to fill in a blank in asentence. At this point, the teacher and researchercollaborated to identify adjustmuients to instnmction.

In the last three reading, writing, and discussionepisodes, the vocabulary was taught using a medi-ational fornm of instruction within the context ofthe story discussion (see Figure 2). The studentsread the clhapters silently. The teacher did notprompt students to use their vocabulary words intheir vwritten journal entry responses. 'i'lTe wordswere located within the context of the novel.Index cards scripting thie target words within thestory context were prepared prior to class discus-sion of the assigned chapters. Thie script cardsserved as a model for the teacher to use as need-

FIGURE 1Lesson plan outline: Chapter 3

I. Silent readingA. Quickly summarize Chapters 1-2B. Assign text, "Read Chapters 3-4 silently"

II. Written responseA. Assign entry to literature response journal

1. Provide writing reflection prompts:a. 'Think about what is happening in the story."b. "Think about how the animals' thoughts

and actions were changing."

Ill. Class discussionA. Summarize chapter

1. How were the animals surviving?2. How were the animals developing human-like

thoughts (e.g., learning to read) and actions(e.g., civic "barnyard" duties, government,war)?

B. Vocabulary study (Crimmins & Obermiller, 1989)Parasitical, shirked, cryptic, maxim, tractable,irrepressible, ignominious1. Definition2. Sentence context3. Locate in text chapter

ecl during discussion. The teacher referred to thecards as she used the words and embedded corn-men-ts to clarify word mieanings during the naturalflow of class discussion of the chapters read. 'T'hefollowing were two examples of these scripts:

1. When Napoleon sold the hens' eggs to humans,the hens began dropping their eggs from therafters. TIhen Napoleon gave the hens less foodas retribution for smashling their eggs. le wasgetting back at them by taking away their food.(Chapter 7)

2. Almost all of the animals and humans werewounded or killed in the Battle of the Windmill.Even Napoleon did not go unscathed, as he waswounded in the tip of his tail by a pellet.(Chapter 8)

After the final thiree instructional cycles werecompleted, the teachier led a class discussion re-viewing the last five chapters and administered

Using literature as a context for teaching vocabulary 313

FIGURE 2Lesson plan outline: Chapter 8

1. Silent readingA. Quickly summarize Chapters 6-7B. Assign text, "Read Chapter 8 silently"

1,. Written responseA. Assign entry to literature response journal

1. Provide writing reflection prompts:a. "Think about what is happening in the story."b. "Think about how the animals' thoughts,

actions, and relations with the peoplewere changing."

11. Class discussionA. Summarize chapter

1. How was Napoleon's role as leader changing?2. Why did the animals question whether or not

they had won the war?B. Vocabulary study

Wistful, conciliatory, unscathed1. Read script cards-within context of discus-

sion of chapter event2. Locate in text chapter

TABLE 1Vocabulary definitions test scores (percentage)

Vocabulary Test 1 Vocabulary Test 2(Chapters 1-5) (Chapters 6-1 0)

Mean 73 82Range 33-97 27-1 00

Vbcabulary 'est 2 on words frontl those chapters.The fonnfat for this test was the satme as the firsttest. Tl'he students wrote a final journal entry re-flecting on the entire novel.

(valuationThe dlata sources evaluated included the pretestLused to icientify the unkncown targ et words,VocabLulary Test 1 and 'Pest 2 admlitnistered follow-ing the instruLictional cycles, and the journal

314 g Journal of Adolesc

entries. After eaclh class session, thle teacherrecorded her observations about studients' use oftlhe wordls in their writing, class discuLssiotns of theniovel, and stu(lents' cominments and attitudes con-cerning the instruction. The data andi observationswere discussed each week in the teacher-researcher collaboration sessions.

Testre its§. Inspection of students' incorrect clef-initions of the words on the pretest showed thatthese students were able to use their knowledgeof root words and affixes to assist them in defin-ing words they d<id not know. Examples were thedefinitions "'eing snmart" for wtitticisi anid "gotmad" for tempqered.

Results of Vocabulary Test I and Test 2 are re-ported in Table 1. lhe class means itncreaseci fromn73% on 'I'est 1, in whiicllh direct instrtuction of worddlefinitions was used, to 82% on 'Test 2, whiichfocused on a mecliated instruction approach withthe teacher uising thie words withlin discussions ofthe literature. When convertedi to gracdes, the classaverages of D on Test I and C on Test 2 were lowfor tlhese average ancd above-average students. Theteacher's observations revealecl that the studentswere conicerned about their low scores on the firsttest, ancd several acdmitted they had not spentenoughl timle studying because "it was matching,and We thought we co ,uld gueSS the answers,"

JournalWritfiresUlts. Inspection of the journialsrevealed an. increase in the number of vocabularyworcds students used in their entries as they pro-gressed throtgh the chapters of the novel. Table 2slows this increase, froni 57 words used in jour-nal entry 1, to 78 in journal entry 4, to 210 wordsused in entry 6. T'he percentage of wordls usedcorrectly also increasecd from 6.5%3 in the first entryto 93%°o in the final entry responding to the entirebook. Also, students averaged I or 2 wo7rdcs(10-1.9) usecl in the first entries with the direct in-struction of definitions method versus an averageof 2 to 5 (1 .8-48) wordis in the entries whlen theinst:ructional irnediation mrethod was used.

Further analysis of the teacher's recorded obser-vations revealedi four trends related to how adjust-ing instruction to fit the practical ongoingclassroom context affected studcents' use of worcdsin their written entries andl discussions:

1. When the teacher stopped directly prom)pting sti-dents to use their vocabulary words in journtal

cent & Adult Literacy 45:4 December 2001/January 2002

TABLE 2Target vocabulary words used in each journal entry

Direct instruction Instructional mediation Summary

Journal 1 Journal 2 Journal 3 Journal 4 Journal 5 Journal 6 Journal 7Chapters Chapters Chapter Chapters Chapter Chapters Entire

1-2 3-4 5 6-7 8 9-10 book

Number ofwords used 57 92 44 78 126 210 175

Percentage ofwords usedcorrectly 65 79 82 67 71 80 93

Averagewords perstudent 1.3 1.9 1.0 1.8 2.9 4.8 4.0

entry 3, the number of words used decreased bymore than half but correct usage of the wordsincreased.

2. Although the words for Chapters 1 through 5 werethe focus of direct instruction, they were also usedorally by students during discussions of Chapters 6through 10 when instruLctional mediation was thefocus. Use of the words for Chapters 1 through 5 in-creased fromi 153 in journal entries 1 throsugh 3,written during the direct instruction cycles, to 183 inen-tries 4 throsugh 6, written during the instructionalmediation cycles. Table 3 shows the unknown tar-get vocabulary words from each chapter and thenumber of times each word was used across alljournal entries. As shown in Table 3, the total useof words fronm Chapters 1 throughi 5 was greaterthan words from Chapters 6 through 10: 409 and331 respectively.

3. 'T'he words used repeatecdly by stucdents in discus-sions were cl nzical, benevolent, apatby, parasiti-cal, stupepfed, and stratagem. T'hese words werealso usecl most frequently (32-45 times) in thejournal entries (see Table 3).

4. Thle words apatbv and blithely were used incor-rectly 13 and 7 timnes in the first three journal en-tries, 'I'he teacher concentrated on using thesewords in discussion during the instruction mnedia-tion cycles, but students continued to use them in-correctly in later entries for a total of 27 and 10tinmes incorrectly used. 'l'hese two words were thie

most difficult for students to change to the cor-rect parts of speech for use in their writing. Also,the word faction was repeatedly misspelled asfraction.

Students'affectiveresponSes. In the weeklyteacher-researcher collaborative analysis sessions,the teacher reported several interesting trends thatemerged related to how the integration of readingand responding to literature withi vocabulary in-struction affected both the performance and atti-tudes of students. These trends were associatedIwith the text (plot) and with the type of instruc-tion (direct or mediational). In Chapter 5, severalclhanges were occurring in the plot of the novel,and students expressed confusion about the bookin both their journal entry and in the class discus-sion. The teacher observed that students were fo-cusing on the events in the novel instead of usingtheir vocabulary in their journals, and the numberof words they used decreased by more than halfcompared with the previous entry. Several stu-dents also commentedl on being frustrated becausethey "could not find the right word" to expresswhat they wanted to say about the reading.

In contrast, students responded emotionally tothe conclusion of the book in journal entry 6. Inthis entry the number of target words they usedalmost doubled. Several students commented theyhad a 'feeling of accomplishment," and they were

Using literature as a context for teaching vocabulary 315

TABLE 3Vocabulary words used in journal entries

Chapters 1-5 C/I Total Chapters 6-10 C/I Totalensconced 4/5 9 procured 19/4 23cynical 38/0 38 repose 8/8 16benevolent 38/2 40

emboldened 16/4 20expounded 17/3 20 capitulated 20/0 20preeminent 20/3 23 stupefied 36/0 36apathy 21/24 45 pervading 1/2 3

retribution 21/0 10parasitical 40/1 41shirked 27/2 29 wistful 9/3 12cryptic 14/2 16 conciliatory 6/3 9maxim 9/4 13 unscathed 20/2 22

tractable 22/2 24 complicity 13/5 18irrepressible 19/2 21 stratagem 26/6 32ignominious 24/2 26 professed 14/0 14

demeanor 19/0 19blithely 4/10 14 tempered 7/3 10ratified 6/7 13aloof 4/0 4 frugally 10/1 11faction 1/9 10 deputation 7/2 9sordid 24/1 25 dispelled 21/2 23articulate 13/3 16 witticism 1/5 6disintetred 0/0 0 intimated 3/4 7

Total 331/82 409 Total 277/54 331

Note. C = Words used correctly i = Words used incorrectly

able to use words that adequately reflected theiremnotions ancl opinions. The teacher also observecthat students were correctly using more of the tar-get words that lhacd been used in class discussions.

The teacher also noted how students' percep-tions of the role of the tests in their vocabularvlearning shifted as instrLiction took on a combinedoral and written mediational approachi. In the directinstructioni of definitions focus, low performanceon the first test was importanit to the stucdents to thepoint of motivating themi to try usinig the wordsmore in their writinXg and class discussions. Althoughstudents' scores on the secondi vocabulary test inm-proved, many cornrnmented that the test wvas "notvery helpful or 'just an exercise for a grade."

316 | Journal of Adolesce

The final journal entries were written on the en-tire novel, and several imiprovemnents beyond thienumerical increase in words usecd correctly werealso nioted by the teacher and the students. Theteacher reflected

Students' selection of worcls and the manner inwvhich they used the words improved tremrencdos-ly. T hey usecd their vocabulary worrds in detaileclsentenices to state their opinions about the novel.Miost expressedt satisfaction in coimpleting the nov-el and confidence in their ability to nowv use wvordsw7hich adequately expressedl what they thotught.

A follow-up evaluiation was conducted to deter-mine if students sustained their feelings of self-

unt & Adult Literacy 45:4 December 2001/January 2002

confidence and satisfaction in their ability to usetheir vocabulary words in their writing. Anothiernovel, Great Expectations (Dickens, 1942), wasread 12 weeks after this study. In the final evaltua-tion of their reading of Great Expectations, stu-dents were given the opporttnity to select eitherwriting subjective shor-t essays or sunmmaries con-taining -15 of the 20 target vocabulary words usedwitli that novel. In this evaluation, 80% of the stu-dents selected the more diffictilt task of writingsumLmiaries usiIng the vocabulary words, and only20% chose to write the subjective essays.

Implications of the studqThis study was based oll comontn-sense research-based ideas about vocabulary instruction. Vocabu-larv words for instruction shotild comie from textsstudents will read in the classrooi, andl stuclentsshotuld be given multiple opportunities to use newwords in their speaking, listening, reading, ancdwriting (13lachowicz & Fisher, 1996; Blachowicz &Lee, 1991; Hennings, 2000; Rupley, Logan, &Nichols, 1999). Vocabulary instruction should allowstudents to discuss, elaborate, and demonstratemneanings of new words (Beck, Perfetti, &McKeown. 1')982). In the finial collaboration ses-sions, tihe teacher s comments showed how resultsof this classroom1 research stucly reaffirmed theseideas for her: "Although this project only lasted 4weeks, I gained tremenclous insight to the need tooffer students numerous reinforcernent opportuni-ties if vocabtulary acquisition is to occur."

The stLdy also addressed some cun-ent ideas tlhatare not commnon sense or well established in prac-tice, but that do intuitively make sense. Developingwordl kno-wledge should occur after reading a se-lection rather thaan vice versa, because the stoty canprovide a broad conceptual base for understandingunfamiliar words (Anderson & Nagy, 1991; Stahl &Vancil, 1985; Weir, 1991). As the students pro-gressed throtigh tlhe novel chapters and gainedmore story context, they accessed and used imorewords correctly. Vicabularv discussed as it directlyties into the plot, theme, and characters of the storywouldl provide contextual nmeaning beyond isolateddefinitions (Dole. Sloan, & Trathen, 1995).

In this sttidy, discussionr and writing wentbeyoncl holAw the words were tied to the story toinclude use of the words in oral cdiscussions al.out

the story and in written responses to it. Theteacher related,

In tlheir journals my stuclents showedi significantirmprovement using their vocabulary words afterthese words were reinforced in class dliscussionsthrough teachier talk and open-ended questions.Likewise, when I omitted specific wo )rds fiom thesereinforcenient discuLssions, students either incor-rectly uLsed or chiose not to use the omiiitted wordls.

More research is needed to clarify how teachierscan use discussion to adjust mediational support for

students' learning. Classroom studies using a variety

of literature with other populations ranging fromstrLuggling to lhigh-achieving students are needed.

Tlhe mnediation model design for classroom re-

search provided a dynanmic, collaborative framne-work for developing our knowledge aboutteaching vocabulary and transferring that knowl-edge to the teacher's classroom practice. Theteacher's summary comments during ouir final col-laboration session included the following:

I believe this project has been my tmost successful.Although traclitional tests do have a purpose. I foundthat in miy classes tthe coordination of writing anddiscussion provided a much better measurenment ofwhat miv students actually knew. Also mny stud1entshave continued to use in their writin-gs and in classdiscussio ns somte of these vocabhulary words.

Thiese comments illustrate how the knowledge she

gained through this action research study re-shaped the teacher's classroom instruction and as-sessment practices. She slhifted lher vocabularyinstruction from a traditional approachl that inclitd-ed defining words, miemorizing definitions, andassessing with matching and multiple-choice tests.Instead, the teacher encouraged use of the vocab-ulary during class disctussions and in student litera-ture response journals, andt she integratedvocabulary instruction with oral discussions andwrittein responses to the texts.

D3ixon-Krauss teatches at F!orida InternationalUn"versity (College of Eduation. ZEB 213,University Park Miami, FL 33199, USA). Shemay be reached by e-mail a rat. @tu.ed

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t & Adult Literacy 45:4 December 2001/January 2002

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