Vocabulary Development

What is effective vocabulary instruction?

Unlocking Vocabulary InstructionWhat does vocabulary instruction look like in the classrooms at your school?

VOCABULARY

Add Variety and Novelty (Feinstein, 2009)

Use a dynamic opening (Curwin, 2010)

Make Personal connections (Curwin, 2010)

Provide effective questioning and have students question as well (Curwin, 2010)

Establish the Desired State

Tap into (or provide) background knowledge (Anderson and Peterson, 1984)

Encourage student exploration (Feinstein, 2009)

Emergence of Problem

Family StatusActual Differences

in Quantity of Words Heard

Actual Differences in Quality of Words

Heard

Welfare 616 words5 affirmations (Positive)

11 prohibitions (Negative)

Working Class 1,251 words 12 affirmations, 7 prohibitions

Professional 2,153 words 32 affirmations, 5 prohibitions

In a typical hour the average child hears:

Data Source: http://reading.uoregon.edu/big_ideas/voc/voc_what.php

Cumulative Vocabulary Experience

Children from welfare families: 500 wordsChildren from working class

families: 700 words

Children from professional families: 1,100 words

Family Status

Words heard per

hour

Words heard in a 100-hour

week

Words heard in a 5,200 hour

year

Words heard in 4

years

Welfare 616 62,000 3 million 13 millionWorking

Class 1,251 125,000 6 million 26 million

Professional 2,153 215,000 11 million 45 million

Cumulative Vocabulary by the time a child was three years old:

Data Source: http://reading.uoregon.edu/big_ideas/voc/voc_what.php

Percentile Rank

Minutes Per Day Words Read Per Year

Books Text Books Text

98 65.0 67.3 4,358,000 4,733,00090 21.2 33.4 1,823,000 2,357,00080 14.2 24.6 1,146,000 1,697,00070 9.6 16.9 622,000 1,168,00060 6.5 13.1 432,000 722,00050 4.6 9.2 282,000 601,00040 3.2 6.2 200,000 421,00030 1.8 4.3 106,000 251,00020 0.7 2.4 21,000 134,00010 0.1 1.0 8,000 51,0002 0 0 0 8,000

Student Independent Reading

Data Source: http://reading.uoregon.edu/big_ideas/voc/voc_what.php

Adolescent Literacy• Only 30% of secondary students read

proficiently (nationally)• 89% of Hispanic and 86% of African-American

middle and high school students read below grade level (NCES, 2005)

• 96% of 8th grade LEP students scored below the basic level (4% scored proficient or advanced on 2005 NAEP)

Read Like a Pro!

Word Splash

Levels of Vocabulary Knowledge

Tier 1

Tier 2

Tier 3

Tier 1 Words: • Mostly learned without

instruction• Everyday words typically known

by all• Word is recognized instantly and

the meaning is known• Often used as a hook on which a

new word’s meaning can connect– Ex: summer, family, hungry, big

Tier 2 Words: Academic Vocabulary:

• These words appear frequently in the vocabularies of mature language users (both oral & written).

•They are not connected to a particular domain/content but are pervasive.

•Meaning is understood when heard but not known well enough to be used actively

•Ideal for explicit instruction because they appear in a variety of texts (across contents) and are part of mature oral and written vocabularies

Ex: fascinate, unfortunate, mentioned, analyze, summarize

Tier 3 Words:

• Specialized words often related to a specific

content area.• Word is not typically

known-not even in oral vocabulary

Ex: photosynthesis, ecosystem, ectoplasm, quadratic

Selecting Vocabulary

“A Writer Observes”Walter Dean Myers

Page 64

Vocabulary ActivitiesWhat does effective and engaging vocabulary instruction look like?

Multiple-Meaning Words

Comics and Mad Libs

Kinesthetic Vocabulary

It’s Your Turn!1. Work as a table team.2. Brainstorm strategies and methods

to use to teach the vocabulary words within the text selection.

3. Write one strategy/idea per slip of paper.

4. Add your ideas to the strategy wall.5. No repetitions and strategies

mentioned in today’s session cannot be used.

Closing1. Work as a team.2. Write key ideas and

thoughts about today’s session on the puzzle piece.

3. Add your team’s puzzle piece to the class puzzle.

Urban Institute WIKI

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