Beyond the Basal
Mysty Vaughn
A large vocabulary is
associated often with a higher level of education
often linked to higher reading levels andperformance in school (text comprehension)
Children from lower SES groups tend to havelower vocabulary knowledge
“First-grade children from higher-SES groups knewabout twice as many words as lower SES children(Graves, Brunetti, & Slater, 1982; Graves & Slater,1987)
Requires much repetition
Children need to read enough to be exposedto appropriate context
Children must know how to infer wordmeaning from context
Types of context:
Misdirective: opposite meaning
Nondirective: doesn’t help or hurt understanding
General: provides just enough information
Directive: helps to lead thinking to get ideasacross
Children from lower SES groups are not exposedto the amount of reading materials needed forvocabulary development to come only fromcontextual reading
“…it must be acknowledged that relying on widereading for vocabulary growth ads to the inequities inindividual differences in vocabulary knowledge.Struggling readers do not read well enough to makewide reading an option. To acquire word knowledgefrom reading requires adequate decoding skills, theability to recognize that a word in unknown, and thecompetency of being able to extract meaningfulinformation about the word from context.” (Beck,McKeown & Kucan, p. 6)
Tier I words: do not need direct instructionin schools (familiar words)
Tier II words: these are high frequency wordsfor mature language users (approximately7,000 words)
Tier III words: low frequency words that aredomain specific. These are best learnedwhen the specific need arises
Range of vocabulary knowledge
Fast Mapping: only word meaning
Extended Mapping: full understanding and use
Stage 1: Never saw the word before
Stage 2: Heard the word before, but doesn’t knowwhat it means
Stage 3: Recognizes the word in context as havingsomething to do with the topic
Stage 4: Knows the word well and can apply
Current assessments have difficulty determiningStage 4 vocabulary understanding when theyoften use matching or true/false
Look up the word in a dictionary and write a sentence(DULL!)
This does not allow kids to be interested and aware of wordsaround them
Dictionary definitions can be very confusing
Only teach grade-level vocabulary
It is ok to teach higher level vocabulary as long as kids canrelate the word to known terms and the word is useful to theireveryday life
With younger students they do not typically get highervocabulary words from the materials they read. Those aremostly Tier I words because of their reading ability
Teachers need to use teacher read trade books that have richvocabulary or use additional enriching vocabulary to makeconnections to the stories
“…they can understand much more sophisticated content presentedin oral language than they can read independently.” (p. 48)
Wouldn’t this occur with not just younger readers, but strugglingreaders as well?
Give student-friendly explanations!
Share the word and how it is typically used
Explain the meaning in everyday language thatkids can understand (these definitions are usuallymuch longer than typical dictionary definitions)
Use instructional contexts that have theword in it after it is introduced to build astronger connection between the word andits meaning.
Engaging Activities
Word Associations: provide a list of possibleassociations and students choose which gotogether and then explain why
Have you Ever: describe a time when you might,how might you, why might you…
Applause, Applause: clap to show how much youwould like to be described by the word and why
Idea Completions: provide students with part of asentence they have to complete (The skiingteacher said Maria was a novice on the ski slopesbecause…)
Vocabu-Lit by Perfection Learninghttp://www.perfectionlearning.com/vocabu-lit-program
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Step 1: Ten targeted words are introduced in the context of anexcerpt from a fiction or nonfiction book, short story, essay, orpoem. Students practice
using prior knowledge
determining meaning from context
Step 2: Students complete several exercises that teach strategiesand reinforce word meanings. Activities include
finding correct dictionary definitions
inferring meaning
recognizing word associations and relationships
using targeted words in new contexts
word play
Step 3: Chapter tests and unit reviews monitor student progress.Literature-based vocabulary program
Word Wisdom by Zaner-Bloser
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discover the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning wordsand phrases, use context clues, analyze meaningful word parts,and consult reference materials.
demonstrate understanding of word relationships and nuances inword meanings.
acquire and use general academic and domain-specific words andphrases for reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
unlock the meaning of new words in context with key strategies.
process new words through activities that reinforce meanings.
apply new words through activities that access higher thinkingskills.
Article on the need for vocabulary instruction and its correlation to the CCSS
Word Wisdom: An Effective, Research-Based Vocabulary Program by Jerry Zutell, PhD
Cartoon Creator
VoiceThread
Tagxedo.com
Xtranormal.com
Beck, McKeown & Kucan, (2002). BringingWords to Life: Robust VocabularyInstruction. New York: The Guilford Press.