Vocabulary Instruction in support of New Hanover County s Problem Solving Model April 2008 Presenter: Chris Gordon

2. Vocabulary knowledge encompasses all the words we must know to Access our background knowledge Express our ideas and communicate Learn about new concepts

3. Predictive Power Of Early Vocabulary Best kindergarten predictors of 1st and 2nd Grades reading achievement: Phoneme Awareness Alphabet Knowledge Best kindergarten predictor of Grades 3 & up reading achievement: Oral Vocabulary

5. Oral Vocabulary Differences For Disadvantaged Children Total Oral Vocabulary 2700 words middle SES 1st graders 1800 words low SES 1st graders New Words Per Year Primary Grades 3000 words/year middle SES 1000 words/year low SES Top high school seniors know 4 times as many words as lower-performing classmates.

6. How Many Words???? 18 month needs to learn avg. of ___ new words a day to have avg. vocab. of approx. ______ words by the time he or she is 6 years old (Senechal & Cornell, 1993) Children typically learn _________ words a year (over 8 words a day) between 3rd and 12th grades (Nagy & Anderson, 1984)

7. Vocabulary Used in a Variety of Sources

8. Variation In Amount Of Independent Reading

10. The Vocabulary - Comprehension Connection 90%-95% To fully understand text, students need to have an established level of knowledge for most, but not all of the words they read.

11. 80% Accuracy “Just then the ___ line came ___ under his foot, where he had kept a ___ of the line, and he dropped his ___ and felt the ___ of the small ___ ___ pull as he held the line ___ and ___ to ___it in. The ___ ___ as he pulled in and he could see the blue back of the fish in the ___ and the ___ of his sides before he ___ him over the side and into the boat. He ___ in the ___ in the sun, ___ and bullet ___, his big, ___ eyes ___ as he thumped his life out against the ___ of the boat with the quick ___ ___ of his neat, fast-moving tail”

12. 100% Accuracy “Just then the stern line came taut under his foot, where he had kept a loop of the line, and he dropped his oars and felt the weight of the small tuna’s shivering pull as he held the line firm and commenced to haul it in. The shivering increased as he pulled in and he could see the blue back of the fish in the water and the gold of his sides before he swung him over the side and into the boat. He lay in the stern in the sun, compact and bullet shaped, his big, unintelligent eyes staring as he thumped his life out against the planking of the boat with the quick shivering strokes of his neat, fast-moving tail” Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea

13. What is it to “know a word” Eight separate facets of knowledge for a word: Knowledge of word’s spoken form Written form How it behaves in sentences Words commonly found near the word Frequency in oral and written language Conceptual meaning How and when it is commonly used Association with other words

14. National Reading Panel Findings On Vocabulary Instruction Vocabulary should be taught: both directly and indirectly with repetition and exposure to words in multiple contexts by presenting words in rich contexts by using task restructuring with active student engagement with multiple methods including computer technology

15. Teaching Vocabulary Give both definitional and contextual information Involve children more actively in word learning Provide them with opportunities to process information and make connections Number of instructional encounters: between ___ and ____ are necessary for students to have ownership of instructed words

23. Selecting Words For Vocabulary “The word is unfamiliar to children, but the concept represented by the word is one they can understand and use in conversation.” Examples: curious, mischief, impress, nuisance, clever, weary, persistent, dazzling, cross

24. Selecting Words For Vocabulary From Books Read to or by Students

25. High-Frequency Words – Which ones? Words necessary for comprehension of selected text - tier 2 words 2300 root words derived from Dale-Chall list of 3000 words commonly known by grade 4 – (Found in appendix A – Language and Reading Success by Andrew Biemiller – published by Brookline Books) Coxhead’s (2000)Academic Word List http://www.vuw.ac.nz/lals/research/awl

26. Framework for “Text Talk” to teach vocabulary Provide definitional information through a friendly explanation 2. Contextualize the word within the text just read 3. Provide an example beyond the text context so students can immediately begin to decontextualize the word 4. Present a way for students to interact with the word to initiate building connections to their own experiences (Beck & McKeown, 2006)

27. How Do I Write Child-Friendly Definitions? Dictionary definition: persistent: persevering obstinately; insistently repetitive or continuous Provide an explanation in easily understood terms Use high-frequency words that are familiar to students

28. Write A Child-Friendly Definition For One Of These Words: Dictionary definitions: concentrate: to direct one’s thoughts or attention. patience: the quality of being patient; capacity of calm endurance timid: shrinking from dangerous or difficult circumstances hero: a man noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose

29. “Text Talk” example with morsel from Dr. DeSoto (Steig, 1982) A morsel is a small piece of food, no bigger than a bite 2. In the story, the fox began thinking about Dr. DeSoto as a tasty morsel. That means he thought of him as a little something to eat. 3. If you had one little piece of your sandwich left and your friend wants you to go out to the playground, you might say, “Let me finish this one last morsel.” 4. When might someone only want a morsel of food? Beck & McKeown, 2006

30. Decontextualize Vocabulary: Questions, Reasons, And Examples If you are walking around a dark room, you need to do it cautiously. Why? What are some other things that need to be done cautiously? What is something you can do to impress your teacher? Why? What is something that you might do to impress your mother? Which of these things might be extraordinary? Why or why not? A shirt that was comfortable, or a shirt that washed itself?

31. Decontexualize Vocabulary: Making Choices If any of the things I say might be examples of people clutching something, say “Clutching”. If not, don’t say anything. Holding on tightly to a purse Holding a fistful of money Softly petting a cat’s fur Holding on to branches when climbing a tree Blowing bubbles and trying to catch them

32. Working With New Words In Depth Use all the words together with one of the following activities: Sentences Choices One context Same format Children create examples Up until this point the teacher has provided the words and the students have helped with the definitions and examples. At this point the student must use the new words and make choices based on the different meanings. Teachers have a number of choices here which will be based on which activities fit the words being taught and on providing a variety of exercises from one group of words to another. These activities are explained on subsequent slides. With young children, all of these activities are oral. With older students some may be done in writing but then answers should be thoroughly explained and discussed by the students. Up until this point the teacher has provided the words and the students have helped with the definitions and examples. At this point the student must use the new words and make choices based on the different meanings. Teachers have a number of choices here which will be based on which activities fit the words being taught and on providing a variety of exercises from one group of words to another. These activities are explained on subsequent slides. With young children, all of these activities are oral. With older students some may be done in writing but then answers should be thoroughly explained and discussed by the students.

33. Decontextualize Vocabulary: Sentences Sometimes more than one of the instructed words can be used in a sentence. For example, in the case of prefer, ferocious, and budge, we could develop the following question: Would you prefer to budge a sleeping lamb or a ferocious lion? Why? The why question is very important here. The why question is very important here.

34. Decontextualize Vocabulary:Choices In the case of pounce, sensible and raucous, we could ask children to choose between two words: If you get your clothes ready to wear to school before you go to sleep, would that be sensible or raucous? If you and your friends were watching a funny TV show together and began to laugh a lot, would you sound pounce or raucous? The teacher should, of course, ask the students to explain their choices. Activity: Have participants try the previous slide or use this slide to create sentences or choices with their words.The teacher should, of course, ask the students to explain their choices. Activity: Have participants try the previous slide or use this slide to create sentences or choices with their words.

35. One Context For All The Words If difficult to find relationships between the target words, use a single context. For immense, miserable and leisurely: What might an immense plate of spaghetti look like? Why might you feel miserable after eating all of that spaghetti? What would it look like to eat spaghetti in a leisurely way? Here it might be difficult to put these words in one sentence, but the teacher has come up with a familiar scene in which all three words can be discussed. In in response to the first question a student said, “Big?” The teacher would seek to have the student elaborate. “Tell me what an immense plate would look like on your dining table?” Activity: Ask participants to answer the questions in ways they would like their students to answer them.Here it might be difficult to put these words in one sentence, but the teacher has come up with a familiar scene in which all three words can be discussed. In in response to the first question a student said, “Big?” The teacher would seek to have the student elaborate. “Tell me what an immense plate would look like on your dining table?” Activity: Ask participants to answer the questions in ways they would like their students to answer them.

36. Same Format Use the same format for all 3 words: If you satisfy your curiosity, do you need to find out more or have you found about all that you need? Why? If a dog was acting menacing, would you want to pet it or move away? Why? If you wanted to see something exquisite, would you go to a museum or a grocery store? Why? Here the same format, “If you.., what choice would you make.” Note again the “Why.”Here the same format, “If you.., what choice would you make.” Note again the “Why.”

37. Children Create Examples In previous format the child was making and explaining the choice. Another format is to have child create examples : If there was an emergency at an 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? Here the children are creating examples, but the teacher is assuring success by providing a context. Beck et al. also suggest that teachers encourage students to notice the words being studied outside of school and to use the words in their talk in class and out. Teachers create Word Wizard bulletin boards and note on them student use of the words. Older students are tested on the words and may have review words from previous units on any unit test. Teachers encourage an atmosphere of curiosity and interest in words in their classrooms. Activity: Use either one context, same format or create examples with words.Here the children are creating examples, but the teacher is assuring success by providing a context. Beck et al. also suggest that teachers encourage students to notice the words being studied outside of school and to use the words in their talk in class and out. Teachers create Word Wizard bulletin boards and note on them student use of the words. Older students are tested on the words and may have review words from previous units on any unit test. Teachers encourage an atmosphere of curiosity and interest in words in their classrooms. Activity: Use either one context, same format or create examples with words.

38. Decontextualize one of the words that you have just defined Use questions Ask for reasons Give choices Ask for explanations Place words in different contexts

39. Marzano’s Six Step Process for Teaching Vocabulary

46. Humor Puns and jokes are motivating and provide a way for vocabulary to be repeated Clever word play Flu – a deceased fly “Hink Pinks” What do you call an identical smile? (a twin grin) Homographs We polish the Polish furniture The soldier decided to desert in the desert Puns can be based on multi-meanings or sound alikes. A bicycle can’t stand alone because it is two-tired In democracy it’s your vote that counts; in feudalism it’s your count that votes

47. Word Consciousness – the goal! Word consciousness is a complex process involving: A feel for how written language works Sensitivity to syntax Awareness of word parts (morphology) In-depth knowledge of specific words

50. Vocabulary Map Can use to teach a concept or build more knowledge about a word. Can use nonexamples as well as examplesCan use to teach a concept or build more knowledge about a word. Can use nonexamples as well as examples