Chapter 11: Specific Word Instruction

1. Chapter 11: Specific Word Instruction Teaching Reading Sourcebook 2nd edition

2. Research on Specific Word Instruction • Focus on words that are contextualized in literature, important to text, and used in many situations. • Provide rich in-depth knowledge of words. • Provide clear student-friendly explanations and examples of word meanings. • Provide multiple exposures to words in more than one context. • Engage students to use words in new contexts and create associations among words.

3. Selecting Words to Teach • The Three Tier System: level of word utility • Tier one: These are basic words that rarely require instruction except for ESOL or word impoverished students. • Tier two: These are understood by mature language users, are central to comprehension, and are the best choice for explicit instruction. • Tier three: These are low frequency, specialized domains, often limited to content areas, and should be taught only as the words arise.*See Guidelines for Using the Three-Tier System on page 422.

4. Word Acquisition Sequence • Students acquire vocabulary in a relatively well-defined sequence that is ordered by vocabulary size rather than grade level. • Students (regardless of their grade) know certain words well, others only partially, and are unlikely to learn some. • Word focus should be on words that are partially known because they are likely to be learned. * See Categories of Word Knowledge on page 423.

5. Modified Criteria for Tier System for ELLs • Concreteness: Is the word abstract or concrete? Can it be shown or demonstrated? • Cognate status: Does it have a cognate? • Depth of meaning: Does it have multiple meanings? • Utility: Is the meaning of the word key to understanding selection?

6. Rich and Robust Instruction • Using vocabulary contextualized in literature • Text Talk • meaning vocabulary: Direct Explanation Method • method for independently reading text • Introducing specific words • student friendly definitions • teacher-created contexts • active engagement with words • Developing in-depth word knowledge • use the words • explore facets of word meaning • consider relationships among words • Extending word use beyond the classroom

7. When to Directly Introduce Specific Words

8. When to Assess and Intervene • Assessment that is tied to the instruction (e.g. target words) will provide better information about students’ specific learning. • Standardized tests provide a more global measure of vocabulary and are not usually feasible for classroom teachers. • Early intensive intervention is critical for students who enter school with impoverished vocabularies and are at risk for early failure in learning to read. • Rich and robust instruction of word meanings through storybook reading activities holds promise for decreasing vocabulary deficits among students in the primary grades.