vocabulary instruction explicit instruction of new words

VOCABULARY INSTRUCTION EXPLICIT INSTRUCTION OF NEW WORDSWhy? What? How?

Jen Madison Lenny Vermaas

jmadison@esu6.org lvermaas@esu6.org

June 10, 2010

www.twitter.com/ESU6LA

UPDATES ON TWITTER!

CREATING A NAME TENT Fold the paper in half hamburger style

On the open end, approximately 1 inch from the bottom, fold the paper to the middle or inside. (This creates the bottom.)

On one side write your first name in large letters (2 inches tall).

WORD POWER 2006 Nebraska Volleyball National

Champions

Each Husker selected a word as a guide during the 2006 season.

Belief, Presence, Love, Fearless, Trust, Impact, Discipline, Serve, Intensity, Impact, Moxie, Passion

Jordon Larson, passion: “I want to come into every match showing the love for the game, how much I want to play it.”

Sarah Pavan, impact: “I wanted to make a bigger impact both on and off the court this year in terms of leadership and my play.”

VOCABULARY EMPHASIS Vocabulary is so important in any subject. Think of a term that describes you and be

able to provide a reason.My math term is trapezoid.

Write that term on the other side of the name tent.

Be ready to share your term and reason.

FACETS OFPURPOSEFUL VOCABULARY INSTRUCTION Provide rich and varied language experiences

discussion, focused attention on words, being read to, wide and frequent reading

Teach word-learning strategies Using context, using morphology (word parts), using

a dictionary

Foster word consciousness Awareness, interest in words and their meanings,

understanding of communicative power of language

Teach individual words

(Graves, 2006)

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS Why should I teach some words

explicitly?

What criteria should I consider when choosing words?

How might I introduce different kinds of terms most effectively?

How might I encourage lasting and deep understanding of important vocabulary?

WHY SHOULD I TEACH SOME WORDS EXPLICITLY?

Explain why teaching individual words explicitly is important.

REFLECTIONS & FORWARD THINKING

RUN THE TOURNAMENT:MOST COMPELLING REASONS

Use a “tournament bracket” to decide which research snapshot is most compelling:

Line up (or deal) the research snapshot cards in random pairs.

For each pair, decide which should advance between the two cards based on the degree of importance and relevance toward the question: Why should I teach some words explicitly?

Once the winner and runner up are decided, choose one consolation card from any of the others.

WHY SHOULD I TEACH SOME WORDS EXPLICITLY?

Which reasons are most compelling to you?

What concerns or questions must be addressed?

Explicit vocabulary instruction “can deepen students’

knowledge of word meanings” to help them “understand what they are hearing or

reading” and well as “help them use words accurately in

speaking and writing.”

(National Institute for Literacy, 2003, p. 36)

WHAT CRITERIA SHOULD I CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING WORDS?

Understand criteria for selecting words to teach explicitly.

Evaluate words from a unit or reading material based on appropriate criteria.

List 5 to 10 words that you currently teach (or are planning to teach) explicitly.

Vocabulary instruction

should focus on critical words.

National Reading Panel (2000)

PURPOSE FOR TEACHING To understand a specific text better

To learn a specific concept and its label

To improve comprehension of texts in general

To increase one’s understanding of some aspect of generative word knowledge

To improve writingNagy & Heibert, 2007, presentation

WORD LEARNING TASKS

Learning a basic oral vocabulary

Learning to read known words

Learning new meanings for known words

Learning new words representing known concepts

Learning new words representing new concepts

Clarifying, enriching the meanings of known words

Moving words into expressive vocabularies

Building English learners’ vocabularies

CRITERIA FOR WORD SELECTION Word Knowledge

prior knowledge necessary

understanding

Frequency & Distribution rate of occurrence in

English text

Importance reading comprehension

(particular selection, general comprehension)

content-specific achievement

Utility outside of particular

school context instructional potential generativity morphology (word

parts) semantic-relatedness

(categories of meaning)

Conceptual difficulty

WORD KNOWLEDGE Word Knowledge Continuum

Rich, decontextualized knowledge of meaning, relationship to other words, extension to metaphorical uses

Knowledge, but inability to recall readily enough for application

Narrow, context-bound knowledgeGeneral senseNo knowledge

(Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2002)

Unders

TYPES OF WORDS Literary

Found in reading and sophisticated speaking

relatively low frequency flustered, rambunctious,

yelped

General academic words found in academic

discourse (text & speech) relatively high frequency,

wide distribution specific, analysis,

method, achieve

Content-specific necessary for content

achievement relatively low

frequency electoral college,

algorithm, gerund, photosynthesis

School-task labels for academic

tasks Venn diagram,

journal, learning log

(Hiebert & Lubliner, 2008)

WORD HIERARCHY

(Beck, McKeown, 1985)

CONCEPTUAL DIFFICULTY Known concept that

can be expressed with a one-word synonym or familiar phrase Often found in narrative

text Often can be learned

from context or understand essential meaning of text without deep word knowledge

altercation (fight) apologize (to say you’re

sorry)

Unknown concept that can be learned from available experiences & information (background knowledge)

naive independence embarrassment nostalgia elation

(Nagy, Anderson, & Herman, 1987 adapted from Hiebert, 2008, presentation)

CONCEPTUAL DIFFICULTY Unknown concept

requiring learning of new factual information or related system of concepts Less likely to be learned

from context Understanding meaning

often necessary for comprehension of academic text

Often more abstract Often polysemus

(having multiple meanings)

divide (as boundary between drainage basins)

democracy

periodic sentence

(Nagy, Anderson, & Herman, 1987 in Hiebert, 2008, presentation)

MORPHOLOGICAL FAMILIES Morpheme – smallest unit of meaning

bases, rootsprefixessuffixes

(http://www.wordworkskingston.com/)

"Morphological knowledge is a

wonderful dimension of the child's uncovering of "what's in a word," and one of the least

exploited aids to fluent comprehension" (Wolf,

2007, p. 130).

SEMANTIC-RELATEDNESS Words that fit into categorical clusters

physical movements of people/animals

chasing grip grasped

raid burrowed straining(Hiebert, 2008, presentation)

cognitive/affective/communication

prepare confused accomplished

groan healed wincedmotions associated with objects (sometimes living things)

bouncing gusted ignite

crammed overturned nicked

CRITERIA FOR WORD SELECTION Word Knowledge

prior knowledge necessary

understanding

Frequency & Distribution rate of occurrence in

English text

Importance reading comprehension

(particular selection, general comprehension)

content-specific achievement

Utility outside of particular

school context instructional potential generativity morphology (word

parts) semantic-

relatedness(categories of meaning)

Conceptual difficulty

QUESTIONS WORTH ASKING Is this word unknown?

Is this word critical to understanding (the particular text, the particular subject matter)?

Is this a word students are likely to encounter again (in sophisticated language use, in this particular subject, in other domains)?

Is this word conceptually difficult (abstract, new concept, multiple meanings)?

Does this word have high instructional potential (morphology, connections to other words, word learning)?

Review your list of words.

Does each match your purpose?

Based on the appropriate criteria, does each merit instructional time and energy?

Review your list of words.

Does each match your purpose?

Based on the appropriate criteria, does each merit instructional time and energy?

HOW MIGHT I INTRODUCE DIFFERENT KINDS OF TERMS MOST EFFECTIVELY?Know (and ultimately use) different types of instruction to explicitly teach different types of words.

How do I currently introduce new words?

EFFECTIVE VOCABULARY INSTRUCTION Vocabulary instruction should focus on critical words

Effective vocabulary instruction does not rely on definitions.

Teaching word parts enhances understanding.

Different types of words require different types of instruction.

Active engagement improves learning.

Repeated exposure is essential.

CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE DIRECT VOCABULARY INSTRUCTION (MARZANO, 2004)

Students must represent their knowledge of words in linguistic and nonlinguistic ways.

Effective vocabulary instruction involves the gradual shaping of word meanings through multiple exposures.

Teaching word parts enhances students’ understanding of terms.

Students should discuss the terms they are learning.

Students should play with words.

Instruction should focus on terms that have a high probability of enhancing academic success.

RATE YOUR PRACTICE Rate your current vocabulary instruction

according to the characteristics of effective vocabulary instruction.

+ My instruction demonstrates this characteristic consistently and intentionally.

√ My instruction demonstrates this characteristic on occasion and/or with some intention.

- My instruction demonstrates this characteristic rarely.

FOR THE STRONGEST POSSIBLE RESULTS… Include both definitional and contextual information.

Involve students in active and deep processing of the words.

Provide students with multiple exposures to the word.

Review, rehearse, and remind students about the word in various contexts over time.

Involve students in discussions of the word’s meaning.

Spend a significant amount of time on the word.(Graves, 2006)

“Often, it will be necessary to teach words in ways that

do not consume large amounts of time and do not

produce the strongest possible results…

…In these cases, think of your initial instruction on a

word as just that—initial instruction, an initial

experience that starts students on the long road to learning a full and rich meaning for the word.”

(Graves, 2006, p. 70)

QUICK INTRODUCTION Learning new words for known concepts in text

During read-aloud Before students read text

Read-aloud Provide known synonym/descriptive phrase after

the word (without disrupting the narration)

Prior to student reading Display or quick note with target word and known

synonym/descriptive phrase Preview descriptions provided in textbooks

(supplement as necessary)

Reception Check

Full Bars…Decent Reception…Dropped Call?

CONTEXT-RELATIONSHIP Learning new words representing known

concepts

1. Create a brief paragraph that gives the meaning of the word.

2. Follow the paragraph with a multiple-choice item that checks students’ understanding of the word.

3. Show the paragraph, read it aloud, and read the multiple-choice options.

4. Pause to give students a moment to answer the item, provide the correct answer, and discuss the word and any questions they have.

INDOLENCE

Fortunately, none of my English 9 R students could be described as indolent. Whereas an indolent student would try to sleep during class, slouch in her seat, procrastinate, and generally avoid exerting any effort, my students are diligent, hard-working, eager, and achievement-driven. I would be worried if someone described an English 9 R student as indolent, because it is worse than just occasional tiredness or laziness. Indolence implies a tendency to be lazy much of the time.

INDOLENT MEANS

A. often lazyB. sometimes lazyC. often hardworkingD. sometimes hardworking

Reception Check

INTRODUCING SPECIFIC WORDS

1. Student Friendly Explanations Characterize word and typical use Explain meaning in everyday language

2. Teacher-Created Contexts Develop instructional contexts that provide

strong clues to meaning

3. Active Engagement with Words Short, playful, lively opportunities for

students to interact with words and meanings right away

(Beck et al. 2002 in Diamond & Gutlohn, 2006)

OBSERVE:VOCABULARY INSTRUCTIONAL ROUTINE

What instructional steps were used to introduce each of the words?

For which kinds of words / word learning tasks would this routine be most appropriate?

What other effective instructional practices are worth noting?

VOCABULARY INSTRUCTIONAL ROUTINE

(Anita Archer, http://www.scoe.org/pub/htdocs/archer-videos.html)

OBSERVE:VOCABULARY INSTRUCTIONAL ROUTINE

What instructional steps were used to introduce each of the words?

For which kinds of words / word learning tasks would this routine be most appropriate?

What other effective instructional practices are worth noting?

VOCABULARY INSTRUCTIONAL ROUTINE

Learning new words representing known concepts

1. Introduce the word2. Present a student-friendly

explanation3. Illustrate the word with examples4. Check understanding5. Review a group of words

STUDENT FRIENDLY EXPLANATIONS Consider resist

Dictionary: “to withstand the force or the effect of”

Student-friendly: “when a person struggles or fights not to give in to something”

Write a student-friendly explanation for one of your words.

TEACHER-CREATED CONTEXTS Consider convey

Literary Context: “Of the Right Whale, the best outline pictures are in Scoresby; but they are drawn on too small a scale to convey a desirable impression” (Melville, Moby Dick).

Teacher Created: The speaker was successful in conveying his main ideas to the audience. They all understood what he said, and most agreed with him…

Write a few sentences using your word in context to clarify meaning.

ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT WITH WORDS Consider interior

Questions Jake thought it would be fun to

explore the interior of Alaska. Why might you want to spend time in the interior of Nebraska?

Example or Non-example? Which tells about the interior

of Oregon? On their vacation, the family

visited a lake in central Oregon.

On their vacation, the family visited the beaches and coast of Oregon?

Finish the idea After a trip to the coast,

we headed to the interior of the country because _____.

Have you ever…? Can you describe a place

you know about that is located in the interior of Nebraska?

Choices If what I say could be in

the interior of a big island, say “interior”…

A mountain An ocean beach

CHORAL RESPONSE STRATEGIES

Students respond in unison to teacher promptsReinforce accurate pronunciationIncrease student responsesIncrease engagement of all studentsProvide elaborative practice

QUESTIONS & CHORAL RESPONSE Making Choices

Provide contexts for students to decide whether the target word is appropriate or which word of those given is best.

To differentiate: visual cues literal/recall stems abstract or higher order stems (and ask students to

justify)

(Beck, McKeown, Kucan, 2002, p. 57)

MAKING CHOICES

loquacious or reserved?

many students after an exciting event

an introvert

most new students

someone who “likes the sound of her own voice”

T-P-S: Think of a time when you (or someone you know) might have been described as loquacious.

(Beck, McKeown, Kucan, 2002)

MAKING CHOICES glimpse scrutinize

Which can you do more quickly?

inspector spectator What would you probably call every person watching a

football game?

largo ritardando Which tells me to slow down gradually?

(Beck, McKeown, Kucan, 2002, p. 80-81)

VOCABULARY CONTINUUM Encourage student discussion and

elaborative processing of meaning among synonyms or related words.

VOCABULARY CONTINUUM

mistake error blunder

hate dislike loathe abhor

adore cherish blunder

Encourage student discussion!

STUDENT DISCUSSION Which of the words is more intense?

Which word works best in a specific context?

Which word do you understand best? Or least?

Which synonym best represent this word?

YES – NO - WHY Encourage discussion and elaborative rehearsal

1. Provide interesting prompt using target word that requires students to take a position.

2. Students answer yes or no and explain briefly in writing or discussion (2 sentences maximum, but must be complete).

Should teachers focus their explicit instruction of vocabulary on sesquipedalian terms?

Yes, I agree with this assertion because ____. No, I do not agree with this assertion because ____.

ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT WITH WORDS

Questions

Example / Non-

example

Finish the Idea

Have you ever…?

Choices

Other?

Create one way to engage your students with your target word.

Reception Check

BUILDING ACADEMIC VOCABULARY:

THE SIX-STEP METHOD

Marzano, R. (2004). Building background knowledge for academic achievement. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Marzano, R. (2005). Building academic vocabulary: Teacher’s manual. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

BUILDING ACADEMIC VOCABULARYA SIX-STEP PROCESS

Learning new words representing known or unknown concepts

4. Engage students in word activities

5. Discuss words

6. Engage student “play” with words

1. Introduce word

2. Students generalize meaning

3. Students create nonlinguistic representation

(Marzano, 2004)

PLEASE ANSWER: Should teachers focus their direct instruction

of vocabulary on sesquipedalian terms?

Rate your understanding of the word sesquipedalian.

1 I’ve never heard this word before.

2 I’ve heard this word, but I don’t really know what it means.

3 I know the general meaning of this word, though I cannot specifically define it.

4 Whether spoken or written, I know this word well and understand its meaning.

SESQUIPEDALIAN etymology (analysis of word origins &

parts)sesqui (Latin, half as much again)ped (foot)-ian (one that is, one who)

Examples:• antidisestablishmentarianism • pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis • floccinaucinihilipilification

SESQUIPEDALIAN

Everything that coruscates with effulgence is not ipso facto aurous

. --All that glitters is not gold.

<http://www.wordsources.info/words-mod-sesquipedalian-1-16.html>

“Nancy and Sluggo”

PLEASE: Rate your understanding of the word

sesquipedalian.

Should teachers focus their direct instruction of vocabulary on sesquipedalian terms?

EXPERIENCE & OBSERVE Strategy observer

What steps/processes did you observe?

Participant observerWhat words, behaviors, evidence of

student learning did you notice?

ParticipantsWhat did you learn? What worked for you?

How did you feel as a learner using this strategy?

BUILDING ACADEMIC VOCABULARY

STEPS 1 - 3

Massed Practice

1. Introduce word Student friendly descriptions, examples,

explanations, images, etc. Must connect to students’ prior

knowledge

3. Students create nonlinguistic

representationCaution!

Monitor understanding carefully May require more than one session

Caution! Monitor understanding carefully May require more than one session

637 percentile pts.

higher than… …students who kept repeating definitions.

421 percentile pts. higher

than… …students who were using the terms in a sentence.

Students who used imagery to learn vocabulary, on average, performed…

# of studies

(Pickering, 2007, ASCD presentation)

RESEARCH ON IMAGERY AS ELABORATION

Reception Check

CONCEPT OF DEFINITION MAP Learning new words representing known concepts

or those that can be accessed through student experience / prior knowledge

SEMANTIC MAP Clarifying, enriching the meanings of known

1. Teacher presents important concept before reading.

2. Students brainstorm related words.

3. Teacher records and adds.

4. Class classifies to show relationships.

5. Teacher highlights target words.

6. Students add during/after reading.

Discussion is essential!

SEMANTIC MAP

What specific methods would be effective for the words I need to teach well?• Name it.• Describe it.• Explain why it’s

HOW MIGHT I ENCOURAGE LASTING AND DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF IMPORTANT VOCABULARY?

Understand the importance of distributed practice

Identify relevant strategies for classroom implementation

BUILDING ACADEMIC VOCABULARYA SIX-STEP PROCESS

Massed Practice

initial word learning

Distributive Practice

periodically

all previous words

4. Engage students in word activities

5. Discuss words

6. Engage student “play” with words

1. Introduce word Student friendly descriptions, examples,

explanations, images, etc. Must connect to students’ prior knowledge

3. Students create nonlinguistic representation

MASSED VS. DISTRIBUTED PRACTICE 24 focused practices to achieve 80%

competency

Massed Practice

Distributed Practice

(Marzano, Pickering, & Pollock, 2001, p. 67)

MASSED & DISTRIBUTED PRACTICE

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5

Important Assumption:“Learning” implies that students can recall, understand, and use information for the long term.

Students must represent their knowledge of words in linguistic and nonlinguistic ways.

Effective vocabulary instruction involves the gradual shaping of word meanings through multiple exposures.

Teaching word parts enhances students’ understanding of terms.

Students should discuss the terms they are learning.

Students should play with words.

Instruction should focus on terms that have a high probability of enhancing academic success.

FREQUENT STUDENT SELF-ASSESSMENT Students self-rate level of word knowledge. Encourages student reflection, discussion

STUDENT-CREATED DICTIONARIES Students maintain a collection of words

and elaborative information that is periodically reviewed, expanded, and shared.Synonyms, antonyms, semantically-related

words, pictures, authentic text, etc.

Various formsTeacher-created template, note cards, matrix,

using table of contents, electronic databaseTeacher-generated lists, student-generated

ASCD. (2005). Building Academic Vocabulary: Student Notebook. Retrieved

September 20, 2006, from http://shop.ascd.org/productdisplay.cfm?productid=105154e

VOCABULARY MATRIX

< , >, ≤

Word Description

Word Parts Related Words

Visual

inequalitya relationship that is not equal

prefix: in- (not)root: equalsuffix: -ity (changes from adj to noun)

equalityequationequalinoperableinedibleintolerableIndependentjovialityindividualityneutrality

“Provide students with multiple

opportunities to MUCK AROUND

with words.”

(my friend, Lenny Vermaas)

FLASH CARD PLUS a spreadsheet that will create cards that can be

used for multiple reinforcement activities: Flash cards Inside/outside circle I have…Who has…? Bingo Jeopardy Classification tasks

http://manila.esu6.org/lvermaas/stories/storyReader$66

INSIDE-OUTSIDE CIRCLE Pass out cards to every student. (Duplicate

cards can be used.)

Number off students by 1 (outside) and 2 (inside)

Match up so that each person is facing a partner.

Outside circle shares their word or definition; inside circle provides answer

SWITCH CARDS, outside circle rotate left

I HAVE… WHO HAS…? Students practice pronouncing words,

speaking clearly, and reinforcing definitions.

Pass out cards randomly. Ex. I have a right triangle who has an angle that

is less than 90 degrees. Who has…?

Students respond as prompted.

BINGO Have students put the words on a bingo

sheet.

Students place tokens on the words that match the definition read by the teacher.

Winner says back the word and the definition or uses the words in a sentence.

JEOPARDY Multiple resources available

Templates on the web Pocket posters Tape/hang cards on wall

CLASSIFYING Provide students with vocabulary cards

Have students place cards into categories label the categories see how other groups classified their cards or regroup

cards using a different criteria

“Children do not learn by doing …..They learn by

thinking, discussion, and reflection on what

they have done.”

Willam Speer (NCSM)

VOCABULARY – ALIVE WRITING Provide a list of terms for students to use in a

single related piece of writing.

For Example:Use 15 of the 20 terms listed above

in a meaningful paragraph, story, poem or letter to convince me of your understanding. Put a check mark next to the terms you choose and underline them in the writing.

Write a paragraph using the words listed above in the word bank to describe the graph that is shown at the right.

intercept slope decreasing

parallel constant intersection

increasing quadrant perpendicular

NAME THAT CONCEPT!

1. Partner A: Provide clues to your partner without using the actual words, derivatives, or rhymes.

definitions, examples, descriptions, contexts

2. Partner B: Name the concept or component or say “pass” to move on to the next item.

Goal: Successfully communicate all items in one

minute.

WORDS FROM GEOMETRY

sphere

congruent

cylinder

proportion

WORDS FROM AMERICAN HISTORY

migration

capitalism

electoral college

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Bill of Rights

What specific methods would be effective for the words I need to teach well?• Name it.• Describe it.• Explain why it’s

TWO STARS & A WISH

Please record one of the most important or relevant ideas you heard.

Please record one strategy you plan to use next fall.

Please record something you wish about this session.

vocabulary instruction explicit instruction of new words

individual words graves

vocabulary emphasisvocabulary

morphology word parts

bigger impact

appropriate criteria

math term

research snapshot cards

jens presentation notes

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