Building Building & &

developing vocabulary developing vocabulary in the in the

secondary yearssecondary years

Maryanne PearceMaryanne Pearce

 

How can I assess where my students are at with their vocabulary knowledge?

How can I ensure I’m catering for the range of abilities of my students?

How can I make vocabulary learning engaging ?

How tools and scaffolds support all learners?

How can I better

 

ensure that my 

students apply 

their 

vocabulary 

learning?

Small moves 

have a significant impact on 

student learning

Session Objectives

• To provide an overview of the research to support explicit teaching of vocabulary

• To plan and organise learning to include explicit vocabulary instruction and learning opportunities

• To provide a range of practical strategies, tips & tools

• Learn a few new moves and try them out

Why Teach Vocabulary?Why Teach Vocabulary?

• Vocabulary is highly correlated with reading Vocabulary is highly correlated with reading achievementachievement

• ““High-knowledge” third graders displayed a High-knowledge” third graders displayed a roughly equal vocabulary to that of the lowest roughly equal vocabulary to that of the lowest performing twelfth gradersperforming twelfth graders

• In Grade 1 the higher performing students know two times as many words as the lower performing students; by Year 12 those students know four times as many words.

Matthew Effects in Reading

The Matthew Effects are not only about the progressive decline of slow starters, but also about the widening gap between slow starters and fast starters.

In reading, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Stanovich, Keith E. (1986)

Once established, Once established,

this language gap is extremely this language gap is extremely difficult to narrow.difficult to narrow.

Word

Know it well, can explain it, use it

Know some-thing about it, can relate it to asituation

Have seen or heard the word

Do not know the word

tyrannyserendipity

grapnelpurportsensitivedubious

Oral Langauge Development

In one of the best-known studies, Betty Hart and Todd Risley (1995, 2003) followed young children from forty-two families for two and one-half years. Thirteen of the families were of a higher socioeconomic status (SES), ten were middle SES, thirteen were lower SES, and six families were

on welfare. Hart and Risley found that “the three year old children from families on welfare not only had smaller vocabularies than did children of the same age in professional families, but they were also adding words more slowly” (2003).

Vocabulary

One of the major areas of literacy knowledge

Vocabulary can divide us

economically,

linguistically,

academically.

More reasons to teach vocabulary

• important contribution of vocabulary knowledge to reading comprehension

• vocabulary clusters around concepts contribute to understanding & builds schema

• contributes to phonemic awareness

• students need a repertoire of words to compare objects, concepts, etc, so vocabulary knowledge contributes to thinking (Metsala, 1998)

• contributes to accurate decoding when print is unfamiliar

• contributes to fluency (Torgensen, 2002) ~ familiar text = HIGH fluency ~ unfamiliar text = LOW fluency

Catching Up

• To directly teach students even 3,000 words a year would mean teaching approximately 17 words each school day (e.g., 3,000 words/180 school days).

• Estimates vary, but reviews of classroom intervention studies suggest that, in general, no more than 8 to 10 words can be taught effectively each week.

• This means no more than approximately 400 words can be taught in a year (Stahl & Fairbanks, 1986).

How do we learn new words & concepts?

• Experiences• Reading• Direct instruction• Multiple encounters in meaningful contexts• Independent research• Strategies and use• Talk

Why vocabulary problems actually increase as students grow older:

They have word finding problemsThey often use low information words and this habit has a negative impact on their discourse skillsThey rarely expand the meanings of the words they do knowThey read less than their peers

Lack of an adequate vocabulary can be a crucial factor underlying the school failure of

disadvantaged students.

The most disadvantaged are EAL students, those with learning difficulties, those who enter school with a limited vocabulary and those who

do not read outside school hours (assuming they also have plenty of reading at school).

One third of the words can be learned through independent reading – provided that

the reading materials are rich in vocabulary.

There is a clear and urgent need for vocabulary instruction in schools.

Loren Marulis and Susan Neuman (2010) state:

“vocabulary is at the heart of oral language comprehension and sets the foundation for domain-specific knowledge and later reading comprehension.”

Four Major Challenges

1. How do we balance word learning with other aspects of learning? How are you weaving it through lessons?

2. Vocabulary knowledge is both a cause and a consequence of reading achievement.

3. Vocabulary differences begin at home. The gap increases as children move through school.

4. Learning about words involves more than learning definitions. 70% of English words have multiple meanings.

Vocabulary Learning

• Typical 3rd grader knows about 8000 words

• Typical secondary student knows about 25,000 to 50,000 (or more)

• A student typically learn about 3000 – 4000 new words per year ( through incidental learning and wide reading)

Tip #1: Independent Reading

‘Students who read for 25 minutes per day meet about 2 million words in a year, and 20,000 are unfamiliar words; they will meet commonly used words many times, possibly in several different contexts. If only one-twentieth of those words can be figured out from context, this will provide them with 1000 new words learned by reading.’

Struggling & reluctant readers

Adolescents who don’t read well, or who don’t read,

don’t develop new vocabulary and so reading comprehension

is significantly diminishedor compromised.

The end of the school line.......

Senior examinations assess content knowledge and students’ ability to articulate knowledge and understanding.

(this means they must have a precise and mature vocabulary)

“ The lack of vocabulary instruction might be a result of misconceptions about what it means to teach vocabulary and its potential effect on student learning.”

( Marzano et al, 2001)

TIP # 2 Teach prefixes, suffixes, root words

20 common prefixes account for 97% of the prefixed words in

printed school English.(White, Sowell & Yanagihara, 1989)

Words are used to think. The more words we know, the finer our understanding of the world.

(Stahl, 1999)

Australian Standards

English Year 7

“Understand how to use spelling rules and word origins, for example Greek and Latin roots, base words, suffixes, prefixes, spelling patterns and generalisations to learn new words and how to spell them.”

Australian Standards

English Year 7

“Investigate vocabulary typical of extended and more academic texts and the role of abstract nouns, classification, description and generalisation in building specialised knowledge through language.”

Listening Speaking Reading Writing

Four Types of Vocabulary

Modes

• Receptive: listening

reading

• Productive: speaking

writing

Vocabulary research shows:

It is more effective to support all four types of vocabulary for struggling students (NRP, 2001). Receptive and productive balance

Directly teaching word parts- affixes, base words, roots - greatly enhance vocabulary because 60% of English words have Latin or Greek origins (Armbruster & Osborn, 2001).

Vocabulary building in 4 areas

• Think of a word that you find tricky and one you usually avoid saying.

reading - speaking

• How can we promote the transfer of students’ reading vocabularies into writing?

reading - writing

Speaking

“Millions of dollars have gone into improving literacy but without putting into place the oral base, then it’s almost wasted. For some reason speaking and listening has been seen as the ugly sister of reading and writing but it’s actually the foundation.”(John Munro, Associate Professor, University of Melbourne’s Graduate School of Education)

“Oral language is the thread of all learning.” Carmen Crevola

Talking and Listening must be considered together

1. Language is the invisible thread that we carry around in our heads that allows us to understand the thoughts of others and express our own thoughts.

2. Research indicates that the level of oral language skills is highly predictive of reading development and warrants aggressive intervention to prevent reading failure. (Catts, Fey and Tomblin 2004)

3. Many students arrive at school with insufficient language to support learning… and this has increased since 1995. ( Crevola and Vineis, 2004)

Planning for Learning

•In classrooms, many are talking at others, not interacting through language.

•Receptive language precedes (in a spiralling way) to productive language.

•Listening comprehension precedes ( in a spiralling way) to reading comprehension.

Tip # 3

Provide many collaborative learning opportunities

Reflection

“Reading and writing float on a sea of talk.” James Britain

Data has a Face

•Do you know who your low language students are?•Turn & Talk: How often do you focus on students’ speaking and listening in class? Every day, once a week, hardly ever?

Learning about words is more than learning definitions

Ownership of Words

Developing understandings of word meanings is a long term process and involves many encounters in varying contexts. Students store some information about a word and the information is reinforced and extended each time the word is seen / heard. With each encounter they learn more and gradually acquire ownership of the word. (Nagy, Anderson, Herman, 1987)

Ownership of Words

Monolingual learners 7 - 8 exposures

Bilingual learners 12 – 14 exposures

Vocabulary: Four steps to knowing

1.Never heard the word before2.Heard it, but dont know what it means3.In context, I know it has something to do with_____4.Know it and use it (Beck, McKeown & Kucan, 2002; Carey, 1978)

A good place to start

vocabulary development is to raise word consciousness in

our students.

TIP #4 Use a rich vocabulary

# Informal conversations in class: “ The plants are looking dehydrated today”, not “dying”.

“The door is ajar”, not “open”.

Find lots of opportunities to increase students’ vocabulary understanding through daily talk.

Selecting VocabularySelecting Vocabulary

This following instructional approach to selecting This following instructional approach to selecting and teaching words is largely a summary of the and teaching words is largely a summary of the work of Isabel Beck, Margaret McKeown, and work of Isabel Beck, Margaret McKeown, and Linda Kucan (2002).Linda Kucan (2002).

Bringing Words to Life: Bringing Words to Life:

Robust Vocabulary InstructionRobust Vocabulary Instruction

TIER 1 wordsTIER 1 words

Tier 1Tier 1 words consist of the words consist of the most basic words most basic words ––

Most students already know and use these and they Most students already know and use these and they appear frequently in speech and print. These appear frequently in speech and print. These rarely require instructional attention. These are familiar words used in oral conversation. HIGH utility

Some Tier I WordsSome Tier I Words

angry floor house clockangry floor house clock

dinner fast destroy baby dinner fast destroy baby

brother ball happy walk bed sky run

Tier 2 wordsTier 2 wordsTier 2 words are high-frequency words in the Tier 2 words are high-frequency words in the vocabulary of vocabulary of maturemature language users. language users.Tier 2 words generally span a Tier 2 words generally span a wide range of wide range of contexts contexts and are and are found across a variety of knowledge domains. These are words that students are less likely to know.

Some Tier 2 WordsSome Tier 2 Wordscoincidence hostile industrious dynamic absurd coincidence hostile industrious dynamic absurd momentum benevolent merchant momentum benevolent merchant coincidence absurd industrious fortunate compromise diligent

Tier 2 Words are often barriers to comprehension

These are words that students do not know the meaning of in relation to what is being studied (but you think they should/do know).

~ might be lack of context understanding ~ or they have never seen or heard the word before (not in listening vocab, and they are not seeing them in print because they are not reading)

Teachers choose Tier 2 words for:

• Importance and utility: will they be encountered often in unit/life? • Instructional potential• Richer concept understandingEg. these three in a text context Eg. these three in a text context might be useful to consider: might be useful to consider: industrious dynamic momentumindustrious dynamic momentum

Tier 3 words – Academic LanguageTier 3 words – Academic Language

Tier 3Tier 3 are words/concepts which are are words/concepts which are sophisticated and highly specialized; they are sophisticated and highly specialized; they are relatively infrequent in both speech and print; relatively infrequent in both speech and print; low frequency, specific to content, academic language. Key words Key words should be identified and should be identified and taught in units of study, clarified & defined.taught in units of study, clarified & defined.

Some Tier 3 WordsSome Tier 3 Words

isotope peninsula oboe coronerisotope peninsula oboe coronercacophony tundra diadochokinesis cacophony tundra diadochokinesis

Line form risk detest remote sumLine form risk detest remote sum

futile ukulele good symmetryfutile ukulele good symmetry

metamorphosis rescue antennae walkmetamorphosis rescue antennae walk

neutral neutral lurchlurch sinister revolution sinister revolution

Classify the following wordsClassify the following words

Unit PlanContent Knowledge Skills development

Essential vocabulary

Tip #5: Explicit Teaching & Learning

• Identify Tier 2 and 3 words in each unit and ensure everyone has a deep understanding

• Provide opportunities in class for students to acquire this language (receptive to productive modes)

• Use HW to build and embed vocabulary and conceptual knowledge and use

Selecting Tier 2 WordsSelecting Tier 2 Words

• Select words from within a Select words from within a relevant contextrelevant context1. Choose fiction or non-fiction text being read in class - from a

unit of study

2. Read one page

3. Highlight all the Tier 2 words

4. Select 3 of the most useful ones

(Select words which are (Select words which are versatileversatile ~ naturally used across ~ naturally used across a variety of contexts, both literal and figurative when a variety of contexts, both literal and figurative when possible, select words which are possible, select words which are highly relevant highly relevant to the to the theme and mood of the text/unit of study, select words theme and mood of the text/unit of study, select words which are likely to be of which are likely to be of high frequencyhigh frequency, and , and easily easily related related to the studentsto the students’ daily lives.) ’ daily lives.)

Prerequisite for Selected WordsPrerequisite for Selected Words

The only limiting factor for choosing vocabulary words The only limiting factor for choosing vocabulary words for instruction is that the for instruction is that the target word must be able target word must be able to be explained in to be explained in terms familiar to the learnersterms familiar to the learners..

Examples:Examples:

comfortingcomforting – when something helps you feel better or – when something helps you feel better or more calmmore calm

glanceglance – when you look very quickly at something – when you look very quickly at something

Teach vocabulary with

new labels for known or familiar concepts

Eg: glanceglance – when you – when you look very quickly look very quickly at at somethingsomething

Additionally, secondary teachers should understand and make the distinction between

teaching vocabulary

&

teaching concepts

Research indicates that direct vocabulary instruction should incorporate these elements

• Presenting individual terms and their descriptions in rich contexts

• Asking students to generate information about terms • Using multimedia methods (words, pictures,

animations, and so on) to introduce and practice terms

• Asking students to relate new terms to words they already know

• Providing multiple exposures to new terms and opportunities to use those terms in the classroom

Think and plan with BDA

Before the reading

During the reading

After the reading

Selecting text/s

• The first step is to determine the complexity of the text to be read in class. Consider the quantitative qualities of the text, such as word difficulty, the frequency of higher-level vocabulary, sentence length, and text length. Qualitative facets must also be taken into consideration; for example, the levels of meaning, structure, language conventions, and knowledge demands of the text. Finally, the reader must be taken into consideration: their cognitive abilities, reading skills, personal prior knowledge and experiences, and motivation for reading the text. Lexile.com

• The next step, according to Lapp and Grant, is selecting a short, but complex, passage for students to read. To get the students engaged in the reading, the first text reading should be followed by a class or group discussion about it. The second reading of the same text should be followed by annotations, text-dependent questions, and more discussion.

Activity 1Identify vocabulary Before the reading

•Read The Flowers short story or Polar lands (NF)

•Identify Tier 2 words that you will explicitly teach the meaning BEFORE the reading.

•These are words that YOU believe that students need to know to access FULL meaning of the story.

•Discuss your selections with others.

Tier 3: Academic Language

This language is part of a cognitive toolbox for undertaking content area tasks

Must be taught to access full understanding

Merely immersing marginalized students in rich classroom discussion will not catch them up Use ritual structure (better to use some techniques and tools repeatedly rather than intermittently or worse, a different one every time)

Application of New VocabularyApplication of New Vocabulary

Students must be able to define words Students must be able to define words in their own in their own language language - be careful of dictionary definitions.- be careful of dictionary definitions.

Students Students must be able to use the word must be able to use the word in a variety of in a variety of contextscontexts..

Students must be Students must be given opportunities to use given opportunities to use their their vocabulary words.vocabulary words.

Students must be able to Students must be able to use new words from all tiers.use new words from all tiers.

Teaching vocabulary

takes less time

than teaching concepts.

Teaching concepts requires building the conceptual base

AND

adding labels (vocabulary words ) to the concept.

Teaching concepts involves

direct instruction about an idea for which students currently have little, confused understanding, or no understanding or familiarity with it in a particular context.

e.g. Technology Studies concept: System

Activity #2

• Consider a CONCEPT you are currently teaching.

• Write and draw student friendly language and visuals you could put around this concept to allow for varying entry points into understanding its use in the context.

• Examples: form, tone, bias, mathematical operations (this is the metalanguage of your subject)

Tip #5 Plan Instructional strategies

• Read Aloud – teacher only• Shared reading – everyone can see it• Rich reading experiences to expose

students to words they would not normally encounter – Read Aloud, shared reading, independent reading Consider short texts

More Instructional strategies

• Word walls/ classroom charts – organised alphabetically or by topic or concept

• Students create lists and keep in a word bank

• Graphic organisers• Audio assisted reading – students able to

read well beyond their independent reading level with audio support

Sites

• www.wordnik.com students can create their own vocabulary list for

a unit being studied and keep updating them throughout the unit. They will need to create an account to use this feature

• http://www.ironicsans.com/thsrs/ Shorter Thesaurus is particularly good for helping weaker students acquire new

vocabulary. When you enter a word, it only gives you short synonyms

• www.visuwords.com/ my favourite - a visual dictionary

Year 9-12 range. This website is a visual dictionary/thesaurus. Students type in a word, and the page presents a visual, colour coded (for nouns, verbs, adjectives etc...) concept chart linking the word to synonyms.

• Stormboard.com

Tip #6 Plan instructional strategies

• Definitions may include pictures, drawings or contextual information – particularly useful for content areas as so many words are specialised (Tier 3 words)

• Provide opportunities for students to clarify vocabulary and ideas in shared reading/partner reading: reciprocal teaching routine

• Allow speaking and writing opportunities to process and embed new words and ideas

More Instructional strategies

• Cloze activities – leave the first paragraph intact but delete key words you are learning., ask students to fill in the blanks using the word bank (HW, assessment)

• Build background knowledge and make connections to their lives and experiences with new vocabulary

Supports to enhance permanent memory

Marzano recommends:

• Multiple exposures to information• Deep processing - adding details

and elaboration - making associations • Use graphic organisers

Marzano’s five step process for teaching vocabulary

• STEP 1: Present students with a brief explanation or description of the new term or phrase.

• STEP 2: Present students with a non linguistic representation of the new term or phrase.

• STEP 3: Ask students to generate their own explanations or descriptions of the term or phrase.

• STEP 4 : Ask students to create their own non linguistic representation of the term or phrase.

• STEP 5: Periodically ask students to review the accuracy of their explanations and representations.

Be aware of words Before, During and After (BDA)

reading• Direct instruction• Explain and contextualise tricky words before

a cold reading• Design small group activities related to

vocabulary understanding and development

Tip #7 Build Background Knowledge

The relationship between vocabulary knowledge and background knowledge is explicit in research.

(Nagy & Herman, 1984; Marzano, 2004; Hart & Risley, 1995)

BBK Activity Step 1

• Select a topic

• Find a song, poem, political cartoon, photograph that relates to the topic.

• Place students in groups of 4.

• Ask students to write down what they think the “text” is about. Discuss.

• Create a visualisation of their collective knowledge

• Whole Group: share existing knowledge about the topic (activating schema)

Step 2• Provide the same groups with a provocative

text, an article or an essay. It needs to be interesting, and one with multiple perspectives.

• Participants read. Ask them to CODE the text (N) for new information.

• Add that to the original web in a different colour.

• Share.

Step 3• Expert text/ Use a variety of media

(timelines, short biography, cartoons, letters to the editor, portions of a novel)

• Every group gets this folder and each student selects what they want to read.

• Code (N) again.

• Each participant shares their new knowledge with the group. Add to chart in a different colour.

Step 4

• Return to the First text and now write about what they know in the light of new information.

• Did they change any views?

• Do they know more about the topic now?

• Are they curious about the topic?

Before and During Reading

Aim: To build background knowledge

How: Partner and Group work ~ provides students with a peer scaffold and this supports student friendly meanings and that helps them build understanding

Teacher: these are useful formative assessment tools.

Tip # 8 Graphic Organisers Lotus Plan

Black Holes Theories Life Forms

Extra terrestrial Universe Planets

Matter Gases Time & Space

Lotus Plan – Going Deeper

     

     

     

     

    UniversePlanets 

     

 

Concept Circles Assessment: Circulatory System

     Veins

  Large 

intestines 

Heart

      Arteries

   Salivary Glands

      Blood 

    carbon dioxide

      Oxygen 

Describe the meaning and relationships between and among the words in the sections of the concept circles. (Which word does NOT belong?)

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

Concept Circles Assessment: Vocabulary Teaching and Learning

  

   

      

       

    

     

Describe the meaning and relationships between and among the words in the sections of the concept circles.

What words would you place in the First Circle? How they are they related?What words would you put in the second circle? How are they related?

Pedagogy

Vocabulary

migrate

Schwartz & Raphael, 1985

To move regularly from one region to another

people working for seasonal jobs

birds Nomads

traveling

relocating

moving around

What are some examples?

What is it like?What is it?

Word Map

What is it?

Scaffold

What are some examples?

What is it like?

Frayer Diagram 1

 

Definition Characteristics

Examples Non-Examples

First, last week of school. Sitting on the porch reading

  Unexpected guests for dinner Bubble bath

Four projects due Lounging by the pool

Stress, anxiety, tension, hostility,Tears, physical symptoms

An extreme state of agitation. 

SWIVET

Frayer Model

Term Visual Representation

Definition Personal Association

sphere

A round 3-D shape My ball is the shape of a sphere.

Frayer Diagram

Definition Characteristics

Examples Non-Examples

What is a Noun?

Definition Characteristics

Non-ExamplesExamples

Frayer Model (Frayer, Frederick, & Klausmeier, 1969)Content for this example taken from Baron & Heideima, (2002) Teaching Reading in the Content Areas (Supplement), McRel.

herd

• Group

• Like animals

• Clustered

a congregation of wild animals

Definition Characteristics

Non-ExamplesExamples

Frayer Model (Frayer, Frederick, & Klausmeier, 1969)Content for this example taken from Baron & Heideima, (2002) Teaching Reading in the Content Areas (Supplement), McRel.

Prime

2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, . . .

1, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10. . .

• 2 is the only even prime number

• 0 and 1 are not prime

•Every whole number can be written as a product of primes

A whole number with exactly two divisors (factors)

After Reading Strategies

VVWA (Verbal & Visual Word Association) Readence, Bean, & Baldwin, 2001

Term Visual Representation

Definit ion

a degree of wetness especially of the atmosphere

Personal Associat ion

humidity

Vocabulary Notebooks• Students keep a log or journal to record what they are learning

•Teacher provides a concept or word.

•Students write quickly & spontaneously (free write/quick write) everything they know about the word.

•Peer and/or teacher response.

Concept Circles

Why? ___________________________________________________

Which word does not belong?

Cone

Rectangle

Trapezoid

Hexagon

Dialectical Journal Graphic Organiser

Quote or reference (What it says)

What it means Why it is important

Unemploymen

tPoverty

Hobo

Stock m

arket

colla

pse

Concept: The Depression

4-2-1 summariser

Four Two One

Rogers, et.al (1999). Motivation and Learning. . .

Assessing Vocabulary Knowledge

We want to know if students have a grasp of the meanings of the vocabulary words we have used in our study/unit.

Consider designing pre tests and post tests to assess vocabulary knowledge, HW and Cloze activities.

Learning Goals for Students

• Know how to identify which words are most important to understanding a ‘text’

• Knowing a word that will be frequently/sometimes used in the text/topic OR across many situations in life

• Know how to apply word-learning strategies for each type of word, for the rest of their lives

Four essential vocabulary learning components comprise: 

1. teaching individual words; (everyone)

2. teaching strategies for learning words independently; (who does this?)

3. fostering word consciousness; (everyone)

4. Providing frequent, extensive, and varied opportunities to engage in independent reading. (who does this?)

High Expectations

• “To ignore vocabulary teaching is tantamount to hindering students’ reading comprehension.”

• “Further, to ignore the vocabulary development of disadvantaged students raises serious ethical concerns.”

References

Beck, McKeown & Kucan, 2002; Carey, 1978

References

A Handbook for Classroom Instruction

that Works

   Marzano, , Norford, Paynter, Pickering, Gaddy  (2001)

Words, Words, Words

                                   Janet Allen (1999)

International Reading Association 2010 

 World Congress Auckland, New Zealand 

• Dr Maureen McLaughlin, East Stroudsburg University , PA, USA

• Dr Diane Barone, University of Nevada, NV, USA