Vocabulary BuildingDr. Elaine RobertsUniversity of West Georgia

What Teachers Need to Know about Building Vocabulary

How proficient readers enrich their vocabulary

How to assess and select strategies for teaching vocabulary that save instructional time and provide consistency (students learn to use the strategies on a regular basis)

How to build struggling reader’s vocabulary

Factors Influencing a Child’s Vocabulary Life experiencesVicarious experiences (videos, TV,

movies, CD-ROMs, Internet, books, etc.)

Direct instruction

Five Ingredients for Direct Instruction of Vocabulary Words must be learned in contextWords must be related to previous

knowledgeWords must be fully understood so

students can use them in new situations

Students need to use, hear, and see the words repeatedly

Teachers need to enjoy learning new words

Assessment of Vocabulary

Informal assessment– Cloze tests– Maze tests– Use of new vocabulary during writing

Formal assessment– Standardized achievement tests– Group diagnostic tests– Individual diagnostic reading tests

Lucy Calkins Twist on Vocabulary from her books, The Art of Reading and The Art of Writing Students profit from read alouds, book talks, book

introductions with geared towards rehearsing and talking about words and concepts in a book

Pronounce unknown word and replace it with a synonym that works in the same sentence (build webs of words that are synonyms)

Hang onto meaning and take a “stab” at the meaning from context through life experience related discussions

Students benefit more from extensive reading with vocabulary discussions related to author’s style rather than “kill and drill”

The dictionary is for use after students try the above

What Does This Checklist Reveal about Students’ Vocabulary?

Strategies for Vocabulary BuildingCategorizingPossible SentencesAnalogiesExploring word originsCrossword puzzlesSynonym/Definition ConcentrationWordoConcept of a Definition, Thinking

Maps

Strategies for Vocabulary Building (cont.)ScattergoryMultiple Meaning Race TrackHink pinksDictionary guide wordsLocating the correct dictionary

definitionAnticipation Guides (Voc and

Comprehension)Personal Clue Cards

Making the match in vocabulary instruction: Students, purposes, words and strategies by Flanigan & Greenwood, Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 2007

Four Level Framework Level 1 critical before reading words

Level 2 “Foot in the Door” words

Level 3 Critical during &after reading words

Level 4 Words not to teach

Must know before reading, ex. ecosystem

Must know before reading (new words/ new concept =definition & sentence) or new words/ familiarConcepts (synonyms, etc.)

Does not need to be known before readingVariable level of knowledge depending on purpose/stand-ard

Does not need to be addressed at allPreviously known words

Words that don’t serve lesson objectives

Need In depth knowledge

Surface level knowledge

Variable level of time depending on purpose

Mod. To significant teaching time

Minimal teaching time & explore more after reading

Process for choosing words and strategies (Flanigan & Greenwood)

Step 1-Read the text and determine instructional goals & standards

Step 2-Based on the goals, identify words/concepts that students should know by the end of the lesson. These are level 1-3 words.

Step 3-”Chunk” instruction by teaching related concepts together(e.g. it makes sense to teach omnivore, carnivore, and herbivore together). Chunking concepts help students make connections across concepts and saves teachers instructional time.

Step 4-Which words/concepts does the student absolutely need to know before reading? There are the Level 1 and 2 words

Step 5-Which words does the student need to know , but not necessarily before reading the text? Level 3 words and can be addressed during and after reading

Step 6-What do you want the student to know about the word? What is the teaching strategy you choose?

Selecting Teaching Strategies for Level 1 words=Frayer, Semantic/concept mapping, and SFA strategies SFA=Semantic Feature Analysis- compare contrast content area

concepts before, during and after reading such as dictatorship, direct democracy, representative democracy

Citizens have voting rights(Y/N)

Citizens elect leaders(Y/N)

Reps are elected by citizens(Y/N)

Dictator-ship

Direct Democr.

Repre. Democr.

Selecting Level 2 Words Strategies=definition plus rich context sentences, concept circles

http://www.educationalrap.com/song/prefixes-suffixes-roots.html

http://www.all-about-spelling.com/prefixes.html#activities

http://gamequarium.org/readquarium/prefixes.html

http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/edtec670/cardboard/Card/P/PrefixSuffixRummy.html

http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/improve-comprehension-word-game-1042.html?tab=3#tabs

Selecting Level 3 Words Teaching Strategies

Applause Strategy by Beck, McKeown & Kucan, 2002 Have you ever? Strategy by authors above

Class group work - use handouts for vocabulary activities under class powerpoints on courseden

Possible Sentences Based on New Vocabulary

Literature Circles Enhance Vocabulary and Comprehension Heterogeneous groups read a book of interest and make

connections, debate and challenge each other, and ask open ended questions – student centered

Teacher is the floating facilitator and is usually not a member of any group

First, model and practice the literature circle roles with emphasis on grand conversations for a week with student “tryouts”

Daniel’s six roles (role sheets are online): 1. Artful Artist 2. Word Wizard (Word Id and Vocabulary) 3. Discussion Leader (themes, style, etc.) 4. Dramatic Reenactor (quotes, favorite parts) 5. Story Elements Correspondent (characters, place, plot,

etc.) 6. Personal Connector

Activity for the Literature Circle Strategy

Select members for the Literature Circles

Assign roles for the members of each circle

Assign reading to be completed by the circles inside or outside of class

Select circle meeting datesHelp students prepare for their roles in

their circleAct as a facilitator