VOCABULARY INSTRUCTIONVOCABULARY INSTRUCTION

GLENN DEVOOGDGLENN DEVOOGD

• Classroom practice is less than robust

• Vocabulary knowledge predicts comprehension and success

• There’s a gap ( e.g. in K 3,000-10,000)

• Language rich environment

• Intentional teaching of selected words

• Word learning strategies

Vocabulary is Hard to Assess: First Ask Why Are You Assessing it!

1. Assessing vocabulary knowledge (IRI, Miscue Analysis (or any other miscue analysis), running records, informal assessments during reading process)2. Creating a rich literate context in which children increase vocabulary knowledge3. Strategies for Gaining & Extending the Meanings of WordsSpecial notes about ESL Learners and vocabularyPlanning to teach vocabulary in a content area unit

Levels of Vocabulary Knowledge:

1. Sight Word ...know the word well but not as a sight wordhors d’oeuvrerendezvousciao

2. New Word ...understand the concept but not the label name in oral or written form

chef d’oeuvre

3. New Concept - no concept or recognition GemutlicheGeheimshaftGeseltshaftGestalt

4. New Meanings Know one meaning for the word but not others • Why are fish so smart? • What do you draw without pencil or paper.• The King Who Reigned & A Little Pigeon Toad• Run, hot, blind have lots of meanings--changes from noun to verb

Tiered AssessmentTier One Basic Words

• Tier one consists of the most basic words. These words rarely require direct instruction and typically do not have multiple meanings. Sight words, nouns, verbs, adjectives, and early reading words occur at this level. Examples of tier one words are: book, girl, sad, run, dog, and orange. There about 8,000 word families in English included in tier one.

Tier 2: The Beginnings of Academic Language

Tier 2 words occur often in:– Important for academic oral or reading comprehension – Characteristic of mature language users– Contain multiple meanings – Increased descriptive vocabulary (words used across a variety of

environments allow students to describe concepts in a detailed manner)

Tier two words are acquired by reading and taught in direct instruction. Examples of tier two words are: masterpiece, fortunate, industrious, measure, and benevolent. There are about 7,000 word families in English (or 700 per year) in tier two.

Tier 3: Subject Specific• Tier three consists of low-frequency words that occur in

specific domains. Domains include subjects in school, hobbies, occupations, geographic regions, technology, weather, etc.

• We usually learn these words when a specific need arises, such as learning amino acid during a chemistry lesson. Examples of tier three words are: economics, isotope, asphalt, Revolutionary War, and, crepe. The remaining 400,000 words in English fall in this tier.

It important to remember that tier two and three words are not all clear-cut in their tier classification.

A rich literate environment includes use of:

Teaching student independence in vocabulary does not mean avoiding vocabulary instruction....Choosing Texts and Vocabulary Words

1. When they occur frequently

2. When they are important for the meaning of the text

• Range of Instructional Strategies • Word wall• Vocabulary book• Sorting words (classification)• Word maps – (semantic mapping)• Dramatizing words

Strategies for Gaining & Extending the Meanings of Words

Independence vs. Dependence in vocabulary development-The best work of a teacher is not to teach vocabulary, but to help students know how to learn vocabulary. The following are ways to help students analyze word meanings and learn by themselves

1. Morphological analysis – prefixes, suffixes & root 2. Context clues3. Etymology (review-pick words into categories)

Anglo-Saxon - small common words & ending in hood, dom,

Latin - Educated words & those in French & Spanish

Greek-scientific, odd spellings, unique, & with ph, ps, ny, sy (y used as i)

Conventional Latin OrthodoxWater Aqua Hydro

Combination words Orthodontist = Ortho (straight in Greek) dontist (Latin) not the English Teeth straightener

Select books that help students discover multiple meanings (RICA).

5. Reference books (to use them - not just learn how to use them)DictionaryThesaurus (multiple meanings of words)GlossaryTechnological sources (electronic sources such as CD Rom, the web, videos)

Special notes about ESL Learners and vocabularyPlanning to teach vocabulary in a content area unitUsing visual cues to inform language.