Learning MeaningVocabulary InstructionFor Elementary Students

Lori HornfeltSpeech-Language Specialist

Maple Elementary

Thanks to the following resources:

• Beck, Isabel, McKeown, Margaret, & Kucan, Linda. (2001) Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction. Guilford Press.

• Lubliner, Shira. (2005) Getting into Words: Vocabulary Instruction that Strengthens Comprehension. Paul H. Brookes

• Paynter, Diane; Bodrova, Elena; & Doty, Jane. (2005) For the Love of Words: Vocabulary Instruction that Works. Jossey-Bass.

• National Institute for Literacy, The Partnership for Reading. “Vocabulary Instruction” http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/reading_first1vocab.html

• Antikajian , Karen & Swan, Janis. (2005) “Vocabulary Instruction” workshop presentation

Just the Facts

• 1st grade children from higher-SES groups know about twice as many words as lower SES children.

• High-performing high school seniors know about 4 times as many words as lower-performing peers.

• High-performing 3rd graders had vocabularies about equal to lowest-performing 12th graders.

• Vocabulary size is associated with the ability to comprehend new information and even with later income levels.

“The fact that early differences in

vocabulary remain through the school years is understandable if

little is being done to change that situation during the school

years.”(Beck, p.2)

Types of Vocabulary

ListeningSpeakingReading Writing

“Oral vocabulary is a key to learning to make the transition from oral to written forms, whereas reading vocabulary is

crucial to the comprehension process of a

skilled reader.”

(Paynter)

Difficulties with learning vocabulary through written

text:• Written context lacks intonation, body language, physical surrounding.

• Students often choose independent reading that does not contain challenging vocabulary

• Students need skills to– Adequately decode words– Recognize that a word is unknown– Comprehend the main idea of the text in order to use context cues.

Types of Word Learning• Learning a new meaning for a known word– Branches of rivers/trees/government

• Learning the meaning for a new word representing a known concept– Spheres: baseball, globe

• Learning the meaning of a new word representing an unknown concept– photosynthesis

• Clarifying and enriching the meaning of a known word– Running, jogging, trotting, dashing, sprinting

Vocabulary DevelopmentKindergarten - 1st Grade

• Vocabulary learned through oral language experiences.

• Starting in 1st grade, students understand common prefixes and suffixes that are added to the base without changing the base: teach/teacher; happy/unhappy

• Metalinguistic skills are not yet developed.– Student doesn’t stop reader when a new word is encountered; may stop reader if curious to know more about content.

– Understands multiple-meaning words only if meanings are concrete and literal

– Defines words by• Listing attributes• Describing function• Giving a simple synonym

Vocabulary Development2nd - 3rd Grades

• Vocabulary learning more directly related to classroom content

• More aware of words they don’t know & better able to ask questions about specific words and word relationships

• Read aloud experiences have words beyond their everyday experiences

• Reading vocabulary is much more limited than listening vocabulary.

• Know more affixes: un-, re-, pre-, -less, -er, -est, -ful

• Growing interest in word play, puns, & jokes

• Define words in more structured ways, e.g., categories

• Vocabulary learning strategies: synonyms, root words, context cues

Vocabulary Development4th- 5th Grade

• Print becomes major source of new words.– Assigned reading needs to be ahead of student’s speaking & listening vocabulary.

• Vocabulary is content-area specific & includes more abstract words that cross content areas (assume, conclude)

• Metalinguistic skills have increased.– More advanced knowledge of word parts– Literal & figurative meanings of many words.

Understand frequently used idioms & metaphors and those based on visual imagery.

• More independent in learning word meanings.– However, tend to rely on guessing from context which often backfires for abstract, technical & academic words.

• Mastered the skill of formal definition & can use multiple sources; however will not reach adult levels without explicit modeling and coaching.

Vocabulary DevelopmentELL

• Learn everyday vocabulary before academic vocabulary

• Difficulty with idioms and figurative language

• Need explicit explanations and more examples than with English students

• If the ELL student’s native language is similar to English, teaching cognates is a useful approach.

Characteristics of an Effective Vocabulary Program

• Small set of critical words identified for direct instruction

• Multiple exposures to words in various contexts

• Utilize & build students’ background knowledge

• Introduce & use words in meaningful contexts• Multimodal learning opportunities• Explicitly teach student strategies for independent word learning

• Plan for incidental vocabulary learning embedded into daily interactions with students

• Planned vocabulary review• Motivate student interest in words

So Many Words, So Little TimeHow to Choose Vocabulary to

Teach• 3 Tier Approach (see handout)• Ask yourself the following questions:– How generally useful is the word? Are students likely to encounter it in other texts?

– How does the word relate to other words, to ideas that students know or have been studying?

– Is the word essential to understanding the meaning of the text?

– Could the word create confusion? Multiple-meaning?

• Pre-test to identify student needs

Creating a Customized Word List

• Review resources– Grade level vocabulary lists– State & district standards

• Identify vocabulary from fiction & nonfiction books students will encounter

• Identify vocabulary on standardized tests– E.g., trace, analyze, describe, summarize, etc.

• Identify content area vocabulary

Who’s Responsible for Teaching Vocabulary?

School-WideGrade LevelClassroomFamilyStudent

K-2 Vocabulary Sources

• Trade books for read aloud• Theme/unit/content vocabulary• Simple stories that students are reading can be sources of vocabulary through the use of synonyms, antonyms, associations, and classification.

3rd - 5th Vocabulary Sources

• Read aloud books• Content area vocabulary• Multiple meaning words

– @36% of teacher utterances from K to 8th contain at least one multi-meaning statement

• Teacher assigned independent reading– Student selected books often do not have challenging vocabulary.• It is estimated that a typical novel written for teenagers or younger readers has a vocabulary size of only 5,000 words.

When is vocabulary not appropriate for a certain grade?

• When you cannot explain the meaning of a word in terms that students know.

• If the words used to explain a target word are likely unknown to the students

“It is not until middle school that most children’s reading comprehension catches up with their oral comprehension. Until that time, children

benefit immensely from hearing stories read aloud. When teachers read aloud, they expose children to complex

language and vocabulary that children rarely encounter in oral discourse or independent

reading.”Lubliner, p. 135

K-2 Read Aloud Strategies

• Activate background knowledge prior to reading– Have students predict what story might be about

• While reading, briefly explain words that are necessary for comprehension & may be unknown

• Encourage student to listen & make pictures in their mind as you read aloud. Show pictures after each section is read.

• Immediately following the reading lead students in activities to work on the meaning of 3 words

• Repeated readings of the story on subsequent days allows for more discussion and “think aloud” during the reading.

3rd-5th Read Aloud Strategies

• Activate background knowledge prior to reading

• Introduce key vocabulary prior to reading

• Explain vocabulary briefly as you read to aid comprehension

• Have students identify words they don’t know– Vocabulary log– Stop sign strategy

• Immediately following reading lead students in work on key words

Vocabulary Teaching Sequence following Read Aloud or Content

Instruction (Beck)

• Review word in context of story• Students say the word aloud• Give a student friendly explanation of word

• Give examples of word in contexts beyond the story - relate to students’ lives

• Students give examples or do a word activity

• Students say the word again• Repeat this for each word, then do an activity that uses all 3 words

Student Friendly Explanations of a Word

• Characterize the word and how it is typically used

• Explain the meaning in everyday terms

• Student friendly explanations often use words like something, someone, or describes.

Quick Oral Word Activities

example words: disappear, precious, foolish• Words associations

– Which word goes with (silly)?• Have you ever _______?

– Has anything ever disappeared at your house?

• Idea completion– Susan said her teddy bear was precious because _____

• Questions, Reasons, & Examples– Which of these might be precious? Why?

•My pencil, my wedding ring, my socks– What would you want to disappear? Not want to disappear? Why?

• Making Choices• -I’m going to say some words, you say ‘foolish’ if it is an example of foolish.

finishing my homeworkputting my homework in the bird’s cage

• Relationships between target words• -Show me how your face would look if something disappeared/ you saw someone acting foolish/ you lost something precious to you

• If_______________• -If your teacher disappeared, would you be bored or surprised?

Quick Oral Word Activities (page 2)

• Students create examples:– What is precious to you?– When have you acted foolish?

Quick Oral Word Activities (page 3)

Planning for Incidental Vocabulary

Learning•Create a vocabulary rich environment•Select books & resources that support vocabulary learning•Use a robust vocabulary with students•Create semantic cluster walls

Creating a Vocabulary-Rich Environment

• Place labels in the room & change them to more sophisticated terms as students learn– Armchair - comfortable - relax– Light switch - electrical circuit connector– Window - transparent sunlight emitter

• Vocabulary Preview– Post new words that will be learned during the week

• Words of Interest– Students post words they found that are interesting

• Word Wise– Students post words that confused them

• Meet and Greet– Container of vocabulary words. Whenever there is a free moment, pick a word to review, have students write a sentence, or quiz students for award points/All Stars.

Select Books & Resources to Support Vocabulary

Learning• Book baskets for current themes or units

• Dictionaries or word banks made by the class with words & pictures

• Read aloud book vocabulary placed on a wall with a copy of the book cover

• Select books for free or independent reading that have vocabulary targets

Expand The Words You Say

• Use synonyms to teach subtleties in meaning– E.g., Clothes, costume, dress, outfit, garment, garb, uniform

• Purposely use more sophisticated vocabulary for everyday activities– See handout

Create Semantic Cluster Walls

• Post vocabulary words according to semantic relationships to help students remember and associate meaning– Possible clusters:

What People Do Things We UseSize & Amounts FeelingsTime PeoplePlaces TalkingFood AnimalsNoises Your Body

Direct Vocabulary Instruction

Words that are more complex or nuanced

require direct instruction rather than

incidental.

Direct Vocabulary Scheduling Options

• Words related to content areas taught during content instruction

• Time following read aloud used for vocabulary instruction

• Scheduled time dedicated to vocabulary

• Short bursts of vocabulary work throughout the day, e.g, “word of the day”

Direct Vocabulary InstructionSequence

• Students work with word meaning

• Students deepen their understanding of vocabulary

• Students engage in vocabulary games and word play

• Students review vocabulary/ assessment

Defining vs. Explaining

• To use a dictionary effectively, the student needs to have some knowledge of the word in question.

• In 3 different studies, when students were given dictionary definitions of new vocabulary & asked to generate sentences the results were as follows:– 63% of student sentences were judged to be “odd”

– 60% were unacceptable– Students frequently interpreted one or two words from a definition as the entire meaning.

Defining vs. Explaining (page 2)

• Instead of introducing new vocabulary with a dictionary meaning, explain and give examples instead.

• Varying your definitions or explanations throughout the week so students won’t just memorize a definition.

Student Activities for Finding Word Meanings

• Sentence completion to describe meaning– We use this word to describe____________

• Answering questions– What does it mean that something is (immense)?

– In this picture, what things are (immense)?

– If a (problem is immense), what does that mean?

• Examples and nonexamples

Student Activities for Finding

Word Meanings (page 2)

• Visual representations– A sketch that demonstrates word meaning

– Create a symbol to represent meaning

– Complete a graphic organizer– Make a physical model (e.g., science concepts)

• Kinesthetic representations• Vocabulary journals, notebooks, logs

Student Activities to Deepen Their Understanding of Word

Meanings• Creating analogies (see handout)

• Completing semantic feature analysis (see handout)

• Categorizing and Classifying vocabulary

• Word Sorts (see handout)

A few vocabulary games and word play ideas

• Match Me– 1/2 of students have word cards & 1/2 have picture/definition cards. Students find the person that has the matching word or definition

• Songs– Put vocabulary to familiar tunes– Student write rap songs

• BINGO– Give student blank grids. They write one vocabulary word in each box so their card is different from the others. Someone reads the definitions & students mark their cards.

More games. . . .• Beanbag games

– Student tosses bag to the next person if teacher says a word that doesn’t belong to the target category & holds on to bag if word does belong to the category

– Students toss beanbag to next person after they name a word that is associated with the target word or category

• Password– Divide class into 2 teams. Give one person on each team a set of 10 cards that belong to a semantic cluster. The reader gives clues for each word. The whole team can guess or individuals can take turns. The team with the most correct wins.

Assessing Student Progress

Assess knowledge of new words across different contexts. Relying on one specific context may lead to overestimating students’ abilities.

Assessing Student Progress

• Conventional quizzes– True/false judgment of sentences with vocabulary

– Matching definition to word– Writing sentences with words– Sentence completion of fill-in-the blank

• Performance assessments– Products: concept maps, diagrams– Record verbal definitions– Group story using vocabulary– Teacher-student conferences

• Self-assessment rubrics

Assessing Student Progress (page 2)

• Anecdotal Evidence– Student writing samples, presentations, conversations

• Individual student records– Vocabulary notebook, notecards, journals

– Reading references•Students use sticky notes to mark place in reading as well as written work where they notice a vocabulary word

•Students log sources where they find vocabulary

Extension Beyond the Classroom

• Students bring in evidence of seeing, hearing, or using target words outside of the classroom

• Students assigned to bring in an interesting word they have seen or heard.

• Vocabulary games sent home for practice

Teaching Students Strategies for Independent

Word Learning“Of course, it is not possible for teachers to provide specific instruction for all the words their students do not know. Therefore, students also need to be able to determine the meaning of words that are new to them but not taught directly to them. They need to develop effective word-learning strategies.”(NIFL)

“Instructional strategies need to focus on the process of deriving word meanings, in contrast to the product of coming up with the right meaning of an unknown words.”(Beck)

Independent Word Learning Strategies

• Clarifying strategies– Activating background knowledge

•Lubliner’s Mine Your Memory

– Studying word structure– Deriving meaning from context

• Self-monitoring strategies• Use of dictionaries and other reference aids

K - 2nd Grade Preparation for

Word Learning Strategies• Prediction: picture, title, vocabulary

• Activating background knowledge– Lubliner’s Mine Your Memory

• Teacher modeled Think Aloud for looking for word meaning in context

• Beginning word structure– Word building: play, player, playful, playpen, ballplayer

• Cause-Effect signal words and relationships in narratives (because, so)

• Development of “word consciousness”

Study the Structure

“It is hypothesized that it is the ability to learn how new words are derived from known words that accounts for the fact that between grades 1 and 5, children increase their vocabulary size from approximately 10,000 words to approximately 40,000 words.”

(Paynter)

Start with a vocabulary for talking about word

parts• Affixes

– Prefixes• 4 most common: un-, re-, in-, dis-• Negative prefixes account for 37% of words with prefixes that children are likely to encounter

• Base words– Any words from which many other words are formed: migrate, migration, migrant, immigrant, migratory

• Word roots– Words from other languages that are the origin of many English words

– About 60% of all English words have Latin or Greek origins (see handout)

Sequence for Teaching Word Structure

• Initially focus on helping students recognize words that are part of the same word family – build, building, builder, builds, rebuild

• Teach common prefixes and suffixes

• Introduce Root Webs (see handout)• Teach common Latin and Greek roots

Consider the Context

• Context is more likely to help a student infer word meaning under the following conditions:– The text provides plenty of information that supports inference

– The target word and the contextual support are closely linked

– The child has partial word knowledge– The child has background knowledge related to the unknown word

(Lubliner)

Context Strategies• Infer meaning from text (see handout)– Comma clues– Explanation clues– Feeling clues– Opposition clues

• Teach high-frequency signal words– Usually adverbs that indicate a particular kind of relationship between concepts in the text

High frequency signal words include:

• Definition words:– Means, refers to, consists of, in other words

• Example words:– For example, for instance, such as, including

• Sequence words:– First, second, next, then, finally, soon

• Comparison words:– Similar, just like, in the same way, in comparison, likewise

• Opposition words:– In contrast, but, yet, on the other hand, however

• Cause-Effect words:– Because, therefore, so consequently, due to, so that

“Proficient readers know that context does not always work, but most children lack the ability to think critically about strategy effectiveness. Teachers build flexible strategic thinking by providing examples of context that is helpful, not helpful, and misleading.”

(Lubliner)

Self-monitoring Strategies for

Independent Reading• How well do I know these words?

• How fast can I read and still understand?– Lubliner’s stoplight strategy– Clink and Clunk strategy

• What strategies will best help me understand unknown words?

Stoplight Vocabulary(see handout)

• Redlight words: – I don’t know the word

• I need to stop and use clarifying strategies

• Yellow-light words: (3 levels)– I understand the general meaning of the word, but I can’t use it.

– I can give examples of the word– I can define the word.

• I need to slow down and check my comprehension

• Green Zone:– I know the word well and can use the word meaningfully in a sentence.• I can read at the speed limit.

Click and ClunkKlinger, et. al (2001) From Clunk to Click, Collaborative Strategic Reading

• Clicks: when we understand what we read, everything “clicks” along smoothly

• Clunks: when we don’t understand what we read, “clunk,” we stop when we get to a clunk– We use fix-up strategies to figure out what the clunk means, so we can continue on

Clunk Fix-up Strategies

• Reread the sentences with the clunk and look for key ideas to help you figure out the word.

• Think about what makes sense.• Reread the sentences before and after the clunk looking for clues.

• Look for a prefix or suffix in the word that might help.

• Break the word apart and look for smaller words that you known.

“When children get into words, they acquire the building blocks of knowledge, allowing them to share meaningful ideas. Providing children with rich vocabulary and independent word-learning skills prepares them for success in higher education and gives them the ability to receive and share information in an ever changing world.”(Lubliner)