Building Academic Vocabulary

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Building Academic Vocabulary
Jen Madison jmadison_at_esu6.org See
http//manila.esu6.org/jmadison for the complete
PowerPoint presentation and other vocabulary
resources!
2
Guiding Questions

• What is the effect of direct vocabulary
  instruction on student achievement?
• What is one effective strategy for the direct
  instruction of vocabulary?

3
Why Vocabulary Instruction?

• Background knowledge is a strong indicator of
  academic success.
• Factors correlated to vocabulary
• General measures of intelligence
• Ones ability to comprehend new information
• Level of income

4
Why Vocabulary Instruction?

• Vocabulary knowledge is one of the best
  indicators of verbal ability (Sternberg, 1987
  Terman, 1916).
• Teaching vocabulary can improve reading
  comprehension for both native English speakers
  (Beck, Perfetti, McKeown, 1982) and English
  learners (Carlo et al., 2004).
• Disadvantages students are likely to have
  substantially smaller vocabularies than their
  more advantaged classmates (Templin, 1957 White,
  Graves, Slater, 1990).
• Lack of vocabulary can be a crucial factor
  underlying the school failure of disadvantaged
  students (Becker, 1977 Biemiller, 1999).

(Graves, 2006)
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Why Direct Instruction?

• National Reading Panel. (2000). Report of the
  National Reading Panel Teaching Children to
  Read. Retrieved September 20, 2006, from
  http//www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/nrp/smallboo
  k.cfm
• instruction does lead to gains in comprehension,
  but that methods must be appropriate to the age
  and ability of the reader
• balance of indirect direct vocabulary
  instruction
• importance of repetition multiple exposure to
  items
• variety of direct instruction strategies

6
Why Vocabulary Instruction?

• Marzano et. al. (2001.) Classroom Instruction
  That Works. Alexandria, VA McREL.
• 12 percentile gain with any direct instruction
• 33 percentile gain with systematic direct
  instruction of words in passage

7
Effect Sizes
Control Group
8
Guiding Questions

• What is the effect of direct vocabulary
  instruction on student achievement?
• What is one effective strategy for the direct
  instruction of vocabulary?

9
Personal Reflection

• What are my criteria for choosing words?
• If someone were to ask my students how they learn
  new words in my class, what would the students
  say?
• How do I encourage vocabulary learning for the
  long term?

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Different Kinds of Words Require Different Kinds
of Instruction!

• Learning a basic oral vocabulary
• Learning to read known words
• Learning new words representing known concepts
• Learning new words representing new concepts
• Learning new meanings for known words
• Clarifying and enriching the meanings of known
  words
• Moving words into students expressive
  vocabularies
• Building English learners vocabularies

(Graves, 2006)
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Word Hierarchy
(Beck, McKeown, Kucan, 2002)
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Some Criteria

• (Beck, McKeown, Kucan, 2002, p.19)
• Unknown words
• Importance utility
• Instructional Potential
• Conceptual Understanding

• (Graves, 2004, p. 68)
• Unknown words
• Importance of word to understanding selection
• Use of context or structural analysis skills
• Utility of word outside particular selection

13
Some Criteria (Marzano, 2001 Marzano,
2004)

• Direct instruction on words that are critical to
  new content produces the most powerful learning
  (Marzano, 2001).
• Powerful Choices
• have a high probability of enhancing academic
  success
• emphasized in reading
• critical for understanding text or concept
• Essential vs. supplemental
• Limited Words

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Limited Words (Marzano, 2001, p. 122)
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Personal Reflection Forward Thinking

• What are my criteria for choosing words?
• If someone were to ask my students how they learn
  vocabulary in my class, what would the students
  say?
• How do I encourage vocabulary learning for the
  long term?

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What does the literature say?

• 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.

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One Proven Process

• Marzano, R. (2004). Building background
  knowledge for academic achievement. Alexandria,
  VA ASCD.
• Marzano, R. (2005). Building academic
  vocabulary Teachers manual. Alexandria, VA
  ASCD.

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Characteristics of Effective Direct Vocabulary
Instruction

• Effective vocabulary instruction does not rely on
  definitions.
• 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.
• Different types of words require different types
  of instruction.
• 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.

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Building Academic Vocabulary A Six-Step Process

• Introduce word
• Student friendly descriptions, examples,
  explanations, images, etc.
• Must connect to students prior knowledge
• Students generalize meaning
• Students create nonlinguistic representation

• Engage students in word activities
• Discuss words
• Engage student play with words

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Experience Observe

• Strategy observer
• What steps/processes did you observe?
• Participant observer
• What words, behaviors, evidence of student
  learning did you notice?
• Participants
• What did you learn? What worked for you? How
  did you feel as a learner using this strategy?

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sesquipedalian

• etymology (analysis of word origins parts)
• sesqui (Latin, half as much again)
• ped (foot)
• -ian (one that is, one who)
• a long word for a long word

• Examples
• antidisestablishmentarianism
• pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
• floccinaucinihilipilification

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sesquipedalian
Nancy and Sluggo
Everything that coruscates with effulgence is not
ipso facto aurous . --All that glitters is not
gold.
http//www.wordsources.info/words-mod-sesquipedali
an-1-16.html
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Please answer

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

24
Experience Observe

• Strategy observer
• What steps/processes did you observe?
• Participant observer
• What words, behaviors, evidence of student
  learning did you notice?
• Participants
• What did you learn? What worked for you? How
  did you feel as a learner using this strategy?

25
Building Academic Vocabulary A Six-Step Process

• Introduce word
• Student friendly descriptions, examples,
  explanations, images, etc.
• Must connect to students prior knowledge
• Students generalize meaning
• Students create nonlinguistic representation

• Caution!
• Monitor understanding carefully
• May require more than one session

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The Case Against Providing Only Dictionary
Definitions

• When people first learn words, they understand
  them more as descriptions as opposed to
  definitions (Beck, McKeown, Kucan, 2002)

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Research on Imagery as Elaboration
Students who used imagery to learn vocabulary,
on average, performed
of studies
(Pickering, 2007)
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magnify

• word parts
• magn (large, great)
• -ify (v. to do)

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antagonist

• Etymology
• anta-, against
• agon, contest
• -ist, one who

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antagonist

• Etymology
• anta-, against
• agon, contest
• -ist, one who

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Building Academic Vocabulary A Six-Step Process

• Introduce word
• Student friendly descriptions, examples,
  explanations, images, etc.
• Must connect to students prior knowledge
• Students generalize meaning
• Students create nonlinguistic representation

• Engage students in word activities
• Discuss words
• Engage student play with words

32
Personal Reflection

• What are my criteria for choosing words?
• If someone were to ask my students how they learn
  new words in my class, what would my students
  say?
• How do I encourage vocabulary learning for the
  long term?

33
Building Academic Vocabulary A Six-Step Process

• Introduce word
• Student friendly descriptions, examples,
  explanations, images, etc.
• Must connect to students prior knowledge
• Students generalize meaning
• Students create nonlinguistic representation

• Engage students in word activities
• Discuss words
• Engage student play with words

34
Massed vs. Distributed Practice

• 24 focused practices to achieve 80 competency
  (Marzano, Pickering, Pollock, Instructional
  Strategies that Work, p. 67)

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A Quick Note Student Note Taking

• Organized
• Cumulative

• Published templates
• www.ASCD.org
• Teacher-created
• Use tables in Word
• Student notebooks
• Designated section of notebook

Students must be able to adjust and build on
their understanding of words.
36
ASCD. (2005). Building Academic Vocabulary
Student Notebook. Retrieved September 20, 2006,
from http//shop.ascd.org/productdisplay.cfm?produ
ctid105154e
37
Building Academic Vocabulary A Six-Step Process

• Introduce word
• Student friendly descriptions, examples,
  explanations, images, etc.
• Must connect to students prior knowledge
• Students generalize meaning
• Students create nonlinguistic representation

• Engage students in word activities
• Discuss words
• Engage student play with words

38
Discussion Activities

• Reading, writing, speaking, listening
• Think-Pair-Share
• Free association
• Word displays / word walls, word encounters
• Similarities differences, classification
• Metaphors, analogies
• Sentence Strings
• ____ and ____ are similar because
• ____ and ____ are different because
• ____ is ____, but ___ is ____.
• The skiing teacher said Maria was a novice on the
  ski slopes because

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Discussion Activities

• Graphic Organizers
• Concept Map
• Semantic Mapping
• Frayer Model
• Comparison Matrix

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Essential Characteristics
Non-essential Characteristics
Examples
NON-examples
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Student Sample
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(Allen, 1999)
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(Allen, 1999)
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Student Discussion

• Individual to Group
• Identify share favorite, most interesting word
• Pairs
• Students compare entries for difficult words and
  agree on their information
• Whats true, false, new, confusing?
• Cooperative Groups
• Take turns identifying difficult term, others
  provide information

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Games

• 3 Distinguishing Characteristics (Covington,
  1992)
• Present manageable challenges
• Arouse curiosity
• Involve some degree of imagination, fantasy
• When?
• Periodic review rather than new words
• Sponge activities
• Remember
• Use competition consciously!

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Games

• Jeopardy
• Show graphics one at a time until students can
  answer What is
• http//www.marzanoandassociates.com/html/resources
  .htm
• Charades
• Name That Category (100,000 Pyramid)
• Pictionary
• Taboo
• Crosswords
• Others?

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Building Academic Vocabulary A Six-Step Process

• Introduce word
• Student friendly descriptions, examples,
  explanations, images, etc.
• Must connect to students prior knowledge
• Students generalize meaning
• Students create nonlinguistic representation

• Engage students in word activities
• Discuss words
• Engage student play with words

48
Personal Reflection

• What are my criteria for choosing words?
• If someone were to ask my students how they learn
  new words in my class, what would the students
  say?
• How do I encourage vocabulary learning for the
  long term?

49
Learning Summary

• Guiding Questions
• What is the effect of direct vocabulary
  instruction on student achievement?
• What is one effective strategy for the direct
  instruction of vocabulary?
• So what?
• What are the implications of this research and
  this method in your practice?
• What questions must be answered? What barriers
  must be removed?

50
Resources

• Jens Website
• http//manila.esu6.org/jmadison/vocabulary
• Allen, J. (1999). Words, Words, Words
  Teaching Vocabulary in Grades 4-12.
• Beck, I., McKeown, M.G., Kucan, L. (2002).
  Bringing Words to Life Robust Vocabulary
  Instruction.
• Graves, M.F. (2006). The Vocabulary Book
  Learning Instruction.
• Marzano, R.J. (2004). Building Academic
  Background Knowledge for Academic Achievement.
• Reading First. (2004). A Closer Look at the
  Five Essential Components of Effective Reading
  Instruction.
• Vaughn, S. Linan-Thompson, S. (2004).
  Research-Based Methods of Reading Instruction
  Grades K-3.