What are Words Worth?Vocabulary Instruction Worth Its Weight in Gold

Presented by District Literacy Leadership Team

4 Components of an Effective Vocabulary Program

1. Wide and extensive reading to expand word knowledge,

2. Instruction in specific words to enhance comprehension of texts containing those words,

3. Instruction in independent word-learning strategies, and

4. Word consciousness and word play activities to motivate and enhance learning.

Michael Graves, 2000

How do students build their vocabulary? •Wide and Extensive Reading•Morphemic Analysis (word parts)

•Contextual Analysis •Dictionary Use•Cognate Analysis (ELL) (chocolatte/chocolate)

Explicit Vocabulary Instruction

Vocabulary instruction is embedded within the instructional routine for reading and follows a before, during and after reading format.

Before ReadingInstruction • Archer’s Instructional Routine for Vocabulary

• Marzano’s Building Academic Vocabulary-Steps 1-3

• Beck’s Questioning Strategies

Activities• Frayer Model• Semantic Mapping• Word and Concept Sorts

During ReadingInstruction• Model strategy use• Monitor/support student strategy use

• Providing affirmative and corrective feedback

Activities• Word Analysis• Context Clues• Vocabulary Tree Map• Dictionary

After ReadingInstruction• Marzano’s Building Academic Vocabulary-Steps 4-6

• Beck’s Questioning Strategies

Activities• Frayer Model• Semantic Mapping• Word and Concept Sorts

Reading Aloud•Students retain more vocabulary when the teacher explains critical vocabulary terms in context during the reading.

•Reading a book several times leads to more word learning than reading several books once each.

Reading Aloud "The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children."

Becoming a Nation of Readers (1985)

Vocabulary InstructionDirect teaching of vocabulary can help improve comprehension when we follow these guidelines (Cooper, 1993):

• A few critical words are taught.• The words are taught in a meaningful context. (including nonlinguistic representations)

• Students relate the new words to their background knowledge.

• Students are exposed to the words multiple times.

What are exemplary strategies for vocabulary instruction?

TAKE A LOOK

Vocabulary Strategies

Background KnowledgeThe relationship between vocabulary knowledge and background knowledge is explicit in research. (Nagy & Herman, 1984; Marzano, 2004; Hart & Risley, 1995)

Organizing Words Into Categories

Word Sortscold front meteorologist

temperature

barometer

hurricanes

Word Sorts

• Provide students with a set of vocabulary word cards (related to a specific concept or topic).

• Work in groups to sort the words into categories.

• Encourage students to find more than one category for the vocabulary words.

• Students then discuss with teacher & peers their rationale for categorizing words.

cold frontmeteorologist

temperature

barometerhurricanes

Concept Circles Assessment: Westward Movement

hardship

trail

wagon

food h

unting

learning

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

Traveling west had many hardships. One of the many hardships were diseases that the people had without medical help. Wagons would need to hold many delicacies. For instance, food you’d need to eat and live on were carried in them. The trails could have bad terrain, or could be all flat. Hunting was important and learning how to hunt for buffalo, elk, deer, and birds was learned while on the trail and served as good food for all.

terrain

disease

Concept Circles Assessment: Circulatory System

Veins

Large

intestines Heart

Arteries

Salivary Glands

Blood

carbon dioxid

e

Oxyg

en

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

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

Concept Maps

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 MapWhat is it?

Fence

What are some examples?

What is it like?

Word MapWhat is it?

Culture

What are some examples?

What is it like?

Word MapWhat is it?

Disease

What are some examples?

What is it like?

Your Turn

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 dueLounging by the pool

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

An extreme state of agitation.

SWIVET

Frayer Diagram Definition Characteristics

Examples Non-Examples

What is a Noun?

Fryer ModelTerm Visual Representation

Definition Personal Association

sphere

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

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)

Your Turn

Contextual Redefinition Work with a group to make predictions for definitions of

each of the following words. The words included here are found in Notes on the Space We Take. Remember that some words which look familiar will probably have new meanings in this context.

WORD Predicted Definition

Definition Based on Context

Context Clues Used

hissexoskeletonVulnerability

During Reading Strategies

Semantic Feature AnalysisFDR JFK Nixon Reagan Clinton

Democrat + + - - +War timePresident + - + - -

Congress(same party)

Re-elected

Served in Congress

Won majority of popular vote

Semantic Feature Analysis Convex Equilateral Equiangular 4 sided Opposite

sides parallel

square x x x x x

rectangle x x x x

triangle x

quadrilateral x

Regularpolygon

x x x

rhombus x x x x

trapezoid x x

Your Turn

After Reading Strategies

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

Term Visual Representation

Definition

a degree of wetness especially of the atmosphere

Personal Association

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

Concept Circles

Why? ___________________________________________________

Which word does not belong?

England

Cuba

Japan

Hawaii

racism stereotyping

Churchbombing violence

Concept: Civil Rights Movement

Migrant Dust Bowl

Hobo Hoovervilles

Concept: The Depression

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

tyrannyserendipitygrapnelpurportsensitivedubious

4-2-1 summarizer (TPR)

Four Two One

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

VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENTConcept CirclesConcept Sorts

Presented by The District Literacy TeamNovember 28, 2012

VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT

“In our teaching, how can we ensure that there is sufficient intensity and frequency of exposure for concept and vocabulary learning?”Bear, D. Concept Sorts and Vocabulary Learning. Retrieved November 19, 2012, from http://www.vocablog-plc.blogspot.com

CONCEPT CIRCLES AND CONCEPT SORTS: STRATEGIES BEFORE AND AFTEROrganize ideas + Think critically about relationships between words + Interact and discuss vocabulary = Deeper conceptual understanding of vocabulary and concepts

WHAT ARE CONCEPT CIRCLES?Concept Circles are circles with

words placed in sections of the circle.

Concept Circles are used for a variety of instructional and assessment purposes.

HOW DO CONCEPT CIRCLES WORK?Gives students the opportunity to

categorize words and justify the connections between and among words.

Each section of the circle contains a word or phrase that you would like your students to think, talk, and or write about.

CONCEPT CIRCLESPut words or phrases in each section

of the circle and ask students to write about the connections they see between the words and phrases.

Why are these words in a Concept Circle together?

road signs Romance

novel

Medicine

dosageNote passed

in class

WHY ARE THESE WORDS IN A CONCEPT CIRCLE TOGETHER?

CONCEPT CIRCLESPlace vocabulary words in three

of the sections of the circle. Students add a word in the fourth

section.Students write why they chose

that word and how the words in the circle form a concept.

CONCEPT CIRCLES

transportatio

n

portfolio

export

CONCEPT CIRCLESStudents choose four vocabulary

words from their study of a topic or a text. These can be teacher- or student-generated lists of words.

Students use those four words to write about what they have learned about the topic.

CONCEPT CIRCLES

CONCEPT CIRCLESStudents shade either the words

that go together or the word that doesn’t fit with the others.

Students talk or write about which attributes caused a word to be included or excluded.

CONCEPT CIRCLES

WHEN AND WHY WOULD I USE THIS STRATEGY?Concept circles are used when you

want students to participate in conceptual thinking about content vocabulary.Focus students’ discussionsReview word meanings and word familiesProvide support for students’ writing

Assessment tool – use words to write a focused summary of what has been learned in a unit of study.

CONCEPT SORTS: CATEGORIES & LABELSStudents organize information: categorize and label words based on common attributes

Vocabulary words are selected because they are critical to students’ comprehension of content or text.

HOW DO CONCEPT SORTS WORK?Student receive a copy of the key

concepts and critical vocabularyTeacher reads each of the terms

aloud as students follow to match pronunciation to print.

Students ask questionsTeachers remind them of places

where they can find additional information about words (texts, websites, etc.)

HOW DO CONCEPT SORTS WORK?Assign student groups.Groups discuss words and decide

on how to categorize the word into logical groups

Give each category a labelAsk students to justify their word

groups and labels

CONCEPT SORTS

CONCEPT SORTS: WHEN AND WHY? Concept sorts require students to access

and gain background knowledge related to the topic based on encountering the technical vocabulary related to the topic.

By discussing and grouping the words into categories, students are creating attributes of the words in relation to each other and the topic being studied.

In labeling the words, students create a structure for remembering the words and the information they have gathered related to the words.

And a Quote from Stahl … Increasing the amount of reading that children did outside of school, using a “Book Flood” approach, did significantly improve children’s vocabulary. In a Book Flood, the school sends books home, provides incentives for reading, and so on in order to dramatically increase the amount of reading that children do.

INSIDE WORDS BY JANET ALLEN