Chapter 5 – ELED 320 – Developing Vocabulary:  Words and Meanings Beyond the Beginning Literacy Level – p. 225 – 294

Vocabulary Development – p. 228

THE TEACHING OF DEFINITIONS IS NOT THE GOAL OF VOCABULARY INSTRUCTION.  p. 231

“Increasing the volume of students’ reading is the single most important thing a teacher can do to promote large-scale vocabulary growth.”  p. 234

“The ultimate goal of all vocabulary development is to help students become independent learners who have strategies for inferring the meanings of unknown words when they encounter them in reading . . . and who can use that vocabulary in constructing meaning through reading and writing.”  p. 43

p. 228 - Recognition vocabulary – that body of words children are able to pronounce or read orally.

Meaning vocabulary – that body of words whose meanings children understand and can use.

Recognition and meaning vocabularies develop simultaneously as students learn to read and write.

There is a strong relationship between knowledge of word meanings and reading comprehension.

Methods for improving student’s vocabularies have changed over the years – Improving an individual’s ability to construct meaning involves a great deal more than just teaching a few words before a selection is read.

p. 229

Vocabulary of average high school senior – 40,000 words.

Students must learn 2,700 – 3,000 words per year (7 new words per day).

4 ways students acquire vocabulary:

1. reading widely  --- VERY STRONG
2. in context with support
3. dictionary
4. direct instruction
· NOTE:  Some students under some circumstances may profit from direct teaching of vocabulary; however, direct teaching is NOT as powerful in achieving overall growth in vocabulary and comprehension as is wide reading.

p. 230

Research on direct instruction of vocabulary is weak at best as it relates to comprehension.
 
 

Somewhat effective strategies for direct instruction of vocabulary are:

1. Only a few words central to the content of the story or informational text were taught.
p. 241
· review the text to identify the story line(s) or main ideas; prepare a story map or graphic organizer
· look at story map or graphic organizer to identify words that are crucial to understanding the text – “key-concept words”
· check text to see which of these words are ALREADY adequately defined in the text
· identify words students can determine through the use of prefixes, suffixes, root words or base words.
· identify the words that will likely cause difficulty for students
· there should only be two or three words left on the list

2. Words were taught in meaningful contexts that conveyed the particular meanings relevant to the text.
3. The teaching of vocabulary was integrated with the activation and development of prior knowledge.
4. Teachers taught words thoroughly by offering students rich and varied information about them.
5. Students were exposed to a word many times.
6. Students were actively involved in the process of learning the words.

There is NO one best way (or only way) to teach vocabulary.

Awareness of Words – p. 231

motivation and interest  - WORD PLAY
 

· journals of words
· reading aloud
· discussion circles
· word banks, files, word books (Words I use when I Write books)
· wirting
· word maps, semantic maps, webbing PLAY WITH WORDS
· bulletin boards, word walls
· technology

Wide Reading and Extensive Writing p. 234

It is critical to promote wide, independent reading and self-initiated writing.

Reading provides models of rich language that helps students learn many new words, and writing provides authentic reasons for students to use those words and develop ownership of them.

CHILDREN MUST BE ENCOURAGED TO READ SELF-SELECTED BOOKS AND DO SELF-INITIATED WRITING ON A DAILY BASIS.

p. 235 MUST KNOW THIS:  figures on page 236 and 237

Strategy for Independently Inferring Word Meanings from Context

1. When you come to a word you do not know, read to the end of the sentence or paragraph to decide if the word is important to your understanding.  If it is unimportant, read on.

2. If the word is important, look for base words, prefixes, or suffixes you recognize.

3. Use what you know about phonics to try to pronounce the word.  Is it a word you have heard before?

4. Reread the sentence or paragraphs containing the word.  Try using context to infer the meaning.

5. If you still don’t know the word, use a dictionary or ask someone for help.

6. Once you think you know the meaning, reread the text to be sure it makes sense.
 

p. 241  WHEN to teach vocabulary words:

BEFORE READING when students:

· the students you have tend to always have trouble constructing meaning
· the text is clearly outside the students’ prior knowledge
· the text has unusually difficult concepts
· students have previewed text and listed several words they believe they will need to know to understand the text

DURING READING when students:  (p. 242)

· need overall teacher support through guided reading
· when students have used journals (grades 4 and up) to record unknown words and want to discuss them in group

AFTER READING when students:

· need help clarifying meanings of words found in the reading that interest them or confuse them
· to expand students’ vocabularies by focusing their attention on interesting words in the text

HOW to teach vocabulary:

page 244

· word map

· semantic mapping

· semantic feature analysis  - grid; Venn diagram
 

p. 265

Using the Dictionary:

1. DO NOT give students a list of isolated words to look up and define.

2. DO NOT use the dictionary as a means of punishment.

3. DO NOT require that every word on each week’s spelling list be looked up in the dictionary and defined.  THIS IS A DEADLY, USELESS ACTIVITY.

4. DO NOT teach phonetic respellings except in relation to determining the pronunciation of words in the dictionary.

Thesaurus