Vocabulary In Action
About Vocabulary
Vocabulary refers to the words we must know to communicate effectively. In general, vocabulary can be described as oral vocabulary or reading vocabulary. Oral vocabulary refers to words that we use in speaking or recognize in listening. Reading vocabulary refers to words we recognize or use in print.
Vocabulary plays an important part in learning to read. As beginning readers, children use the words they have heard to make sense of the words they see in print. Consider, for example, what happens when a beginning reader comes to the word dig in a book. As she begins to figure out the sounds represented by the letters d, i, g, the reader recognizes that the sounds make
up a very familiar word that she has heard and said many times. Beginning readers have a much more difficult time reading words that are not already part of their oral vocabulary.
Vocabulary also is very important to reading comprehension. Readers cannot understand what they are reading without knowing what most of the words mean. As children learn to read more advanced texts, they must learn the meaning of new words that are not part of their oral vocabulary.
Effective and in-depth vocabulary instruction is essential for all students, but especially for those students who enter school without having a language-rich experience at home. Consider the findings from a study conducted by Hart & Risley (1995). In studying the verbal interactions between parents/siblings and children from the time they were learning to talk until they entered school, the researchers found significant differences between children who were exposed to a language-rich environment and those who were not. In professional families, children heard an average of 2,153 words per hour, while children in working class families heard an average of 1,251 words per hour and children in welfare-recipient families heard an average of 616 words
per hour. Extrapolated out, this means that in a year children in professional families heard an average of 11 million words, while children in working class families heard an average of 6 million words and children in welfare families heard an average of 3 million words. By age four, a child from a welfare-recipient family could have heard 32 million words fewer than a classmate from a professional family. By age three, children from professional families had vocabularies of 1,116 words while children from welfare families had vocabularies of 525 words.
Upon entering school, students typically add between 2,000 and 4,000 words a year to their reading vocabularies, or approximately 17 words each day (Anderson & Nagy, 1992; Beck & McKeown, 1991;Graves, 2006; Nagy & Herman, 1987; Stahl & Nagy, 2006). Students entering school with limited vocabularies need to add an even greater number of words to catch up with their peers.
Educators can help students bridge the gap by providing both direct and incidental vocabulary instruction. Students need interactions with rich language, the printed word, and teachers who provide targeted, differentiated vocabulary instruction (Lehr, Osborn, & Hiebert, 2004; National Reading Panel, 2000). Teaching vocabulary explicitly and daily at each grade level and targeting key academic terms and high-utility vocabulary words can make meaningful differences in each child’s vocabulary and future academic success.
Early exposure to rich vocabulary instruction is also essential. Vocabulary knowledge in kindergarten and first grade is a significant predictor of reading comprehension in the middle and secondary grades (Cunningham & Stanovich, 1998; Graves, 2006).
The scientific research on vocabulary instruction reveals that (1) most vocabulary is learned indirectly, and (2) some vocabulary must be taught directly through explicit instruction. In its analysis of the research on vocabulary instruction, the National Reading
Panel (2000) found that there is no one best method for vocabulary instruction, and that vocabulary should be taught both directly and indirectly. Direct instruction means teaching specific words, such as pre-teaching vocabulary prior to reading a selection. It is estimated that students can be taught explicitly some 400 words per year in school (Beck, McKeown &n Kucan,
2002). Another example of direct instruction involves the analysis of word roots and affixes (suffixes and prefixes). However, one cannot teach students all of the words they need to learn. Vocabulary instruction must therefore also include indirect instruction methods, such as exposing students to lots of new words and having them read a lot. Indirect instruction also includes helping students develop an appreciation for words and experience enjoyment and satisfaction in their use (Baumann, Kame’enui & Ash, 2003).
Vocabulary plays an important part in learning to read. As beginning readers, children use the words they have heard to make sense of the words they see in print. Consider, for example, what happens when a beginning reader comes to the word dig in a book. As she begins to figure out the sounds represented by the letters d, i, g, the reader recognizes that the sounds make
up a very familiar word that she has heard and said many times. Beginning readers have a much more difficult time reading words that are not already part of their oral vocabulary.
Vocabulary also is very important to reading comprehension. Readers cannot understand what they are reading without knowing what most of the words mean. As children learn to read more advanced texts, they must learn the meaning of new words that are not part of their oral vocabulary.
Effective and in-depth vocabulary instruction is essential for all students, but especially for those students who enter school without having a language-rich experience at home. Consider the findings from a study conducted by Hart & Risley (1995). In studying the verbal interactions between parents/siblings and children from the time they were learning to talk until they entered school, the researchers found significant differences between children who were exposed to a language-rich environment and those who were not. In professional families, children heard an average of 2,153 words per hour, while children in working class families heard an average of 1,251 words per hour and children in welfare-recipient families heard an average of 616 words
per hour. Extrapolated out, this means that in a year children in professional families heard an average of 11 million words, while children in working class families heard an average of 6 million words and children in welfare families heard an average of 3 million words. By age four, a child from a welfare-recipient family could have heard 32 million words fewer than a classmate from a professional family. By age three, children from professional families had vocabularies of 1,116 words while children from welfare families had vocabularies of 525 words.
Upon entering school, students typically add between 2,000 and 4,000 words a year to their reading vocabularies, or approximately 17 words each day (Anderson & Nagy, 1992; Beck & McKeown, 1991;Graves, 2006; Nagy & Herman, 1987; Stahl & Nagy, 2006). Students entering school with limited vocabularies need to add an even greater number of words to catch up with their peers.
Educators can help students bridge the gap by providing both direct and incidental vocabulary instruction. Students need interactions with rich language, the printed word, and teachers who provide targeted, differentiated vocabulary instruction (Lehr, Osborn, & Hiebert, 2004; National Reading Panel, 2000). Teaching vocabulary explicitly and daily at each grade level and targeting key academic terms and high-utility vocabulary words can make meaningful differences in each child’s vocabulary and future academic success.
Early exposure to rich vocabulary instruction is also essential. Vocabulary knowledge in kindergarten and first grade is a significant predictor of reading comprehension in the middle and secondary grades (Cunningham & Stanovich, 1998; Graves, 2006).
The scientific research on vocabulary instruction reveals that (1) most vocabulary is learned indirectly, and (2) some vocabulary must be taught directly through explicit instruction. In its analysis of the research on vocabulary instruction, the National Reading
Panel (2000) found that there is no one best method for vocabulary instruction, and that vocabulary should be taught both directly and indirectly. Direct instruction means teaching specific words, such as pre-teaching vocabulary prior to reading a selection. It is estimated that students can be taught explicitly some 400 words per year in school (Beck, McKeown &n Kucan,
2002). Another example of direct instruction involves the analysis of word roots and affixes (suffixes and prefixes). However, one cannot teach students all of the words they need to learn. Vocabulary instruction must therefore also include indirect instruction methods, such as exposing students to lots of new words and having them read a lot. Indirect instruction also includes helping students develop an appreciation for words and experience enjoyment and satisfaction in their use (Baumann, Kame’enui & Ash, 2003).
Vocabulary Articles
Nine Things Every Teacher Should Know About Vocabulary Instruction | |
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