What is vocabulary? Vocabulary is knowing words and their meanings. (Fountas & Pinnell, 2008)
Why is vocabulary important? Vocabulary knowledge impacts decoding and comprehension. It affects proficiency in reading, writing and speaking. In order for students to be successful in all literacy activities, students must have a robust vocabulary. (Fountas & Pinnell, 2008)
Also, language development in children as young as three can predict their success in reading in eleventh grade. (Morrow, 2012)
What should I know about vocabulary development? - By the age of 5-6,: *children begin to sound almost like adults and have a vocabulary of approximately 2,,500 words *children may still have difficulty pronouncing /l/ /r/ /sh/ *children are creative in their use of language and may make up or substitute words for words they do not know *children talk a lot and begin to use language to control situations (Morrow, 2012)
How can I support vocabulary instruction for ALL my students? (Fountas & Pinnell, 2008) - act out unfamiliar words - provide pictures or real life examples of unknown words - introduce students to a wide range of words in interesting texts - make sure students encounter a new word many times - make sure students encounter a new word in many contexts - provide explicit vocabulary instruction related to each text they read - discuss word meanings with students - teach students how to recognize the important words in a text - help students recognize and use meaningful morphemes (word parts in longer words) - teach students to use context to derive the meanings of words - teach students to use the dictionary or glossary as an aid to verify meaning - help students to integrate previously known definitions with new ones as they meet them in texts - help students to use new words in discussion and in writing - teach students to make connections between words to understand their meaning - help students to understand words that are used figuratively - help students to develop deliberate strategies for learning words - encourage persistence and recognize success
Resources to Use *Semantic Gradients: Make a list of words that are all related on a continuum. Ex: freezing-cold-lukewarm-warm-hot * Vocabulary Graphic Organizers: Includes: Word Diagrams, Four-Square Vocabulary, Word Mapping, Semantic Feature Analysis, Polysemous Words, Word Form Chart,
How can I support vocabulary instruction for my diverse learners (ESOL, SPED, and economically disadvantaged)? (Harper & Jong, 2004) 1. Oral Language Use - Encourage social interactions and language rich environments - Children from low SES homes are exposed to fewer words and have fewer opportunities to use their words, so encourage talking and use of vocabulary (Parsons, 2012)
2. Explicit Instruction Especially as ELL students get older, they need explicit instruction in grammar and morphology
3. Teach Academic Language Students learn social language before academic language. Students may need explicit teaching of academic language.
4. Understand ALL Teachers are Responsible Even teachers of content areas (not just the English and Language Arts teachers!) are responsible for making text and language accessible to ALL students.
5. Give Options Give students a variety of ways to respond for assignments. Students may have the options to respond orally, in writing, or in a native language.
6. Continue to Challenge ALL Students Continue to encourage all students to think critically! All students are capable of thinking critically and need to be challenged! However, you may need to provide some scaffolding to support students.
7. Provide LOTS of Classroom Environmental Print (Duke, 2000) This gives students the opportunity to connect a word to a tangible object and helps boost their vocabulary and sight word knowledge.
For English Language Learners (NAEYC, 1998) - A strong basis in a first language promotes school achievement in a second language - Children who are ELL are more likely to become readers and writers in English if they are familiar with vocab and concepts in their primary language - Children should be able to maintain home language while learning to speak and read English - encourage parents to read to child in native language
