Running Head: Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention

Improving Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention Among Struggling Readers Maria ORourke April 22, 2012 University of New England

Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention Improving Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention Among Struggling Readers Table of Contents

Abstract _____________________________________________________________________ 3 Introduction _________________________________________________________________ 4

Rationale For Study/Statement of the Problem _________________________________________ 4 Research Questions ________________________________________________________________ 5 Hypothesis _______________________________________________________________________ 5

Review of Literature ___________________________________________________________ 5

The Importance of Academic Vocabulary______________________________________________ 6 The Current Trend ________________________________________________________________ 7 Rationale for Explicit Instruction of Word Meanings ____________________________________ 8 Suggested Strategies for Instruction __________________________________________________ 9

Methodology ________________________________________________________________ 10
Study Participants ________________________________________________________________ 11 Data Collection Techniques ________________________________________________________ 12 Analyzing Results ________________________________________________________________ 12

Findings ___________________________________________________________________ 12
The District Vocabulary Program ___________________________________________________ 12

Figure 1.1______________________________________________________ 14
Student Opinion of the District Program _____________________________________________ 13

Figure 1.2______________________________________________________ 15
The Reduced Vocabulary Program __________________________________________________ 14

Figure 1.3_______________________________________________________16 Figure 1.4_______________________________________________________17

Student Opinion of Reduced Vocabulary Program _____________________________________ 17

Figure 1.5_______________________________________________________18 Discussion __________________________________________________________________ 17 Limitations _________________________________________________________________ 19 Summary ___________________________________________________________________ 19 Action Plan _________________________________________________________________ 20 Conclusions_________________________________________________________________ 22 References __________________________________________________________________ 23

Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention Improving Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention Among Struggling Readers Abstract

This research study examines relationships between the number of new words taught each week in a vocabulary program and retention of those words by students. Sixteen fifth-grade students participated in the study. These students were reading between first and a third grade levels at initiation of the study. Student assessment results, student surveys, and interviews were used for data collection. The number of new words students were required to learn each week was reduced from 8 to four. A variety of techniques including explicit instruction, context clues, morphology, and concept maps were used throughout the week to help students master target words. In addition, students created vocabulary board games that were used to keep previous words in rotation, and to aid in retention. Student achievement on end of marking period tests for vocabulary rose significantly during the study period. Students also reported much more positive attitudes about the reduced, but progressive vocabulary program.

Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention Improving Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention Among Struggling Readers Introduction

Vocabulary development is a central component of any literacy program. It is also sometimes difficult for struggling readers, particularly when they are trying to access content area text with specific, technical vocabulary. Vocabulary needs to be explicitly taught, but, it is not possible for a teacher to explicitly teach the meanings of all words students need to know to access grade-level concepts. In addition to direct instruction on word meanings, students need instruction on use of context clues and morphology to identify meanings of unknown words. When learning new words, students need to encounter the words many times through wide reading, and other activities. Students, especially those who struggle with language, require significant amounts of time to explore words, their meanings, and how they relate to other words they already know. Without making these connections students cannot retain the meaning of newly acquired vocabulary words. Rationale For Study/Statement of the Problem The researchers current vocabulary instruction consists of a district mandated program requiring 8-10 new vocabulary words per week that are unrelated to science and social studies content areas. The current vocabulary instruction includes forty-five minutes of whole group direct instruction, and 2-3 sessions of small group direct instruction each week. In addition students are engaged in daily independent activities with their words. Using these strategies, students are able to perform well on weekly cloze-style vocabulary tests. Despite this explicit instruction using both morphology and context clues, students continue to struggle with new vocabulary acquisition and with retention of previously learned words. Scores on end of marking

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period cloze-style vocabulary tests have resulted in failing grades for most students. Students are memorizing vocabulary words for their weekly tests, and have been unable to truly master new words. According to Nation, I.S.P. (2006) readers must understand 98% of the words in a piece of text in order to understand the text. Thus, it follows that, if students are struggling to acquire grade-level vocabulary, then they will also struggle with comprehending grade level text. Improving vocabulary retention is central to improving comprehension in content areas. Research Questions Since the current vocabulary program is ineffective with regard to retention, the researcher hopes to uncover strategies that will effectively improve retention of content area vocabulary over time. How many words can students be expected to master at a time? How will reducing the number of new words impact the ability of students to retain vocabulary over time? Will learning fewer new content area vocabulary words at once translate to better overall retention? Is there a correlation between student motivation and ability to retain vocabulary words? Hypothesis Given difficulties students have had with content area text the researcher expects that reducing the number of required new words each week will translate into improved vocabulary acquisition. The improved vocabulary will allow students to access nonfiction text more easily, and comprehension will improve as a result. Review of Literature Vocabulary development is a critical component of any literacy program. The ability to decode words is only a small piece of reading. Without vocabulary skills needed to identify or

Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention Improving Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention Among Struggling Readers

infer meanings of new words it is impossible for students to understand text. In upper elementary grades, students are encountering more and more difficult content area vocabulary. For students to be successful beyond early elementary grades they must possess a vocabulary large enough to access complex concepts in content area texts. They must also have strategies in place for uncovering the meaning of unknown words. There has been a shift in education policy over the years from a focus on wide reading as a means of gaining vocabulary without teaching word meanings in isolation, to programs that teach vocabulary terms in a systematic way. A review of recent literature indicates that a combined approach is most effective for most students (Flynt et. al. 2008, Sousa 2005, Sousa 2005). Sources indicate that students benefit from systematic instruction of new content area words but do not indicate how to ensure that students retain the words they learn (Flynt et. al. 2008, Sousa 2005, Sousa 2005). How many words can students be expected to master and retain each week? What strategies aid in the retention of content area vocabulary words? These are critical questions that must be addressed if we are to improve overall reading and retention. The Importance of Academic Vocabulary When students move into intermediate grades they are expected to be able to access content area text in order to learn information (Sausa 2005, Bear et al. 2008). This transition can make learning in content areas difficult for many students, especially those who are English language learners or have special needs (Sousa 2005). Sousa (2005) offers three major differences between expository and narrative text that can cause difficulty for students entering intermediate grades without the necessary skills to access material. The first is that vocabulary becomes at once more specific, and there is an expectation that students will master words more

Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention Improving Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention Among Struggling Readers quickly (Sousa 2005).

In addition most concepts are unfamiliar, and students lack the

background knowledge necessary to comprehend text (Sousa 2005). The final difference is that students are expected to read charts, graphs, maps, and other visual displays of information accurately (Sousa 2005). The difficulty students experience with content area text can translate to a decline in their ability to comprehend text (Lehr et al. 2004). This difficulty can be especially prevalent among native Spanish speaking students who have trouble comprehending abstract concepts that exist in the content areas (Lehr et al. 2004). The Current Trend Over the past several decades there has been a steady decline in technical, academic vocabulary among those entering college (Manzo et al.2006). These are words commonly found in advanced levels of education, as well as on standardized tests (Manzo et al.2006). The problem then is that decreases in academic vocabulary are leading to decreased scores on standardized tests required for higher-level education. State mandates have tended to rotate between two ideas. The first is that vocabulary needs to be taught systematically throughout the grades, and the other idea is that word meanings should not be taught in isolation (Sousa 2005). There are four ways to categorize the causes of declines in vocabulary: 1) varied needs of students, such as those who are English language learners, or who have special needs; 2) home influences, such as the vocabulary of a students parents; 3) lack of effective instructional strategies 4) school district factors affecting time and resources in classrooms (Austermuehle et al. 2007, Manzo et al. 2006). Anthony Manzo et. al (2006) also identify the focus in previous decades on a whole language approach to vocabulary acquisition as

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a factor affecting the relatively small vocabularies of todays students. Previous vocabulary programs operated under an assumption that a large vocabulary was a result of, rather than a gateway to intelligence and cultural influences (Manzo et al.2006). It is suggested that teachers use a variety of strategies to teach vocabulary because no two students learn the same way (Austermuehle et al. 2007). Rationale for Explicit Instruction of Word Meanings Teachers often struggle to teach the incredible number of required concepts each year and many end up using simplistic terms instead of specific content-area vocabulary (Manzo et al. 2006). Flynt and Brozo (2008) examined the importance of teaching content area vocabulary in a systematic way. The authors explain a direct relationship between vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension (Flynt et. al. 2008). This relationship is especially important in the content areas because students are encountering technical words (Flynt et. al. 2008). When students struggle with comprehension in the content areas over a period of time it can lead to frustration and failure (Lehr et al. 2004). This cycle can continue throughout the school years leading students to avoid reading altogether (Lehr et al. 2004). The problem is that if students are avoiding reading, then they are missing opportunities to increase their vocabularies, thus perpetuating this cycle (Lehr et al. 2004). Explicit instruction of content area vocabulary is especially important for students whose decoding and comprehension skills are not strong enough to engage in wide reading, or up to 45 minutes a day of silent, independent reading, as a means to access vocabulary (Lehr et al. 2004). In How the Brain Learns to Read, Sousa (2005) identifies four ways students encounter vocabulary in content areas: 1) connecting new meaning to a known word, 2) linking a new word

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to a known concept, 3) acquiring both a new word and a new concept, and 4) learning more specific meaning for a known word. Sousa (2005) goes on to explain that depending on which category the term falls into, it will be more or less difficult for a student to learn. The third category, learning both a new word and a new concept, is both the most prevalent and difficult (Sousa 2005). Teachers should explicitly teach the meaning of these words in advance in order to reduce students anxiety about content area text (Lehr et al. 2004, Sousa 2005). Suggested Strategies for Instruction Since no two students learn the same way it is important for teachers to have a plethora of strategies in place to help students learn content area vocabulary words. Previous research suggests a combined approach of explicit instruction on word meaning and of independent strategies for figuring out words in context. The following is a review of suggested strategies for instruction of content area vocabulary. In order for students to access the technical vocabulary in the content areas Austermuehle et al. (2007), Bear et al. (2008), and Flynt et. al. (2008) recommend several explicit instruction strategies for teachers of upper elementary grades. First, teachers should select words that are useful for applying word learning strategies (Flynt et. al. 2008). It is also recommended that teachers provide multiple encounters with content area terms that require students to use writing, speaking, listening, and reading skills (Flynt et. al. 2008). Another recommendation is for students to use word sorts and other categorization activities to further their understanding of content area terms (Bear et al. 2008, Flynt et. al. 2008). Manzo et al. (2006) suggest relating new words to pictures, and putting words to movement as a means of ensuring content area vocabulary is stored in students long-term memory.

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Improving Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention Among Struggling Readers In addition to direct instruction of content area words, it is also important that students are able to determine the meaning of new words they encounter in expository text. Bear et al. (2008), Flynt and Brozo (2008), and Sousa (2005) highlight the importance of direct instruction on the use of context clues and morphology to infer meanings of new words. Sousa (2005) offers a five step strategy that has students read past an unknown word, use words around it to figure out the meaning, take a guess on the meaning, question whether this guess makes sense in the sentence, and finally check a dictionary for confirmation. The use of morphology is especially important for English language learners (Sousa 2005). Knowledge of morphemes allows students to break unfamiliar words into less complicated parts. While wide reading isnt deemed effective as a stand-alone vocabulary instruction strategy it is an integral component of any vocabulary program (Manzo et al. 2006). Austermuehle et al. (2007) caution against too much time teaching contextual analysis, phonetic decoding, and independent reading stating that these strategies can alienate students who have different learning needs. Methodology The researcher received permission from the district reading department to modify the current vocabulary program for a period of time in order to complete this study. During this time new vocabulary words were reduced to four each week. Each week the previous words remained in circulation. Cloze-style tests occurred each Friday on the new words as well as words from previous weeks. Selected words were closely aligned with the science or social studies unit of study for the week. During the first two weeks students were studying Black History Month. Words included segregation, discrimination, prejudice, oppress, amend, liberty, Civil Rights, and Civil

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Improving Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention Among Struggling Readers War. During the following two weeks students were engaged in a unit of study on the Solar System. Vocabulary words for this unit included Solar System, orbit, rotate, atmosphere, satellite, axis, lunar month, and phases. Words were introduced using context clues in short reading passages, as well as with the use of videos from online sources (Kadar, Dr. A 1999). Following creation of student-friendly definitions for each word there was a class discussion about examples, non-examples, and related words. These were listed on chart paper and placed around the room for the duration of each unit. Throughout the week, students created concept maps using their words, played a vocabulary race game in small groups, related target words to pictures, and created movements that helped them to remember the meaning each word. It was expected that by reducing the number of required new vocabulary words each week, students would be able to retain a greater percentage of target words over time. Study Participants The researcher conducted the study with her literacy classroom of twenty students. The school is divided into a literacy academy where students are grouped according to reading ability. This particular group consists of fifth graders reading between a level eight and a level twenty-eight according to the Diagnostic Reading Assessment (DRA) test. This group consists of five students who are identified as special needs and serviced under and Individualized Education Plan (IEP), five who are English language learners, and three who are currently part of an Early Intervention Program due to a lack of academic progress. The remaining students are general education students who struggle with reading. During the course of the study four students transferred out of class, so their scores were excluded from the data set.

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Improving Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention Among Struggling Readers Data Collection Techniques Students had already participated in a district-wide vocabulary post-test. This test measures vocabulary retention over six weeks. Results from this test were used to measure vocabulary retention under the current program. In addition to this students took a student attitude survey about the current vocabulary program and instruction techniques. Once proposed interventions were completed, students were assessed using a teacher-created post-test to measure retention of the content area vocabulary words. Students also took a second student attitude survey to determine levels of interest and motivation in the new program. Analyzing Results Student test scores from the district weekly vocabulary tests were compared with those from weekly cloze tests taken during the study period. In addition, results from the district quarterly vocabulary test were compared with those from tests given at conclusion of the study period. Both the district test and the test created for this study contained grade-level text and four answer choices per question. These results were analyzed to find areas of improvement. In addition to the quantitative data on student achievement the researcher took qualitative data on student attitudes about each type of vocabulary instruction. The results of these surveys and interviews were compared to test results to observe any correlations. Findings The District Vocabulary Program The district vocabulary program is a part of the Harcourt Storytown series. This series requires students to learn between six and ten vocabulary words each week (Beck et. al. 2008). Words are introduced in the context of reading passages, and there are several activities and homework

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Improving Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention Among Struggling Readers assignments each week to help reinforce these words. At the end of a five-week unit students are given a cumulative test on the words. This test is designed to measure students retention of the words from the Storytown program. Scores on this test are presented in Figure 1.1. Student scores on this pretest ranged from a high of 70% to a low of 0%. The student who scored a zero is a student with Down Syndrome who is expected to master two words per week with this current program, unfortunately he was unable to retain them through the marking period. The average score on this test was 32%. On this test only five students out of the sixteen participants in the study received a score greater than 50%. The rest received failing grades.

Figure 1.1 illustrates the student percentage scores on the district post-test. This test measures vocabulary retention over a six week period. *Note: student 5 is required to learn one or two words per week as part of his Individualized Education Plan. Student Opinion of the District Program Student participants were given a Likert-scale survey to determine how they felt about the district vocabulary program. They were asked to rate each statement on a scale of 1-5. The results of this survey are displayed in Figure 1.2. When considering the difficulty of learning the new vocabulary only one of 16 students rated the Storytown vocabulary as easy to learn, while

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Improving Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention Among Struggling Readers 10 rated it as too difficult to master. Eleven students thought there were too many words to learn each week, and only three thought the amount of words was adequate. When asked if words in the Storytown program are important to know for academic learning, five students stated that they were, while 10 students were unable to see the importance of words in the Storytown program.

Figure 1.2 depicts the student opinions of the Storytown vocabulary program prescribed by the district.The Reduced Vocabulary Program Over the course of a four-week period students received only four new vocabulary words each week, but were still required to retain the words from previous weeks. The first week students were tested on only four words, the second week they were tested on eight, the third week there were 12 words on the test, and at the end of the fourth week students were tested on

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Improving Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention Among Struggling Readers 16 words. All of these assessments were cloze-style, similar to the district vocabulary test. On these tests, students are required to select the correct word to fill in each blank in a sentence or passage. Class averages for each week are displayed in Figure 1.3. Over the course of a fourweek period the average student scores experienced a steady decline as more words were added to each test. The first week, when students were tested on only four words, the class average was

near 94%. Although there was a decline in average scores over the four weeks, scores consistently remained above 84%.

Figure 1.3 contains the class average on each of the weekly vocabulary tests under the reduced program. Each week's test contained the new words as well as all of the previous words from the study period. Tests given after the fourth week of this study contained all vocabulary words from the previous four weeks. Results of this assessment are displayed in Figure 1.4. The lowest score on this assessment was a 25%. That student (student number 5 in Figure 1.1 and Figure 1.4) is an

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Improving Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention Among Struggling Readers included student with Down Syndrome. He is required to learn 1-2 words per week as part of his Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Based on this assessment, he was able to meet that goal. The rest of the class scored above a 60%, with most students scoring in the 80-100% range.

Figure 1.4 contains the student percentage score on the post-test for the reduced vocabulary program. This test measured retention of vocabulary over the four-week study period.

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Improving Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention Among Struggling Readers Student Opinion of Reduced Vocabulary Program Upon completion of the four-week study students were asked to participate in a Likertscale opinion survey identical to surveys completed based on the Storytown vocabulary program. Results of this survey are displayed in figure 1.5. Based on results of this survey 12 out of 16 students identified the vocabulary in this program as easy to learn and only three identified it as difficult to master. Eleven students thought that the reduced program of four new words per week was just the right amount, and only one student thought there were too many. When asked if the words were important to know, 13 of the 16 students said that they were.

Figure 1.5 shows the results of a student opinion survey of the reduced vocabulary program. This survey was given upon the conclusion of the four-week study period.

Discussion Students who participated in the study are members of an immersion level literacy academy class. They were all reading from 2-4 levels below grade level at the time the study

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Improving Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention Among Struggling Readers began. The district vocabulary program was not previously modified for these students. They were expected to learn between six and ten new vocabulary words each week. This proved very difficult for the majority of students. Those who were successful on weekly assessments were unable to retain a large number of words required for district end of marking period tests. The researcher reduced the number of new vocabulary words required each week and related them to content areas being studied. As a result student achievement on the end of marking period posttest rose from a range of 0-70% to a range of 25-100%, indicating improved retention of words. Each student in the sample experienced an increase in their end of marking period scores. Student one, who received one of the lowest scores on the district test, scored over 90% with the \reduced vocabulary program. Many other students experienced similar improvement. Even the student with Down Syndrome (Student 5) was able to improve from mastering zero words in a marking period, to mastering four new words. Comparing student opinion surveys for both vocabulary programs it becomes clear that students felt more confident when confronted with a reduced, but cumulative, vocabulary program. The majority of the students indicated that the district program provided too many words each week, and that they were too difficult to master. With a reduced program students were confident in their ability to learn the smaller number of words each week, and indicated that they were easy to master. Interestingly, many students indicated that words in the district program were not important to know, and that words in the reduced vocabulary program, which tied vocabulary to other content areas (social studies and science), were important to know. When asked about this response one student responded that:

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Improving Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention Among Struggling Readers Learning the words this way helps us to see the big picture of what we are studying. It sort of ties it all in and helps us make better sense of the new concepts. Thats why the words are easier to learn (Student 11, personal communication, March 9, 2012). Limitations The district test that is administered at the end of the marking period covers six weeks worth of new vocabulary. At the beginning of the study, the researcher intended to mirror that with a six-week long period for a reduced vocabulary program. Due to snow days, schedule changes, and mandatory state testing schedules, the program needed to be shortened to four weeks. Therefore, the district test covers a greater time-span of vocabulary acquisition. Results

of the reduced vocabulary program may have been somewhat different if the program spanned six weeks instead of four. In addition to the different time spans, it is unclear whether the success of this vocabulary program was related directly to the reduced number of words, or whether tying vocabulary into the content areas also worked to improve both acquisition and retention of new words. This study was completed with a group of fifth grade students reading between a first and third grade level. Many of these students have IEPs and many others are English language learners. Results, particularly of the opinion surveys, may have been very different if the entire fifth grade population at the school was used for the program, or if the classroom was more heterogeneous. Summary

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Improving Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention Among Struggling Readers A review of the data makes it clear that reducing the number of vocabulary words and tying them into the content areas increased both student motivation and student performance. Students were able to retain new vocabulary, and were able to use it in their own spoken and written work during the units. Students who struggle with reading and vocabulary are often overwhelmed by large amounts of new material, but, once students are successful, they are motivated to learn more Anderman & Anderman, 2010). If students are able to achieve success with four words each week, then they will increase the amount of effort when given five new words (Anderman & Anderman, 2010). Students also tend to put effort into topics that they believe to be important (Anderman & Anderman, 2010). As the student opinion survey results show, the study participants viewed the content area vocabulary words as more important than those in the Storytown series. The researcher plans to continue to relate new vocabulary to content area topics, but will increase the number of words each week for those students who are achieving above an 85% on the cumulative end of week tests. This process will allow every student to learn new words at a rate appropriate for them. Action Plan As a result of findings presented in this report, the researcher has implemented a revised classroom vocabulary program for the remainder of this school year, and may do so for the next school year, pending district approval. The increased confidence and engagement of students translated to higher achievement, and better retention of new vocabulary words. Since students in the immersion literacy academy group are reading so far below grade level it is imperative that every effort is made to increase their vocabularies. These students require more time with new

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Improving Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention Among Struggling Readers words before they can master them than their grade level peers. Giving them fewer words each week allows them more time to practice each word. During the remainder of the school year the researcher is continuing with a reduced vocabulary program, and will continue to relate the new vocabulary to other content area topics being studied. This takes a significant amount of preparation time as the teacher is required to scour through content area texts at the various students reading levels and create vocabulary lists from these texts. The teacher must also create all of the assignments and assessments for this program. Vocabulary instruction in the classroom begins with direct instruction of the meanings of new words at the beginning of each week. Students also watch videos, and read on-level texts containing each of the new topics. Students then create concept maps, and word-family lists for each new word. During the week students also play Vocabulary Race games that they create, and that incorporate all content area words learned throughout the marking period. tested at the end of each week with a cloze-style test. Since many of the students scored exceedingly well when only given 4 new words each week the researcher decided to slowly increase the amount of words students are required to master each week as their achievement grows. Once a student consistently scores above an 85% with four new words each week they will be challenged with another word each week. This will continue until an appropriate amount of new words is determined for each student. Results of this research study are scheduled to be shared with faculty at the school where the study took place in June of 2012, when teachers are beginning to prepare for the following Students are

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Improving Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention Among Struggling Readers school year. The researcher will briefly describe the research method, and will share the findings with her colleagues during a faculty meeting. Conclusions Reducing the number of vocabulary words required each week improved student attitudes about learning vocabulary. Many times, struggling readers are students who are used to failing. Often times these students give up when they encounter something challenging. It is important to help these students to feel successful, so that they develop a willingness to work and a desire to do well. Reducing the number of required words allowed students to spend more time learning each word, and also allowed time to review previously learned words. This last aspect proved critical in overall word retention. Connecting vocabulary words to other content area topics being studied also allowed students to make connections between vocabulary words and their learning. This combination resulted increased achievement on both the weekly vocabulary tests and the end of marking period tests. Most importantly, however, students saw the words they were learning as valuable and important. They were successful, were encouraged, and excited to learn more.

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Improving Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention Among Struggling Readers

References Anderman, Eric, & Anderman, Lynley. (2009). Classroom motivation. 2009-01-07. Austermuehle, D., Kautz, T., & Sprenzel, J. (2007). Improving the knowledge and application of vocabulary within content areas. Retrieved from Education Resources Information Center (ED496398). Bear, D., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., Johnston, F. (2008). Words their way. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. Beck, I. L, Farr, R. C., & Strickland, D. S. (2008) StoryTown: Ride the edge. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, Inc. Flynt, E., & Brozo, W. (2008). Developing academic language: Got words?. Reading Teacher, 61(6), 500-502. Retrieved from ERIC database. Jones, G., Gobet, F., & Pine, J.M. (2007). Linking working memory and long term memory: A computational model of the learning of new words. Developmental Science, 10(6), 853873. Kadar, Dr. A. (1999). BrainPop. Martin Luther King Jr. [video file]. Retrieved from http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/famoushistoricalfigures/martinlutherkingjr/ Moon. [video file]. Retrieved from http://www.brainpop.com/science/space/moon/. Solar System [video file]. Retrieved from http://www.brainpop.com/science/space/solarsystem/. Leclercq, A. L., & Majerus, S. (2010). Serial-order shore-term memory predicts vocabulary

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Improving Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention Among Struggling Readers development: Evidence from a longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology, 42(2), 417427. Lehr, M.A., Osborn, J., Heibert, E.H. (2004) A focus on vocabulary. Pacific Resources for Education and Learning, 2. Retrieved from http://www.prel.org/products/re_/ES0419.htm Manzo, A.V., Manzo, U.C., & Thomas, M.M. (2006). Rationale for systematic vocabulary development: Antidote for state mandates. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Learning, 49 (7), 610-619. Mills, G. E. 2011. Action research: A guide for the teacher researcher. Boston: Pearson Education Inc. Nation, I.S.P. (2006) How large a vocabulary is needed for reading and listening? The Canadian Modern Language Review. 63(1) September p59-81. Sousa, D. (2005). How the brain learns to read. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.