Introduction to Direct Vocabulary

Instruction
With a Focus on English Learners PK-3

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Goals

Understand need for direct vocabulary instruction and its

benefits.

Discuss how to support young learners through direct, rich,

focused instruction of vocabulary

Become familiar with activities for the direct teaching of

vocabulary

Observe a model for direct teaching of vocabulary

Recognize how each opportunity to discuss texts supports
childrens oral language, conceptual, and vocabulary
development

Have information to plan instruction that focuses on

development of vocabulary within the context of teaching

with complex texts

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Young children's listening and speaking competence is in

advance of their reading and writing competence. That is, they
can understand much more sophisticated content
presented in oral language than they can read
independently. As children are developing their reading and
writing competence, we need to take advantage of their
listening and speaking competencies to enhance their
vocabulary development. We certainly must not hold back
adding vocabulary to children's repertoires until their word
recognition becomes adequate.
Isabel L. Beck, Margaret G. McKeown, and Linda Kucan

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Differences in Vocabulary Knowledge

It is well established that there are significant differences in
vocabulary knowledge among children from different
socioeconomic groups beginning in young toddlerhood
through high school (Hart & Risley, 1995; Hoff, 2003).
Extrapolating to the first 4 years of life, Hart and Risley
(2003) estimate that the average child from a professional
family would be exposed to an accumulated experience of
about 42 million words compared to 13 million for the child
from a poor family.

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Words Spoken

45M

26M
13M

Hart & Risley, 1995

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Childrens Vocabulary

Hart & Risley, 1995

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30M Word Difference

45M

26M
13M

Hart & Risley, 1995

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Lack of Vocabulary Has

Detrimental Effects
30 million word gap between the vocabularies of welfare
and professional families by age three. This number
came from the data that showed welfare children heard,
on average, 616 words per hour, while children from
professional families (essentially children with college
educated parents) heard 2153 words per hour. The
longitudinal research in the following years demonstrated
a high correlation between vocabulary size at age three
and language test scores at ages nine and ten in areas of
vocabulary, listening, syntax, and reading
comprehension.

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Direct Instruction of Vocabulary Has Benefits

Students do learn words through exposure, but they are
slow to learn words by inference alone before the age of
10 (Robbins & Ehri, 1994) and the learning of most
words (80+%) by young children is due to direct
explanation (Biemiller, 2003)

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Direct Instruction of Vocabulary Has Benefits

The close correlation between vocabulary
development at age 3 and reading comprehension in
11th grade (Cunningham & Stanovich, 1997)
Teaching vocabulary has been found to improve
reading comprehension (NRP, 2000)

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Gains for English Learners

An IES longitudinal randomized field study on rigorous
comprehension work that included this model of
vocabulary was done in 29 public schools of an urban
district. Over 90 percent of the students in these schools
qualified for free or reduced lunch.
In schools participating in the CFC program, the quality of
teachers reported and observed instructional practices for
classroom discussions improved beyond those in
comparison schools, and, on average, these schools also
achieved significant learning gains for their ELL students.
Matsumura, L.C., & Garnier, H.E., & Correnti, R., & Junker, B., & Bickel, D.D. (2010). Investigating
the effectiveness of a comprehensive literacy-coaching program in schools with high teacher mobility.
Elementary School Journal, 111(1) 35-62.

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Direct Instruction of Vocabulary

Research indicates that direct instruction of vocabulary
can increase vocabulary and comprehension.
McKeowen and Beck, 2004

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Task 1. An Introduction to Direct

Vocabulary Instruction
Article Study

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Introduction to Direct Vocabulary Instruction Texts

Pre-Reading

Beck,I., McKeown, M.G. & Kucan, L. (2003). Taking delight in

words. American Educator, 27 (1) 36-39, 41,45-46.
Post-Reading

Beck,I., McKeown, M.G. & Kucan, L. (2003). What about

English learners?. In Creating robust vocabulary. 59-64, The

Guilford Press: New York.

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Task 1. An Introduction to Rigorous Reading

Comprehension Article Study
Beck, I. L. & McKeown, M.G. (2001). Text Talk: Capturing the
benefits of read-aloud experiences for young children. The
Reading Teacher, (55), 10-20.
1. Take 10 minutes to review the pre-reading text respond to the
questions:
a) What are the components of rich or robust vocabulary instruction?
b) What decisions must a teacher make in planning rich vocabulary
instruction for young children?
c) What additional decisions may need to be made for English
learners?
d) What are the elements of effective instructional activities to support
young children develop word knowledge?

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Task 1. An Introduction to Rigorous Reading

Comprehension Article Study
2. Turn to a Partner. Share your responses. Be prepared to
share your with the large group.
a)What are the components of rich or robust vocabulary
instruction?
b)What decisions must a teacher make in planning rich
vocabulary instruction for young children?
c) What additional decisions may need to be made for English
learners?
d)What are the elements of effective instructional activities to
support young children develop word knowledge?

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Summary: Components of rich or robust vocabulary

instruction
Provides rich information about words, as well as how and
when they are used, in contrast to dictionary definitions.
Engages children in multiple, frequent and varied
opportunities to think about and use the words.
Goal is to learn the words at a deep enough level to
enhance listening and reading comprehension.
Promotes a lively interest in words in school and outside of
school.

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Summary: Decisions teachers must make in planning

vocabulary instruction
-

What words to teach

Why teach those words

What level of instruction to provide

When to introduce words- before, during or after reading

Decide if text provides enough words worthy of rich

instruction

How to explain word meanings

What activities will engage students in grappling with the

words

How to incorporate word learning opportunities in

routines and daily classroom life

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Elements of Effective Instruction to Support Young

Children Learn Vocabulary

Word learning activities follow reading

Select a small group of tier 2 words

Contextualize the word within the story
Have children practice saying the words to create a phonological representation
Provide student-friendly explanations of word meanings
Practice in a variety of contexts, not just the story context
Engage children actively in word work
Provide opportunities to discover relationships among words
Provide opportunities to manipulate words in many ways
Ensure children explicitly think and reason about words
Engage children using all the words

Frequent encounters with words over time

Lively interest in words in school and outside of school

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Task 2. An Introduction to Direct

Vocabulary Instruction
Standards Study

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Task 2. An Introduction to Direct Vocabulary Instruction

Standards Study Part A
National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of
Chief State School Officers. (2010). Common Core State Standards
for English language arts and literacy in history/social studies,
science, and technical subjects K-5. Washington, DC: Authors.
What are these rigorous standards requiring of students concerning
vocabulary?
How will this approach to vocabulary instruction support the
standards?
What is the progression of vocabulary standards from K to 3?
What changes?
What remains the same?

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Task 2. An Introduction to Direct Vocabulary Instruction

Standards Study Part B
National Governors Association Center for Best Practices &
Council of Chief State School Officers. (2010). Common Core
State Standards Appendix A. Washington, DC: Authors.
1.Take 10 minutes to read pages 32-35 of the above cited
document. Write down a significant quotation that particularly
engaged you in deeper thinking about vocabulary instruction
and/or implications for English learners and write an explanation
about why this is significant. See the facilitators notes for an
example.
2.Share with a partner and be prepared to share with the whole
group.

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Significant Quotation
Significant Quotation

Why Significant to Argument

Tier One words are the words of

everyday speech usually learned
in the early grades, albeit not at
the same rate by all children. They
are not considered a challenge to
the average native speaker,
though English language learners
of any age will have to attend
carefully to them. While Tier One
words are important, they are not
the focus of this discussion. Page
33, paragraph 3.

Tier One words are important to

students learning English, but
these words are most likely to be
picked up with friends and family
who speak English. Teachers
may need to teach tier one words
to English learners (ELs), but
helping students acquire Tier two
and three words need to have a
high priority for teachers of ELs.
These words are typically learned
in school by all students and ELs
must have help in making these
words their own for success in
learning in all subjects.

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Whole Group Discussion

CCSS Speaking & Listening
According to the standards, what do students need to
know and be able to do as participants in vocabulary?
Why are those habits and skills important for school
readiness and academic success?
From your experience, how much practice and
expertise do EL students have in direct instruction of
academic vocabulary?

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Task 3. Direct Vocabulary

Instruction PK-3
Video Study

10
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Norms for Collaborative Study

Goal of all conversations: To advance our own learning, not
to fix the practice of others.

Facilitator chooses lens for study.

Agree to read/watch through the designated lens.
Cite specific examples from text or video.
Build on others ideas.
Use language that is respectful of those in the video and in
the group.

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Task 3. An Introduction to Direct

Vocabulary Instruction
Video Study

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Context of The Wolfs Chicken Stew Vocabulary

Video
Content: Vocabulary building after a reading comprehension
lesson of a fiction text in a shared reading lesson using a
rigorous comprehension approach
Text: The Wolfs Chicken Stew by Keiko Kasza
Teacher:
Coach:
School:

Ms. Yvette Celorio Reyes

Ms. Gloria Sullivan
Wooldrige Elementary School

Principal: Ms. Linda Purvis

Austin ISD, Austin, Texas

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Introduction to Direct Vocabulary Instruction

Video Study
Video The Wolfs Chicken Stew Vocabulary

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Task 3. Introduction to Direct Vocabulary Instruction

Video Study

In what ways does this lesson embody the principles of direct

vocabulary instruction?
How does this instruction align to the expectations of rigorous
standards for vocabulary? What do you notice about how
students are building skills and habits that are valued by the
rigorous vocabulary standards?
What else can be done to scaffold the understanding of English
Learners?

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Summary: Rigorous Vocabulary Instruction

Teacher provides information about words, as well as how
and when they are used, like the word craving.
Engages children in multiple, frequent and varied
opportunities to think about and use the words, such as
craving by animals and by people.
Goal is to learn the words at a deep enough level to enhance
listening and reading comprehension, she requires complete
sentences, encourages proper pronunciation, allows home
language to be used to understand.
Promotes a lively interest in words in school and outside of
school by using the word wizard on the wall. Students can
write their initials when they use one of the target words.

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The Effects of Vocabulary Intervention on Young

Childrens Word Learning
Marulis and Neuman Study
This meta-analysis examined the effects of vocabulary
interventions on pre-K and kindergarten childrens oral
language development.
The study examined the effects of vocabulary
interventions on the growth and development of
childrens receptive and expressive language
development.
Results indicated that childrens oral language
development benefited strongly from these
interventions. The overall effect size was 0.88,
demonstrating, on average 1 standard deviation on
vocabulary measures.
AERA. http://rer.aera.net. Review of Educational Research September 2010, Vol. 80,
No. 3, pp. 300335.

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Reflection
What did you learn and/or what insights did you gain
about rich, direct vocabulary instruction from our work
today?
What are the implications of your insights for your role?
How will you structure and facilitate rich, direct
vocabulary instruction?

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Bridge to Practice
By ____________________, select a short text to read aloud to
the students and pre-select the vocabulary you think will may give
the students difficulty understanding the text. Create student
friendly definitions for the vocabulary. Decide where you will stop
to discuss text and formulate the questions and follow up
questions you will ask. Read the text to students.
Next, select the five or six words that you want to teach students.
Use the friendly definitions youve created and now create two
direct vocabulary instruction activities for your students.
Then, reflect in writing on your experience conducting a direct
vocabulary lesson. What went well? What did not? What
questions do you have? Be prepared to share your reflection with
your colleagues on ___________________.

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