Developing Vocabulary

Instruction

A “Robust” Approach Melded with Mental Imagery

Cortney Steffens
2009
Call Me Polar Bear
I trudge to school
like a polar bear
breathing out clouds
of frosty air
Some people say
Winter’s a song
But bears don’t sing
They just plod along.
-Monica Kulling
Challenge: Become a researcher
• Become members of professional organizations
such as RRC, NYSRA, IRA, AERA.
• Read professional journals such as The
Reading Teacher, Reading Research Quarterly,
Educational Researcher
• Action research: Try things out… put theory into
practice
• You never know until you try so take a chance.
Vocabulary Research
• Vocabulary development is important because
research has found that vocabulary is related to
reading proficiency, particularly comprehension,
and is a predictor of later school success.
(Anderson & Freebody, 1985; Anderson & Nagy, 1993; Beck,
McKeown, & Kucan, 2002; Cunningham & Stanovich, 1997;
Nagy & Scott, 2000; National Reading Panel, 2000; Sadoski,
2005; Snow, Tabors, Nicholson, & Kurland, 1995).
• Even though we know that vocabulary is
important to future reading success, vocabulary
instruction receives little instruction in schools
(Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2002).
Levels of Word Knowledge
• Stage 1: Never saw it before
• Stage 2: Heard it but do not know what it means
• Stage 3: Recognizes and can associate the word within
a particular context
• Stage 4: Knows it well
(Dale, 1965)
Knowledge Continuum

No knowledge
General sense
Narrow, context-bound knowledge
Having knowledge of a word but is not able to
recall it readily to use in appropriate situations
Rich knowledge and connections to other words

(Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2002; Beck, McKeown, & Omanson,

1987)
Robust Approach to Vocabulary
A Robust Approach is Based On…

The following ideas:

• Early learning is mostly through oral contexts
and shifts towards written contexts (Beck, McKeown,
& Kucan, 2008).

• Stahl and Fairbanks’ (1986) meta-analysis

using 30 studies found that comprehension was
affected when instruction included (1) multiple
exposures of words, (2) definitional and
contextual information, and (3) engagement in
active and deep processing.
 A Robust Approach (continued)

• Learning of words requires multiple encounters

(Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2002).

• To affect comprehension, learning may need to

extend beyond just associating a word with a
definition (Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2008).
• Effective instruction connects between new
words with known words and situations (Beck,
McKeown, & Kucan, 2008).

“A robust approach to vocabulary involves directly explaining the

meanings of words along with thought-provoking, playful and interactive
follow-up” (Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2002, p.2).
 Tiers of Words

Beck, McKeown, and Kucan have developed a

tiered system to classify words.
Tier One Tier Two Tier Three
•Basic, familiar, •Not the basic way •Rare words that
everyday words to express a apply to specific
•Common object concept domains
words •General words that •Goal is to
•Rarely require apply across recognize separate
instruction in school domains particular instances
•Encountered in oral (connections) of a concept
contexts •Provide precision
and specificity to a
concept
•More common in
written contexts
than oral contexts
Examples

Tier One Tier Two Tier Three

umbrella eavesdrop piano

hot comfort revolution

important frolic protozoa

problem lonely sociolinguistics

wilted
 Practice Identifying Tier Two
Words
Excerpt from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Rowling, 1997, p.4)

He dashed back across the road, hurried up to

his office, snapped at his secretary not to
disturb him, seized the telephone, and had
almost finished dialing his home number when
he changed his mind. He put the receiver down
and stroked his moustache, thinking…no, he
was being stupid. Potter was not an unusual
name. He was sure there were lots of people
called Potter who had a son called Harry. Come
to think of it, he wasn’t sure his nephew was
called Harry…
 Tier Two Words
What do you think?
He dashed back across the road, hurried up to
his office, snapped at his secretary not to
disturb him, seized the telephone, and had
almost finished dialing his home number when
he changed his mind. He put the receiver down
and stroked his moustache, thinking…no, he
was being stupid. Potter was not an unusual
name. He was sure there were lots of people
called Potter who had a son called Harry. Come
to think of it, he wasn’t sure his nephew was
called Harry…
Creating a Vocabulary Lesson:
Early Grades
• Children’s literature is read aloud. They can
understand words delivered orally better than in
written contexts.
• Children’s literature contains 30 rare words per
1,000 (rare is defined by Hayes and Ahrens (1988) as words
beyond the most frequent 10,000 words in the language) as
compared to 17 rare words per 1,000 running
words of talk in adult conversation (Beck, McKeown,
& Kucan, 2008).
Instructional Sequence
• A trade book is read aloud.
• Tier Two words (about three) are discussed separately
during the initial lesson.
 A word is presented within the context of the story.
 Students repeat the word to develop a phonological
representation (students are shown the written word).
 A “student-friendly” definition is given and examples
may be provided to make the word’s meaning(s)
understandable.
 Students provide their own examples using the word.
 Students repeat the word to reinforce its phonological
representation.
Instructional Sequence (continued)

• Using all the words: “We’ve talked about three

words ____, _____, ______. Let’s think about
them some more
 Show me how you would look if you were ___
 Would you prefer to _____ or _____
 If you were to (an action) would you ______ or
______?
 If you were to ______ you would do that _____.
Why?
• After the initial lesson reinforce the words’
meanings and create associations and
connections.
Vocabulary Instruction for Older
Students
• Vocabulary instruction should be frequent, rich,
and extended.
• Instruction should occur every day and
incorporate previously learned words.
• Instruction goes beyond definitions and
includes creating associations between words.
Vocabulary Instruction for Older
Students
• Tier Two Words are chosen from a text or organized
around a theme (8-12 words per week depending on age).
• Words are presented in the context of the text. A
definition is provided and a written record can be
kept.
• The class discusses the words.
 Imperious is often appropriate for describing a king. How
appropriate is it to [character’s name].
• Exploration of relationships between words
 Would you have compassion for someone imperious?
• Students’ use of Words
 Students work in groups to develop sentences in which the
word’s meaning is clear.
Display the Words
• Students should be able to refer back to the
words.
• Develop word consciousness
Adding a New Element

Mental imagery is used as a comprehension

strategy. After reading about the dual-coding
theory I began to wonder if creating mental
images of words would help remember the
meanings better.
I began to experiment with my class and this
led me to do a formative experiment. The
results of my study have informed my teaching.

(Filan & Sullivan, 1982; MacGeorge, 1984; Paivio,1971; Sadoski, 2005; Sadoski &
Paivio, 2004)
The Results
Suggestions for the Infusion of
Technology
• Wikis- Students collaborate to develop rich sentences
and definitions for target vocabulary words
• Blogs- Students write for authentic purposes and infuse
new vocabulary
• Kid Pix- Students draw their mental image of a word or
create representations of words with backgrounds and
clip art
• Kidspiration/Inspiration- Semantic mapping of words to
show word relationships
• Online visual dictionaries-
http://visual.merriam-webster.com/
http://www.visuwords.com/