Running head: EXPLICIT VOCABULARY INSTRUCTION IN MATH

Explicit Vocabulary Instruction in Mathematics

Jessalyn M. Rowlee
University of Wisconsin-Superior

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Abstract
Explicit vocabulary instruction is an important piece to the understanding of the key concepts
and ideas in mathematics. Math vocabulary is very foreign to some people and could almost be
classified as a whole new language to others. Mathematics is a subject that is not easily understood without background knowledge. Words used in common English could seem the same as
words in math, but with entirely different meanings and applications. Not only does math have a
variety of words that have various meanings, but math has symbols and greek letters. Looking at
these symbols and foreign letters is intimidating at first glance, so explicit vocabulary instruction
will help to relieve the stress. Knowing which strategies to use in implementation of explicit vocabulary instruction will help make integration into the classroom easier. Explicit vocabulary instruction is important in all subjects and can help to increase the knowledge and understanding of
students.
Keywords: explicit vocabulary instruction, mathematics

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Imagine being dropped into a foreign country where the language of the people sounded
more like the gibberish mumbles of a young toddler, maybe catching a familiar word here or
there, but otherwise understanding nothing. In a situation like this, communication seems impossible, frustration builds, and quitting often seems like the only option. Now compare this to a
math classroom where words that are used in every day life are used here, but the definitions
rarely seem to compare. A cone is now a 3-dimensional object rather than something ice cream
sits on top of, a plane is used to graph coordinates rather than something that flies high in the air,
and odd is no longer used to describe something weird or unusual, but is instead a classification
of numbers. The vocabulary of mathematics is not something that can be grasped overnight or
even in a weeks time. It builds from one day, month, or year to the next, creating a vast vocabulary specific to understanding math language, skills, concepts, and ideas. Understanding this vocabulary of math is crucial to the students understanding of further concepts and ideas, and helps
them to become more confident in the subject. For this reason, explicit vocabulary instruction is
necessary in mathematics courses throughout all ages of students.
In the first article, But I Teach Math!, the authors make it clear that mathematics teachers and literacy coaches need to work together to integrate literacy skills and strategies into the
math classroom. It is important to realize that mathematics is a language all in its
own (Phillips, Bardsley, Bach, & Gibb-Brown, 2009). Mathematics has its own form of sentence structure to be read and understood differently than one would read through an article or
novel. Phillips et al. (2009) go on to explain that the words we use regularly in math, are often
used in everyday life situations, but with an entirely different meaning. Even the structures of

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texts relating to mathematics take a special skill and knowledge to understand. It is something
that needs to be taught to students if they are expected to understand the textbook or use it simply
as a guide. A project to join an urban school district and Niagara University brought together
mathematics teachers, literacy specialists, and special education teachers to discuss the learning
needs of the students and provide resources to help better the math literacy teaching (Phillips et
al., 2009). Through examination of the topics presented, teams of teachers and specialists began
to realize that the vocabulary on tests and homework was not at an appropriate reading level so
that students could complete the work without help. As the teams proceeded into the application
phase, they created lessons relating to what they had learned. Some vocabulary strategies used
included K-W-L charts, discussion of bolded words or other words, charts, and symbols that
were unfamiliar, read aloud/think aloud, and prefixes (Phillips et al., 2009). This article reminds
teachers that explicit vocabulary instruction and sentence structure in math is an important part
of learning the subject. Teachers and specialists need to work together to give students the understanding of vocabulary and sentence structure to help them succeed in math classes and become
aware of this foreign language.
The second article, Words as Tools: Learning Academic Vocabulary as Language Acquisition digs a little deeper into the use of vocabulary and giving students an opportunity to not
only understand the language, but also to use it. It is said that the lack of academic vocabulary
knowledge has consistently been identified as an obstacle to student success (Nagy &
Townsend, 2012). Nagy and Townsend (2012) begin by defining academic language as the specialized language, both oral and written, that conveys the concepts, ideas, and technicalities of a
content. Attention to academic vocabulary may be in important first step in raising teachers

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awareness of the need to better support students understanding and use of the language of the
disciplines (Nagy & Townsend, 2012). Vocabulary is not about just a single word, but instead
the use of that word in context to serve as part of the larger system of words as a whole. Words,
as pointed out earlier, can have many different meanings, so it is important to know what meaning goes with the word in its given context. These vocabulary words can be of a more general
academic vocabulary or they can be discipline-specific words. Math and science often overlap
with concepts and ideas, but there are also times in the two subjects that the words mean two different things. Students need to be exposed to these words and encouraged to use them in context
in order to create a better understanding of what they are and when they are appropriate. The
polysemous nature of many general academic words is further testament to the importance of
building academic word knowledge within authentic contexts, not in isolation (Nagy &
Townsend, 2012). It is important that students are receiving explicit vocabulary instruction for
both general academic words and discipline-specific words in each of the content areas for them
to make the connection of definitions within a specific content. These words on not simply facts
to memorize the definitions of, but tools to gain more of an understanding of a topic and push
students to really grasp that topic. It is important that students can comprehend and produce the
academic language through practice using the vocabulary in discipline-specific contexts (Nagy &
Townsend).
Finally, the third article, Teaching Literacy in Context: Choosing and Using Instructional
Stragies, helps teachers to understand what strategies are appropriate for teaching explicit vocabulary instruction to students. Nancy Veatch, one of the authors of the article, uses the Literacy
in Context cycle in order to push the understanding of texts to the students so that they can better

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grasp the readings. This context allows Veatch to assess, reflect, plan, teach and reteach while
keeping doing what she can to help students understand and become more proficient readers
(Miller & Veatch, 2010). As she begins with assessment at the start of each year, Veatch works to
understand her students and their levels of vocabulary, comprehension, proficiency, fluency, and
motivation (Miller & Veatch, 2010). She is then able to reflect on the information she has gathered and plan instructional strategies that will work best with her students. This is where the vocabulary comes in. Once Veatch has come up with some ideas, she begins to plan instructional
strategies specific to the support needed by the students (vocabulary, comprehension, proficiency, fluncy, motivation). Veatch recognizes vocabulary as an essential part of understanding future
ideas and concepts. She opens the lesson with a hook to get students interested, points out the
structure of the book before digging any deeper, then uses a contextual redefinition chart which
includes the terms, word-level clues, context clues, predicted meanings, and actual meanings to
get the students thinking about each word she wants to highlight in the lesson (Miller & Veatch,
2010). Day two of her lesson consists of students pairing up to read to each other (paragraph for
paragraph) to remind students of the vocabulary that they are using and build on the comprehension from the previous day. Students then use what they have learned in comprehension and vocabulary guides to write a summary and include the newly gained knowledge. Veatch's strategy
gives students the chance to learn the vocabulary, review the vocabulary, and put the vocabulary
into their own writing to check understanding. It is important that teachers make an extra effort
to highlight important vocabulary during reading and show students how to use these terms in
their writing in order to build confidence, understanding, and motivation (Miller & Veatch,
2010).

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Understanding the importance of explicit vocabulary instruction in math classrooms is
the first step. Teachers must then make note of what that means as far as changes in the classroom go. As mentioned previously, vocabulary can be the biggest obstacle for students to overcome. Instead of leaving out the vocabulary, why not try a few ways to integrate it into the instruction? Here are some ways teachers could use explicit vocabulary instruction in the math
classroom:
Create a vocabulary journal. This journal could be in the back of notebooks or even stored
in a folder on loose-leaf paper. Consider adding a couple new words per day, and occasionally reviewing words that may have slipped the students mind. Learning a couple new
words each day will help students to gain a better understanding and base of their knowledge to continue building on new ideas and concepts. Having the vocabulary journal on
hand when doing homework or working in class would be helpful to remind students of the
definitions of words. While this journal would include the terms and definitions, it may
also be helpful to include examples of the different ways the term is used in math.
If a vocabulary journal is being used, ask students at the end of each class period (or weekly), to write an example of each of the new (week old) terms. For older terms, they may be
able to write down how it applies to lessons they are currently working on, or if it was just
a topic-specific term. This would be a great refresher of what the terms mean and how they
can be used. It will also help them to somewhat memorize the ways they can be used for
some time in the future.
Encourage students to use the definition in the classroom when sharing ideas or asking
questions. Rather than allowing students to give a description of the term, for example the

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bottom half of the fraction, require students to use its given term, the denominator.
When a student asks a question and cant come up with the correct vocabulary, it may be
appropriate to ask the rest of the class if they can come up with the word, or if students are
using a vocabulary journal, allow them to take a couple seconds to look up the word they
are thinking of.
Use words to explain thinking processes. Students often expect a math assignment to be
given that asks for number responses and an exact answer. Why not give them the complete
opposite? Consider giving an exit ticket asking them to explain the topic learned that day or
to explain the steps to solve a problem without using numbers or equations.
Explain the text structure of a book so that vocabulary is made more obvious. Understanding a textbook is a journey in itself. Written in a way that isnt easily read, students need to
be taught the best way to read textbooks.
These are just some of the ways that explicit vocabulary instruction could be included in the
math classroom. Explicit vocabulary instruction could be taught in a variety of different ways
and it could even be taught using a different strategy each time. The importance in explicit vocabulary instruction is that its included.
In conclusion, explicit vocabulary instruction is important not just in math, but in each
and every subject. Understanding the vocabulary of a subject will give students more confidence
and better prepare them for future classes. It will help them to understand the topic and the subject more fully so that they are able to better apply what they have learned to a variety of scenarios. Take a second to think back to the idea of being dropped into a foreign country, lost with no
understanding of the language. This is how some students may feel when they step into a class-

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room and are unsure of the vocabulary specific to that content area. It all tends to become a blur.
Teachers need to avoid making students feel that way and implement explicit vocabulary instruction in classrooms each and every day.

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References
Miller, M. & Veatch, N. (2010). Teaching literacy in context: Choosing and using instructional
strategies. The Reading Teacher, 64(3), 154-165.
Nagy, W. & Townsend, D. (2012). Words as tools: Learning academic vocabulary as language
acquisition. Reading Research Quarterly, 47(1), 91-108.
Phillips, D., Bardsley, M., Bach, T. & Gibb-Brown, K. (2009). But I teach math! The journey
of middle school mathematics teachers and literacy coaches learning to integrate literacy
strategies into the math instruction. Education, 129(3), 467-472.