Vocabulary: Unlocking the Secret to Comprehension

Just Read Florida Conference 2008

Miami-Dade County Public Schools Curriculum & Instruction Division of Language Arts/Reading
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S Session i Obj Objectives: ti

Utilize M-DCPS FCAT Question Task Cards to demonstrate how vocabulary development ensures deeper d comprehension h i Provide engaging strategies to focus vocabulary instruction

Research Says Says

Kindergarten students vocabulary size is a predictor of reading comprehension in middle school. (Scarborough, 1998) Orally tested vocabulary at the end of first grade is a significant predictor of reading comprehension ten years later. (Cunningham & Stanovich, 1997) Children with restricted vocabulary by third grade have declining comprehension scores in the later elementary years years. (Chall, (Chall Jacobs Jacobs, & Baldwin Baldwin, 1990) Vocabulary knowledge is highly related to reading achievement (Beck, achievement. (Beck McKeown McKeown, & Kucan Kucan, 2002 2002, Bringing Words
to Life)
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Vocabulary

Comprehension

Reading Reading comprehension is a complex cognitive process that cannot be understood without a clear description of the role that vocabulary development and vocabulary instruction play in the understanding of what has been read.
NRP, 2000

What Wh t to t d do? ?
Teach vocabulary early, often, often and never stop!
What do we see presently in schools.

H How d children do hild develop de e op vocabulary? ocabu a y

Indirect Learning g
Engagement in oral communication Listening to adults read to them Reading extensively on their own

Direct Learning g
Learning word meanings Word learning strategies Using reference tools Identifying Id tif i word d parts t Using context clues

Miami Dade FCAT Task cards Miami-Dade

VOCABULARY (LA.3-5.1.6.2, 1.6.7, 1.6.8, 1.6.9) Design a question that requires students to determine the meaning of a word in context, including the use of prefixes, suffixes, root words, multiple meanings, synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, and word relationships. Read this sentence from the passage. Copy sentence or phrase from passage here. What does the word _____________________mean? What does the author mean when he says _________? ? Choose the word that means the SAME as _____________. Choose the word that means the OPPOSITE of _________. What two words wo ds best describe desc ibe the word wo d _______________. . Which two words mean the same/opposite? Which sentence below uses the word ____ the same way as the story/article? Which Whi h word d has h the th SAME root t as __________? ?
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Selecting S l ti W Words d t to T Teach h

Words have different levels of utility: Tier 1
Rarely require instructional attention

Tier 2
Mature language Instruction in these words will lead to significant vocabulary increases

Tier 3
Frequency of use is quite low. Connected to a particular subject area or domain. Best learned as the need arises larvae, aphids, isomorphism, polygon peninsula, polygon, peninsula cholesterol , etc.
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baby, clock, happy, jump, hop, slide, girl, boy dog, boy, dog etc. etc

coincidence, absurd, fortunate, maintain, performed etc performed, etc.

R di Reading Standards St d d Instructional Procedure

Teacher-Directed Instruction Selected Grade-level Text Teacher Planning & Before Reading Activate/build background knowledge Preview selection to determine text structure and text features
title, sub-titles, pictures & captions, sidebar

Select critical vocabulary Quick predictions Identify a purpose for reading

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Mammals The World of Primates: Apes p and Monkeys y

Tier 1
monkey fingernails climb

Tier 2
humans upright bored gorilla ill social dangerous g Africa South America Asia

Tier 3
gibbon ibb orangutan rainforest grasslands mammals primates

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Selecting Key Vocabulary to Ensure Comprehension:

What words should I pre-teach? p
Select and compile a list of words that are supportive of the storyline or main idea Determine which of these words are adequately q y defined in the text Identify the words students can use to determine meaning utilizing prefixes, fi suffixes, ffi or base b words. d Choose a key concept word that is critical to the meaning of the story to be pretaught.
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mammal primates upright i ht social grasslands l d

Teaching Vocabulary Words

Direct definitions
Introduce the word in context
Example: Mammals have warm blood and fur.

Provide P id short, h t student-friendly t d t f i dl definitions d fi iti

Mammals are warm-blooded animals with hair or fur that have live births.

Use discussion starters to clarify word meaning

Ask a question to engage students in discussion.
If a hummingbird has feathers and lays eggs is it a mammal?
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Teaching Vocabulary Wordscontinued

Develop relationships among words
Antonyms, synonyms, homonyms Are there other words that mean the same (the opposite,
or sound the same)? Provide examples: horse, cat, dog, bear, gerbils, humans, etc.

Utilize graphic organizers

Semantic mapping, concept maps, etc.
Word jars, student notebooks, vocabulary journals

Provide students with MULTIPLE EXPOSURES

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Concept Definition Map

What is it? A warm-blooded animal Wh t i What is it like? lik ? Has fur or hair What is it different from? Fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians hibi
Antonym

Mammals
Word

Gives birth to live babies

Feeds milk to its young

Examples

humans

apes

dogs and cats

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Connecting Instruction to Assessment

Now its your turn
Refer in your handout packet to M-DCPS FCAT Task Cards and use the vocabulary task card to create an FCAT type question for the word mammal. mammal

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Connecting Instruction to Assessment

Choose the word that means the SAME as, mammal? A. B. C. D. amphibian social p primate birds

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Reading Standards Instructional Procedure

Teacher-Directed Instruction Selected Grade-level Text
During Reading Reading the text using different modes; re-reading the text for different purposes and to model think aloud process

Teachers should be stopping to model the think aloud process

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Connecting Instruction to Assessment

Now its your turn
Refer in your handout packet to M-DCPS FCAT Task Cards and use the vocabulary task card to create an FCAT type question for the words upright or social, social using context clues.

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Context Clues
Read these sentences from the passage. Away from their home, they could get bored and upset. Zoo keepers build special climbing walls, and new toys and games games, to keep the primates happy and interested. Choose the word that means the OPPOSITE of bored. A. dangerous B interested B. i t t d C. smart p D. upset
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R di Reading Standards St d d Instructional Procedure

Teacher-Directed Instruction Selected Grade-level Text After Reading Use selection to teach appropriate strategy/organizer for comprehension and application of strategy/skill

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Authors Intent
Story/Poem
To tell (with a scary y story, y, To entertain (
humorous story)

Why did he write this?

Article

To teach To show ( (effects, , similarities/differences) ) To inform To give facts To make it clear To persuade/convince To explain To demonstrate To give an account of (biographies) To develop (a setting, an idea, a character) To encourage g

To share To teach (fable/moral) To show

+
Main Idea = Authors Purpose
.

Example: Q: Why did the author write this article? A: The author wrote this article to give facts about elephants living in central Africa.

Connecting Instruction to Assessment

Why did the author write Mammals, The World of Primates: Apes and Monkeys? A. to tell where apes and monkeys hang out B. to entertain the reader about how primates play l C. to teach the reader about the world of p primates D. to tell facts about the gentle giants of West Africa

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Word Array / Shades of Meaning

Select a word from the passage that will lead students to develop a greater understanding of the shades of meaning through the use of synonyms and antonyms for the selected word. small
miniscule i i l microscopic miniature i i t bulky petite tit enormous

big
undersized life-size diminutive colossal

Order these words along the continuum shown above. Are there words below that should be placed beyond small and big? Are there other words d that th t you could ld add? dd? (These (Th words d may differ diff according di to t content/situation.)
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Connecting Instruction to Assessment

Now its your turn
Refer in your handout packet to M-DCPS y FCAT Task Cards and use the vocabulary task card to create an FCAT type question that requires students to know and understand shades of meaning for the word small.

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Connecting Instruction to Assessment

Choose the word that means almost the SAME as upright. A. B. C. D. flat horizontal uneven vertical

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W d Jars Word J
C Compound d Words W d Affi Affixes H Homophones h

upright grasslands fingernails treetops southeast throughout

unlike l dl loudly biggest amazingly generally ll climbers

bored-board weigh-way i h there-theirtheyre t il t l tail-tale

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W d Jars Word J
Multiple-meaning p g words Descriptive Language Primate Words

branch nuts leaves swing

as small as a mouse second biggest amazingly fast gentle giants

climbers social grabbing swing thumbs gibbons chimpanzees

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Killi Killing Two T Bi Birds d

Use of Apostrophes Pronouns Inflectional Endings

contractionswere theyre were, possessives-

subjectivethey possessivetheir objectiveobjective it

climbers j jungles l bored interested smarter t biggest

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V Vocabulary: b l U Unlocking l ki th the Secret to Comprehension p

Students who are word conscious know many words know them well, words, well and use them well. well They are aware of the subtleties of word meaning and of the power po er words ords can ha have e Word conscious students enjoy words and word play and are eager to hear and learn new words.

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References:
Allen, Janet. 1999. Words, Words, Words: Teaching Vocabulary in Grades 4-12.Strenhouse Publishers. Portland, Maine. Edit d by, Edited b Baumann, B James, J & Kameenui, K i Edward.2004. Ed d 2004 Vocabulary V b l Instruction: I t ti Research R h to t Practice. P ti Guilford G ilf d Press, New York, NY. Bear, Donald, Invernizzi, Marcia, Templeton, Shane, & Johnston, Francine. 2004. Pearson, Merrill Prentice Hall. Upper Saddle, New Jersey. B k I Beck, Isabel, b l K Kucan, Li Linda, d Mckeown, M k Margaret. M 2002. 2002 Bringing B i i Words W d to Life: Lif R Robust b V Vocabulary b l I Instruction. i Guilford Press. New York, NY. Brand, Max.2004. Word Savvy: Integrated Vocabulary, Spelling & Word Study Grades 3-6.Strenhouse Publishers. Portland, Maine. Division Di i i of f Language L Arts/Reading.2000. A /R di 2000 Wild Ab About Words: W d A Teachers T h Desktop D k Vocabulary V b l Handbook. H db k MiamiMi i Dade County Public Schools. Fountas, Irene, Pinnell, Gay Su. 1998. Word Matters: Teaching Phonics and Spelling in the Reading/ Writing Classroom. Heinemann. Portsmouth, NH. Fountas, Irene, Pinnell, Gay Su. 2001. Guiding Readers and Writers Grades 3-6: Teaching Comprehension, Genre, and Content Literacy. Heinemann. Portsmouth, NH. http://www.FCRR.org http://languageartsreading.dadeschools.net

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