MODULE 1:
ADOLESCENT READING,
WRITING, AND
THINKING
1: Unit 4
2, Session
4
Unit Module
2, Session
Adolescent
Literacy – Professional Development
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT AND
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY: HELPING TO
MAKE THE CONNECTION
1.2.4
Module 1: Unit 2, Session 4
Module 1: Unit 2, Session 4
3
Essential Questions
Module 1 Question
What do we know about how teens learn from text, and
how can we use that knowledge to improve our practice?
Unit 2, Session 4 Questions
How do we teach words so that students gain rich
knowledge that supports reading comprehension?
How do we teach words so that vocabulary knowledge can
be maintained and consolidated from year to year?
What tools exist to help coordinate team, grade-level, and
school-wide efforts to support vocabulary knowledge?
Module 1: Unit 2, Session 4
4
Warm-Up:
How Is Vocabulary Related to Reading?
John was not happy, in fact he was
downright diribulated. Not only had Sarah
taken his follagraph, but she had used it to
permulate his best friend! Now he was
going to have to get revenge. Once he
saved up a for a new follagraph, she would
regret it!
Module 1: Unit 2, Session 4
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Proven Approaches to Vocabulary Instruction
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Pick generative words
Present words in semantically-rich contexts
Ensure recurrent exposures
Provide opportunities to use words
Teach word-learning strategies
Provide learner-friendly definitions
Expand each word’s semantic mapping
Encourage experimentation; expect mistakes
Module 1: Unit 2, Session 4
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Pick Generative Words
We do not have time to teach all words
High-leverage words occur in all content
areas, but are relatively low-frequency
academic words
Teens will encounter them but may not really
understand them unless they get instruction
Module 1: Unit 2, Session 4
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Present Words in Semantically-Rich Contexts
“There is something ******* on the
book.”
“There is a dove ****** on the book.”
“The back of the book showed a picture
of a dove carefully ****** within an
ornate oval.”
Module 1: Unit 2, Session 4
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Ensure Recurrent Exposures
Create a context that will ensure repeated use
of the words by students, teachers, and text.
Words have layers of meaning that students
learn through encounters with the words in
multiple contexts.
Robust vocabulary instruction does not include
isolated instructional episodes focused on a
word’s definition.
Module 1: Unit 2, Session 4
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Ensure Recurrent Exposures
Instructional Year
Module 1: Unit 2, Session 4
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Provide Opportunities to Use Words
Passive exposure helps students understand
words, but they need to use them orally in
academic contexts before they can be
expected to use them correctly in writing.
Academic discourse and debate is an ideal
venue for student use of academic
vocabulary.
Module 1: Unit 2, Session 4
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Teach Word-Learning Strategies
Morphological relationships
Making nouns out of verbs
(negotiate negotiation; inform, information)
Teach common word roots: scrip = writing
Inscription, subscription, prescription,
description
Context clues can give hints about the
meaning of a word
Module 1: Unit 2, Session 4
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Provide Learner-Friendly Definitions
Learner-Friendly
Definitions
Dictionary
Definitions
Core meaning
Full range of
meanings
No sophisticated
words in
definition
Sophisticated
words used in
definition
Module 1: Unit 2, Session 4
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Expand Each Word’s Semantic Mapping
Abstracted
Meaning 1
Abstracted
Meaning 2
Core
Meaning
Module 1: Unit 2, Session 4
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Encourage Experimentation; Expect Mistakes
Module 1: Unit 2, Session 4
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One More Time…
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





Pick generative words
Present words in semantically-rich contexts
Ensure recurrent exposures
Provide opportunities to use words
Teach word-learning strategies
Provide learner-friendly definitions
Expand each word’s semantic mapping
Encourage experimentation; expect mistakes
Module 1: Unit 2, Session 4
16
References
Beck, I., Perfetti, C., & McKeown, M. (1982). Effects of long-term vocabulary instruction on lexical access and reading
comprehension. Journal of Educational Psychology, 74(4), 506-521.
Bolger, D., Balass, M., Landen, E., & Perfetti, C. (2008). Context variation and definitions in learning the meanings of words: An
instance-based learning approach. Discourse Processes, 45(2), 122.
Carney, J. (1984). Preteaching vocabulary and the comprehension of social studies materials by elementary school children. Social
Education, 48(3), 195-196.
Lawrence, J., Capotosto, L., White, C., & Snow, C. (under review). Word learning, maintenance, and consolidation: A longitudinal
analysis of the Word Generation program.
McKeown, M., Beck, I., Omanson, R., & Pople, M. (1985). Some effects of the nature and frequency of vocabulary instruction on
the knowledge and use of words. Reading Research Quarterly, 20(5), 522-535.
Medo, M., & Randall, R. (1993). The effects of vocabulary instruction on readers' ability to make causal connections. Reading
Research and Instruction, 33(2), 199-134.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development [NICHD]. (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel. Teaching
children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading
instruction (No. NIH Publication No. 00-4769). Washington, DC: U.S.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Snow, C., Lawrence, J., & White, C. (2009). Generating knowledge of academic language among urban middle school students.
Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 2(4), 325-344.
Stahl, S., & Fairbanks, M. (1986). The effects of vocabulary instruction: A model-based meta-analysis. Review of Educational
Research, 56(1), 72-110.
Wixson, K. K. (1986). Vocabulary instruction and children's comprehension of basal stories. Reading Research Quarterly, 21(3),
317-329.
Module 1: Unit 2, Session 4
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