4/23/2015
Bigger,
Better, Faster!
Building Student Vocabulary
in 21st CCLC Programs
Dr. Jan Burkins
Burkins & Yaris:
Think Tank for 21st Century Literacy
@janmillburk
[email protected]
home
1. “I’ve never seen or heard this word
before.”
2. “I’ve seen or heard this word before, but I
don’t know what it means.”
3. “I have a vague understanding of this
word.”
4. “I’ve had many exposures to this word
and have a deep understanding of it.”
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Where is your home?
1. Northern Pennsylvania
2. Southern Pennsylvania
3. Eastern Pennsylvania
4. Western Pennsylvania
5. Central Pennsylvania
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How “at home” do you feel
in teaching vocabulary?
1. I don’t feel at home at all.
2. I feel sort of at home.
3. I feel pretty at home.
4. I feel really at home.
Where does your heart feel
at home?
1. Be the change you wish to see.
2. Live in the moment.
3. Be kind to everyone, even yourself.
4. Take risks and be creative.
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What do I remember
about how I was taught
vocabulary in
school?
Bivouac: Guiding Questions
Why is vocabulary knowledge
important?
What does it mean to “know” a
word?
Which words should I teach?
What is the best way to teach
them?
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4/23/2015
Bivouac: Guiding Questions
Why is vocabulary knowledge
important?
What does it mean to “know” a
word?
Which words should I teach?
What is the best way to teach
them?
Vocabulary is the single
biggest predictor of reading
comprehension across
all ages and content areas.
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The variation in children’s
vocabulary (and IQ) is relative
to the amount of time parents
speak with their children.
How many minutes on average
do parents engage in
conversations with their children
each day?
1. 7 minutes
2. 16 minutes
3. 23 minutes
4. 49 minutes
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How many minutes has the
average seven-year-old
spent watching television?
529,949
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1 year
TRUE or FALSE?
Preschool and children’s books
include more challenging
vocabulary than primetime,
adult television shows.
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What is the difference in
word exposure at the beginning
of preschool between students
from high income households
and low income households?
32,000,000
words
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Vocabulary knowledge of even
the highest performing
American students
is also dropping.
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Do we have a vocabulary
crisis?
We have a vocabulary
opportunity!
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Word Acquisition Cycle
Knowledge of words
Ability to read increasingly
complex text
“A richer vocabulary does not just
mean that we know more words,
but that we have more complex
and exact ways of talking about the
world, and of understanding the
ways that more complex thinkers,
see the world.”
--Steven Stahl
Stahl, S. (1999). Vocabulary instruction: Research to practice.
New York: The Guilford Press.
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Words are not just words. They are
the nexus—the interface—
between communication and
thought. When we read, it is
through words that we build,
refine, and modify our knowledge.
What makes vocabulary valuable
and important is not the words
themselves so much as the
understandings they afford.
--Marilyn Jager Adams
Bivouac: Guiding Questions
Why is vocabulary knowledge
important?
What does it mean to “know” a
word?
Which words should I teach?
What is the best way to teach
them?
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4/23/2015
Bivouac: Guiding Questions
Why is vocabulary knowledge
important?
What does it mean to “know” a
word?
Which words should I teach?
What is the best way to teach
them?
Can you read this?
Do you UNDERSTAND this?
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What do you know about
the word home?
•What the word means
•How to pronounce the word
•How to spell the word
•How to use the word in a sentence
•What other words are usually
used with this word
•Its role in a sentence (part of speech)
•How often the word is used
•How it is relates to other words
•Synonyms and antonyms
•Different types
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4 Levels of Vocabulary
Knowledge
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Level 1: No previous exposure
to a word
“I’ve never seen or heard that
word before. I have no idea
what a car is.”
Level 2: Some exposure, but
no understanding
“I’ve seen or heard that word
before, but I don’t know what
it means.”
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Level 3: Some exposure and
vague understanding
“I think that word has something
to do with… .”
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Level 4: Many exposures and
deep understanding
“That word means … .”
How do we get from level 3 to
level 4?
Level 4
Level 3
Level 2
Level 1
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Bivouac: Guiding Questions
Why is vocabulary knowledge
important?
What does it mean to “know” a
word?
Which words should I teach?
What is the best way to teach
them?
Bivouac: Guiding Questions
Why is vocabulary knowledge
important?
What does it mean to “know” a
word?
Which words should I teach?
What is the best way to teach
them?
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What percentage of our
language is made up of the
same 4,000 words?
1. 33%
2. 62%
3. 79%
4. 96%
Vocabulary Tiers
Tier 3
Tier 2
everyday spoken words
Tier 1
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The heart is a
muscular organ
in humans and
other animals,
which pumps
blood through
the blood vessels
of the circulatory
system.
Vocabulary Tiers
Tier 3
content specific words
Tier 2
everyday spoken words
Tier 1
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Tier 3 words
are often
defined in
the text and/or
explained
explicitly
by the teacher.
The heart is a
muscular organ
in humans and
other animals,
which pumps
blood through
the blood vessels
of the circulatory
system.
Vocabulary Tiers
Tier 3
Tier 2
content specific words
general, academic words
everyday spoken words
Tier 1
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Tier 2 words,
also known as
academic
vocabulary, are
not language of
the discipline, yet
they are essential
for understanding.
The heart is a
muscular organ
in humans and
other animals,
which pumps
blood through
the blood vessels
of the circulatory
system.
But which words should we
explicitly teach?
Tier 3
Tier 2
Tier 1
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The heart is a
muscular organ
in humans and
other animals,
which pumps
blood through
the blood vessels
of the circulatory
system.
The heart is a
muscular organ
in humans and
other animals,
which pumps
blood through
the blood vessels
of the circulatory
system.
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The heart is a
muscular organ
in humans and
other animals,
which pumps
blood through
the blood vessels
of the circulatory
system.
Tier 2 words …
… are the key to understanding.
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Tier 2 Words/Academic
Vocabulary
 Appear in all sorts of texts
 Can be used across a wide range
of topics in many curriculum areas
 Represent subtle or precise ways
to say otherwise simple things
 Generally are not taught by
teachers or explained by authors
Often have multiple meanings
Tier 1
walking
Tier 2
sauntering
strolling
Tier 3
bipedal
locomotion
swaggering
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Bivouac: Guiding Questions
Why is vocabulary knowledge
important?
What does it mean to “know” a
word?
Which words should I teach?
What is the best way to teach
them?
Bivouac: Guiding Questions
Why is vocabulary knowledge
important?
What does it mean to “know” a
word?
Which words should I teach?
What is the best way to teach
them?
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Bigger,
better,
faster!
TRUE or FALSE?
Vocabulary can be
learned through reading
and talking.
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What do I remember
about how I was taught
vocabulary in
school?
For homework tonight, please
look up and define the following
words:
valiant
rallied
mediocre
amateur
exaggerate
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How do we get from level 3 to
level 4?
Level 4
Level 3
Level 2
Level 1
Bigger, Better, Faster
1. Dialogic Conversations
2. Independent Reading
3. Teaching with Images
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Bigger, Better, Faster
Strategy 1
Dialogic Conversations
Vocabulary acquisition is a
pay-it-forward process.
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Do you remember the
minutes per day
that children engage in
conversations with their parents?
7
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That number is less
when children are at school.
Dialogic conversations
Read aloud to your children for
30 minutes every night.
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8 months more
growth in 4 weeks
Dialogic Conversations:
3 Magic Beans
1. Ask
2. Repeat (and Revise)
3. Expand
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Ask a question
Did you
have a
good
weekend?
Repeat and expand
1. ASK
What did
you do this
weekend?
I went to
my
grandma’s
house.
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Dialogic Conversation
What did
you do this
weekend?
1. ASK
2. REPEAT & REVISE
I went to
my
grandma’s
home.
What did you do
there?
Dialogic Conversation
1. ASK
2. REPEAT & REVISE
What did
you do this
weekend?
I went to
my
grandma’s
home.
You went to your
grandma’s house.
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Dialogic Conversation
What did
you do this
weekend?
1. ASK
2. REPEAT & REVISE
I went to
my
grandma’s
home.
You went to your
grandma’s house.
What did you do
there?
Dialogic Conversation
1. ASK
2. REPEAT & REVISE
3. Expand
What did
you do this
weekend?
I went to
my
grandma’s
home.
You went to your
grandma’s house.
Grandmas are very
special people.
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Dialogic Conversation
1. ASK
What did
you do this
weekend?
I went to
my
grandma’s
home.
You went to your
grandma’s house.
Grandmas are very special people.
What did you do with
1. ASK
your grandma?
2. REPEAT & REVISE
3. Expand
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Dialogic Conversation
Where is
the
cheetah?
1. ASK
Child points to
the cheetah.
Yes, that’s the cheetah.
Cheetahs are large cats. They run
very fast.
2. REPEAT & REVISE
3. Expand
Dialogic Conversation
1. ASK
Where is
the
cheetah?
Child points,
but not to
the cheetah.
This is the cheetah, here.
Cheetahs are large cats. They run
very fast.
2. REPEAT & REVISE
3. Expand
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Dialogic conversations teach
words at every level at once.
Level 4
Level 3
Level 2
Level 1
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4/23/2015
Bigger,
Better,
Faster
Independent
Reading
Strategy 2
TRUE or FALSE?
Reading 14 minutes per
day means reading over
1,000,000 words per year.
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Independent Reading:
3 Magic Beans
1. Access
2. Interest
3. Time
1. Access
The strongest predictor of whether children will
read is whether they have access to books.
Children who don’t have access to books
don’t read, and children who do have access
to books are likely to.
Allington, R. L. (2011). What really matters for struggling readers:
Designing research-based programs (3rd Ed). New York: Longman.
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Building a Classroom Library
A classroom library that facilitates choice should
have…
… at least 500 books, or 10-20 books per student.
An exemplary Library =
1500 + titles
Allington, R. L. (2011). What really matters for struggling
readers: Designing research-based programs (3rd Ed).
New York: Longman.
2. Interest
“In a three-year study, researchers at the
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, found that
simply giving children access to books at
spring Fairs – and allowing them to choose
books that most interested them – had a
significant effect, equivalent to three years of
summer school, on the summer reading gap.”
Allington, Richard L. and McGill-Franzen, Anne. (2003). Addressing summer reading setback among
economically disadvantaged elementary students. Reading Psychology, 31(5), 411-427 as cited by
Parker-Pope, Tara. (2010, August 2). “Summer Must-Read for Kids? Any book.” The New York Times.
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3. Time
If students spend 25 minutes per day reading
at a rate of 200 words per minute for 200 days,
they will read a million words of text annually
and encounter between 15,000 and 30,000
new words annually.
Allington, R. L. (2011). What really matters for struggling readers:
Designing research-based programs (3rd Ed). New York: Longman.
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Bigger, Better, Faster
Strategy 3
Teaching with Images
Teaching with Images:
3 Magic Beans
1. Multiple examples
2. Non-example
3. Combine with words
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Illustration by Josh Billings
Illustration by Josh Billings
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1. Examples
www.wordeyes.com
The Engagement Factor
In 2009, Gallup conducted an indepth study of more than 78,000
students in 160 schools across eight
states and found that a onepercentage point increase in a
school’s average student
engagement score was associated
with a six-point increase in literacy
achievement.
State of America's Schools: The Path to Winning Again in Education. Gallup, 2015. Web. 02 Feb. 2015.
<http://products.gallup.com/168380/state-education-report-main-page.aspx>
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Bigger, Better, Faster
1. Dialogic Conversations
2. Independent Reading
3. Teaching with Images
Putting it all together
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1. “I’ve never seen or heard this word
before.”
2. “I’ve seen or heard this word before, but I
don’t know what it means.”
3. “I have a vague understanding of this
word.”
4. “I’ve had many exposures to this word
and have a deep understanding of it.”
How do we get from level 3 to
level 4?
Level 4
Level 3
Level 2
Level 1
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A bivouac is a temporary shelter for explorers.
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A bivouac helps protect soldiers from
attack.
A house is
not a bivouac.
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Draw a picture that
reflects your understanding
of the word “bivouac.”
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Using your graphic
representation of a
bivouac, explain your
picture to another person.
As you share, try to explain
what a bivouac is.
Analogies
Raft is to cruise liner as bivouac is
to _____________.
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Vocabulary Charades
Game Activity
Act out setting or packing up
your bivouac.
Act out sitting in your bivouac
when it is raining.
1. “I’ve never seen or heard this word
before.”
2. “I’ve seen or heard this word before, but I
don’t know what it means.”
3. “I have a vague understanding of this
word.”
4. “I’ve had many exposures to this word
and have a deep understanding of it.”
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4/23/2015
If we educator-explorers can
traverse the rhetorical landscape,
standing against the shifting winds of
extreme views, and set up our
bivouac in a place of balance and
practicality, then we are more likely
to move through this historical
initiative in ways that are beneficial
for children.
~Jan Miller Burkins
Bivouac: Guiding Questions
Why is vocabulary knowledge
important?
What does it mean to “know” a
word?
Which words should I teach?
What is the best way to teach
them?
60
4/23/2015
Bigger,
Better, Faster!
Building Student Vocabulary
in 21st CCLC Programs
Dr. Jan Burkins
Burkins & Yaris:
Think Tank for 21st Century Literacy
@janmillburk
[email protected]
61