Professional Development Workshop
Learning and Building Vocabulary
Major underwriting provided by
the Rotary Club of Tucson
Welcome & Agenda
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Thank you for joining us today!
Introductions
Importance of Vocabulary Building – Research
Understanding Sight Words
How to Approach Teaching Vocabulary
A. Session Preparation Activities
B. Before Reading Strategies
C. During Reading Activities
D. After Reading Activities
Break – 10 minutes
Out of Context Activities
Group Practice
Introductions
• Please introduce yourself with:
Your name
How long you’ve been a Reading Seed
Coach
School where you coach & grade(s)
you work with.
Learning Goals
 Coaches will learn about the importance
of building vocabulary
 Coaches will understand preparation,
before, during and after strategies to use
to approach building vocabulary
 Coaches will learn “out of context”
activities to help build vocabulary
Why is Vocabulary
Important?
• Word knowledge predicts reading
comprehension (RAND Reading Study
Group, 2002).
• Vocabulary in first grade predicts
reading comprehension in 11th
grade (C. S. Ebbers 2009).
Why is Vocabulary
Important?
- Children need to learn 2,000 to 3,000 new
words each year from 3rd grade onward,
about 6-8 per day.
- In 1st and 2nd grade, children need to learn
800+ words per year, about 2 per day.
- Children who are behind by 1st grade have
a hard time making up the gap.
- Andrew Biemiller; Nagy and Anderson
Research on Building
Vocabulary
• Without knowing the meanings of words,
readers will be unable to:
– comprehend the text
– make connections with their
background knowledge
– make inferences about the text
– answer questions or discuss the text
Comprehension and
Interest
Vocabulary Effects Comprehension
• Reading with comprehension depends on
understanding at least 95% of the words, and
typically, 90% is more reliable. S. Ebbers 2009
3
Interest Wanes of Text is Incomprehensible
• Interest is more likely to engage if the task is
appraised as challenging but not too difficult,
within reach, but not a cakewalk. Instruction
offsets the negative influence of low self-efficacy.
(Hidi & Ainley, 2008; Silvia, 2003; Willingham,
2009)
Research on Building
Vocabulary
• When children learn new vocabulary in books,
they are connecting language to books and to their
world experiences.
• New words must be connected to known objects
and experiences.
• Adults should help make the connections, provide
child-friendly definitions and offer any extended
explanations.
• Adults should also help children connect
illustrations to vocabulary found in text.
• Children need multiple exposures to the word in
order to fully understand its meaning.
Learners Need Multiple
Exposures!
• Learners need at least 6 exposures to learn the
new word
– Jenkins, Stein, & Wysocki, 1984
• Better results with 12 exposures
– McKeown, Beck, Omanson, & Pople, 1985
• Even better with 20 exposures
– Beck & McKeown (2004)
• Some of the primary-grade students still did not
learn all the new words
• This varies by word and learner characteristics
Student-Friendly
Definitions
Examples, Non-examples, Articulation, and Context:
reluctant: If people are reluctant, they do not want to do something.
Examples:
• I am reluctant to go into a small cave. It’s scary.
• We are extremely reluctant to jump into a volcano.
• She is reluctant—unwilling—to perform on stage.
• I am not reluctant to win the lottery! (non-example)
• You say reluctant after me, just like me: (say: reluctant)
• Say the 3 syllables one at a time, after me: (say: re – luc – tant)
• Stress the 2nd syllable, after me, just like me: (say: re – LUC – tant)
High-Frequency/
Sight Words
• Dolch “Sight Words”
• 220 high-frequency words identified by
Edward William Dolch, PhD
• Some of the words in the Dolch word list
can be decoded, but most need to be
memorized as "sight words."
• Even the decodable words should be
mastered for instant recall and fluency.
• He also created a list of 95 most common
nouns in children's books.
Practice: StudentFriendly Definitions
Turn to a partner and try to come up with
student-friendly definitions (with an example
AND a non-example) for the following
words:
• Illustration
• Ridiculous
• Edible
Preparation Strategies
• Before the session begins, coaches
should:
– Preview the text to anticipate which words
students may not understand and plan for a
child-friendly definition.
– Select at least two target words (tier 2) to do
extension activities for better understanding.
– Determine how to build or activate student’s
background knowledge on the subject of the
book.
Vocabulary Building
Process
• Preparation Strategies – Before you meet with
your student, these are ways to prepare for your
session.
• Before Reading Strategies – During your
session, these are strategies to use before you
and your student begin reading.
• During Reading Strategies – During your
session, these are strategies to use while reading
the book to help the student understand unknown
words.
• After reading strategies – once you have read
and discussed the book, these are ways to build
and target specific vocabulary words.
Preparation Strategy 1:
Types of Words to Teach
The Three Tier Model for Word Selection:
• Tier One: common known words: farm,
sleep, puppy
• Tier Two: frequently occurring unknown
words that are used in varied context and
content: reluctant, constant, desperate,
entrance, establish
– These words are academic, not heard on soccer
fields
• Tier Three: words with highly specialized
meanings and/or very rarely used: yon,
tundra, shunt, hieroglyphics, decimal
Preparation Strategy 2:
Deciding Which Words to Target
• Spend less time on Tier 1 words: run, jump, spin, eat
– These are words that you would briefly define for your
students. Provide student-friendly examples, ask
questions about it, etc. then move on.
• Invest more time on Tier 2 words: smudge, create,
disguise, guard
– These words are frequently used across all subject
areas and are known by most students. Target these.
• Spend less time on Tier 3 words: curmudgeon,
bassoon, pastel
– These words are not necessary for comprehension
across all subject areas .
Preparation Strategy 3:
Build Background Knowledge
• Look at the subject of the book and determine if
you student will be familiar with the topic.
• Think of questions to ask and ways to explain
the topic.
– Ex. This book is about living on a farm. A farm
is a place where lots of animals live and
where food is grown. Have you ever been to a
farm? Why did you choose to read a book
about a farm?
• Determine common sight words found in the
book: is, I, am, the, to
Before Reading
with your Student
• Build Background Knowledge
• Review common sight words
– Briefly practice reading them aloud with your
student
– Say: “In this book, you’re going to see these
words a lot: am, is, I and the. Let’s practice
reading them out loud so that we can
recognize them when we read through the
book. ”
During Reading
Strategies
• Use different Read Aloud Strategies to go
over vocabulary words that your students
may not understand.
– Questioning
– Labeling
– Movements
• Emphasize meaning with your two target
words. Example on next slide.
During Reading:
Introducing Targeted Words
Brilliant means ‘very bright’, like the sun, for example.
Say brilliant. Say the two syllables. Say the first syllable the
loudest.
Remember, brilliant means very bright.
Tell me if my example is likely to be brilliant.
– If so, say, “That’s a brilliant ___.”
-- If not, say, “Nah, that’s probably not brilliant.” (non-example)
-- Also, put your thumbs up or down.
I say: a beacon on a lighthouse. You say: “That’s a brilliant light!
I say: a nightlight. You say: “Nah, that’s probably not brilliant.”
My Examples: a candle, a searchlight, the bottom of the sea, a
lightning bolt, a smile (figurative) That’s a brilliant smile!
Read Aloud
Vocabulary Strategies
• Remember, while reading with your
student, you do not need to spend 20
minutes to make sure they understand the
meaning of each word.
• The following Read Aloud Strategies will
help you briefly explain the meaning of
unknown words that you are not
specifically targeting.
Read Aloud
Vocabulary Strategies
Questioning:
If you encounter a word that might be
unfamiliar to the student, briefly ask them
about it.
Ex: Do you know what a bonnet is? What is
a bonnet like? Do you think people still wear
bonnets today?
Read Aloud
Vocabulary Strategies
Labeling:
Most often used with picture books. Point to
illustrations and connect pictures with the
word.
See example on next slide 
Read Aloud
Vocabulary Strategies
Ex: Daffy Duck mowed the lawn. Do you see
Daffy Duck mowing the lawn in the picture?
That (pointing to the illustration) is a lawn
mower.
Read Aloud
Vocabulary Strategies
Movement:
Let your student experience the word in
as many ways as possible.
Ex: The mouse tiptoed across the floor.
Let’s get up and tiptoe around the table.
Ex: The rain fell softly. What do you think
softly feels like? (Have the student come
up with a movement such as gently
tapping their fingers on their arm to
demonstrate soft rain)
After Reading
Vocabulary Strategies
• Language Experience Story Writing
• Vocabulary Extension Activities for
Targeted Words
– Would you Rather
– Picture Dictionary
– Semantic Mapping
– Movement
– And many more!
Language Experience
Story Writing
• Let’s write a story together and use the
two words we talked about today!
– Reinforce the students understanding of the
targeted words with associations to things
they care about and other words they know.
• Word-based stories can be very fun and
funny!
– Make a list of everything you like that is ____.
– Talk about similar nouns (what other animals
have webbed toes?) or silly synonyms to
include in the story.
Picture Dictionary
• Take a 3x5 index card and draw a picture
representation of the word on one side,
and put the definition, part of speech, and
an example sentence on the other side.
• Old recipe or index card boxes are a
good way to organize your student’s
picture dictionary.
Front of Card:
Earth-noun
Back of Card:
Definition: the third
planet from the sun in
the solar system.
Sentence: About seven
billion people live on
Earth.
Keep in mind that this will take up some time, so
plan accordingly.
Semantic Mapping
• Used to show relationships between words
and to develop a deeper understanding of a
word.
• Start off with putting the vocabulary word in
the middle and ask your student to
brainstorm ideas related to the word.
• Help your student categorize their ideas in a
concept map.
Process Review
• Session Preparation
– Preview and anticipate difficult vocabulary
– Consider how to build background knowledge
– Find sight words to review briefly
• Before Reading
– Review Sight Words
– Build Background Knowledge
• During Reading
– Read Aloud Strategies
• After Reading
– Language Experience Story Writing
– Vocabulary Extension Activities with Targeted
Vocabulary
Picture Dictionary
Take a 3x5 index card and draw a picture
representation of the word on one side, and
put the definition, part of speech, and an
example sentence on the other side.
Old recipe or index card boxes are a good
way to organize your student’s picture
dictionary.
Front of Card:
Earth-noun
Definition: the third
planet from the sun in
the solar system.
Sentence: About seven
billion people live on
Earth.
Back of Card:
Semantic Mapping
• Used to show relationships between words
and to develop a deeper understanding of a
word.
• Start off with putting the vocabulary word in
the middle and ask your student to
brainstorm ideas related to the word.
• Help your student categorize their ideas in a
concept map.
Out of Context Activities
• The following activities can be used
outside of Read Alouds with your student
to help build or reinforce knowledge
vocabulary words.
– Some examples include:
• Word Sorts
• Bananagrams
• Mad Libs
• Sight Word “Minute to Win It”
Word Sorts
In this activity, have your student sort
vocabulary words into different categories such
as:
• animals
• food
• nouns, verbs, adjectives
• number of syllables
• beginning letters
• plural and singular
• alphabetical order
• endings (ing, ed, es…)
Bananagrams
A game where lettered tiles are used to create
words. Similar to Scrabble and Boggle.
Mad Libs
Practice Time!!
• Let’s practice the
strategies using:
The Little Mouse,
the Red Ripe
Strawberry, and
the Big Hungry
Bear
Group Practice
• Find a partner and a book!
• Select a few words that you will briefly define
and go over with your student. (Tier 1, 2 or 3)
• Select at least two words to target (Tier 2
words)
• Choose three activities to suggest to your
student to help them understand the meaning
of the word.
• Explain why you selected those words
and activities to other groups at your table.
Review
• Select worthy words to teach, including
academic words
• Prepare for your sessions by previewing the
books and selecting at least two words to
target.
• Use student-friendly language when defining
or explaining a word.
• Have the student practice using the word in
different contexts.
Review
• Have the student associate the word with
something they already know or with
something meaningful to them.
• Act out the words if possible. Use hand
gestures, sounds, etc. to bring life to the
words. Read like a thespian!
• Use multiple strategies or activities to
expose students to new words 12-20 times