Vocabulary: Unlocking the
Secret to Comprehension
Just Read Florida Conference 2008
Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Curriculum & Instruction
Division of Language Arts/Reading
1
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
2
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)
3
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
4
What
Wh t to
t d
do?
?
Teach vocabulary early,
often,
often
and never stop!
What do we see presently in schools….
5
H
How
d children
do
hild
develop
de
e op vocabulary?
ocabu a y
Indirect Learning
g
Direct Learning
g
• Engagement in oral
communication
• Listening to adults
read to them
• Reading extensively
on their own
• Learning word
meanings
• Word learning
strategies
• Using reference tools
• Identifying
Id tif i word
d parts
t
• Using context clues
6
7
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 wordd has
h the
th SAME roott as __________??
8
7
9
Selecting
S l ti
W
Words
d tto T
Teach
h
Words have different levels of utility:
Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
Rarely require
instructional
attention
Mature language –
Instruction in these
words will lead to
significant
vocabulary increases
Frequency of use is
quite low. Connected
to a particular
subject area or
domain. Best
learned as the need
arises
baby, clock, happy,
jump, hop, slide, girl,
boy dog,
boy,
dog etc.
etc
coincidence, absurd,
fortunate, maintain,
performed etc
performed,
etc.
larvae, aphids,
isomorphism,
polygon peninsula,
polygon,
peninsula
cholesterol , etc.
10
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
11
13
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
14
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
mammal
primates
upright
i ht
social
grasslands
l d
• Choose a key concept word that is
critical to the meaning of the story
to be pretaught.
15
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?
16
Teaching Vocabulary Words…continued
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
17
Concept Definition Map
What is it?
A warm-blooded animal
Wh t iis it like?
What
lik ?
Has fur or hair
What is it different from?
Fish, birds, reptiles,
amphibians
hibi
Mammals
Word
Feeds milk to its
young
Antonym
Examples
Gives birth to live
babies
humans
apes
dogs and cats
18
Connecting Instruction
to Assessment
Now it’s 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
19
Connecting Instruction
to Assessment
Choose the word that means the SAME as,
mammal?
A.
B.
C.
D.
amphibian
social
p
primate
birds
20
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…
21
Connecting Instruction
to Assessment
Now it’s 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.
22
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
23
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
24
Author’s Intent
Story/Poem
Why did
he write
this?
Article
To tell
To entertain ((with a scaryy story,y,
To teach
To show ((effects,, similarities/differences))
To share
To teach (fable/moral)
To show
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)
humorous story)
To encourage
g
+
Main Idea
=
Author’s
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
26
27
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.
big
small
miniscule
i i
l
miniature
i i t
microscopic
bulky
petite
tit
enormous
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.)
28
Connecting Instruction
to Assessment
Now it’s 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.
29
Connecting Instruction
to Assessment
Choose the word that means almost the SAME
as upright.
A.
B.
C.
D.
flat
horizontal
uneven
vertical
30
W d Jars
Word
J
C
Compound
d Words
W d
upright
grasslands
fingernails
treetops
southeast
throughout
Affi
Affixes
H
Homophones
h
unlike
l dl
loudly
biggest
amazingly
generally
ll
climbers
bored-board
weigh-way
i h
there-theirthey’re
t il t l
tail-tale
31
W d Jars
Word
J
Multiple-meaning
p
g
words
Descriptive
Language
branch
nuts
leaves
swing
as small as a
mouse
second
biggest
amazingly fast
gentle giants
Primate
Words
climbers
social
grabbing
swing
thumbs
gibbons
chimpanzees
32
Killi
Killing
Two
T
Bi
Birds…
d
Use of Apostrophes
contractionswe’re they’re
we’re,
possessives-
Pronouns
Inflectional
Endings
subjectivethey
possessivetheir
objectiveobjective
it
climbers
j
jungles
l
bored
interested
smarter
t
biggest
33
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.
34
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
& Kame’enui,
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 IIsabel,
Beck,
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
IInstruction.
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 off Language
L
Arts/Reading.2000.
A /R di 2000 Wild Ab
About Words:
W d A Teacher’s
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
35