12/7/14 Building Vocabulary To
Support Language
Acquisition
Linda Gerena
Associate Professor (Titulada)
York College
City University of New York
Teacher Education
December 2, 2014
Why is Teaching Vocabulary So
Important?
Research shows that Vocabulary is the “Key to
Comprehension”
—  90-95% of the words in a text to comprehend.
—  It takes a minimum of 15 encounters with a new
word for a student to understand and apply the
word independently. —  Lack of vocabulary makes reading more difficult and
can lead to disinterest in reading.
—  Students' comprehension will increase by 33
percentile points when vocabulary instruction
focuses on specific words important to the content
they are reading as opposed to words from highfrequency or random lists
—  Looking up words and copying definitions is the
LEAST effective way to develop vocabulary
Teachers Should Decrease
Developing Effective Practices
in Vocabulary Instruction
Teachers Should Increase:
—  Time for reading using varied, vocabulary rich text
—  Explicit teaching of vocabulary, 6-8 words per day
—  Use of concrete contexts when possible (pictures,
artifacts)
Opportunities for students to hear or use words
meaningful ways and in natural sentence contexts
—  Opportunities for students to connect new words to
those already known
•  Explicit teaching of strategies that lead to independent
word learning
•  Study of words that will have the biggest impact on
comprehension rather than “covering” many words
superficially
— 
Looking up definitions as a single source of
word knowledge
—  Asking students to write sentences for new
words before they’ve studied the word in
depth
—  Notion that all words in a text need to be
defined for comprehension
—  Using context as a highly reliable tool for
increasing comprehension
—  Assessments that ask students for single
definitions
— 
Janet Allen
Words,Words,Words:Teaching Vocabulary in Grades 4-12. Portland, ME: Stenhouse, 1999, 107.
How To Build Students’ Vocabulary
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READ EVERY DAY- the more you read the more vocabulary you learn
◦  Teacher Read Aloud
◦  Partner Readings
◦  Independent readings
Use students’ backgrounds and experiences to bridge new vocabulary
Teach vocabulary from texts (as opposed to random lists)
Explicit teaching of word parts
◦  Prefixes, suffixes, root words, antonyms, synonyms, multiple meanings
Teach vocabulary before, during, and after reading a selection
◦  Before: Select a limited number of words that are essential to the
meaning of the passage; Activate prior knowledge; Briefly give students
an idea of words that are needed for comprehension.
◦  During: Make connections to previous vocabulary; self talk
◦  After: Use word maps and other interactive strategies to deepen
understanding
Explicit teaching of interactive strategies and structures to build
vocabulary
REMEMBER: Building vocabulary is not about assigning lists of words to
memorize
Structures To Build
Vocabulary*
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— 
— 
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— 
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Vocabulary Maps
Concept Definition Maps
Frayer Model
Vocabulary Journal
Vocabulary Notebooks
Word Walls
Word Splash
Visualizations
Word Origins
Cognates
Word Webs and Semantic Mapping
*Some of these structures were retrieved on websites that are
included in the reference pages at the end of this PowerPoint.
1 12/7/14 Vocabulary/Word Map
Word Map
Personal Connection: How have you heard this word or a form of this word used?
___________________________
___________________________
Vocabulary/Word Map
___________________________
Personal Connection: How have you heard this word or a form of this word used?
Definition
___________________________
Picture that shows understanding of the word
___________________________
___________________________
Definition
Picture that shows understanding of the word
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
Antonym/Non-Example
Synonym/Example
Antonym/Non-Example
Synonym/Example
New Understanding: Use in a sentence
New Understanding: Use in a sentence
How has this new information added to my previous personal connection?
How has this new information added to my previous personal connection?
Sample Science Word Map
Vocabulary/Word Map
Personal Connection: How have you heard this word or a form of this word used?
___________________________
The process of cell division including
division of the nucleus.
Math Word Map
Vocabulary/Word Map
Personal Connection: How have you heard this word or a form of this word used?
___________________________
A quadrilateral is a
_________________
shape with four sides
___________________________
Definition
Definition
Picture that shows understanding of the word
Picture that shows understanding of the word
Mitosis
Quadrilateral
An example of mitosis is when a cell duplicates
itself but does not become a gamete. For example,
when skin cells duplicate to heal a cut.
Budding in a yeast cell
Antonym/Non-Example
Synonym/Example
New Understanding: Use in a sentence: The cell replicates itself exactly, to repair damaged tissue, replace
worn out cells, to help bodies grow and develop.
How has this new information added to my previous understanding or personal connection? What a
student might comment: Now I realize that mitosis is when the cell divides to form a new cell. So mitosis is
how the body replaces the dead cells.
Multiple Meaning Word Map
Word Map
(sample)
Name
Date
4
5
to hold onto
dispels,
dismisses
(synonym)
(antonym or “nonexample”)
3
6
Function: verb
1: to give shelter to
<harbor an escaped
convict>
2: to hold a thought or
feeling of
<harbor a grudge>
3: to take shelter in
or as if in a
harbor
(the matching
dictionary definition)
1
harbor
harborer,
harbored,
harboring,
harbors
(Vocabulary Word)
Page Number
9
(other forms of the word)
2
"I refuse to believe that so modern and civilized a young man
as you seems to harbor romantic ideas about the value of human
life. Surely your experiences in the war--"
(sentence or phrase from the text)
8
Circle, triangle,
Pentagon, hexagon
Square, rectangle,
trapezoid, rhombus
Antonym/Non-Example
Synonym/Example
New Understanding: Use in a sentence: A quadrilateral is a shape or form that has four sides that may or may
not be of equal length. Also the sides may or may not be parallel.
How has this new information added to my previous understanding or personal connection? What a
student might comment: Now I realize that ‘quad’ means “four”.
The Frayer Model
An adaptation of the word map
—  The Concept Word
—  The Definition
—  Characteristics Of The Concept Word
—  Examples Of The Concept Word
—  Non-examples of the concept word
My brother harbors the idea that I'm going to
let him drive my car.
(my very own sentence)
7
harbor" is where you
"h
keep boats;
like you keep ideas
in your head
Frayer Frederick and Klausmeier (1969)
(my association, example, or sketch)
Copyright 2004 IRA/NCTE. All rights reserved.
ReadWriteThink materials may be reproduced for educational purposes.
2 12/7/14 Example of Freyer Model
Concept Definition Maps
is a way for students to organize
their thoughts around a central
vocabulary concept word.
—  Students need to be able to:
Concept Definition Map
—  This
◦  Place the word into a category
◦  Name attributes
◦  Give examples, and
◦  Create an original definition.
Category
What is it?
Concept Definition Map
Concept Definition:
_________________________________________
Category:
Attribute:
Attribute:
What
Whatisisit?
it like?
What is it like?
Attribute:
What is it like?
Example:
Attribute:
What is it like?
Example:
Attribute:
What is it like?
New Definition:
Sample Concept Definition Map
Comparisons
Properties
What is it like?
Name
Date
GRAPHIC ORGANIZER
Concept Definition Map
What is it?
What is it like?
Category
Property
Property
What are some
examples ?
Property
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
New Definition
*rp_c1_L06_All_Concept_r8.qxd
Illustrations
What are some examples?
Copyright © Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved. This page may be photocopied for use with students.
Property
Main Concept
Using a Concept Definition Map ■ Page 1
3 12/7/14 Math Sample Map
Science Sample Map
Concept Definition Map
Homeostasis
Concept Definition Map
Measures of Central
Tendency
Category or Definition:
What is it?
Included in the study of
Statistics and Probability:
When analyzing a list of
numerical data, the
measures of central
tendency represent the
whole set of data
Example:
Mode
Attribute: Mode
The mode is the number or
numbers that occur most
frequently
Attribute: Mean
The mean is the sum of the
data divided by the number
of items (average)
Attribute: Median
The median is the middle
number of the data
ordered from least to
greatest, or the mean of
the two middle numbers
Example:
Median
New Definition:
When given a list of numerical data, the way to describe the whole
data set is through measures of central tendency. For example, the
weekly quiz grades for a group of students were: 84, 83, 89, 90, 83,
91, 85, 80, 90, 83. The mode is 83, the mean is 85.272 and the
median is 84.
Vocabulary Notebooks
Individual vocabulary notebooks help students to
strengthen their word knowledge and internalize
meaning for use throughout their lives.
—  Direct students to identify unknown words, confusing
words, or interesting words while they read.. As
students identify words, they write them in their
vocabulary notebook.
Vocabulary
—  Require
students toNotebooks/Journals
list the exact sentence in which
the word appears in the text.
—  After ndividual
students
have
written
the text
definition,
vocabulary
notebooks
invite students
to strengthen
their word ask
knowledge
and internalize
meaning for
use throughout
lives.words
Robert J. (not
themIto
create
definitions
using
theirtheir
own
Marzano, in his book Building Academic Vocabulary: Teacher’s Manual,
a dictionary
definition).
suggests using tabs in the booklets to note different subjects or topics. Having
a dictionary definition is insufficient according to Marzano. He explains that
—  Allow
students to include a list of antonyms or
dictionary definitions are not written in conversational language. As a result, students are unable
to internalize
meaning.
synonyms.
Dictionary definitions may be more helpful after a basic understanding of the word’s meaning is
—  Assign
students
include
a picture,
or He
established.
Marzano
recommends to
that words
be defined
using “studentdrawing,
friendly” language.
suggests
including aif
nonlinguistic
representation of the word or its meaning whenever possible.
symbol,
appropriate.
Steps:
1. Direct students to identify unknown words, confusing words, or interesting words while
they read and discuss a unit or topic. As students identify words, they write them in their
vocabulary notebook.
2. Require students to list the exact sentence in which the word appears in the text.
3. After students have written the text definition, ask them to create definitions using their own
words (not a dictionary definition).
Adaptations:
• Consider assigning students to include a list of antonyms or synonyms.
• Assign students to include a picture, drawing, or symbol, if appropriate.
• Words in the News: Assign students to make a list of vocabulary words from a newspaper,
magazine, or other current event resource. Then students choose one or more of the words
that are of interest to them to include in their journal and why they chose it.
• Refer to On Target: Strategies to Guide Student Learning, During Reading: Concept
Definition Map, Pages 14-15.
• Word Dictionary: To help students develop a deeper understanding of a topic or unit, assign
them to make a list of words that may relate to the broad topic or unit. The students place
the words in alphabetical order and then define the words. A picture or guide words may
also be included.
Sample Notebook
Vocabulary Notebooks
Resource:
Name of a Text
Sentence in which the word was used in the text:
Behind the castle was a labyrinth of hedges in which to hide from suspicious eyes.
Student Friendly Definition:
A maze – like a maze of bushes or plants or like a maze in design.
Antonyms
Attribute: What is it like?
Maintaining internal
temperature no matter the
temperature outside.
Attribute: What is it like?
Regulation of the internal
environment. Without
homeostasis, disease can
result such as diabetes
Example:
Human
Body
Temperature
Attribute: What is it like?
All body organization
levels maintain homeostasis
Example:
Mean
Word & Page Number:
labyrinth. pg. 11
Category or Definition:
What is it?
Regulation of an
organism’s internal
environment to maintain
conditions for life
Synonyms
Maze
24
Picture/Drawing/Symbol
Example:
Human Glucose
Concentration
Attribute: What is it like?
Controlled by the nervous
and endocrine systems
New Definition:
Homeostasis allows humans to live in diverse habitats and
maintain body environment at stable levels. When
homeostasis is disrupted the result is disease.
Vocabulary Notebooks
Vocabulary Notebook
Word & Page Number:
Resource:
Sentence in which the word was used in the text:
Student-Friendly Definition:
Antonyms
Synonyms
Picture/Drawing/Symbol
Sources:
Billmeyer, Rachel, and Mary Lee Barton. Teaching Reading in the Content Areas: If Not Me, Then Who?
Aurora, CO: McREL, 1998, 88.
Hoyt, Linda. Revisit, Reflect, Retell: Strategies for Improving Reading Comprehension. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann, 1999, 152-153.
Marzano, Robert J., and Debra J. Pickering. Building Academic Vocabulary: Teacher’s Manual. Alexandria,
VA: ASCD, 2005, 14-30.
Robb, Laura. Teaching Reading in Social Studies, Science, and Math: Practical Ways to Weave
Comprehension Strategies Into Your Content Area Teaching. New York: Scholastic, 2003, 216-219.
25
Vocabulary Journals
Vocabulary Journals are used to expand the
meanings of the key words and to note any
important words that relate to the word. For
example, if the word tornado is used…
Provide the following explicit instructions:
Using an illustration
—  Show the difference between an updraft and a
downdraft
—  Identify the parts of a tornado
—  Tell where a tornado begins
—  Describe some effects of a tornado
—  Give a synonym of tornado
—  Draw an illustration of the above information
4 12/7/14 Vocabulary Journal
Word Walls
— 
— 
A word wall is an ongoing, organized display of key words.
These words are used continually by teachers and students
during a variety of activities.
Word walls serve multiple purposes. Effective word walls:
◦  Provide visual reference for students
◦  Support the teaching of key words and subject-specific
terminology.
◦  Promote independence in reading and writing by building
vocabulary.
◦  Provide visual clues and reference for language learners.
◦  Help students remember connections between words and
concepts
— 
— 
Sample Word Walls
Key words that relate to the lesson or unit of study can be
added gradually as they are introduced.
A word wall should be organized in a way that is useful to
students with additions reflecting the skills or concepts being
taught.
Activities with Word Walls
Mystery Word
— 
Word Wall Pictures
Introduce a new word by writing the letters in a scrambled order. To assist students
in unscrambling the word, give clues, either about the word’s meaning or about how
it is spelled.
Visiting Word
— 
After students have worked on a word wall for a substantial period of time, add a
“visiting” word. This encourages students to do a review of the word wall as they
hunt for the new word. Present the visiting word as the new word for the day.
Missing Word
—  Take one of the words off the word wall and rearrange the remaining words.
Students scan the word wall and figure out which word is missing. Give clues to help
to determine the missing word.
Word Wall BINGO- Definition Bingo
— 
Students fill in a bingo-type grid with word wall words . As definitions are read out,
students cross out the corresponding word on their grid. The first person to get a
complete line of words wins. As a variation: give synonyms or antonyms for
appropriate word wall words.
Who Am I?
— 
— 
Provide a definition of one of the word wall words.
Students choose and write the word to match the definition.
*Material adapted from a variety of sources including Dr. Max Thompson's Learning Focused Strategies and Cindy Riedl's Vocabulary Instruction: A Learning
Focused Model
Word Splash
Word Splash!
strategy that makes vocabulary
acquisition whimsical and fun.
— Determine the most important
vocabulary words for the topic.
— These words are then splashed, or
displayed.
— Add pictures to the words that
represent their definitions.
—  A
5 12/7/14 WORD SPLASH
Word Splash
Blank Word Splash
eneral Description:
ord Splash is a pre-learning strategy. By
lashing key words or phrases on the
ard before the learning experience,
udents begin thinking about the topic and
e teacher has a quick, effective formative
sessment of their background
owledge about the topic.
rections:
Write 8-15 words on the board.
Palm Beach County Schools
Teacher Generated Word Splash for “The Importance of Food” Science Chapter
Working together in small groups, students take turns selecting one of the words
and making an “I think” or “I wonder” statement about the word. (A variety of other
sentence stems could be used depending on your topic and purpose. The “I think”
and “I wonder” sentence stems give students the option of connecting the word to
prior knowledge or the safety of asking a question if they don’t know anything about
the word. After students understand the Word Splash strategy, they may not need
sentence stems to discuss the words.)
Word Splash
When all of the words have been used once, students continue by making new
connections to each word until time is up.
Depending on the complexity of the words and the learning experience that follows,
students can discuss the words as a whole class or go directly into the learning
experience (reading selection, experiment, video, etc.)
odifications and Extensions:
Model the strategy a few times to demonstrate how to think through making
connections between the words and phrases.
Revisit the words throughout the unit. Hold students responsible for using the words
in their discussions and responses. Add the words to a class word bank and/or have
students add them to their interactive student notebooks.
Palm Beach County Schools
Visualizations
Visualizations
—  A
way to express vocabulary through
drawings or pictures
—  Enhances student understanding of the word
through interaction with images
—  Helps students create their own visual
definitions
—  Helps to internalize vocabulary meanings
—  Allows for application of vocabulary through
a different modality or context
—  Helps to increase comprehension and word
usage
Palm Beach County Schools
6 12/7/14 Visualizations
Recycle
Word Origins
— 
— 
— 
— 
Many English words are formed by taking basic words
and adding combinations of prefixes and suffixes to
them.
A basic word to which affixes (prefixes and suffixes)
are added is called a root word because it forms the
basis of a new word.
The root word is also a word in its own right. For
example, the word lovely consists of the word love and
the suffix -ly.
In contrast, a root is the basis of a new word, but it
does not typically form a stand-alone word on its
own.
◦  For example, the word reject is made up of the prefix reand the Latin root ject, which is not a stand-alone word.
http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/40406/
Word Origins
Cognates
—  Cognates
are words in two languages that
share a similar meaning, spelling, and
pronunciation
—  About 40% of English words have a related
word in Spanish
—  Learning to recognize cognates is a great
way to help English language learners expand
their vocabularies
—  For Spanish-speaking ELLs, cognates are an
obvious bridge to the English language.
Cognates
Semantic Maps and Graphic
Organizers
—  Is
an interactive process that helps students
see connections between words, meanings,
and concepts
—  Helps to expand vocabulary and extend
knowledge
—  Allow students to visually display the
meaning-based connections between a word
or phrase and a set of related words or
concepts.
—  Semantic maps help students to identify,
understand, and recall the meaning of words
they read in the text.
Semantic Mapping Graphic Organizers
http://www.colorincolorado.org/pdfs/articles/cognates.pdf
7 12/7/14 Semantic Maps: Brainstorming
Semantic Maps: Classifying
The key to teaching vocabulary is....
Keep it personal. Keep it active. Be flexible. Be strategic.
Word Walls
A word wall is a systematically organized collection of key words from a unit of study. Usually a classroom contains a variety of word walls based on
classroom needs (high frequency words, content words, etc.) and are interactive. The word wall is integrated into daily literacy activities, skills, and
strategies. It provides ongoing support for a range of language learners.
Keep Word Walls
Accessible
Highly Visible
Clutter-Free
Referred to Often
Memorable
Useful
Practical
Word Wall Guidelines
--Word wall words should be cut according to their shape for grades K-3
--Use large black letters on pastel backgrounds
--Do not include too many words at one time
--For grades K-1, begin the word wall with the names and photos of students
--Do activities with the word wall each week, engaging all learners visually and kinesthetically.
--Students should always be expected to spell and write the word wall words correctly during writing activities
Activities
Primary
Clap, Chant, Write
Make Sentences
Be a Mind Reader/I Spy
Bingo
Word Sorts
Flashlight Fun
Hopscotch
Let's Cheer
Intermediate
10 Questions
Opposites Attract
Bingo
What am I?
Word Sorts
Dictionary Definitions
Examples of Graphic Organizers
Pictures from the walls and halls of Cheatham Hill
Graphic Organizers for Vocabulary
Not an effective strategy without context
or as a first attempt for understanding
—  Studies that provided dictionary
definitions and asked students to create
sentences or answer brief questions
about the words showed:
— 
◦  Sixty-three percent of students sentences were
judged to be “odd.”
◦  Sixty percent of students responses were
unacceptable.
◦  Students frequently interpreted one or two
words from a definition as the entire meaning.
References
Chamot, A. U. (2009). The CALLA Handbook: Implementing the Cognitive Academic
Language Learning Approach (2nd Edition). Boston: Pearson Longman
On Target: Strategies to Build Student Vocabularies Grades 4 – 12:
https://www.monet.k12.ca.us/documents%5Cmath%5Ck-6%5CInstructional%20Strategies
%5COn%20Target%20-%20Instructional%20Strategies%5CStrategies%20Vocabulary-Gr.
%204-12.pdf
Cognates:
http://www.colorincolorado.org
Palm Beach County Literacy Project.Vocabulary Acquisition, Word Building
Strategies and Interactive Word Walls.
Díaz-Rico, L.T. (2004).Teaching English learners: Strategies and methods. Boston: Allyn
and Bacon.
Peregoy, S. & Boyle, O. (2008). Reading, writing and learning in ESL. Fifth Edition.
New York: Longman.
Echevarria, J.,Vogt, M. E., & Short, D. (2004). Making content comprehensible for
English learners:The SIOP model. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.
Read Write Think Word Maps
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson307/wordmap.pdf
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson307/wordmapsample.pdf
Essential strategies for teaching vocabulary:
http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/40627_4.pdf
Frayer, D., Frederick, W. C., & Klausmeier, H. J. (1969). A Schema for Testing the Level of
Cognitive Mastery. Madison, WI: Wisconsin Center for Education Research
Folse, K. (2009). Is explicit vocabulary focus the reading teacher’s job? Reading in a
Foreign Language Volume 22, No. 1 pp. 139–160
Herrera, S.G., Perez, D. R., & Escamilla, K (2010). Teaching Reading to English
Language Learners: Differentiating Literacies. Boston. Allyn & Bacon
Jones, D. (2014) Vocabulary activities:
http://www.cobbk12.org/cheathamhill/lfs%20update/vocabulary%20and%20word%20walls.htm
Semantic Maps:
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/graphicorganizers/
Simmons, E. (2002).Visualizing Vocabulary. The Quarterly v. ,24, n3. National
Writing project
http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/403
Wordsplash:
http://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/teachlearn/student/
wordsplash.pdf
Visualization:
http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordshop/1840/
8