Developing
Vocabulary
14th May 2024
Write down what comes to mind.
piano
Now?
piano
Why Focus on Vocabulary?
Pillars of Practice
Designing Reading with the End in Mind
Which Words?
Which Words?
It is estimated that to reach the goal of the 15 - 20 000 word vocabulary of a literate person, students must acquire a robust knowledge of about 700 words a year (Beck et al, 1987)
Why Tier 2 Words?
Why Tier 2 Words?
Tier 2 words are highly desirable for targeted teaching because they are:
Pause Point: Implicit vs Explicit Instruction?
Don’t leave it to chance!
Many learners accumulate high-quality vocabulary knowledge…
independently
implicitly
extensive reading
in rich language environments
abundant practice
from a variety of word forms
How Familiar Are These Vocabulary Terms?
receptive
productive
abstract
literal
connotation
denotation
word consciousness
lexical bar
Follow the instructions to complete this ‘Spotlight’ Word Knowledge Organiser.
semantics
phonology
syntax
Before Teaching: Some Approaches
ANTICIPATION GUIDES
SPOTLIGHT CHECKS
TRAFFIC LIGHTS
Find out which words students know and how well
Build background knowledge (e.g. ‘survival’ words or concepts)
SCAFFOLDING TEXTS
Activity: Word ‘Spotlight’
Before Reading
After Reading
Activity: Traffic Light
Red: words that are completely new to you
Orange: words you have seen before but are a little unsure about their meaning
Green: all words you are very confident you know the meaning of
new
know
unsure
During Teaching: Introducing Words
MODELLING BOOK
WORD CARDS
Make the target words visible. See, say, repeat, + ‘friendly’ meaning.
DISPLAYS
What Would You Do? Talk to a Buddy
Before or during the guided reading session? When would you get learners to watch the video?
Interactive, Robust Approaches with Talk
Activity | Learning Design Principles |
Builds semantic connections between words and concepts; active talk to reason about meanings | |
Connects to students’ lived experiences. Requires collaborative decision making to reach consensus; Has multimodal links to strengthen verbal-aural connections. | |
Really fun! Connects to students’ lived experiences and reasoning together deepens active processing | |
Build flexible word knowledge. Builds learners understanding of the word in a variety of contexts. |
After Instruction: Consolidate
IMMEDIATE TRANSFER
Establish routine. Introduce approach. Rinse, repeat, swap approaches to keep it engaging.
After Instruction: Delayed Transfer
After Instruction: Far Transfer
STUDENT CREATED QUIZZES
Summary: Multiple Exposures
Robust, interactive activities can be planned for:
Our Vocab Goals for this Term
Create a word wall and ensure I refer back to it and reteach Katie
Continue to celebrate and praise use of WOW words in everyday conversation. Take a photo of the child who uses the word and add this to the wall. Celebrate and use these in our hub Assembly. Theresa
Create a word wall/jar and refer back to it throughout the day and maintain it.
Jess
Focus on relevant vocab for lower level readers (some students have a smaller world view, focus on unknown words linked to space telescope, galaxy etc.) Ben
Degrees of meaning. Extend the chance to expose students to multiple meaning of words in their reading text.
T.C
Keep making the wow word wall. Write up specific content words from science and so forth.
-Iona
Referring to my WOW words during other lessons, especially writing. �More vocabulary follow ups. �- Jaymee
Use and maintain some key vocabulary displays - and remember to refer back to them!
Word Cards for key vocabulary during guided reading.
- Kate H and Parintorn -
Using and maintaining a word jar and Word staircase - Deb
Highlight key vocab in reading modelling book and referring to it throughout the session. - Charlotte
Explicit teaching of tier 2 words. Put the words on a word wall and refer to these words regularly.
-Sarah
Word Consciousness
“An interest and awareness of words”
(Scott and Nagy, 2004; Anderson & Nagy, 1992)
Why is it important? How to build word conscious classrooms?
Beck, McKeown & Kucan, 2013