Explicit Vocabulary Instruction

NOTE: Dr. Archer discusses how instruction should focus on Tier 2 words. This is true for younger and emerging readers. However, as students progress through grade levels, instruction should shift to Tier 3 words. See "Summary of Explicit Instruction" below.

Why Explicit Vocabulary Instruction?

Dr. Anita Archer provides a rationale for explicit instruction, in general, and how it supports students in their learning. The importance of explicit vocabulary instruction is discussed as well. She also provides the benefit of using explicit instruction particularly with students who struggle learning concepts and ideas.

A summary of explicit vocabulary instruction, which provides an overview of possible obstacles and challenges. This document also clarifies definitions Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 and how explicit vocabulary instruction shifts from one type of word (Tier II) to another (Tier III) as students progress in grade levels.

Elementary

Dr. Anita Archer demonstrates explicit vocabulary instruction through a read-aloud to a second grade class in the video above.

Click here to a kindergarten lesson in action!

Secondary

In this secondary example, Dr. Archer is preparing 6th grade students to read a biography of Harriet Tubman and includes the teaching critical vocabulary words. In this video segment, Dr. Archer is introducing two vocabulary terms: elude and intention. Click here to view the video.

Whether Dr. Archer teaches kindergarten, 2nd grade, or middle school students, the concepts in all videos apply to multiple grades and content areas. Repetition, connection to lesson’s content, varied examples, and student involvement are key to this practice.

How to Teach Vocabulary Explicitly

This video discusses strategies for vocabulary instruction that also supports reading comprehension.

Explicit Vocabulary Instruction

“What does current research tell us about the best way to teach vocabulary? Learn about the two prongs of explicit vocabulary instruction, and how to teach vocabulary in order to improve comprehension in any classroom.”

Explicit vs Implicit: What's the Difference?

Explicit — When we teach vocabulary explicitly, we choose 4-5 words that students will need to have a solid grasp on to understand multiple areas of their learning. Keeping the amount to 4 or 5 will ensure that vocabulary will be manageable for students to master and teachers are able to plan instruction in a timely manner. Explicit teaching of vocabulary enables a teacher to also build strategies within students to attack vocabulary acquisition. Using visuals, semantic, and mnemonic strategies are all strategies that explicit instruction lends itself to.

Implicit — Implicit words are words that are taught "in the moment." These types of words tend to need a quick explanation, using heavy context. This is why they are useful to teach "in the moment." Vocabulary that is taught implicitly should be taught naturally, without separate instruction. Teachers should give conscious thought to the words they will need to implicitly teach ahead of time, and plan short definitions to provide for the students to scaffold their understanding of the word.

Vocabulary is something that students must own! They need to have the opportunity to appreciate, be encompassed by, and truly see words for the dynamic presence that they hold in text. Giving students many chances to understand and use words will change the way they look at words, and open their understanding of new, rich complex text. From Reading Rockets

In the following videos, Anita Archer demonstrates instructional strategies for frontloading vocabulary. When watching the videos, focus on the different strategies she uses. Also refer to the feedback below the videos to review effective practices.

Vocabulary and Background Knowledge Frontloading Part 1 and Part 2 – 4th Grade

Vocabulary and Background Knowledge Frontloading – 5th Grade

Resources

Vocabulary Instructional Strategies

This reading resource provides a variety of instructional strategies to teach vocabulary that can be used and/or adapted for multiple grade levels and in a variety of content areas.

Marzano's Six-Step Vocabulary Instruction overview and Marzano's Six-Step Vocabulary with details

Education researcher Robert J. Marzano suggests that we can help close the achievement gap by explicitly teaching subject-specific academic vocabulary to those students who are lacking the background knowledge to succeed in school.

Pull Words Off the Page to Promote Learning Edutopia Reading

These two high-impact strategies for vocabulary instruction offer ways to have students authentically learn and engage with new words, concepts, and ideas before and during a unit of instruction. Applicable for all grades and content areas.

Fostering a New Approach to Vocabulary, 30 Years in the Making

“Two school leaders and ELA teachers share the process through which they convinced their department to abandon the vocabulary workbooks they had been using for more than 30 years, the collaborative process through which they fostered a new approach, and the initial results of its implementation.”

Making Vocabulary Connections: Powerful Strategies and Activities for Expanding Word Knowledge

From edWeb.net. “ Learn how to choose and teach individual words most effectively, and how to help their students make connections between and among the words that they are learning.” This presentation provides practical strategies to help students make connections between new and more familiar words. (You will need to enter your email to access the video)

Explicit Vocabulary Instruction (LD Online)

Simple strategies for providing explicit vocabulary instruction as well as solutions to potential roadblocks.

Active Practice

One of the 5 steps that Isabel Beck (Bringing Words to Life) shares is active practice—the time spent using the word in different settings and applications. This blog post shares why it is important as well as the keys to successful usage.

Five Research Based Ways to Teach Vocabulary

Five approaches/activities for teaching vocabulary.

Ways to Support Vocabulary Instruction within Existing Workshop Structures

Vocabulary instruction is closely linked to reading comprehension and writing skills. This resource from Teachers College Reading and Writing Project (TCRWP) highlights ways to incorporate instruction in reading and writing workshop.