Vocabulary Development
“Words are not just words. They are the interface between communication and thought. When we read, it is through words that we build, refine, and modify our knowledge. What makes vocabulary valuable and important is not the words themselves so much as the understandings they afford.” Adams 2009
On this page, you will find the following:
Why does vocabulary development matetr?
How should we teach vocabulary?
Instructional approaches to vocabulary instruction
Playful and active ways to engage with words
Which words should we select?
Considerations for Multilingual learners
What is vocabulary?
Vocabulary Is all the words in a language used to understand and communicate thought, whether through speaking, listening, reading or writiing. Vocabulary is also the knowledge of words, their structure and their meanings.
Why does vocabulary development matter?
Vocabulary knowledge is one of the strongest predictors of reading comprehension and listening comprehension, and as such plays a crucial role in students’ ability to make meaning of oral and written texts of all types. “The National Reading Panel identified vocabulary instruction as an essential skill that students need to improve reading performance. In fact, there is strong evidence to support providing vocabulary instruction not only to improve students’ reading comprehension and writing quality, but also their listening vocabulary and their speaking vocabulary”. (Effective Vocabulary Instruction for Kindergarten to 12th Grade Students Experiencing Learning Disabilities. Council for Learning Disabilities. 2013). ocabulary plays a crucial role in listening, speaking, reading, and writing tasks, because the oral and written use of words promotes comprehension and communication.
Perhaps the most straightforward explanation for the powerful relationship between vocabulary knowledge and comprehension, is that a large part of academic performance requires students to actively make meaning of oral and written texts of all types. Students will have a harder time comprehending a text if they don’t know the meaning of individual words in a text. When we explicitly teach and build vocabulary in students, we are helping to build their comprehension.
What is the importance of vocabulary instruction across the content areas?
Vocabulary knowledge aids in activating and building background knowledge to make connections to text, and having vocabulary knowledge can increase reading comprehension and fluency while reading.
Vocabulary knowledge can improve writing skills and build knowledge of other word meanings through known root words, prefixes, suffixes, and word families.
Content areas such as mathematics, science, history, music, reading and language arts, and others often require content specific vocabularies. For example, in mathematics, students must have a deep understanding of words such as estimate, denominator, factoring, and the like to be able to complete assignments; while in science, words such as hypothesis, scientific notation, and magnesium may be necessary to grasp the content of the text.
What does it mean to understand and acquire vocabulary?
To understand vocabulary development, it can be helpful to distinguish between receptive vocabulary and expressive vocabulary:
Receptive vocabulary includes all the words an individual understands after hearing or reading them.
Expressive vocabulary includes all the words an individual is able to retrieve and use in speaking or writing.
Full understanding and use of a word occurs over time and after multiple encounters with that word.
How is vocabulary best learned?
Vocabulary development involves far more than incidental exposure or looking up words in a dictionary and using the words in a sentence. The National Reading Panel (2000) concluded that there is no single research-based method for teaching vocabulary, and that a variety of indirect and direct methods were most effective.
However, intentional and explicit instruction continues to be highlighted for having the highest-yielding impact on developing students' vocabulary knowledge. In their extensive review, Marulis and Neuman (2010) found that incidental exposure alone will have little impact without regular explicit and direct instruction also. Words that are necessary for comprehension of oral or written texts and so also content, need to be taught explicitly, as well as practiced and reviewed multiple times.
High-impact instructional approaches to vocabulary instruction
The combination of the following five instructional approaches have been found to have the most impact on vocabulary understanding and acquisition.
Use the gradual of responsibility model:
"I do", "We do", You do it together" and/or You do it on your own"
“Words that are directly taught should not hijack the reading but instead illuminate it.” (Frey & Fisher)
Explicit and direct instruction as part of the “I do”
Students hear their teachers think-aloud about how to make sense of unfamiliar words by identifying and discussing word relationships, make connections to background knowledge and personal experiences, and, if appropriate, discuss roots and affixes, and phonological form (e.g., number of syllables, first and last sounds, words that sound the same).
Students hear and/or are part of constructing student-friendly definitions.
Use of simple routines.
Dialogic reading of texts before, during and after reading: Students are actively engaged in vocabulary and story discussion before and during reading and in vocabulary activities after reading.
Semantic mapping: Students deepen their vocabulary understanding as they use and/or create visual representations or graphic organizers (i.e., the frayer model, word webs, semantic or concept maps, word maps, etc.) to make and demonstrate verbal and/or visual written word associations.
• Identify synonyms and antonyms for the term.
• List related words.
• Sort or classify words.
• Compare similarities and differences.
• Find connections between words.
• Connect new words to existing knowledge and previously learned words.
• Give repeated exposure and practice in multiple oral and written contexts.
• Review words necessary for the understanding of content‐specific text
Interactive vocabulary learning:
Students engage in hands-on activities related to word meanings, using pictures, manipulatives, and discussion. This is important for students, especially when teaching specific and abstract concepts (e.g., math and science vocabulary).
Students play with words and word parts by engaging periodically in activities that help them add to their knowledge of the terms.
Engage in talking about words
Think‐Pair‐Share.
Compare their descriptions of the term.
Describe their pictures to one another.
Explain to each other any new information they have learned (“aha’s”)
ADDITIONAL HIGH-IMPACT PRACTICES
For every word that we teach students, we should, as often as possible, provide students with opportunities to:
Activate and use students’ prior knowledge and connect to what students may already know.
Provide students with multiple exposures to words in multiple contexts.
Explore word families: Make connections between words (dependent on students’ readiness)
Restate the description, explanation, or example in their own words (with their original ideas, not parroting the teacher ). This is an assessment FOR learning opportunity to monitor and correct misunderstandings.
Source: Effective Vocabulary Instruction for Kindergarten to12th Grade Students by Beverly Weiser, PhD
Which words should we select?
Which words are important? Which are worth* knowing? How do we determine whether a word is worth knowing and significant enough to warrant direct instruction?
Planning for intentional vocabulary instruction initially requires purposefully identifying target words. Which is not always an easy task because texts are loaded with vocabulary that students may not be familiar with. The reality is that there are just too many words to teach directly. The aim is quality versus quantity. But what should we consider to determine which are "quality" words?
Students need us to teach them words that are:
functional
useful for comprehending academic texts across the content areas.
related (word families) to foster breadth and depth of word knowledge.
Three examples of word categories:
A word can be classified according to its level of utility or tier. Below are three examples of categories that can be used to classify words in ways that can help educators make purposeful selection.
Please note that this concept of word tiers is not an exact science but rather a helpful guideline for choosing words for instruction. The boundaries between the three categories are not always clear cut so thinking in terms of categories should simply serve as a starting point.
Common (High-frequency) words: These words are basic vocabulary or common words most children will know. They include high-frequency words and usually are not multiple meaning words. These may be good candidates for Multilingual learners through explicit instruction (based on assessment data).
"Academic" words: These words are less familiar, yet useful vocabulary found in written text and shared between the teacher and student in conversation. They are sometimes referred to as "general academic words." or "rich vocabulary." These words are more precise or subtle forms of familiar words and include multiple meaning words. Instead of walk, for example, saunter could be used. These words are found across a variety of domains. These are generally the best candidates for whole-group explicit instruction.
Specialized ("low-frequency") words: These words are often referred to as "domain specific"; they are essential to understanding the concepts of the content taught in schools. Generally, they have low-frequency use and are limited to specific knowledge domains. Examples would include words such as isotope, peninsula, refinery. These words are best-learned when teaching specific content lessons, and tend to be more common in informational text.
(Adapted from the Isabel Beck Tier model)
Selecting Words for English-Language Learners (ELLs)
Even though English-only (EO) students are assumed to know most “Common/Basic” words (e.g., words on the Dale-Chall List), this is not always the case for MLs. For MLs, these basic words may require explicit instruction. Basic words include both function and content words. Function words, such as on, under, more, next, and some, alert a reader to the structure of a sentence. Content words, such as cottage and cousin, carry information or meaning in text.
In developing a strategy for selecting words for English-language learners (ELLS), consider using this modified set of criteria for MLs which essentially prioritizes “common/high-frequency” words as those MLs may most benefit from.
To guide word selection and instruction for MLs, the modified criteria includes a word's:
concreteness (Is the word concrete or abstract? Can it be shown or demonstrated?)
depth of meaning (Does the word have multiple meanings?)
utility (Is the meaning of the word key to understanding the selection?)
Please note: MLs need us to teach them both "common" and "academic" words. Teaching "common" words should not be at the expense of their learning of "academic" words.
Instructional approaches
Intentional instruction involves:
direct and explicit instruction of taregted words, that includes some modelling (thinking out loud) and/or shared practice, before allowing students time for independent practice
generally brief (5-7 minutes of explicit instruction and 10-12 minutes of independent practice)
using routines (see example below)
targeting words selected based on observed needs, to frontload words from an upcoming text and/or content-area concepts
building connections: using semantic maps, etc, activating prior knowledge
a) Simple Vocabulary Routine
Say (The teacher pronounces the target word, and creates a phonological representation of the word. discuss structure).
Repeat (students echo the word).
Explain (The teacher explains in everyday language)
Use (teacher provides an example, students provide an example).
Say, spell and write (teacher say, spells and writes the word. Students say and write the word. Teacher and students discuss structure/parts of speech).
Adapted from The Reading Comprehension Blueprint by Nancy Lewis Hennessy, 2021
b) Using visual representations to build connections through
Consider using tools to help students create or see visual representations of words and word parts. These could include:
Semantic mapping
Concept picture sorts
Concept maps
Vocabulary word maps
Word charts
Semantic mapping: a vehicle for connecting words to their relatives, synonyms,antonyms, examples, multiple meaning or other related words.
Identify the targeted word
Write the word in the center of the map and include its basic meaning
Add synonyms, antonyms, and examples
Draw or add pictures that represent meaning
Concept maps:
Once students understand the meaning of these words, they then benefit from linking them with other words within a topic or context
Students can then start to form simple sentences from the visual source (expressive language)
This can lead to writing sentences
Concept picture sorts provide students with an opportunity to classify and categorize, adding new information to their existing store of word knowledge.
Word charts may be used to frontload a few key words that students may encounter during an upcoming reading or in other parts of the lesson in a content-area.
Example of a co-created word chart:
Vocabulary word charts:
c) Intentional word learning strategy instruction involves:
teaching of strategies for unlocking word meaning independently,
direct and explicit instruction that includes some modelling (thinking out loud) and/or shared practice, before allowing students time for independent practice
brief instruction and independent practice (5-7 minutes of explicit instruction and 10-12 minutes of independent practice)
“… the research indicates that wide reading probably is not sufficient in itself to ensure that students will develop the necessary vocabulary and consequently the necessary academic background knowledge to do well in school. In contrast, direct vocabulary instruction has an impressive track record of improving students’ background knowledge and the comprehension of academic content, when combined with incidental vocabulary instruction through shared reading .” (Marzano, 2004, p.69)
2-Indirect-on-purpose instruction
Indirect-on-purpose instruction involves:
indirect but purposeful instruction, most often before, during and after the reading of a text
most often during read-alouds and/or shared reading instruction
targeted words (selected strategically to help students access and comprehend a text)
developing new vocabulary during the reading of a text related to a current or upcoming learning goal
brief pauses during the reading to highlight words and briefly discuss their meaning.
Modelled or Shared Reading Instruction
Tips:
Focus on new words (or new forms of words) that are either general academic words or subject-related words that are important not only for this lesson but also for future lessons.
Encourage students to identify parts of the word that they may have seen in other words.
Draw attention to words and expressions that indicate the organization of ideas (e.g., “When you see this word, “although”, what do you think is coming next: more of the same, or something a bit surprising or unexpected?”).
Before or After Reading: Active and Playful Engagement With Words
Involve students periodically in playful practice or games that allow them to play with new terms
From "The Teaching Reading Sourcebook" by by Bill Honig, Linda Diamond, and Linda Gutlohn
2. During Reading: Simple Vocabulary Routine:
Contextualize (the teacher provides the context of the story)
Say (The teacher says the target word, and creates a phonological representation of the word).
Repeat (students echo the word).
Explain (The teacher explains in everyday language)
Use in a different context (teacher shows how the word can be used in a different context than the text).
Engage actively with the word (teacher provides brief opportunities for students to interact with the word and process its meaning right away).
From "The Reading Comprehension Blueprint" by Nancy Lewis Hennessy, 2021
Considerations for Instruction to MLs?
An increasing number of students come from homes in which English is not the primary language.
Not surprisingly, vocabulary development is especially important for English-language learners (ELLs). Poor vocabulary is a serious issue for these students (Calderón et al. 2005). MLs who have deficits in their vocabulary are less able to comprehend text at grade level than their English-only (EO) peers (August et al. 2005). Findings indicate that research-based strategies used with EO students are also effective with ELLs, although the strategies must be adapted to strengths and needs of ELLS (Calderón et al. 2005).
Several research-based approaches and strategies appear to be especially valuable for building the vocabularies of ELLs. These strategies include:
Choose the vocabulary that your students most need to know in order to support their reading development and content area learning. This includes both “common”/high-frequency words and academic vocabulary.
Plan for repeated exposures to ensure mastery. These could be during include read-alouds, teacher-directed activities, listening to audiotapes, activities to extend word use outside of the classroom, and parent involvement.
Preview! Preview! Preview! Before reading, pre-teach essential vocabulary and preview the content. "Walk" through the text, looking at the visual aids such as graphs or pictures.
When introducing new vocabulary be sure to provide student-friendly definitions for words important to the task at hand.
Learning about roots, prefixes, and suffixes is a great way to reinforce and expand ELLs' understanding of English words. Breaking the words down into smaller pieces makes unfamiliar words more comprehensible.cement.
Teach signal words and directional words in order to build a student's academic vocabulary. Help ELLs learn how to recognize, understand, and use signal and directional words.
Signal words are sometimes called "transition" words and "signal" relationships between clauses. They include cause and effect words ("therefore" and "because"), comparison and contrast words ("despite" and "while", and time sequence words ("then and "before").
Directional words describe a language function students need to perform, such as "explain", "compare", "inform", "contrast", "persuade," "justify", etc.
Teach vocabulary specific to content: A student's maximum level of reading comprehension is determined by his or her knowledge of words. Teach key words that children will need to comprehend texts, learn the content in those texts, and pass tests.
Ensure that your students learn the following dimensions of new words:
The ability to define a word
The ability to recognize when to use that word
Knowledge of its multiple meanings
The ability to decode and spell that word