Vocabulary Development

Synthesis

This week's readings all focused around the area of vocabulary development, specifically in the middle and high school years.  All of the readings mentioned the fact that vocabulary development is an extremely important aspect of adolescent literacy, yet it is often overlooked in an effort to teach other things.  As mentioned by all three authors, teachers must direct more deliberate attention and time to vocabulary instruction.  The readings gave strategies and practical advice for doing this (as well as the benefits of effective vocabulary instruction) and also stated some of the obstacles that one might encounter when trying to accommodate for the gap in vocabulary that some students have.

Manzo, Manzo, and Thomas
This article first discussed the problem that many students do not have a vast knowledge of low-frequency words.  It gave several possible reasons for this: the "coarsening of public language," the need for teachers to be "plain-spoken" at times, and the "semantic-cultural-instructional paradoxes" that abound unintentionally.  After giving reasons for vocabulary decline, the article then moved on to give reasons for deliberate vocabulary instruction.  The authors say that the knowledge of words can boost self-esteem and higher-level thinking.  This knowledge can also increase comprehension and allow people to express themselves more accurately.  The authors wrap up the article by giving the reader some "sound methods of teaching vocabulary."  These include keywords, motor imaging, vocabulary self-selection, and wide reading.  Also mentioned are some intentional-incidental approaches (community of planning, and hybrid cultures and media) which require planning but have been found to be quite effective.

Harmon, Wood, and Medina
This article began by presenting some questions that content area teachers commonly ask about how to teach vocabulary.  It then went on to discuss the vocabulary that occurs in specific content areas: mathematics, science, and social studies.  All three of these content areas have technical terms, nontechnical terms, function words and word clusters and phrases, unique representations, and common roots.  The article then talked about the importance of content vocabulary instruction and how students need to participate in many exposures to and interactions with vocabulary in order for it to become meaningful to them.  Similar to the previous article, this reading closes with some practical instructional strategies for learning vocabulary.  Independent word-learning strategies included use of context clues, morphemic and structural analysis, attention to work origins, and "word consciousness."  Because different content areas require different types of instruction, several were listed: concept circles, contextual redefinition, the key word method, and the Word Family Tree.

Hinchman and Sheridan-Thomas
Though short, this chapter, for me, was very powerful.  It begins by listing benefits of having a large vocabulary: It boosts comprehension, improves achievement, enhances thinking and communication, and promotes fluency.  The chapter then talks about how vocabulary is learned through vicarious experiences, direct experiences, and direct instruction.  Furthermore, vocabulary is divided into three tiers, with Tier Three words being the most difficult and least common.  As in the previous two readings, this chapter closes with instructional techniques: K-W-L, Teach-Teach-Trade, A Word a Day, Root Words, and Digital Words.

Responses

Text to Self
As I was reading these chapters, I realized that I am one of the many guilty teachers who does not spend adequate time or energy focused on vocabulary instruction.  In special education, I also struggle with knowing how to make up for the deficit in vocabulary that many of my students possess.  These readings helped me understand how important it is for me to devote specific time every day to some form of vocabulary instruction, and it gave me some practical ideas for me to try in my classroom.  I'm specifically excited about "A Word a Day"!

Text to Text
Though previous readings of mine have not focused on vocabulary instruction for older students, I have read some about vocabulary instruction in the younger grades.  I have read that one of the greatest indicators of success in reading is how much children are read to at home when they are young.  All of these articles on adolescent literacy also mentioned the importance of wide reading.  The more exposure young children and adolescents have to text, the more their vocabularies will grow.

Text to World
These readings relate to literacy in general because better vocabulary naturally creates better readers.  If, as teachers, we can work hard to make vocabulary meaningful and useful to our students, we can also improve their fluency and comprehension.  In our last Adolescent Literacy class, we talked a lot about giving students choices in their reading.  I think this is definitely important for vocabulary acquisition, as well, because students will be more motivated to learn vocabulary related to topics which interest them.

Questions:

1.  I teach special education and Pre-K and I find similar problems in both settings.  Though I see my Pre-K students for 2.5 hours every day, their attention spans are approximately 4 minutes long.  My special education classroom is a resource room, so I only see most of my students for 20-30 minutes each day.  My question is, how can I effectively teach vocabulary given the time restraints I face in each of my situations?

2.  Can students who come from homes that do not possess "vocabulary-rich" environments ever really "catch up?"