Learning Words Inside & Out Why Teaching Subject-Area Words Can Make or Break Achievement Frey, N., & Fisher, D. (2009). Learning Words Inside & Out: Vocabulary Instruction That Boosts Achievement in All Subject Areas. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Today’s Purposes Discuss the impact of vocabulary on language acquisition and subject-area learning Examine barriers to vocabulary acquisition and instruction Complete a self-assessment rubric on vocabulary development at our school

How Often Has This Occurred? In a 3rd grade social studies class studying maps, a student is asked to use the word legend in a sentence: The legend of the coyote was told by the Native Americans.

What led the student to this incorrect response? Missing background knowledge? A misunderstanding of how to use resources? Lack of feedback? Inappropriate instructional routine?

Vocabulary’s Impact on Learning Significant predictor of reading comprehension (Baker, Simmons & Kame’enui, 1998) Vocabulary size in kindergarten serves as a strong predictor of reading-comprehension level in later grades (Scarborough, 2001) Context-embedded vocabulary instruction promotes language acquisition for second language learners (Tong, Irby, Rafael & Mathes, 2008)

What happens when you don’t know 5% of the words? Wepuha is the way the bean is edusca, not the bean itself. You can use many different balksiks to produce wepuha coffee. You can also use the wepuha roasted coffee to make a larger cup of coffee. In the U.S., wepuha roasting results mostly in a darker roast than wepuha roasting in Europe.

The Numbers Game Need to know 88,500 word families by ninth grade (Nagy & Anderson, 1984) = 500,000 words TOO MANY! Let’s cut it in half = 250,000 words  1620 days (K–8, never absent) = 154 words per day! How are you doing?

Barriers to Vocabulary Development Schedules require conceptual shifts every 50–90 minutes Emphasis on reading and mathematics, to the detriment of social studies, science, and the visual and performing arts Only 1.4% of content-instruction time devoted to vocabulary development (Scott, Jamieson-Noel & Asselin, 2003)

Measuring Word Knowledge Generalization through definitional knowledge Application through correct usage Breadth through recall of words Precision through understanding of examples and nonexamples Availability through use of vocabulary in discussion (Cronbach, 1942, cited in Graves, 1986).

What Are the Stages of “Knowing” a Word? When a student: 1.Has never seen or heard the word 2.Has heard the word but doesn't know what it means 3.Recognizes the word in context 4.Knows and uses the word To what degree did this student “know” the word legend? (Frey & Fisher, 2009, pp. 1–2) The legend of the coyote was told by the Native Americans.

An Intentional Vocabulary Initiative Make it intentional through word selection and intentional instruction. Make it transparent through teacher modeling of word solving and word learning. Make it useable with collaborative learning. Make it personal by fostering student ownership. Make it a priority with schoolwide practices. Frey, N., & Fisher, D. (2009). Learning Words Inside & Out: Vocabulary Instruction That Boosts Achievement in All Subject Areas. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Assessing Our Needs