1. Vocabulary Development
The Relationship Between Word Knowledge and Comprehension

2. Questions About Vocabulary
What is the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension?
How many words do people know?
What are effective methods of teaching vocabulary knowledge?

3. Vocabulary Knowledge and Reading Comprehension Relationship
The Instrumentalist Hypothesis
Vocabulary Knowledge
Reading Comprehension
Knowledge of words causes reading comprehension:
1) If word knowledge helps people to understand, texts with more difficult words are more difficult to understand.
2) Teaching word meanings should improve comprehension.

4. Vocabulary Knowledge and Reading Comprehension Relationship
The Knowledge Hypothesis
Vocabulary Knowledge
Reading Comprehension
Topic Knowledge
1) Knowledge of word meanings themselves do not cause people to comprehend text.
2) Word meanings are not unrelated bits of information, but are parts of larger knowledge structures.

5. Vocabulary Knowledge and Reading Comprehension Relationship
The General Ability Hypothesis
General Ability
Vocabulary Knowledge
Reading Comprehension
Vocabulary knowledge is strongly related to intelligence.
Correlation between vocabulary and comprehension is due to general ability.

6. Vocabulary Knowledge and Reading Comprehension Relationship
Which is true?
All three say something important.
Instrumentalist is most important for teachers because it suggests that teaching words will improve comprehension.

7. How many words do people know?
45,000
250, ,000
88,700
45,000: Number of words known by an average high school senior
250, ,000: Number of words in the English language
88,700: Number of word families in English (ex., add –addition – additive – adding)

8. How many words do people know?
107
5,000
83,000
107: Number of words that make up ½ of all texts written in English (Dolch and Fry words)
5,000: Next 45% of all words in texts written in English
83,000: The number of words in the final 5% of all English texts; these hold all the content!

9. How many words do people know?
300
10x30
3,000
300: Number of words that can reasonably be taught in a school year
10x30: ten words per week for 30 weeks
3,000: the average number of words a child learns to read per year

10. What are effective methods for teaching vocabulary knowledge?
Direct Instruction
Wide Reading
Use of Context

11. Frayer Diagram
Definition
Sentence
Word
Example
Non-Example

12. Frayer Diagram Lacking life, spirit, or zest lackadaisical Definition
Sentence
The lackadaisical dog couldn’t be bothered to leave the porch, even when the cat strolled by
with a taunting glare.
Lacking life, spirit, or zest
lackadaisical
Example
Non-Example
languid, lazy
Orangutans at the zoo
energetic, vivacious
Jack Russell terrier

13. Inductive Word Study
Students are given cards with words to be learned.
In small groups, students sort the words in ways that make sense to them.
The students explain how they defined their groups.
Students are encouraged to regroup the words in a different way.

14. 3x3 Vocabulary
Students are given a 3x3 grid and write one word in each box.
Once the sheet is filled out, students write six sentences which illustrate the relationships between the words: column 1, down; row 2, across; etc.

15. 3x3 Vocabulary Context clues Background knowledge Meaning Concept
Graphic organizers
Strategy(ies)
Direct instruction
Word walls
Comprehension
Word maps
Graphic organizers
Word study
Definitions