Vocabulary
Vocabulary are words that contain important meaning to understand language used in reading, writing, listening and speaking. Students need rich and meaningful experiences with vocabulary (Moore, D., Moore, S., Cunningham, P., & Cunningham, J., 2011). The range of vocabulary in text grows at an intense rate after third grade, so students must be able to expand their word knowledge of meanings in order to increase comprehension (Torgesen, J., Houston, D., Rissman, L., & Decker, S., 2007). Expanding word knowledge comes from explicit instruction and exposure to a variety of texts across the curriculum that can be connected to prior knowledge. Promoting word consciousness will help to students make connections with vocabulary when reading to increase comprehension (Moore, D. et al., 2011). There are many different types of strategies to implement into instruction to help build vocabulary and increase comprehension. If students are not building their vocabulary, they cannot make sense of what they are reading. Also, building vocabulary can help to increase the amount of words that students are using in their writing. Teachers can assess a student’s vocabulary knowledge by their writing.
Strategies that help to implement vocabulary instruction:
Semantic Gradients
Teachers can use semantic gradients to help students examine and analyze words that have a relation on a horizontal or vertical continuum to deeper their understanding of words. This helps students to build a bridge between opposite words to build comprehension. Teachers could use a semantic gradient before, during, and after reading by choosing difficult words from the text or allowing students to choose the words. This will help to build comprehension by allowing the students to gain a deeper understanding of word meaning and relationships between words (Reading Rockets, 2014).
Graphic Organizer
To promote understanding of vocabulary during reading, teachers need to allow students to visually organize the meaning of words and relationships. Graphic organizers can help to enhance instruction by asking students write a vocabulary word on their graphic organizer and include a picture, definition, and connection to self/text. Teachers should use Tier 2 and Tier 3 words with graphic organizers because they will help to increasing comprehension. Many students are visual learners and learn from writing, so it is important for the teacher to allow the students to write their own graphic organizers. This will help to create a personal connection with the word (Primary Education Oasis, 2014).
Word Questioning
Teachers should build on a students’ prior knowledge of a word by asking questions to deepen their thinking and understanding. It challenges students to define, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate words that are unknown in reading to build comprehension. Questions can be integrated at anytime during a lesson and with any text. Questions could pertain to how a word is used in a sentence or why the author would choose to use a particular word. Writing is also a component because students can fill out word questioning diagrams to discuss responses and clarify meaning of vocabulary (Bintz, W., 2011).
Identify Difficult Vocabulary
Students need to be taught how to identify words that are unknown in reading to increase comprehension. Teachers can model how to discover unfamiliar words and how to gain meaning through a text. Having students discover unfamiliar words will show the level of vocabulary knowledge a student acquires. Before reading a text, the teacher could ask students to skim over a reading and highlight words that are unknown. Then, have students use resources available to discover word meanings (Teacher Vision, 2013).
Word Wall
Providing a word wall for students in the classroom will serve as a visual aid to learn vocabulary. It helps to build schema for individual terms and enhance vocabulary development (Southland, L., 2011). Teachers can place words that are used as vocabulary during a lesson on a word wall and refer to previously learned words on the wall during instruction. Students can refer to the wall during reading if to build comprehension and also use the wall during writing to incorporate new vocabulary. Overall, it helps students to use vocabulary in writing and enhances word recognition to improve comprehension.
Videos
https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/strategy-to-build-student-vocabulary
Shelia Banks is a teacher who builds her students’ vocabulary in science to increase comprehension. Banks has her students skim a science text that is difficult to comprehend and has students find words that they do not know the meaning of. Then, she has her students use classroom resources to find the meaning of the word. By having students choose words to research increases their engagement, rather than having the teacher choose the words. As students research words, Banks observes during the process to assess the vocabulary learning of students. The overall process helps students gain a deeper understanding of what they are reading.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTaYuYw8GNc
Cathy Doyle uses semantic gradients to help her students understand vocabulary in a book they are reading. It provides students with a hands-on visual to increase engagement for understanding and learning new vocabulary. It also helps them to become more descriptive writers. Doyle can assess her students by observing their semantic gradients and their explanation for each word placement.
Strategies that help to implement vocabulary instruction:
- Semantic Gradients
- Graphic Organizer
- Word Questioning
- Identify Difficult Vocabulary
- Interactive Word Wall
Semantic Gradients
Teachers can use semantic gradients to help students examine and analyze words that have a relation on a horizontal or vertical continuum to deeper their understanding of words. This helps students to build a bridge between opposite words to build comprehension. Teachers could use a semantic gradient before, during, and after reading by choosing difficult words from the text or allowing students to choose the words. This will help to build comprehension by allowing the students to gain a deeper understanding of word meaning and relationships between words (Reading Rockets, 2014).
Graphic Organizer
To promote understanding of vocabulary during reading, teachers need to allow students to visually organize the meaning of words and relationships. Graphic organizers can help to enhance instruction by asking students write a vocabulary word on their graphic organizer and include a picture, definition, and connection to self/text. Teachers should use Tier 2 and Tier 3 words with graphic organizers because they will help to increasing comprehension. Many students are visual learners and learn from writing, so it is important for the teacher to allow the students to write their own graphic organizers. This will help to create a personal connection with the word (Primary Education Oasis, 2014).
Word Questioning
Teachers should build on a students’ prior knowledge of a word by asking questions to deepen their thinking and understanding. It challenges students to define, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate words that are unknown in reading to build comprehension. Questions can be integrated at anytime during a lesson and with any text. Questions could pertain to how a word is used in a sentence or why the author would choose to use a particular word. Writing is also a component because students can fill out word questioning diagrams to discuss responses and clarify meaning of vocabulary (Bintz, W., 2011).
Identify Difficult Vocabulary
Students need to be taught how to identify words that are unknown in reading to increase comprehension. Teachers can model how to discover unfamiliar words and how to gain meaning through a text. Having students discover unfamiliar words will show the level of vocabulary knowledge a student acquires. Before reading a text, the teacher could ask students to skim over a reading and highlight words that are unknown. Then, have students use resources available to discover word meanings (Teacher Vision, 2013).
Word Wall
Providing a word wall for students in the classroom will serve as a visual aid to learn vocabulary. It helps to build schema for individual terms and enhance vocabulary development (Southland, L., 2011). Teachers can place words that are used as vocabulary during a lesson on a word wall and refer to previously learned words on the wall during instruction. Students can refer to the wall during reading if to build comprehension and also use the wall during writing to incorporate new vocabulary. Overall, it helps students to use vocabulary in writing and enhances word recognition to improve comprehension.
Videos
https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/strategy-to-build-student-vocabulary
Shelia Banks is a teacher who builds her students’ vocabulary in science to increase comprehension. Banks has her students skim a science text that is difficult to comprehend and has students find words that they do not know the meaning of. Then, she has her students use classroom resources to find the meaning of the word. By having students choose words to research increases their engagement, rather than having the teacher choose the words. As students research words, Banks observes during the process to assess the vocabulary learning of students. The overall process helps students gain a deeper understanding of what they are reading.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTaYuYw8GNc
Cathy Doyle uses semantic gradients to help her students understand vocabulary in a book they are reading. It provides students with a hands-on visual to increase engagement for understanding and learning new vocabulary. It also helps them to become more descriptive writers. Doyle can assess her students by observing their semantic gradients and their explanation for each word placement.