April 21, 2010

1. April 21, 2010 Vocabulary Instruction

2. What do you know about vocabulary instruction?

3. VOCABULARY Source: The Center on Instruction is operated by RMC Research Corporation in partnership with the Florida Center for Reading Research at Florida State University; Instructional Research Group; the Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics at the University of Houston; and The Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk at The University of Texas at Austin.2009 Funded by U.S. Department of Education

4. Language is Central to Learning Key areas of instruction: Vocabulary knowledge – an important predictor of reading fluency and reading comprehension for ELLs and non-ELLs (Grabe, 1991; McLaughlin, 1987) Academic language – critical for reading and understanding content Funded by U.S. Department of Education

5. Policy Context ofLanguage Development Instruction Schools must provide instruction that allows ELLs to acquire content-area knowledge while they are developing proficiency in English (NCLB, 2001). Funded by U.S. Department of Education

6. Principles of Vocabulary Instruction Teach high utility words that appear often across content areas and are key to comprehension. Present definitions and examples of use in context. Provide multiple exposures to meaningful information about the word (Stahl & Nagy, 2006). Use cognate knowledge (Dressler, 2000). Teach word analysis and other word-learning skills. Engage students in learning words through talking about, comparing, analyzing, and using target words. Funded by U.S. Department of Education

7. Vocabulary and Comprehension: Upper Elementary Grades Native English speakers often depend on background knowledge and inferential skills when reading text. ELLs seem to rely more on their vocabulary knowledge when reading the same texts. Funded by U.S. Department of Education

8. Vocabulary Instruction to Support Text Comprehension ELLs’ reading comprehension can be improved with targeted vocabulary intervention (Carlo et al., 2004). Students may need long-term intervention for maximum impact and comprehension development (McLaughlin, August, & Snow, 2000). Funded by U.S. Department of Education

9. Vocabulary and Comprehension Key components of instruction for ELLs: Developing increased flexibility of English-language use Learning words (vocabulary) in context Distinguishing between important and unimportant text details and events Responding orally to texts in increasingly skillful ways Participating in student conversations related to text (Anderson & Roit, 1998) Funded by U.S. Department of Education

10. Vocabulary-Building Instructional Strategies High frequency English words General purpose academic words Content-area vocabulary English-Spanish cognates (for Spanish-speaking ELLs) Words conveying key concepts High-utility words Relevant to content under study Words that are meaningful to students (Gersten, Baker, & Unok Marks, 1998; Stahl & Nagy, 2006) Funded by U.S. Department of Education

11. ACADEMIC LANGUAGE Funded by U.S. Department of Education

12. Dimensions of Language Conversational language Used daily to communicate with others Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills (BICS) (Cummins, 1979) Academic language The language of text and content areas Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) (Cummins, 1979) Funded by U.S. Department of Education

13. Use of Academic Language To participate fully in the classroom and learn new content, ELLs must be able to Use and understand academic language in its various forms, for a variety of purposes; Learn new words (vocabulary) in context; Determine the difference between relevant and less relevant text in a given passage and the necessity of a specific reading and/or language task; and Participate in student conversations related to text. Funded by U.S. Department of Education

14. Academic Language and School Success Students need Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS). However, good conversational skills may be accompanied by poor academic language skills. Therefore, students need to develop Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) to deal with academic content (Cummins, 1994). Funded by U.S. Department of Education

15. Students Need Academic Language to understand teacher explanations, to discuss what is being learned, to read for different purposes, and to write about their learning. Funded by U.S. Department of Education

16. Academic Language: Is difficult for non-native speakers and many native speakers who are struggling readers; Uses and requires comprehension of a variety of language forms for a variety of purposes; and Incorporates multiple language structures. Funded by U.S. Department of Education

17. What Constitutes Academic Language? Vocabulary knowledge Breadth: knowing the meanings of many words, including multiple words for the same, or related, concepts Depth: knowing multiple meanings, both common and uncommon, for a given word Understanding complex sentence structures and syntax Recognizing written vocabulary as distinct from oral vocabulary Understanding the structure of argument, academic discourse, and expository texts Funded by U.S. Department of Education

18. Role of Vocabulary in Academic Language Development Classroom and content vocabulary in academic texts differ from conversational vocabulary. Academic vocabulary is critical to learning higher-level content and to performing well on achievement tests. Academic language: explains, informs, justifies, compares, describes, classifies, proves, debates, persuades, evaluates. Funded by U.S. Department of Education

19. Creative Methods to Develop and Reinforce Word Meanings Scripted books purposefully crafted to reinforce word meaning Games for partner practice using picture cards Games that give students incentives to listen for new words or previously taught words outside the vocabulary lesson Funded by U.S. Department of Education

20. ELLs and Special Education Strategic vocabulary interventions may reduce Special Education referrals and placement. (August, Carlo, Dressler, & Snow, 2005) Funded by U.S. Department of Education

21. Academic Language Functions Lower-Order Skills Recalling facts Identifying vocabulary Creating definitions Higher-Order Skills Using language to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate Funded by U.S. Department of Education

22. Academic Literacy Is the reading proficiency required to construct the meaning of content-area texts and literature encountered in school. Encompasses the kind of reading proficiencies typically assessed on state-level accountability measures, such as the ability to make inferences from text learn new vocabulary from context link ideas across texts identify and summarize the most important ideas or content within a text (Torgesen et al., 2007) Funded by U.S. Department of Education

23. Three Methods of Instruction for Academic Language Development: Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (CALLA) Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) Sheltered Instruction (SI) Funded by U.S. Department of Education

24. Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (CALLA) Designed to increase ELLs’ achievement (Chamot & O’Malley, 1996) Integrates: content-area instruction, language development, explicit instruction in learning strategies: Valuing prior knowledge Learning important content and language skills Developing language awareness and critical literacy Using appropriate learning strategies Learning to work with others in social context Learning through hands-on, inquiry-based and cooperative skills Increasing motivation Self-assessing learning Funded by U.S. Department of Education

25. Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) Combines reading comprehension strategy and cooperative learning. Is effective in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms with struggling readers, ELLs, students with learning disabilities, average, and high-achieving students. Students work in small heterogeneous groups . Funded by U.S. Department of Education

26. CSR (cont.) Cooperative groups use 4 reading strategies: Preview (activate prior knowledge) Click and chunk (monitor comprehension during reading, use strategies to understand) Get the gist (during reading, restate main idea of paragraph or section) Wrap-up (after reading, summarize new information, generate questions) Funded by U.S. Department of Education

27. CSR (cont.) Peer interaction provides opportunities to use academic language in meaningful communication about academic content (Cazden, 1998; Richard-Amato & Snow, 1992). Teacher acts as a facilitator.

28. CSR • BEFORE READING • 1. Preview • Brainstorm: • What do you know about the topic? • Predict: • What do you think you will learn? • DURING READING • 2. Click and chunk • Find hard-to-understand words or word parts (chunk) • Use strategies to fix chunks. • 3. Get the gist • Find the most important person place or thing • Identify its importance • AFTER READING • 4. Wrap-Up • Ask questions to check understanding • Review Funded by U.S. Department of Education

29. Sheltered Instruction Model (SI) A research-based approach to sheltered lesson planning and implementation Demonstrated success in improving ELLs’ outcomes Uses high quality strategies to develop ELLs’ academic English skills while learning grade-level content Effective for all grade levels across the content areas Funded by U.S. Department of Education

30. Narrowing theLanguage Gap:The Case for ExplicitVocabulary InstructionbyKate Kinsella

31. What Doesn’t Work • Looking up words in the dictionary • Using written context to figure out word meanings • Unplanned, extemporaneous vocabulary teaching.

32. What does work? Comprehensive vocabulary development • Students learned more through targeted vocabulary instruction • Learning through independent reading often led only to superficial understanding

33. Instructional steps Pronounce Explain Provide examples Elaborate Assess

34. Vocabulary Teaching Strategy Teach a manageable amount (3-4) of critical words from a particular section Distribute a vocabulary note-taking guide Prompt students to assume an active role Partner students for focused interaction during instructional process. Students take brief notes filling in omitted content as you provide essential information both verbally and in writing (e.g. on the overhead). Present the word in writing (on the board, overhead, computer). Pronounce the word; have students read and pronounce several times.

35. Vocabulary Teaching Strategy Clarify the part of speech; whether it is a high-use word/lesson concept, etc. Provide a synonym (if any) using familiar language. Provide two concrete examples to create mental anchors. Actively engage students by assigning a brief partner application task. Provide a sentence starter to frame their oral responses grammatically and syntactically. Assign a brief writing task to guide students in applying word knowledge to a new context.

36. Example: Accurate

37. Video: Diversity Use the Observation Tool to analyze Explicit Vocabulary Instruction

38. Vocabulary Study Strategies: Read, Cover, Recite, Check Vocabulary Study Cards Vocabulary Notebooks (see Handout)

39. Teaching Words that Matter: Big idea words: related to central concepts High-use, widely applicable “academic tool kit” words High-use “disciplinary tool kit” words Polysemous: multiple meaning, e.g. wave Academic words that students need to know to engage in academic discourse

40. “We must keep in mind, however, that teaching vocabulary robustly is not an end in itself, but only a means to an end. The critical outcome is how well we equip students to thrive in academic contexts.”--Kate Kinsella