1. Developing Vocabulary Instruction A “Robust” Approach Melded with Mental Imagery Cortney Steffens 2009

2. Call Me Polar Bear I trudge to school like a polar bear breathing out clouds of frosty air Some people say Winter’s a song But bears don’t sing They just plod along. -Monica Kulling

3. Challenge: Become a researcher Become members of professional organizations such as RRC, NYSRA, IRA, AERA. Read professional journals such as The Reading Teacher, Reading Research Quarterly, Educational Researcher Action research: Try things out… put theory into practice You never know until you try so take a chance.

4. Vocabulary Research Vocabulary development is important because research has found that vocabulary is related to reading proficiency, particularly comprehension, and is a predictor of later school success. (Anderson & Freebody, 1985; Anderson & Nagy, 1993; Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2002; Cunningham & Stanovich, 1997; Nagy & Scott, 2000; National Reading Panel, 2000; Sadoski, 2005; Snow, Tabors, Nicholson, & Kurland, 1995). Even though we know that vocabulary is important to future reading success, vocabulary instruction receives little instruction in schools (Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2002).

5. Levels of Word Knowledge Stage 1: Never saw it before Stage 2: Heard it but do not know what it means Stage 3: Recognizes and can associate the word within a particular context Stage 4: Knows it well (Dale, 1965)

6. Knowledge Continuum No knowledge General sense Narrow, context-bound knowledge Having knowledge of a word but is not able to recall it readily to use in appropriate situations Rich knowledge and connections to other words (Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2002; Beck, McKeown, & Omanson, 1987)

7. Robust Approach to Vocabulary

8. A Robust Approach is Based On… The following ideas: Early learning is mostly through oral contexts and shifts towards written contexts (Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2008). Stahl and Fairbanks’ (1986) meta-analysis using 30 studies found that comprehension was affected when instruction included (1) multiple exposures of words, (2) definitional and contextual information, and (3) engagement in active and deep processing.

9. A Robust Approach (continued) Learning of words requires multiple encounters (Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2002). To affect comprehension, learning may need to extend beyond just associating a word with a definition (Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2008). Effective instruction connects between new words with known words and situations (Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2008). “A robust approach to vocabulary involves directly explaining the meanings of words along with thought-provoking, playful and interactive follow-up” (Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2002, p.2).

10. Tiers of Words Beck, McKeown, and Kucan have developed a tiered system to classify words.

11. Examples

12. Practice Identifying Tier Two Words Excerpt from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Rowling, 1997, p.4) He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized the telephone, and had almost finished dialing his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver down and stroked his moustache, thinking…no, he was being stupid. Potter was not an unusual name. He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a son called Harry. Come to think of it, he wasn’t sure his nephew was called Harry…

13. Tier Two Words

14. He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized the telephone, and had almost finished dialing his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver down and stroked his moustache, thinking…no, he was being stupid. Potter was not an unusual name. He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a son called Harry. Come to think of it, he wasn’t sure his nephew was called Harry…

15. Creating a Vocabulary Lesson: Early Grades Children’s literature is read aloud. They can understand words delivered orally better than in written contexts. Children’s literature contains 30 rare words per 1,000 (rare is defined by Hayes and Ahrens (1988) as words beyond the most frequent 10,000 words in the language) as compared to 17 rare words per 1,000 running words of talk in adult conversation (Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2008).

16. Instructional Sequence A trade book is read aloud. Tier Two words (about three) are discussed separately during the initial lesson. A word is presented within the context of the story. Students repeat the word to develop a phonological representation (students are shown the written word). A “student-friendly” definition is given and examples may be provided to make the word’s meaning(s) understandable. Students provide their own examples using the word. Students repeat the word to reinforce its phonological representation.

17. Instructional Sequence (continued) Using all the words: “We’ve talked about three words ____, _____, ______. Let’s think about them some more Show me how you would look if you were ___ Would you prefer to _____ or _____ If you were to (an action) would you ______ or ______? If you were to ______ you would do that _____. Why? After the initial lesson reinforce the words’ meanings and create associations and connections.

18. Vocabulary Instruction for Older Students Vocabulary instruction should be frequent, rich, and extended. Instruction should occur every day and incorporate previously learned words. Instruction goes beyond definitions and includes creating associations between words.

19. Vocabulary Instruction for Older Students Tier Two Words are chosen from a text or organized around a theme(8-12 words per week depending on age). Words are presented in the context of the text. A definition is provided and a written record can be kept. The class discusses the words. Imperious is often appropriate for describing a king. How appropriate is it to [character’s name]. Exploration of relationships between words Would you have compassion for someone imperious? Students’ use of Words Students work in groups to develop sentences in which the word’s meaning is clear.

20. Display the Words Students should be able to refer back to the words. Develop word consciousness

21. Adding a New Element Mental imagery is used as a comprehension strategy. After reading about the dual-coding theory I began to wonder if creating mental images of words would help remember the meanings better. I began to experiment with my class and this led me to do a formative experiment. The results of my study have informed my teaching. (Filan & Sullivan, 1982; MacGeorge, 1984; Paivio,1971; Sadoski, 2005; Sadoski & Paivio, 2004)

22. The Results

25. Suggestions for the Infusion of Technology Wikis- Students collaborate to develop rich sentences and definitions for target vocabulary words Blogs- Students write for authentic purposes and infuse new vocabulary Kid Pix- Students draw their mental image of a word or create representations of words with backgrounds and clip art Kidspiration/Inspiration- Semantic mapping of words to show word relationships Online visual dictionaries- http://visual.merriam-webster.com/ http://www.visuwords.com/