1. Building Vocabulary
Chapter 1
Research & Principles

2. Introduction
Every lesson is a language lesson regardless
of the content. Academic outcomes are hugely
influenced by whether language is taught
arbitrarily or with intent. The purpose of this
chapter is to explore a variety of research and
principles related to vocabulary instruction.

3. Objectives
 Participants will demonstrate understanding of the
relationship between academic achievement and
vocabulary knowledge.
 Participants will demonstrate understanding of the
word knowledge continuum.
 Participants will demonstrate understanding of layers
of word knowledge.
 Participants will demonstrate understanding of four
principles of vocabulary instruction.

4. Academic Achievement &
Vocabulary Knowledge

5. Why Vocabulary?
 Low SES students know about half the
number of words as higher SES students.
 Lower achieving students know about a
fourth the number of words as higher
achieving students.
 There is a strong relationship between
academic achievement and vocabulary
knowledge.
(Saville-Troike, Graves, Brunetti, Slater, Smith)

6. (Marzano – ascd.org)

7. Why Vocabulary?
 Robust vocabulary instruction is effective for
learning word meanings, but more
importantly for directly impacting reading
comprehension. (Beck, Perfetti, McKeown, Omanson, Pople)
 Knowledge of a topic is contained in the
terms relevant to the topic. Understanding
the terms makes it easier to understand the
topic (encapsulated meaning). (Marzano, Stahl,
Fairbanks)

8. Encapsulated Meaning
Hiking: switchback, trekking, trail difficulty, terrain,
strenuous, moderate, novice, timberline, trail, summit,
ascent, descent
Data Analysis: statistics, central tendency, mean,
median, range, mode, standard deviation, trend,
reliability, outlier, sub-group, correlation
The more terms you know related to the topic, the
better you understand the topic.
(Marzano)

9. Word Knowledge Continuum

10. Word Knowledge Continuum
 No knowledge of the word
 General sense of the word
 Contextually narrow knowledge of the word
 Knowledge, but little or no ready recall
 Deep, decontextualized knowledge
(Beck, McKeown, Omanson)

11. Word Knowledge Continuum
Understanding generally stops at a contextually
narrow understanding of the word without
direct, deliberate vocabulary instruction.
Students may remember what the word is
related to, but cannot apply it to a variety of
situations.
(Beck, McKeown, Omanson)

12. Word Consciousness &
Layers of Word Knowledge

13. Word Consciousness
We generally have some sense of when a sentence
seems “wrong,” but we may not be able to describe the
problem, even if our first language is English.
*The boys made their chores.
*What age do you have?
*The woman is five feet high.
Developing word consciousness skills is important,
especially for English learners.
(Zimmerman)

14. Word Consciousness
“An awareness and appreciation of words
and the ability to reflect on their use…an
alertness to words…is essential for
comprehending the language of schooling.”
Learners benefit when there are classroom
discussions, activities, practice, and
opportunities to experiment with register,
precision of words, and differences in word
choice and usage.
(Lederer, Scott, Nagy, Zimmerman)

15. Layers of Word Knowledge
 Meaning
 Collocations
 Grammatical features
 Word parts
 Register
(Zimmerman)

16. Layers of Word Knowledge
Meaning
Positive/negative connotation
The lady is petite/ dumpy.
Degree/strength
She hoarded the magazines.
(Zimmerman)

17. Layers of Word Knowledge
Collocation
Certain words occur with certain other words
Fixed phrases
*Small sums of people were there.
Prepositions
*They discriminated me.
(Zimmerman)

18. Layers of Word Knowledge
Grammatical Features
Passive/active verbs
*I am fit by a size 8 skirt.
Verb complements
*I like to race because I enjoy to go fast.
Count/uncountable nouns
*The countertop is black marbles.
Parts of speech
*Don’t bubble the gum in my face.
(Zimmerman)

19. Layers of Word Knowledge
Word Parts
Wrong suffix
*The phone was ringing continuing.
Incorrect word building
*There is great bondage between the dog
and his toy.
(Zimmerman)

20. Layers of Word Knowledge
Register
Appropriate Forms
Formal/informal
Hey, dude! What’s up? (employee to boss)
Polite/impolite
Physically impaired / cripples can live active lives.
Direct/euphemistic
I heard that your cousin died / passed.
(Zimmerman)

21. Four Principles of Vocabulary
Learning/Instruction

22. Four Principles
1. “Students need to be active in developing
their understanding of words and ways to
learn them.”
 Concept-mapping
 Word sorts
 Developing their own strategies
 Activities/structures with a partner or small
group
(Blachowicz, Fisher)

23. Four Principles
2. “Students should personalize word
learning.”
 Mnemonic strategies
 Personal dictionaries
 Non-linguistic representations
(Blachowicz, Fisher)

24. Four Principles
3. “Students should be immersed in words.”
 Word walls
 Comparing/contrasting words orally and in
writing
 Bringing attention to words
(Blachowicz, Fisher)

25. Four Principles
4. “Students should build on multiple sources of
information to learn words through repeated
exposures.”
 See and hear more than once Exposure
Exposure
 Multiple sources of meaning Exposure
 Verbal environment Exposure
Exposure
Exposure
(Blachowicz, Fisher)

26. The Verbal Environment
 Build on natural context using “grown up” words
– Upon meeting: Hello, salutations, greetings, good
afternoon
– Asking about vacation: Revitalizing, pleasant, truncated
– A student working hard: tenacious
– Completion of good work: remarkable
– The loss of a favorite item: desolate
 Post words, refer to them, and use them often
(Beck, McKeown, Kucan)

27. Recap of Four Principles
Students need to be
ACTIVE in developing understanding,
PERSONALIZE word learning,
be IMMERSED in words, and
have REPEATED EXPOSURES to words.
(Blachowicz, Fisher)

28. Effective Instruction
For vocabulary instruction to be effective,
we must move beyond asking students to
simply look up a definition, write a sentence,
and draw a picture. Effective vocabulary
instruction must be deliberately planned,
consistently executed, rigorous in its
expectations, and engaging for students.
Chapter 3 discusses vocabulary instruction.

29. Summary
 There is a strong relationship between academic achievement and
vocabulary knowledge.
 Knowledge of a topic is contained in the terms relevant to the topic.
Understanding the terms makes it easier to understand the topic.
 Understanding generally stops at a contextually narrow understanding
of the word without direct, deliberate vocabulary instruction.
 “Word consciousness is an awareness and appreciation of words and
the ability to reflect on their use…an alertness to words…is essential
for comprehending the language of schooling.”
 Layers of word knowledge include: meaning, collocations, grammatical
features, word parts, and register/appropriateness.
 Four principles of vocabulary learning/instruction include: students
being active in developing understanding, students personalizing word
learning, students being immersed in words, and students having
repeated exposures to words.

30. Readings
 Making Content Comprehensible for English
Learners: The SIOP Model by Echevarria,
Vogt, and Short
 Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary
Instruction by Beck, McKeown, and Kucan
 Building Academic Vocabulary by Marzano and
Pickering
 Word Knowledge: A Vocabulary Teacher’s
Handbook by Zimmerman