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If you buy nothing else, this is the one to start with!

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If you buy nothing else, this is the one to start with!

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such a treasure. They provide practical and specific ideas that will increase your knowledge of the 'what,' 'when,' and 'how' of vocabulary instruction, supported throughout by explanations that will stretch your thinking about the 'why.' Motivated by concerns raised by real teachers, this book contains everything you wanted to know about robust vocabulary instruction."--Mary E. Curtis, PhD, Director, Center for Special Education, Lesley University
"If you don't already belong to a teachers-as-readers group, this book is reason to start one. The authors expand on the fundamentals that made their Bringing Words to Life

"Get out your highlighter when you read Creating Robust Vocabulary ! The authors discuss why a robust vocabulary is essential to comprehension and how to enrich vocabulary instruction. This is one professional book you will really enjoy using--I couldn't put it down. Reading this book felt like having a marvelous conversation with the authors; they answered all my vocabulary-related questions, plus ones I didn't know I had. This invaluable, teacher-friendly resource inspired me to start implementing the robust vocabulary strategies with my first graders today, and they loved it!"--Ann Uzendoski, MS, first-grade teacher, Highwood Hills Elementary School, St. Paul, Minnesota

"This highly anticipated book is the perfect follow-up to Bringing Words to Life , the seminal text on robust vocabulary instruction. The authors accomplish with aplomb what few are able to do; they take rigorously researched, evidence-based strategies for supporting vocabulary development and present them in a way that is accessible to teachers and engaging to students."--Michael D. Coyne, PhD, Special Education Program, University of Connecticut

"I love this book! Beck, McKeown, and Kucan provide in-depth discussion of vocabulary and its effects on reading comprehension and writing; tier placement of words; and instructional sequence and activities. The Q&A format is reader friendly, and I find the extended examples of full lesson cycles especially useful for planning vocabulary instruction in my classroom. This book is a 'must read' for preservice and inservice teachers of every grade level, literacy coaches, educational researchers, and anyone who has ever had questions about vocabulary instruction. I will definitely be recommending this book to my colleagues."--Clover Noack, MEd, Reading Specialist/Curriculum Coordinator, Ft. Zumwalt School District, O'Fallon, Missouri

"In this engaging volume, Beck, McKeown, and Kucan help readers to better understand their three-tiered approach to categorizing words, describe the ins and outs of selecting Tier Two words for instruction, and explain in detail how to teach word meanings before, during, and after reading. Examples drawn from the primary grades through high school illustrate the authors' approach to teaching Tier Two words for deep understanding. The examples and detailed descriptions give readers the knowledge needed to generate their own word selections and instructional approaches to fit a variety of texts and a variety of students."--Susan Watts Taffe, PhD, School of Education, University of Cincinnati

"Creating Robust Vocabulary was developed as a companion volume to Bringing Words to Life....This new publication contains extensive instruction modeling that teachers will find immediately enticing....The two volumes together provide invaluable classroom resources for teachers....Beck, McKeown, and Kucan's indispensible scholarship, first in Bringing Words to Life and now with Creating Robust Vocabulary, provides teachers with a coherent and compelling framework for changing the landscape of vocabulary instruction in their classrooms." ― Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy Published On: 2008-04-30

Isabel L. Beck, PhD, is Professor Emerita of Education in the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh. She has conducted research and published widely in the areas of decoding, vocabulary, and comprehension. Her contributions have been acknowledged by awards from the International Reading Association, the National Reading Conference, and the American Federation of Teachers, and she is an elected member of the National Academy of Education.

Margaret G. McKeown, PhD, is a Senior Scientist at the Learning Research and Development Center of the University of Pittsburgh. Her research on reading comprehension and vocabulary has been published extensively in outlets for both researcher and practitioner audiences. Dr. McKeown is a recipient of the Dissertation of the Year Award from the International Reading Association and a National Academy of Education Spencer Fellowship. Before her career in research, she taught elementary school.

Linda Kucan, PhD, is Assistant Professor in the Department of Instruction and Learning at the University of Pittsburgh School of Education. In addition to vocabulary instruction, her research interests include classroom talk about texts and the design of meaningful and motivating tasks to support comprehension of text.

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Creating Robust Vocabulary: Frequently Asked Questions and Extended Examples (Solving Problems in the Teaching of Literacy)

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Amazon.com: Creating Robust Vocabulary: Frequently Asked Questions and Extended Examples (Solving Problems in the Teaching of Literacy): 9781593857530: Beck, Isabel L., McKeown, Margaret G., Kucan, Linda: Books

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Games to Play with SBAC Academic Vocabulary

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Games to Play with SBAC Academic Vocabulary

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= the appropriate use of language in different contexts
- e.g.: using polite language in appropriate situations, telling jokes that are funny, stories that are interesting
- understanding the rules of my culture for adjusting language to suit the context

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= the way words are combined to form acceptable phrases and sentences
- understanding of the sentence because of grammatical correctness
- "Bob slugged Tom" and "Bob was slugged by Tom" in both sentences, it is easy to identify who did the slugging
- language specific

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= the meaning of words and sentences
- for example: "girl" and "women" share similar semantic features but differ semantically in regard to age

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= units of meaning involved in word formation
- morpheme = word or word part that cannot be broken into smaller meaningful parts
- every word in English language is made up of morphemes
- e.g. 'help' is made up of a single morpheme but not all morphemes are words by themselves

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Classroom Vocabulary Assessment for Content Areas

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What are some ways that we can gauge vocabulary development in the content areas? In this article, the authors explain how the intricacies of word knowledge make assessment difficult, particularly with content area vocabulary. They suggest ways to improve assessments that more precisely track studen…

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Informal Vocabulary Assessments for English Language Learners

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Informal Vocabulary Assessments for English Language Learners

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Using Informal Assessments for English Language Learners

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Informal assessments (also called authentic or alternative) allow teachers to track the ongoing progress of their students regularly and often. While standardized tests measure students at a particular point in the year, ongoing assessments provide continual snapshots of where students are throughout the school year.

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Free Vocabulary Assessments for English Language Learners

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Free Vocabulary Assessments for English Language Learners

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SupportEd has developed some free tools to help educators and administrators better serve English learners.

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Thirty Million Words Initiative - Parenting Language to Build Children's Brain, Dana Suskind

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A bilingual site for educators and families of English language learners

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From 2004 to 2010, a team of researchers and teachers at FCRR collected ideas and created Student Center Activities for use in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade classrooms. The activities are designed for students to practice, demonstrate, and extend their learning of what has already been taught, sometimes with teacher assistance and sometimes independently. Students can complete the activities in small groups, pairs, or individually.

Accompanying these Student Center Activities is a Teacher Resource Guide that offers important insights on differentiated instruction and how to use the Student Center materials.

Component

Name of the reading component: Phonological Awareness (PA), Phonics (P), Fluency (F), Vocabulary (V), or Comprehension (C). Each component is color coded: PA is purple, P is orange, F is red, V is green, C is blue.

Subcomponent

Name of the reading subcomponent, which is a subskill of the component.

Activity Name

Activity Number

The letters correspond with the reading component (PA, P, F, V, or C). The numbers are listed in ascending order within each component. The activities are sequenced from simple to more complex within each component and subcomponent.

Student Icon

The suggested number of students for the activity. One student icon indicates that students may work independently or with a small group. Two student icons indicate that the activity requires students to work in pairs. Two student icons with a plus sign indicate that the activity requires two or more students.

Objective

States the goal of the activity, which is aligned with the subcomponent.

Materials

Materials are located on the pages that follow the Activity Plan. Most materials are non-consumable to be prepared and used repeatedly (e.g., word cards can be laminated). Some materials are consumable and will need to be duplicated for each student doing the activity. Other materials, such as counters, are commonly found in most classrooms.

Activity Statement

One sentence explanation of the purpose of the activity and what students do to complete the activity.

Activity Steps

The first step describes how to setup the center. The second step begins with: The student, Students, Working in pairs, or Taking turns depending on the number of students needed to complete the activity. The second step also starts the series of steps to complete the activity. The next steps explain what the student does to complete the activity. The last step lists one of three accountability methods: Self-check, Peer evaluation, or Teacher evaluation.

Example

A visual of the activity and key materials.

Extensions and Adaptations

Suggestions that extend or provide an adaptation for additional practice on the skill addressed in the activity. Materials for the extensions and adaptations are included after the pages that align to the Activity Plan.

Users may use the FCRR Student Center Activities resources as long as modifications are not made, the resources will only be used for non-profit educational purposes, and the copyright belong jointly to the Florida Department of Education and the Florida Center for Reading Research. These resources may not be used for any commercial purposes. These resources on our site may be linked to but not reposted, reproduced, modified, or copied to other sites. For questions about the use of these resources, please contact The Florida Center for Reading Research at fcrr@fcrr.org.

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From 2004 to 2010, a team of researchers and teachers at FCRR collected ideas and created Student Center Activities for use in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade classrooms. The activities are designed for students to practice, demonstrate, and extend their learning of what has already been taught, sometimes with teacher assistance and sometimes independently.

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25 different ways to use the English word RUN

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Science of Reading: The Podcast, hosted by Susan Lambert, delivers the latest insights from researchers and practitioners in early reading. Listen today!

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EDVIEW360 | Voyager Sopris Learning Webinars, Blogs, and Podcasts

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Keep on top of the latest trends in education and hear from leading literacy experts through the EDVIEW360 series of blogs, webinars, and podcasts.

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This is like "Creating Robust Vocabulary" but has some other ideas as well.  

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This is like "Creating Robust Vocabulary" but has some other ideas as well.  

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Isabel L. Beck (Author), Margaret G. McKeown (Author), Linda Kucan (Author) & 0 more

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Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction

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Amazon.com: Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction: 9781462508167: Isabel L. Beck, Margaret G. McKeown, Linda Kucan: Books

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Did you know that typically, only 5% to 10% of instructional time is devoted to vocabulary instruction, yet students, especially struggling students and English learners (ELs), need between 12 and 14 exposures to words and their meanings to fully learn them (Durkin, 1978/79; Roser & Juel, 1982; Scott, Jamieson, Noel, & Asslin, 2003)? Teaching the meanings of important words before learning new content activates students' background knowledge and prepares them for learning and comprehending. In other words, teaching vocabulary provides the "Velcro" for new information to "stick to."

What Research Says About Effective Vocabulary Instruction

Vocabulary instruction must be explicit. Explicit vocabulary instruction includes an easy-to-understand definition presented directly to students along with multiple examples and nonexamples of the target word, brief discussion opportunities, and checks for understanding.

Vocabulary instruction must include multiple practice opportunities for using words within and across subjects. That is, instruction must be extended over time with opportunities for students to hear, speak, read, and write words in various contexts. This builds students' breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge.

Vocabulary should be taught schoolwide and across all subject areas. Each subject has a unique set of vocabulary terms, and students need to know their meanings and how to use them in various contexts.

Word Selection

Instructional time is precious, and teachers are not able to address every unknown word students might encounter, so careful word selection is key. When deciding which words to target for explicit instruction, consider words that are

essential to understanding the main idea of the text or unit,

used repeatedly or frequently encountered across domains, and

not part of students' prior knowledge.

ELs may require even more careful word selection and extensive vocabulary instruction because they may be learning conversational language and academic language at the same time. Colorín Colorado provides additional information about selecting vocabulary words to teach ELs.

Some of Our Favorite Vocabulary Instructional Activities for ALL Content Areas

The five activities described below are effective ways to teach vocabulary for all students, but especially for struggling students, students with learning disabilities, and ELs.

1. Essential Words Routine

Teachers use a simple graphic organizer to preteach the meanings of important words in about 5 minutes per word. During this routine, teachers introduce target words with definitions, visual cues, and examples. Students engage in immediate practice using the words through collaborative student turn-and-talk activities.

Resources

2. Frayer Model

One way to have students extend their knowledge of important words is through a Frayer model. This graphic organizer builds vocabulary and conceptual knowledge across content areas. The strategy requires students (not the teacher) to define a vocabulary word and then list its characteristics, examples, and nonexamples. Frayer models can be completed in collaborative groups using textbooks and other subject-matter materials while the teacher circulates around the classroom and assists students.

Resource

Online module, examples, and templates from the IRIS Center

3. Semantic Mapping

Semantic maps visually display and connect a word or phrase and a set of related words or concepts. Implementing semantic map activities in your classroom will help students, especially struggling students and students with learning disabilities, recall the meanings of words and understand how multiple words or concepts "fit together." Teachers will find that using a semantic map, combined with explicit instruction and practice opportunities, is an effective way of expanding students' vocabulary and supporting their content knowledge.

Resources

4. Vocabulary Review Activities

Multiple opportunities to practice using new words is an important part of vocabulary instruction. In previous TCLD research studies, brief review activities were built into novel unit lesson plans to help students practice (and remember) the meanings of important words. Each of these activities takes 5 to 10 minutes and is easy to prepare.

Partner Review Routine: Partners work together to quickly review words learned the previous day.

Sentence Review Routine: Partners create sentences using words assigned by the teacher.

Examples and Nonexamples: The teacher tells students scenarios or shows pictures and students respond chorally to each scenario, indicating whether it is an example or nonexample.

What Word Fits? The teacher asks a question and student partners hold up an index card with the word that fits or answers the question.

Resource

Each activity is described in more detail beginning on page 33 of the TCLD booklet Reading Instruction for Middle School Students: Developing Lessons for Improving Comprehension

5. Morphemic Analysis Routine

Explicit instruction of words is important, but it is impossible to teach all the unfamiliar words students will encounter. One way to help students develop strategies for approaching unfamiliar vocabulary is to teach morphemes (prefixes, roots, and suffixes). Students can be taught the following morphemic analysis routine to help them engage in independent word study.

Resource

Learn more about the morphemic analysis routine by reviewing this online learning module from the Texas Adolescent Literacy Academies.
Have questions? Feel free to drop us a line!

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Five Research-Based Ways to Teach Vocabulary

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Did you know that typically, only 5% to 10% of instructional time is devoted to vocabulary instruction, yet students, especially struggling students and English learners (ELs), need between 12 and 14 exposures to words and their meanings to fully learn them (Durkin, 1978/79; Roser & Juel, 1982; Scott, Jamieson, Noel, & Asslin, 2003)?

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In Blended Vocabulary for K-12 Classrooms: Harnessing the Power of Digital Tools and Direct Instruction , authors Kimberly A. Tyson and Angela B. Peery note the gap in vocabulary knowledge and instruction that pervades K-12 classrooms and illustrate why it is vital for elementary and secondary students to gain effective vocabulary instruction to achieve at high levels.

Created for teachers, administrators, instructional coaches, and literacy teams, this resource outlines a research-based model that will help you ensure English learners, general education students, and special education students master tiered vocabulary. With greater understanding of how to teach vocabulary effectively and incorporate digital tools, you can develop a blended approach to word learning that makes a significant impact on achievement.

Chapter 1: A Culture of Word Learning

Chapter 2: A New Model for Effective Vocabulary Instruction

Chapter 3: Methods for Classifying and Selecting Vocabulary Words

Chapter 4: Effective Instruction and Assessment

Chapter 5: Vocabulary Strategies for Elementary Students

Chapter 6: Vocabulary Strategies for Secondary Students

Chapter 7: Vocabulary Strategies for Special Populations

Appendix A: Digital Tools That Support Vocabulary and Word Learning

Appendix B: Suggested Books Containing Tier Two Vocabulary Words for Primary and Intermediate Grades

Appendix C: Annotated Bibliography of Vocabulary Books to Integrate Into Word Learning

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Blended Vocabulary for K--12 Classrooms: Harnessing the Power of Digital Tools and Direct Instruction

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Buy Blended Vocabulary for K-12 Classrooms: Harnessing the Power of Digital Tools and Direct Instruction: Read Kindle Store Reviews - Amazon.com

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Vocabulary in a Snap- great resource for middle/high teachers

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Vocabulary in a Snap- great resource for middle/high teachers

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Access 100+ effective, practical, and fun vocabulary exercises that take 20 minutes or less. Designed specifically for middle school and high school teachers of grades 6-12, each minilesson can be easily modified to fit your curriculum and your students' needs. Rely on this resource to help refine your instruction and strengthen students' vocabulary, their interest in reading, and their likelihood of success in the 21st century.

Learn how to increase vocabulary for high school and middle school students:

Explore more than 100 short, memorable minilessons for teaching vocabulary that can be adapted to fit diverse curricula.

Obtain suggestions for scaffolding and accelerating each short vocabulary activity to meet students' individual needs.

Target vocabulary words with the most crucial root words, prefixes, and suffixes in the English language to best employ instructional time.

Find helpful resources on how to teach vocabulary, such as websites and applications.

Gain research-based vocabulary learning strategies used in the minilessons.

Contents:
Introduction
Chapter 1: Minilesson Management
Chapter 2: Supportive Strategies and Technology Tools
Chapter 3: Robust Roots
Chapter 4: Powerful Prefixes
Chapter 5: Super Suffixes
Chapter 6: Testing Terms
Chapter 7: Varied Voice
Appendix: Index of All Vocabulary Words Appearing in the Book
References and Resources
Index

Also see Vocabulary in a SNAP: 100+ Lessons for Elementary Instruction .

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Vocabulary in a SNAP: 100+ Lessons for Secondary Instruction (Teaching Vocabulary to Middle and High School Students with Quick and Easy Vocabulary Exercises) (New Art and Science of Teaching)

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Amazon.com: Vocabulary in a SNAP: 100+ Lessons for Secondary Instruction (Teaching Vocabulary to Middle and High School Students with Quick and Easy Vocabulary Exercises) (New Art and Science of Teaching): 9781945349058: Angela B. Peery: Books

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In Building Academic Vocabulary: Teacher's Manual, Robert J. Marzano and Debra J. Pickering give teachers a practical way to help students master academic vocabulary. Research has shown that when teachers, schools, and districts take a systematic approach to helping students identify and master essential vocabulary and concepts of a given subject area, student comprehension and achievement rises.

In the manual, readers will find the following tools:

- A method to help teachers, schools, and districts determine which academic vocabulary terms are most essential for their needs

- A six-step process for direct instruction in subject area vocabulary

- A how-to to help students use the Building Academic Vocabulary: Student Notebook. The six-step method encourages students to learn critical academic vocabulary by connecting these terms to prior knowledge using linguistic and non-linguistic means that further encourage the refinement and deepening of their understanding.

- Suggestions for tailoring academic vocabulary procedures for English Language Learners.

- Samples and blackline masters for a variety of review activities and games that reinforce and refine student understanding of the academic terms and concepts they learn.

The book also includes a list of 7,923 vocabulary terms culled from the national standards documents and other publications, organized into 11 subject areas and 4 grade-level categories. It puts into practice the research and ideas outlined in Marzano's previous book Building Background Knowledge for Academic Achievement. Using the teacher's manual and vocabulary notebooks, educators can guide students in using tools and activities that will help them deepen their own understanding of critical academic vocabulary, the building blocks for achievement in each discipline.

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association for supervision & curriculum development

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education / teaching methods & materials / general

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foreign language study / english as a second language

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language arts & disciplines / spelling & vocabulary

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language arts & disciplines / study & teaching

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language arts & disciplines/alphabets & writing systems

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vocabulary - study and teaching (higher)

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education / teaching methods & materials / general

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foreign language study / english as a second language

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language arts & disciplines / spelling & vocabulary

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language arts & disciplines / study & teaching

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language arts & disciplines/alphabets & writing systems

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Amazon.com: Building Academic Vocabulary: Teacher's Manual (Professional Development) (9781416602347): Marzano, Robert J., Pickering, Debra J.: Books

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These are the games that go with the book, "Building Academic Vocabulary"

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These are the games that go with the book, "Building Academic Vocabulary"

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Strong vocabulary is a vital foundation needed all academic subject areas. Unfortunately, learning vocabulary is not always enjoyable or easy for students. With Vocabulary Games for the Classroom, however, Lindsay Carleton and Robert J. Marzano have devised a way to make this important instruction something both students and teachers look forward to. Vocabulary Games for the Classroom provides K 12 teachers with thirteen games designed to build academic vocabulary. While these games are certainly fun, and teachers should capitalize on the energy and excitement they generate, they should also be seen as one part of a systematic approach to direct vocabulary instruction. This resource includes hundreds of hand-picked vocabulary terms compiled from Marzano s work with schools, districts, and states. These vocabulary lists include terms for four different content areas language arts, math, science, and social studies across all grade levels. If a teacher s school or district has already established lists of academic terms for core content areas at each grade level, they can use the lists provided here as a supplement. Teachers should also feel free to make adaptations and additions to both the games and the provided vocabulary lists in order to enhance students knowledge of new terminology. The structure of Vocabulary Games for the Classroom is simple, straightforward, and easy to use. Each game begins with a brief description that includes details about which grade levels it was designed for, which subject areas it works best with, and whether the students should already be familiar with the vocabulary used or not. Next, the necessary materials are listed to help teachers prepare for the game ahead of time. Instructions to set up the game are then provided; this section includes any preparation that would need to be completed in advance. Following the set up, the game s directions are explained clearly and concisely so that the reader can visualize the game in his or her classroom. Finally, the vocabulary terms used for the game are discussed; in some cases vocabulary lists are provided, in others, the vocabulary list would be tailored to the classroom or pulled from the extensive appendix. Many games also include sample questions and exercises that can be used straight from the book. With this resource, readers will be able to make vocabulary instruction in their classroom not only fun, but also successful.

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Strong vocabulary is a vital foundation needed all academic subject areas. Unfortunately, learning vocabulary is not always enjoyable or easy for students. With Vocabulary Games for the Classroom, however, Lindsay Carleton and Robert J. Marzano have devised a way to make this important instructio...

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Word of the Day Ideas- "Expensive Words"

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Word of the Day Ideas- "Expensive Words"

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Enhance your vocabulary in just 15 minutes a day with 1100 Words You Need to Know . Relied on by students for 50 years! or for anyone who wants to boost their vocabulary 1100 Words You Need to Know features a weekly program with six words to learn each day and one day for review. With just 15 minutes a day, you'll learn everything you need to improve your reading, writing, and speaking skills.

Over the years, thousands of students preparing for the SAT, ACT, GRE, and other standardized tests have relied on 1100 Words You Need to Know as an ideal way to strengthen their word power. With this brand-new edition, test prep expert Richard Carriero provides a fully updated and invaluable resource for students- This fully revised edition includes:

Word lists with definitions in all new thematic grouping

Helpful tips on word roots

Updated words in context exercises, activities, and quizzes throughout

An updated pronunciation guide

Online Practice

Continue your practice with 3 online quizzes plus scoring to test your progress

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1100 Words You Need to Know + Online Practice: Build Your Vocabulary in just 15 minutes a day!

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Amazon.com: 1100 Words You Need to Know + Online Practice: Build Your Vocabulary in just 15 minutes a day!: 9781506271187: Carriero, Rich, Bromberg, Murray, Gordon, Melvin: Books

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Article that discusses the importance of early vocabulary exposure

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Article that discusses the importance of early vocabulary exposure

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In the event, you come across information that says the 30-million-word gap research is not accurate.

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In the event, you come across information that says the 30-million-word gap research is not accurate.

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Try this experiment. At your next professional development session, conference, or perhaps on social media, mention the famous "30-million-word gap" study, which demonstrated that low-income children hear far less spoken language before their first day of school than their affluent peers, setting in motion dramatic differences in vocabulary attainment and academic achievement. If your experience is like mine, someone will immediately chime in (politely at PD; pointedly on Twitter) that the landmark 1995 study has been "debunked." But there's a big problem with such dismissals. There are observable, measurable differences in the early language environments of children that have significant impact on their education. It's simply not true to say or suggest that's all been debunked.

Dubbed " The Early Catastrophe " by University of Kansas researchers Betty Hart and Todd R. Risley, the differences in language exposure that they observed and calculated among children of various socioeconomic groups is among the most commonly cited pieces of educational research in history, and for good reason: Hart and Risley pronounced themselves "awestruck" at how well their measures of vocabulary and verbal accomplishment at age three predicted language skill at age nine and ten.

Education research tends to get bumper-stickered. Complex and nuanced studies are boiled down to breezy takeaways that may or may not be useful to inform policy and practice. The "30-million word gap" is a good example-and a mixed blessing. The scale of the differences observed by Hart and Risley was so stunning that it propelled their work out of the sleepy world of education research and into public consciousness, launching a raft of programs, policies, and philanthropic initiatives to address the disparity the pair uncovered. But the sheer enormity of the "word gap" that gave it such attention and traction is also its Achilles' Heel. It simply strains credulity that it could be so massive and in such a short span of time, ages zero to four. Hart and Risley arrived at their controversial figure by recording every utterance made in monthly visits of just one hour each with forty-two families-thirteen affluent, ten middle-income, thirteen low-income, and six on public assistance. From there they extrapolated, assuming the same incidents of spoken language for fourteen hours a day, every day. "In four years, an average child in a professional family would accumulate experience with almost 45 million words, an average child in a working-class family 26 million words, and an average child in a welfare family 13 million words," they wrote. That works out to a difference of more than 30 million words heard by the children of "professional" class parents versus those of parents on public assistance.

The study has drawn fire virtually from the day it was published, but a significant new reconsideration gathered steam with a " failed replication" published last Spring in Child Development by Douglas Sperry, Linda Sperry, and Peggy Miller, which claimed that low-income children hear far more spoken language than Hart and Risley captured and accounted for, finding "substantial variation" within various socioeconomic groups and criticizing as too narrow Hart and Risley's definitions of children's verbal environments, which "exclude multiple caregivers and bystander talk disproportionately [and] underestimate the number of words to which low‐income children are exposed."

"Is it 5000? Is it 10,000? 30 million? 60 million? Who cares?" Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, the Director of Temple University's Infant Language Laboratory tells me. "The reason that [Hart and Risley] bothered giving any kind of calculation at all was just because there's a difference there. And it's a difference that needs to be attended to."

The focus on tonnage elides the essential message: Word quantity matters less than quality. Language growth has more to do with the "conversational duet" between caregivers and children, claim Hirsh-Pasek and four colleagues in a response to the Sperry study, also published in Child Development. Their title states the matter bluntly: "Language Matters: Denying the Existence of the 30-Million-Word Gap Has Serious Consequences."

The Sperry study suggested that when "ambient" speech is counted-speech among adults in the presence of children, for example-differences between socioeconomic classes are reduced or disappear. But there is a crucial difference between words merely overheard and child-directed speech, and their effects on vocabulary and language development. "For young children to benefit from overheard speech, they must stop what they are doing themselves and direct their attention to an interaction between other people," Hirsh-Pasek and her colleagues wrote. Speech directed at children differs markedly from speech adults direct at one another in terms of content, complexity, and the attentional demands placed on infants and toddlers. "A child sitting in a high chair who hears, for example, 'Juice. You like your juice?" is receiving input that is uncharacteristic of adult conversations, in which decontextualized talk is geared toward other things like movies, politics, work, and so on. Deciphering decontextualized talk is a challenge to young children, but without participating in the exchange and being privy to informative social cues, the task may become impossible," they wrote.

If a pair of dueling reports in an academic journal were all there was to this, the heightened debate over toddler talk and language development might have remained academic. But what appears to have fed the wholesale "debunking" narrative was a news report by NPR reporter Anya Kamenetz, pegged to the Sperry study, and soliciting to the views of language researchers on the twenty-five-year old Hart and Risley study. Her piece was generally solid, but ran under an unusually blithe headline, "Let's Stop Talking About the 30 Million Word Gap." The piece, which continues to be shared regularly on social media, noted that many researchers take issue with the entire word gap concept as "racially and culturally loaded in a way that ultimately hurts the children whom early intervention programs ostensibly trying to help." This framing fits the current social justice moment and mindset in education policy and practice, and has surely given the NPR story its considerable legs.

For example, Marjorie Faulstich Orellana, a professor of education at UCLA, agreed that "there's variation in how much adults speak to children," but cautioned against placing a value judgment on it. "Should adults direct lots of questions to children in ways that prepare them to answer questions in school?" she asked. That is, she told Kamenetz, a "middle-class, mostly white practice."

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In a blog post last June, University of Virginia cognitive scientist Dan Willingham pointed out that, contrary to the emerging "failure to replicate" claim attached to the 30-million-word gap, "the conceptual idea that socioeconomic status and volume of caregiver→child speech has been replicated" numerous times. He also pointed out that the recent Sperry work didn't include a group of "professional parents," rendering it a non-attempt at replication. Moreover he noted, echoing Hirsh-Pasek, that a precise measurement of the word gap misses the point. "Maybe somebody thought the absolute value mattered. I doubt any psychologists did, Willingham wrote. "We would care about the predictive power of the caregiver speech. On the whole, there's still pretty good reason to think there's an association between SES and child-directed speech from parents."

But here we are a year later, and the idea that Hart and Risley have been debunked is still rattling around. It appears even to be gaining traction. If the narrative holds-if it becomes accepted wisdom that children from low-income households have enough exposure to spoken language to do well in school, that "quality versus quantity" doesn't matter, that overheard language is sufficient, or if merely talking about how language is employed by various socioeconomic groups makes us uncomfortable, then "efforts to increase children's language exposure and enhance its quality may be treated as suspect," noted Hirsh-Pasek and her co-authors. "This approach would mislead policymakers, practitioners, and the public. The message should not be that children hear enough language but that children need more opportunities to participate in conversations that focus on their interests during everyday interactions with caregivers."

Recently a reader of Tim Shanahan's excellent blog chided him for citing the 30-million-word gap "canard." Despite its limitations, "environmental differences (as opposed to genetic ones) still seems to be the best explanation of why poverty kids are underprepared when they start to receive reading instruction," he replied. The Hart and Risley study is far from perfect, he concluded. "Nevertheless, the results of this body of research continue to suggest that what parents do in the home with their children matters educationally...and that they (and we) ought to be doing more to support their children's early language learning." That's the right answer, and a far cry from "debunked."

We need to keep talking about it.

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The making of an edu-myth: The 30-million-word gap has not been "debunked"

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Try this experiment. At your next professional development session, conference, or perhaps on social media, mention the famous "30-million-word gap" study, which demonstrated that low-income children hear far less spoken language before their first day of school than their affluent peers, setting in motion dramatic differences in vocabulary attainment and academic achievement.

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This book is available for purchase at the 95% group website. 

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This book is available for purchase at the 95% group website. 

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The Nitty Gritty of Good Vocabulary Instruction

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The Nitty Gritty of Good Vocabulary Instruction

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Effective vocabulary teaching has five key principles.

1. Focus on rich meanings, not just dictionary definitions.

Too often vocabulary instruction is no more than kids copying definitions from the dictionary. But researchers have identified a number of instructional approaches that outdo any learning that may accrue from copying definitions.

One of those key principles is that students work with more extensive or complex definitions or explanations of word meanings. Encourage the encyclopedia explanation over the dictionary meanings.

When I teach vocabulary, I often have the kids engage in trying to provide several different versions of a word's definition.

1. Dictionary definition

2. Synonyms for the word

3. Antonyms (if there are any)

4. Part of speech

5. Classification (what semantic group does it belong to, like tools or ways of talking)

6. Comparison (it is like____, but different because______)

7. Real-life examples

8. Graphic version (drawings, pictures, representations)

9. Acting it out

By the time you've come up with nine different explanations of a word you are more likely to remember it (and, of course, we can do more than just these nine if we want to get into analogies, part-whole relationships, and the like).

2. Emphasize the connections among words.

Many vocabulary programs introduce words by category, such as focusing on words from health and medicine or about transportation, including some that have research showing that they can be effective. However, direct research specifically on this aspect of teaching, suggest that word learning goes slower and without evident later advantage from the extra work that mastering these words entails needed to master these sets of words.

And, yet, evidence reveals that the lexicons in our heads are organized in various networks, not like dictionaries. When you remember a word, you draw from memory a plethora of related ideas-attributes, functions, and synonyms related to that word.

Start thinking diesel trucks and words like wheel, tire, dump truck, gasoline, and highway will not be far behind.

There are circumstances in which it is necessary to simultaneously introduce collections of closely related words that may require fine or subtle distinctions, such as when kids are learning about the structure of cells or atoms. I'll give that a pass, since such introductions are likely to be accompanied by a much deeper dive into the underlying concepts in such cases.

I also think it is quite reasonable when teaching words to get kids thinking about words about that concept that they may already have mastered. Linking a new word to a concept, is very different than trying to learn and link a whole collection of words.

I would avoid introducing together plethora, dearth, scarcity, cornucopia, shortage, plenty, sufficient, abundant, and liberal as some programs do. Collect such words over time as they are learned and then later you can have kids comparing the ideas or fitting them into continuum or network.

One teacher I know has her students classifying the vocabulary each week in bulletin board folders, and when a folder accumulates several related words, they revisit them as a set.

3. Promote usage of the words.

It is not enough that kids study word meanings, but they have to learn to use these words in their reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Instruction should create opportunities for kids to use words in all of these ways.

For instance, that rich vocabulary assignment that was described earlier can be done by groups of kids working together to come up with those multiple definitions. That kind of cooperation requires that kids talk with each other about the words. Additionally, I often assign small numbers of words to each group and then have them get together to teach each other the words that their groups studied... more speaking and listening.

One might reward kids for using the studied vocabulary in their writing - or that can be required in various ways.

Isabel Beck and Moddy McKeown came up with the idea of "word wizards," which gave kids extra points in vocabulary if they could bring in evidence that they had confronted or used the words of interest. Kids get very turned on if they run across some of the vocabulary when watching television or playing their favorite computer game.

4. Review is important.

It can be hard to retain vocabulary if you don't get a lot of opportunity to use it. We may teach vocabulary because certain words were prominent in the texts, we were reading this week, but then kids might not see them for a long time.

There are many ways to deal with vocabulary, such as having one day a week when you only work with words that have been taught (and supposedly learned) in the past - or perhaps entire weeks might be devoted to this throughout the year.

I'm a fan of including words from past weeks on vocabulary quizzes and for the use of vocabulary notebooks to help punch up kids' writing during revision.

Another way of ensuring the words stick, is to see how many additional words students can construct morphologically, adding prefixes or suffixes or altering parts of speech and so on. I've written about some of the important work being done on morphology by Peter and Jeffrey Bowers before (and you can search for that on my site or on Google).

5. Involve students in identifying some of the words to be studied.

I noted earlier that much vocabulary learning is incidental and, therefore, largely out of the province of schools. However, not all kids are equally good at such learning and even for those who it is easier, it can still be a tough slog requiring many experiences with a word to get it to stick.

One thing that we can do to help develop a "word consciousness" among our students is to involve them in identifying unknown words from their own reading - and to include these in your classroom curriculum. When readers get used to noticing their lack of knowledge of particular words, they will be more likely to try to resolve those gaps when reading. Kids will also be more motivated if they have some say so over the curriculum as well.

This article is excerpted from the longer blog post, Five Things Every Teacher Should Know About Vocabulary Instruction .

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Five Key Principles for Effective Vocabulary Instruction

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Much vocabulary is learned without formal teaching. We gain words from conversation, observation, television/media, and reading. However, research shows that explicitly teaching vocabulary can measurably improve reading comprehension - if we teach the right words well enough. Here are five key principles to effective vocabulary instruction.

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Marzano's guidelines for selecting academic vocabulary to teach

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Marzano's guidelines for selecting academic vocabulary to teach

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Vocabulary Strategy for Instruction with a read aloud

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Vocabulary Strategy for Instruction with a read aloud

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Vocabulary Instruction Strategies for Independent Text

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Vocabulary Instruction Strategies for Independent Text

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Vocabulary Instruction for Independent Texts

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Great Picture Books for Vocabulary Instruction

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Great Picture Books for Vocabulary Instruction

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Vocab Activity Masters from CORE Handbook

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Vocab Activity Masters from CORE Handbook

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Vocabulary Activity Mastersfrom CORE Vocab handbook

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Shifting the Balance is all about K-2 Vocabulary Instruction

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Shifting the Balance is all about K-2 Vocabulary Instruction

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"Finally, a book that has the power to stop the literacy pendulum swings! In Shifting the Balance, Burkins and Yates skillfully explore 'balanced literacy' and 'the science of reading' to find the sweet spots where they overlap, connect, and actually complement one another. The result is a resource that raises our level of instruction while helping children discover and reap the joyful rewards of reading."

"What are the research-based, critical elements for teaching reading? In Shifting the Balance, Jan and Kari give you the information, classroom examples, and tools to help you make the best decisions around six key shifts for instruction. After reviewing the misunderstandings, the science, and the needs of your students, you will be able to audit your current practices (individually, in a PLC, or system-wide) to provide responsive and effective literacy learning for all your students."

"In Shifting the Balance, Jan and Kari invite us to reflect and reexamine our beliefs about teaching reading. They gently nudge us to rethink and possibly adjust our early literacy practices. Jan and Kari have taken on this controversial topic by embracing vulnerability and modeling what it means to be truly reflective practitioners. This book is a must read for new and veteran teachers!"

"In Shifting the Balance, Kari and Jan have masterfully dispelled many of the myths and misunderstandings associated with reading instruction. Additionally, they offer classroom teachers and coaches six simple, practical shifts that have the power to transform the way we teach children how to read. Indeed, balanced literacy and science do exist in harmony, and we practitioners can offer our children both concurrently. Thank you, Kari and Jan, for this important work that is sure to change lives!"

"In Shifting the Balance, Jan Burkins and Kari Yates provide a safe space for teachers to courageously examine some long-held balanced literacy practices and turn a critical eye to where those practices have gotten out of balance. If you're willing to be vulnerable and move towards resolving the gap between research and practice, this book provides actionable steps you can take to shift your thinking and bring instruction into alignment with the scientific evidence."

"Shifting the Balance is a welcoming opportunity to reexamine our familiar teaching practices. Without judgment, Burkins and Yates invigorate these practices by inviting educators to make scientific shifts in the systems that have been in place for years. This book will revolutionize reading instruction and in turn, the lives of countless students."

"This book speaks to teachers. It is overwhelmingly clear that Jan Burkins and Kari Yates have been and are immersed in the world of today's classrooms. Shifting the Balance will help many rethink instruction in ways that will support all students. In the current version of the Reading Wars, it is difficult for any of us to say we were wrong about some of our beliefs or practices. And thus, few do. However, Jan Burkins and Kari Yates have done just that. This is as commendable as it is unusual."

"This book found me at just the right time! Shifting the Balance gives voice to the questions I've had in my mind about Balanced Literacy and the Science of Reading and provides clear insights on how to connect the best parts of both to benefit early readers. Throughout the book, Jan and Kari confirm practices worth holding onto while providing actionable next steps I can't wait to implement with students to strengthen my reading instruction."

Dr. Jan Burkins was an elementary classroom teacher for seven years and a literacy coach for seven years. She has worked as a part-time assistant professor, a district literacy leader, and is currently a fulltime writer and consultant.

Kari Yates is an author, speaker, consultant and staff developer with a passion for helping busy literacy educators thrive. Her experiences include classroom teacher, special education, Reading Recovery teacher, elementary principal and district literacy coordinator.

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Shifting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Balanced Literacy Classroom

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Amazon.com: Shifting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Balanced Literacy Classroom: 9781625315106: Burkins, Jan, Yates, Kari: Books

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Builds on Shifting the Balance but is specific to grades 3-5; vocabulary chapter specific to upper grades.

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Builds on Shifting the Balance but is specific to grades 3-5; vocabulary chapter specific to upper grades.

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"In Shifting the Balance, 3-5 , Cunningham, Burkins, and Yates go beyond the science of reading being only phonics. Taking a deeper dive into vocabulary, comprehension, fluency, and word identification for upper elementary students, this book helps teachers understand what is needed in their instruction through easy-to-read case scenarios. Thanks to these authors for once again bridging hearts and minds."

Donna Hejtmanek Retired Educator and Creator of the Science of Reading-What I Should Have Learned in College Facebook Group

" Shifting the Balance, 3-5 brings the Science of Reading from theory to direct application. This new take on literacy instruction brings forth the hope of long-lasting knowledge and continued growth for students. It is not only a thorough approach but is realistic and best of all, attainable!"

Clorasteen Wilson , Structured Literacy Instructor, Associate/OGA

"Teaching reading can sometimes feel like an impossible task. Our classrooms are filled with diverse groups of learners that present all different levels of instructional need. Shifting the Balance, 3-5 gives teachers tools they need to incorporate reading instruction that is purposeful and student-centered. With data driven techniques and lessons, this book will set up any upper elementary school classroom with success."

Michaela Durr , New York City Teacher

"While many of the big conversations about the Science of Reading (SOR) research have focused on the foundational skills in primary grades, upper elementary teachers no longer need to feel left in the dark. With this gem, Cunningham, Burkins, and Yates skillfully supply six scientifically-sound shifts―answering the big questions & providing high-leverage instructional routines, while weaving in all five pillars of reading. No matter where you are on your SOR journey, this sensational book is a must-read for all!"

Michelle Sullivan of The Colorful Classroom & Elementary Literacy Coach

"Cunningham, Burkins, and Yates clarify misunderstandings, summarize the research in an accessible way, and provide suggestions for what they call high-leverage routines to help teachers enhance their instruction and support students' growth as readers. Thoughtful, well-researched, and teacher-friendly, this book is an invaluable resource for anyone who wants to explore how to implement effective literacy instruction for readers beyond grade two."

Lisa Maucione , Reading Specialist, Dartmouth Public Schools, MA

"As the field of reading instruction continues to reinvent itself, so many of us elementary educators find ourselves in need of a road map. The authors of this second volume of Shifting the Balance step in, validate our good intentions, and offer to guide us as we reflect on, reconsider, refine and reimagine our practice. I look forward to referencing the ideas and resources in this edition (and online) as I continue striving to equip my students for meaningful reading experiences, now and in the future."

Katie McAlister , First Grade Classroom Teacher

"With all the noise in the world about reading instruction, Cunningham, Burkins, and Yates discuss a practical, research-driven, and student-based way to shift our reading instruction into balance and clarity. They've done the hard thinking in order to zoom in on what is necessary to teach intermediate readers to succeed."

Jeff Anderson , Lead author of the Patterns of Power series (PreK-12)

"The science of reading isn't just for the primary grades! In their clear and readable style, Cunningham, Burkins, and Yates examine the research and show teachers of grades 3-5 exactly how to apply it. With zero judgment and endless encouragement, the authors will inspire teachers to rethink current practices and make research-based decisions to help every student."

Anna Geiger , M.Ed., Host of the Triple R Teaching podcast and creator of The Measured Mom website

Dr. Katie Egan Cunningham is committed to supporting teachers in making learning joyful, purposeful, and evidence-based. She is an Associate Professor of Teacher Education at Sacred Heart University where she teaches literacy methods and children's literature courses. Her other work includes Start with Joy: Designing Literacy Learning for Student Happiness and Story: Still the Heart of Literacy Learning .

Dr. Jan Burkins is a full-time writer and literacy consultant dedicated to helping teachers and those who lead them negotiate the competing tensions in our field. Her favorite work is conducting literacy audits with schools and districts. Her other books include Shifting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Balanced Literacy Classroom (K-2) , co-authored with Kari Yates, and Who's Doing the Work: How to Say Less So Readers Can Do More , co-authored with Kim Yaris.

Kari Yates is an author, speaker, and consultant with a passion for helping busy literacy educators thrive. Her other works include Shifting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Balanced Literacy Classroom (K-2) co-authored with Jan Burkins, To Know and Nurture a Reader Conferring with Confidence and Joy , co-authored with Christina Nosek, and Simple Starts: Making the Move to a Reader-Centered Classroom .

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Shifting the Balance, Grades 3-5: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Upper Elementary Classroom

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Amazon.com: Shifting the Balance, Grades 3-5: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Upper Elementary Classroom: 9781625315977: Cunningham, Katie, Burkins, Jan, Yates, Kari: Books

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Great Article in Reading Rockets about three tiers of vocabulary

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Great Article in Reading Rockets about three tiers of vocabulary

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Teaching vocabulary is complex. What words are important for a child to know and in what context? In this excerpt from Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction, the authors consider what principles might be used for selecting which words to explicitly teach.

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How to narrow your focus on selecting tiered words to teach.

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How to narrow your focus on selecting tiered words to teach.

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Center for the Professional Education of Teachers

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How do we decide which words to teach our students?

In Including All Learners, a course I co-teach with my colleague Jacqui Stolzer, we design our content based on the questions we wonder about as teachers. One that comes up often is: How do we decide which words to teach our students? Asking this question challenges us to think about how to focus our instructional time, and nudges us to be more purposeful in designing our curriculum.

Understanding tiered vocabulary

One of the ways we decide which words to teach is by using the tiered vocabulary concept developed by Dr. Isabel Beck. Beck thinks of vocabulary words as belonging to one of three categories:
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words are basic words that students typically know, unless they are an ELL, and in that case they may need to be taught that word. Tier 1 words include: computer, sunlight, coffee, sleep, etc.

words are those that are often used in classrooms and extend beyond one particular subject area, including: analyze, tweak, estimate, determine - words in that academic arena.

words are highly specific for each content area, and are housed within a particular subject. Examples of Tier 3 words include: parabola , hypotenuse, simile, monarchy, osmosis, etc.

While it is interesting to group words into these three categories, how does this practice impact our instructional decisions?
Narrowing your focus

When designing lessons and prioritizing instructional time, it may be helpful to consider which tiers and key terms are worthy of classroom instruction.

As we can see above, Tier 3 words are easy to identify; these are the words that we need to teach in order for students to understand a particular concept. For example, in an ecosystem unit of a Living Environment course, words such as "abiotic" and "biotic" are Tier 3 words that are necessary terms in the unit; they are the specific words used to identify non-living or living parts of an ecosystem. In a sense, Tier 3 words are easy to determine in a curriculum because they are entwined with concepts in a particular unit.

Tier 2 words, however, are often not taught explicitly since the assumption is that students already know what they mean. It's the Tier 2 words that need extra attention in our classrooms. These are the words to spend time teaching and modeling for your students. What this looks like will vary depending on your grade level and content area.

Modeling for your students Consider a Tier 2 word such as analyze. Most students are familiar with that word by the time they reach middle school, but what does it really look like in math or science or English?When students are asked to analyze a text, it's helpful for teachers to model this work, demonstrating the pieces of a text analysis and sharing the tools students need to analyze a text on their own. Think about all the steps that are imperative for analyzing a text. If I were modeling how to analyze a passage, I might:

Demonstrate how I reword the passage in a way that makes sense to me, or paraphrase what the passage means

Consider any striking or interesting features of that passage that make me think or wonder a bit more. (Here I have to check myself that I don't get too far off on a tangent! I have to script this or else it becomes a bit too unwieldy... ).

Try to position that particular passage with another passage earlier in that text, or with another text

Synthesize my analysis by explaining what I find significant about the passage and why

Analysis can change shape depending on the class - in science, analyzing lab data might look different from analyzing a passage in English. But in both cases, dedicating instructional time to demonstration of the term will help strengthen students' skills, giving students access to academic thinking and language.

Tiered vocabulary can help you classify key terms for your grade level and content area, and as a result, make instructional decisions that hone in on teaching new or unfamiliar words for your students. Finding a balance between content-specific, Tier 3 words and more general academic terms like those in Tier 2 can help narrow your focus and increase student comfort with the words they encounter in your classroom.

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Tiered Vocabulary: Narrowing Your Instructional Focus

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How do we decide which words to teach our students?

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Great overview article about the nature of explicit instruction for vocabulary.

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Great overview article about the nature of explicit instruction for vocabulary.

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The best approach to beginning reading instruction for students with or at risk for literacy-related disabilities incorporates explicit instruction in five areas: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension (National Reading Panel, 2000). These are known as the "5 Big Ideas" in beginning reading. While the research is clear on what to teach, knowing how to teach these pieces can be challenging. To start, there is overwhelming evidence that in order to maximize struggling readers' meaningful access to the 5 Big Ideas in the reading curriculum, teachers must provide systematic and explicit instruction in each area (Gersten et al., 2009).

Instruction that is vague and ambiguous may prove to be confusing to struggling readers. Providing explicit instruction in each of the 5 Big Ideas ensures equitable access for the range of learners in our classrooms. Put another way, not providing struggling readers explicit instructional supports to access the curriculum is unjust and inequitable (Fien, Chard, & Baker, 2021). This Educator's Toolbox provides practical ways to incorporate explicit vocabulary instruction within your classroom to ensure your vocabulary lessons are accessible to all learners.

What Is Vocabulary and Why Is It Important?

Vocabulary refers to the words we must know in order to comprehend and communicate effectively. In general, vocabulary can be described as either oral vocabulary or reading vocabulary. Oral vocabulary refers to words that we use in speaking or recognize when listening. Reading vocabulary refers to words we recognize or use in print. The primary way that students develop a robust vocabulary is through wide and independent reading (Stanovich, 1986). However, we must also teach students vocabulary before they learn to read, and we must continue to explicitly teach vocabulary to students who struggle to learn to read in the early grades (Beck & McKeown, 2007).

Vocabulary plays an important part in learning to read. Instruction and intervention in language- based skills, including language, vocabulary, and listening comprehension, should start at the very beginning of preschool and continue throughout the early elementary grades. This instruction is often a part of oral language activities in the early grades because emerging readers have a much more difficult time reading words that are not already part of their oral vocabulary (Fien et al., 2011). Vocabulary is also important for reading comprehension. Readers cannot understand what they are reading without knowing what most of the words mean. As children learn to read more advanced texts, they must learn the meaning of new words that are not part of their oral vocabulary.

How Do Students Learn Vocabulary?

Vocabulary learning occurs in different ways (Diamond & Gutlohn, 2006). Children learn the meanings of most words incidentally, through everyday experiences with oral and written language. This indirect learning occurs in three ways: by engaging in conversations with other people-especially adults, by listening to others read to them, and by reading extensively on their own.

Although a great deal of vocabulary is learned indirectly, some vocabulary is also learned through direct, explicit instruction. Explicit vocabulary instruction helps students learn difficult words, such as words that represent complex concepts that are not part of the students' everyday experiences (Beck et al, 2002). Explicit vocabulary instruction relevant to a given text leads to better reading and listening comprehension (Fien et al., 2011; Marulis & Neuman, 2013). Students learn vocabulary directly when they are explicitly taught both individual words and word-learning strategies. A variety of direct and indirect methods of vocabulary instruction should occur in classrooms. This Educator's Toolbox focuses on one type of vocabulary instruction called specific word instruction.

Specific Word Instruction

Specific word instruction is the teaching of individual words. It can deepen knowledge of word meanings and help students understand what they are hearing or reading. It also can help them use words accurately in speaking and writing. Specific word instruction should occur before, during, and after reading. Before students read a text, it is helpful to teach them specific words they will encounter (Baker, Fien, & Baker, 2010). Teaching important vocabulary before reading can help students both learn new words and comprehend the text.

During reading, students should be provided with specific word instruction that allows them to actively engage with the words (Baker et al., 2013). The more students use new words in different contexts, the more likely they are to learn and retain the words (Santoro et al., 2016).

Infographic

This infographic illustrates how vocabulary can be introduced both before and during reading to help students identify real-life connections between a vocabulary word and how the word is used in a variety of semantic contexts, such as categories of words (e.g., do words, feel words).

Click to Enlarge

Steps of Specific Word Instruction

There are four steps to providing specific word instruction in the classroom.

Step 1: Select the Word

You won't be able to directly teach your students all of the words in a text that they might not already know. You should aim to thoroughly teach perhaps eight to ten new words per week, so you need to choose these carefully.

How should you choose vocabulary words to use for specific word instruction? If you are using a core program, you will first want to look at the vocabulary selections provided in the program and evaluate them for their utility and complexity. You will want to select the words that are Tier II words, or words that are likely to appear frequently in a wide variety of texts and in written and oral language (Beck & McKeown, 2004). Ask yourself these questions when choosing vocabulary words:

Is this word important for understanding a concept or the text?

Is this word useful for students to learn? Are students likely to see and use the word often across different contexts?

Is this word difficult for most of your students? Some types of words may be particularly difficult for students to learn, including words with multiple meanings and idiomatic expressions.

Flag the words from your core program's vocabulary list that you will use for specific word instruction. Next, look for additional words in the text you are using. Are there other words that are important, useful, or difficult? Flag any additional words that you will use for specific word instruction.

Step 2: Provide a Student-Friendly Definition

You will want to provide a student-friendly definition of each vocabulary word. For example, when explicitly teaching the meaning of the word gigantic, a student-friendly definition would be, "The word gigantic means very big."

Step 3: Illustrate the Word

It is important to illustrate the word with examples and non-examples to provide multiple contexts for the word. You can illustrate vocabulary words in different ways:

draw pictures

act out the word

write novel sentences using the word

share sentences from read-aloud texts containing the vocabulary word

share sentences from student texts containing the vocabulary word

Visual presentations of words are very powerful for students. For example, posting each vocabulary word in a classroom with a student-friendly definition and an anchor picture (a picture of the word that serves as a representation of that word) is an excellent way to help students reference previously learned words. Picture sorting can also be used to support vocabulary development (Diamond, L. & Gutlohn, 2006). For example, students can sort vocabulary picture cards to gain a sense of how words and concepts either relate or don't relate to one another.

Step 4: Check Student Understanding

Finally, check students' understanding of each vocabulary word taught. Ask the students questions that will prompt answers that demonstrate complete understanding of the use of the vocabulary word or its meaning. Ask students to generate examples or nonexamples to show that they understand the correct use of the vocabulary word. In addition, ask students to generate a sentence that includes the vocabulary word (Coyne et al., 2010).

Sample Vocabulary Routine

The following is an example of an instructional routine for specific word instruction (Center on Teaching and Learning, University of Oregon, 2013; Fien et al., 2015). In this sample, bold text provides teachers with the specific language of the instructional routine, including introducing the task ("You're going to learn the meaning of new vocabulary words..."), reading and defining the word for the students ("This word is..."), distributing practice to students ("What word?"), and conducting checks for understanding. The routine also provides specific information for the teacher about how to provide examples and correct student errors. As you gauge students' understanding, provide consistent and specific feedback to support their learning.

Vocabulary: Specific Word Routine

Materials: Vocabulary words with student-friendly definition to display for all students to see (e.g., written on cards, chart paper, sentence strips, displayed on white board and so forth).

Explain: You're going to learn the meaning of new vocabulary words, and you will practice using those words in sentences.

Practice for students only: Use the routine for each vocabulary word. *Have students sitting by their talk partners. Your turn.

*Routine for each vocabulary word

1. This word is [vocabulary word]. Introduce the new vocabulary word.

2. What word? Have the students repeat the vocabulary word.

3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for difficult-to-pronounce words.

4. [Vocabulary word] means [student-friendly definition]. Tell students the student-friendly definition for the word. Have students repeat the student-friendly definition with you (as you point to the words).

5. What word? Have the student repeat the vocabulary word again.

6. Provide Examples of the vocabulary word that will help your students understand the word. Here are some options:

Pictures

Acting out the word

Novel sentences using the word

Sentences from read-aloud texts containing the vocabulary word

Sentences from student texts that contain the vocabulary word

7. Check for understanding by asking students questions where they will have to use the vocabulary word correctly in their answers. Choose one to two of these options for the vocabulary word. Provide a sentence frame for student responses. For example:

Ask the students questions that will prompt a complete understanding of the use of the vocabulary word or its meaning.

Ask students to generate examples or nonexamples to show that they understand the correct use of the vocabulary word.

8. Ask students to say a sentence that uses the vocabulary word. Use steps 1 through 7 for each vocabulary word.

Correcting Student Errors

My turn. [Vocabulary word] means [student-friendly definition].

Provide necessary scaffolds to guide the student to develop a sentence that is the correct use of the vocabulary word.

If the student is still struggling or nonresponsive, give them a sentence example and have them repeat it. Use a lot of positive reinforcement to encourage the student to take risks when trying to use vocabulary.

Make sure the student uses the sentence frame and answers in a complete sentence.

Adapted From Enhanced Core Reading Instruction © 2013 by The Center on Teaching and Learning

Summary

Vocabulary plays a critical piece in both learning to read and comprehending what we read. Readers must know what most of the words mean in a text before they can understand what they are reading. Vocabulary can be developed incidentally when students engage daily in oral language, listen to others read to them, and read extensively on their own. However, some vocabulary words need to be taught directly. Specific word instruction is one way to explicitly teach individual vocabulary words that are important, useful, and difficult for students to learn. It also provides equitable access to the reading curriculum for our most vulnerable children.

Suggested Citation

National Center on Improving Literacy. (2023). The Educator's science of reading toolbox: Explicit vocabulary instruction to build equitable access for all learners. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Special Education Programs, National Center on Improving Literacy. Retrieved from http://improvingliteracy.org.

References

Baker, S. K., Fien, H., & Baker, D. L. (2010). Robust reading instruction in the early grades: Conceptual and practical issues in the integration and evaluation of tier 1 and tier 2 instructional supports. Focus on Exceptional Children, 42(9), 1-20.

Baker, S. K., Santoro, L. E., Chard, D. J., Fien, H., Park, Y., & Otterstedt, J. (2013). An evaluation of an explicit read aloud intervention taught in whole-classroom formats in first grade. Elementary School Journal, 113, 331-358. https://doi.org/10.1086/668503

Beck, I. L., & McKeown, M. G. (2004). Elements of reading vocabulary. Steck-Vaughn.

Beck, I. L., & McKeown, M. G. (2007). Increasing young low-income children's oral vocabulary repertoires through rich and focused instruction. Elementary School Journal, 107, 251-271.

Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G., & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words to life: Robust vocabulary instruction. Guilford.

Coyne, M. D., McCoach, D., Loftus, S., Zipoli, R., Ruby, M., Crevecoeur, Y., & Kapp, S. (2010). Direct and extended vocabulary instruction in kindergarten: Investigating transfer effects. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 3, 93-120.

Diamond, L. & Gutlohn, L. (2006). Vocabulary handbook. Consortium on Reading Excellence, Inc. (CORE).

Fien, H., Santoro, L., Baker, S. K., Park, Y., Chard, D. J., Williams, S., & Haria, P. (2011). Enhancing teacher read alouds with small-group vocabulary instruction for students with low vocabulary in first-grade classrooms. School Psychology Review, 40, 307-318.

Fien, H., Smith, J. L. M., Smolkowski, K., Baker, S. K., Nelson, N. J., & Chaparro, E. A. (2015). An examination of the efficacy of a multitiered intervention on early reading outcomes for first- grade students at risk for reading difficulties. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 48(6), 602-621. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219414521664

Fien, H., Chard, D., & Baker, S. K. (2021). Can the evidence revolution and multi-tiered systems of support improve education equity and reading achievement? Reading Research Quarterly.

Gersten, R. M., Compton, D., Connor, C. M., Dimino, J., Santoro, L., Linan-Thompson, S., & Tilly, W. D. (2009). Assisting students struggling with reading: Response to intervention and multi-tier intervention for reading in the primary grades: A practice guide (NCE 2009- 4045). U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance. Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/publications/practiceguides/

Marulis, L.M. & Neuman, S.B. (2013). How vocabulary interventions affect young children at risk: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 6(3), 223- 262. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2012.755591

National Reading Panel. (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction: Reports of the subgroups. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Santoro, L.E., Baker, S.K., Fien, H., Smith, J.M., & Chard, D.J. (2016). TEACHING Exceptional Children, 48(6), 282-292. https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059916650634

Stanovich, K. E. (1986). Matthew effects in reading: Some consequences of individual differences in the acquisition of literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 21(4), 360-407. https://doi.org/10.1598/RRQ.21.4.1 University of Oregon. (2013). Enhanced core reading instruction. Center on Teaching and Learning.

Abstract

This Educator's Toolbox, developed in Partnership with The Reading League Journal, provides practical ways to incorporate explicit vocabulary instruction within your classroom to ensure your vocabulary lessons are accessible to all learners

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The Educator's Science of Reading Toolbox: Explicit Vocabulary Instruction to Build Equitable Access for All Learners

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The best approach to beginning reading instruction for students with or at risk for literacy-related disabilities incorporates explicit instruction in five areas: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension (National Reading Panel, 2000). These are known as the "5 Big Ideas" in beginning reading.

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Anita Archer modeling a vocabulary lesson with explicit instruction.

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Anita Archer modeling a vocabulary lesson with explicit instruction.

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Toolsuite for visualizing and exploring passages of text.

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WordArt.com is an online word cloud generator that enables you to create amazing and unique word clouds with ease.

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WordArt.com is an online word cloud generator that enables you to create amazing and unique word clouds with ease.

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אוצר מילים אונליין | מדריכים, משחקים, טיפים, המלצות לשיפור שפה

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אוצר מילים (Vocabulary) באינטרנט - מדריך אונליין לשיפור אוצר מילים. איך לשפר את השפה? איך לומדים שפה חדשה זרה? משחקים, מדריכים, טיפים, המלצות!

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Flocabulary:  Great resources for teaching vocabulary in all content areas and all grades.

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Flocabulary:  Great resources for teaching vocabulary in all content areas and all grades.