Transcript Houghton Mifflin Reading/Language Arts Symposium

San Joaquin Valley’s Region VII
Vocabulary Conference
San Joaquin Valley’s Region VII
Vocabulary Conference
Vocabulary:
Key to Improving Reading
Achievement
John J. Pikulski
Sponsored by: Lou Massicci,
Central Valley Representative
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishers
Average NAEP Reading Scores
for the Nation
300
250
200
150
100
50
20
04
19
99
19
96
19
94
19
92
19
90
19
88
19
84
9 yr. = +8 ( +4 99-04 )
13 yr. = +2 (-2 99-04)
17 yr.
= -2 ( -5 1799-04
)
9 Year Olds
13 Year Olds
Year Olds
19
80
19
75
19
71
0
“While we have encouraging results
for younger children, our nation's
recent education report card has
shown no progress for high school
students in 30 years. So, it's time to
focus on improving high schools.”
Margaret Spellings, National Press Club Address, Sept. 21, 2005
Only words can free a thought
From its prison behind your eyes.
O’Neill, Mary. (1956). Words, words,
words. Doubleday.
Words of Wisdom
from
U.S. Presidents
 It's no exaggeration to say the undecideds could go one
way or another."
G. H.W. Bush
 "Solutions are not the answer."
R. Nixon
 " This is still the greatest country in the world if we
just will steel our wills and lose our minds."
B. Clinton
 "People who like this sort of thing will find this the
sort of thing they like."
A. Lincoln
 "If Lincoln were alive today, he'd roll over in his
grave."
G. Ford
Average Rate of Meaning vocabulary Growth in the
Elementary Grades
Rate = 2,500 – 3,000 words per year
Rate = About 15 words per school day
Rate =
7 + words every day of the year
Cited in Snow, C .et al. (1998). Preventing reading difficulties in young children.
There is growing consensus that a
challenging, but realistic goal is to
teach children, through direct, explicit
instruction, about 400 words a year
(400/180= 2.2 per day or 11 per week) ;
however, should the goal be that
children learn 400 words that are
explicitly taught?
4 Major Elements of A comprehensive
program of Vocabulary Development
Provide a rich, stimulating
language/vocabulary environment.
Encourage wide reading.
Use frequent instructional read aloud events.
Integrate content and reading instruction.
Teach, model,and encourage the
application of independent word learning
strategies such as: use of morphological
units (e.g. prefixes, suffixes, root words);
reference works (e.g. dictionary, thesaurus);
sentence and passage context; and their
integration.
A comprehensive program of
Vocabulary Development
(continued)
Provide systematic, explicit
instruction in the meanings words
and clusters of words.
Create a keen awareness of and a
deep interest in language and
words (Word Consciousness.)
Instructional
Read Aloud
Activities
Conclusions from Juel et al Study
(continued)
While substantial amounts of time were
devoted to oral language activities, neither
reading aloud to children, discussion of
these readings nor mentioning of oral
vocabulary seemed to affect vocabulary
growth.
As suggested by other researchers, it appears
that incidental instruction is not substantive
enough. Growth in oral language was
predicted, instead, by the amount of time
spent on more direct vocabulary
development.
Research Based
Read Aloud Recommendations
Carefully select books based on difficulty,
interest, and instructional value.
Build Background and Vocabulary before,
during, and after reading.
Choose instructional vocabulary carefully.
 Look for “Goldilocks” Words.
Do both whole class and small group
interactive/instructional read alouds.
Review/reinforce target vocabulary.
Use at least 50% informational texts.
Motivate students to
Read Widely.
Principle of Reciprocal Causation
(Matthew Effects)
Cause
•Larger vocabulary
•Broader Background
Knowledge
Causes
Extensive
Independent
Reading
Major Sources of Vocabulary
(A. Cunningham &Stanovich, 1998)
I. Printed Texts
Abstracts of Scientific Articles
Newspapers
Adult Books
Children’s Books
Preschool Books
II. Oral Texts
Prime-time Adult Shows
Prime-time Children’s shows
Expert Witness Testimony
College Graduates, Friends, Spouses
Rare Words,1,000
128.0
68.3
52.7
30.9
16.3
22.7
20.2
28.4
17.3
Stages of Knowing a Word
 Stage 1: I have never seen or heard it before.
 Stage 2: I know it is a word; I’ve seen or heard it
before; I don’t know its meaning.
 Stage3: I know something about the word, like its
part of speech, its positive or negative
connotations, or the general context in which it is
used, but I can’t give its meaning.
 Stage 4: I know the word.
Teach an
Independent
Word Learning Strategy
Why TEACHING students how to
independently derive word meanings is
important
Studies suggest that students arrive at a
reasonable understanding of less than 5% of
the “new” words they encounter in their
reading
Studies suggest that we can raise their
chances to about 15% if we actively teach
and model how to independently derive
word meanings
Deriving Word Meanings Strategy
Carefully look at the word; decide how to pronounce it
Look around the word:
- Within the sentence
-Reread previous
sentences
- Read ahead for more
clues
Look in the word:
- Affixes
- Base words
-Root words
Make your best guess at the word’s meaning
If you don’t know the
meaning and if the word
seems important: use a
dictionary or glossary
If you think you have figured
out the meaning of the word
or if the word doesn’t seem
important: Keep reading
Look Around
Pronounce
Predict
Look In
potboiler
Look Up
Pass
POT-boi-lur
The critics were unanimous that the new work by
Lavazza is a potboiler!
A usually inferior literary or artistic work,
produced quickly for the purpose of making money.
Potboiler comes from the phrase "boil the pot,"
meaning "to provide one's livelihood."
Teach words, not
individually, but in
Morphological and
Semantic Clusters, going
beyond “the words in the
story.”
BODIES OF WATER
Pond
River
Puddle
Lake
Ocean
Pool
Stream
Creek
TelePrompTer
Telegraph
Telegram
Telepathy
Telethon
Telekinesis
Telecommute Astronomer
Astronomical
Astronomy
Astrology
Astronaut
Astrodome
Astroturf
Telescopic
Telescopy
Telescope
Horoscope
Kaleidoscope
Microscope
Periscope
Stethoscope
Star Words
Galaxy
Galactic
Intergalactic
Semantic/Morphological
Clusters
Become excited about
word learning and
communicate that
Enthusiasm
to your students
m-w.com
wordsmith.org
Dictionary.com
To keep your marriage brimming,
With love in the loving cup,
Whenever you're wrong,
admit it;
Whenever you're right,
shut up.
-Ogden Nash, author(1902-1971)