Transcript Small-Group Instruction Targeting Vocabulary and Comprehension Sharon Walpole University of Delaware Michael C. McKenna University of Virginia.

Small-Group Instruction
Targeting Vocabulary and
Comprehension
Sharon Walpole
University of Delaware
Michael C. McKenna
University of Virginia
Today’s Goals
Review the case for extensive
vocabulary and comprehension
instruction in GARF
Revisit Bringing Words to Life in fiction
and nonfiction read-alouds
Describe current research efforts
Learn to use a storybook reading
intervention designed for ELLs
Back in School . . .

Identify a group of children for small-group
vocabulary work
 Pilot the storybook intervention plan you design
today
 Prepare a reflection to share with the group at
our next meeting.
Influences on Reading
Understanding Print
Inside-Out Skills
Outside-In Skills
Understanding of Phonemes
Knowledge of W ords
Letter Knowledge
Conceptual Understanding
Familiarity withText Strutures
Whitehurst & Lonigan, 2002
Developmental Paths

PreK oral language skills have strong
connections to PreK literacy skills; both
are related to Kindergarten language and
literacy
We should focus on oral language
development during PreK; oral
language in PreK will influence literacy
in Kindergarten
Whitehurst & Lonigan, 2002
Developmental Paths

Kindergarten literacy skills (which we
measure with DIBELS) have strong
connections to literacy skills in first grade
and in second grade, but the influence of
oral language on literacy is not as strong
in K.
We should not assume that if we
develop oral vocabulary in
Kindergarten, literacy will take care of
itself. We need to teach both!
Whitehurst & Lonigan, 2002
Developmental Paths

Oral language skills in each year of
schooling are strongly related to oral
language skills the next year
If we want to build word knowledge,
conceptual knowledge, and text
structure knowledge, we have to do it
every year!
Whitehurst & Lonigan, 2002
Researchers React
Effective
PreK shared storybook
readings
Effective
Grade 3+ vocabulary instruction
Great books
Clear Definitions
Interaction
Targeted Instruction
Repetition is important
Multiple Contexts
Small groups
Deep Processing
Coyne, Simmons, & Kame’enui, 2004
Some GARF Assumptions
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Read-alouds have potential to build word
knowledge, conceptual knowledge, and text
structure knowledge.
Our ideal read-alouds come from children’s
literature, taken from inside the core and from
additional high-quality texts.
These read-alouds are interactive.
Teachers model comprehension strategies that
have been taught already in the core.
Teachers explain many word meanings briefly
during reading, and then select a small number
of words to teach and reteach after reading.
Some teachers are better at this than others.
How did your teachers
respond to the Beck,
McKeown, and Kucan
study group?
To what extent were
ideas from this book
incorporated into your
read-alouds?
For a fiction read-aloud,
how do I know which
words to teach?
Target what Beck
and colleagues call
Tier Two words.
Characteristics that make a word
appropriate for teaching:
1.
2.
3.
The students don’t know exactly
what the word means.
You can define the word in terms
that the students do know.
The students are likely to find the
word useful or interesting and to
meet it again in another context.
Beck, McKeown, & Kucan (2004)
Bringing Words to Life: Three Tiers
Tier 3
Tier 2
Tier 1
• Rare words
• 73,500 word families K-12
• Often content-area related
• Examples: isotope, estuary
• Important to academic success
• 7,000 word families
• Not limited to one text
• Examples: fortunate, ridiculous
• The most familiar words
• 8,000 word families
• Known by average 3rd grader
• Examples: happy, go
Beck and McKeown’s Three Tiers
Tier 2
• Important to academic success
• 7,000 word families
• Not limited to one text
• Examples: fortunate, ridiculous
For a fiction read-aloud,
how and when do I
teach these words?
Teach them after
reading. You can use
the same procedure
each time!
Steps for Bringing Words to Life
Vocabulary Lesson
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Say the word. Children repeat.
Tell how the word was used in the text.
Tell a child-friendly definition.
Give examples of the word used in multiple,
unrelated contexts.
Invite the children to construct an example,
perhaps providing a frame sentence
Have children repeat the word.
What’s the difference
between a fiction and a
nonfiction read-aloud?
You may need to
teach Tier 3 words
before reading. You
can still teach Tier 2
words after reading.
Coaches’ Corner

Has anyone been successful in supporting
teachers to use these techniques? What
are your secrets?
That’s whole-group work.
What about small-group
work?
Let’s read about a
strategy for targeting
vocabulary and
comprehension during
needs-based time.
Storybook Reading and ELLs
Hickman, P., Pollard-Durodola, S., and
Vaughn, S. (2004). Storybook reading:
Improving vocabulary and comprehension
for English-language learners. The
Reading Teacher, 57, 720-730.
Read this article. It introduces
another application of these
vocabulary concepts.
Let’s Try to Plan . . .
What to do
Choose a book and
break it into 200-250
word segments.
Choose 3 Tier 2 words
from each segment.
Why
This small-group intervention
extends over several days and
includes talk and rereadings.
We want to use the text as a
context to teach new word
meanings.
Prepare a definition and We want to teach the words so
some frame sentences that they are connected to the
for those words
story and to the children’s existing
knowledge.
Now You Try It!
For each text segment (30 minutes)
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Preview the segment
Introduce the new words
Read the text aloud
Ask the children to retell (who, what, when) and to
interpret (why, how)
Review the vocabulary words
Reread the segment
Once you’ve read all the segments . . .
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Review three or four of the words
Reread the whole story
Help the children to discuss both the words and the
story
Back in School . . .

Identify a group of children for small-group
vocabulary work. They could be ELLs, or they
could be native speakers with weak vocabulary.
 Pilot the storybook intervention plan you designed
today.
 Prepare a reflection to share with the group at our
next meeting.
References
Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G., & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing
words to life: Robust vocabulary instruction. New York:
Guilford Press.
Coyne, M. D., Simmons, D. C., & Kame’enui, E. J. (2004).
Vocabulary instruction for young children at risk of
experiencing reading difficulties: Teaching word
meanings during shared storybook readings. In J. F.
Baumann & E. J. Kame’enui (Eds.), Vocabulary
instruction: Research to practice (pp. 41-57). New York:
Guilford Press.
Whitehurst, G. J., & Lonigan, C. J. (2002). Emergent
literacy: Development from prereaders to readers. In S.
B. Neuman and D. K. Dickinson (Eds.), Handbook of
early literacy research (pp. 11-29). New York: Guilford
Press.