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Co Vocabularymckenna
Co Vocabularymckenna
Michael C. McKenna
Today’s Goals
114,000 words
1755 Dictionary of the
English Language
114,000 words
impertransibility
queck
nould
1755 Dictionary of the
English Language
114,000 words
114,000 words
660,000+ words
webcam
cyberphobic
doh
660,000+ words
English users follow set rules for
coining new words, thus adding
greatly to the number of potential
words in the language.
English users follow set rules for
coining new words, thus adding
greatly to the number of potential
words in the language.
words
A Vocabulary Riddle
To comprehend what we read, at least
95% of the words must be recognized
automatically.
30K
20K 17,000
10K
5,000
1,500
0
K 12
Oral vocabulary at the end of first
grade is a significant predictor of
comprehension ten years later.
Having a bigger
vocabulary makes
you a better reader.
Do I have to
eat these?
“Motherese”
Yes, because
they have
vitamins that
will help you
grow and get
stronger.
Do I have to
eat these?
What does it mean
to know a word?
A Continuum of Word Knowledge
No knowledge
Meaning
Processor
Orthographic Phonological
Processor Processor
Meaning
Processor
Orthographic Phonological
Processor Processor
pet
animal
“meow”
cat c-a-t
4 legs /kat/
pet
lion
animal
mammal
“meow”
cat c-a-t
4 legs /kat/
pet
lion
animal
mammal
“meow”
cat c-a-t
4 legs /kat/
pet
lion
animal
mammal
“meow”
dog cat c-a-t
4 legs /kat/
pet
lion
animal
mammal
“meow”
dog cat c-a-t
4 legs /kat/
pet
lion
animal
mammal
“meow”
dog cat c-a-t
4 legs /kat/
pet
lion
Dual Coding Theory
Two systems are involved in learning words.
One contains verbal information, the other non-
verbal (images). When we learn a word, real-
world images that we associate with the concept
are also stored. Accessing a word in the lexicon
therefore involves both the verbal system and
non-verbal (imagery) system.
~ Moral ~
When teaching new words, use pictures and
other images where possible.
animal
mammal
“meow”
dog cat c-a-t
4 legs /kat/
pet
lion
The Nonverbal
(Imagery) System
New meanings and even new
pronunciations of a word may be
added to a child’s lexicon over time.
próduce prodúce
produce
Raw veggies to make
lean
To rest To rely on
one another
object person
against for
another support
K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 •••
Biemiller, A. (2004). Teaching vocabulary in the primary grades.In J.F. Baumann &
E.J. Kame’enui (Eds.), Vocabulary instruction: Research to practice (pp. 28-
40). New York: Guilford.
Is wide reading enough?
Why Wide Reading Why Wide Reading
Is Enough Is Not Enough
Vocabulary size and Context is generally
the amount a child unreliable as a means
reads are correlated. of inferring word
meanings.
Direct instruction
cannot possibly Most words occur too
account for the number infrequently to provide
of word meanings the number of
children acquire. exposures needed to
learn them.
Marzano, R.J. (2004). The developing vision of vocabulary instruction. In J.F.
Baumann & E.J. Kame’enui (Eds.), Vocabulary instruction: Research to
practice (pp. 100-117). New York: Guilford.
“There is no obvious reason why
direct vocabulary instruction and
wide reading cannot work in
tandem.”
– Marzano (2004, p. 112)
Robert
Marzano
The Vocabulary Catch-22
Children need to learn more words to
read well, but they need to read well to
learn more words.
Stimulus Response
WORD = DEFINITION
Stimulus Response
s Response
abdomen
In content areas,
clustering words is natural!
But general vocabulary words can be
clustered if you work at it!
Guiding Principle
golf
golf n.
1. a good walk spoiled
(Mark Twain)
2. a game in which a player using
special clubs attempts to sink
a ball with as few strokes as
possible into each of the 9 or
18 successive holes on a
course (Webster)
a game in which a player
using special clubs attempts
to sink a ball with as few
strokes as possible into each
of the 9 or 18 successive
holes on a course
class distinguishing features
a game in which a player
using special clubs attempts
to sink a ball with as few
strokes as possible into each
of the 9 or 18 successive
holes on a course
class distinguishing features
a game in which a player
using special clubs attempts
to sink a ball with as few
strokes as possible into each
of the 9 or 18 successive
holes on a course
class distinguishing features
Aristotle
Semantic Feature
Analysis
humans adult female
woman + +
man + o
girl o +
boy o o
games clubs ball o
golf + +
hockey + o
basketball o +
games clubs ball o
golf + +
hockey + o
basketball o +
games clubs ball
golf + +
hockey + o
basketball o +
games clubs ball
golf + +
hockey + o
basketball o +
games clubs ball
golf + +
hockey + o
basketball o +
games clubs ball
golf + +
hockey + o
basketball o +
games clubs ball
golf + +
hockey + o
basketball o +
games clubs ball
golf + +
hockey + o
basketball o +
games clubs ball
golf + +
hockey + o
basketball o +
popinary
popinary
“a fry cook”
popinary
“a fry cook”
popinary + o o
chef + + +
baker + o +
cooks fries makes bakes
things salads
popinary + o o
chef + + +
baker + o +
cooks fries makes bakes
things salads
popinary + o o
chef + + +
baker + o +
cooks fries makes bakes
things salads
popinary + o o
chef + + +
baker + o +
cooks fries makes bakes
things salads
popinary + o o
chef + + +
baker + o +
cooks fries makes bakes
things salads
popinary + o o
chef + + +
baker + o +
cooks fries makes bakes
things salads
popinary + o o
chef + + +
baker + o +
cooks fries makes bakes
things salads
popinary + o o
chef + + +
baker + o +
cooks fries makes bakes
things salads
popinary + o o
chef + + +
baker + o +
cooks fries makes bakes
things salads
popinary + o o
chef + + +
baker + o +
cooks fries makes bakes
things salads
popinary + o o
chef + + +
baker + + +
cooks fries makes bakes
things salads
popinary + o o
chef + + +
baker s + +
Characters Wise Adventurous
Frog
Toad
Curious George
Graphic Organizers
A graphic organizer is a diagram
that shows how key terms are
related.
What’s so great about them?
What’s so great about them?
They help kids “see” abstract content.
There is little to “read.”
They are easy to construct and discuss.
Technical terms can be taught in clusters.
They enhance recall and understanding.
They have an impressive research base.
Shakespearean Tragedy
Act 1 Exposition
Act 2 Complication
Act 3 Climax
Act 4 Resolution
Act 5 Conclusion
Exposition Complication Climax Resolution Conclusion
Exposition Complication Climax Resolution Conclusion
Complication
Complication
Complication Resolution
Complication Resolution
Complication Resolution
adult larva
pupa
How to Find the Area of a Triangle
No Yes
Right
triangle?
Determine Multiply
height legs
Multiply Divide
by base by 2
Tree Diagrams
Musical Instruments
Musical Instruments
wind nonwind
Musical Instruments
wind nonwind
brass woodwind
Musical Instruments
wind nonwind
wind nonwind
No people
Animal Could
Characters happen
Animals
talk
Blue People
caffeine alcohol
dexadrine barbituates
drugs
stimulants depressants
abdomen
Labeled Picture
Sociograms
HH
H H H
P P P P P P P P P
James Sara Elliott Anna
Roosevelt Delano Roosevelt Hall
(1828-1900) (1855-1941) (1860?-94) (1863-92)
Franklin Anna
Delano Eleanor
Roosevelt Roosevelt
(1882-1945) (1884-1962)
Hilda Taba
List
Students brainstorm all the words they
can recall at the end of a unit.
Group
Students suggest logical ways to group
the words.
Label
Students suggest a label for each
group they form.
List
Students brainstorm all the words they
can recall at the end of a unit.
Group
Students suggest logical ways to group
the words.
Label
Students suggest a label for each
group they form.
List
Students brainstorm all the words they
can recall at the end of a unit.
Group
Students suggest logical ways to group
the words.
Label
Students suggest a label for each
group they form.
no legs garter
boa
venom
cobra
fang
scales
coral
tail
rattle
copperhead
trees
holes
ground
no legs garter
boa
venom
cobra
fang
scales
coral
tail
rattle
copperhead
trees
holes
ground
Kinds of Snakes
garter
no legs garter boa
boa copperhead
venom cobra
cobra coral
fang Things Snakes Might Have
scales rattle
coral scales
tail fang
rattle no legs
copperhead venom
trees tail
holes
ground Where Snakes Are Found
trees
holes
ground
Kinds of Snakes
garter
no legs garter boa
boa copperhead
venom cobra
cobra coral
fang Things Snakes Might Have
scales rattle
coral scales
tail fang
rattle no legs
copperhead venom
trees tail
holes
ground Where Snakes Are Found
trees
holes
ground
Semantic Maps
(Word Webs)
Brainstorming
Students offer ideas related to a topic.
Mapping
Teacher and students form categories
and map the words into a diagram.
Reading
Students read a nonfiction selection.
Completing the Map
Teacher and students revisit the map
and together refine and expand it.
Kinds of Snakes
garter
no legs garter boa
boa copperhead
venom cobra
cobra coral
fang Things Snakes Might Have
scales rattle
coral scales
tail fang
rattle no legs
copperhead venom
trees tail
holes
ground Where Snakes Are Found
trees
holes
ground
rattle no legs
scales venom
fang tail
Things Snakes
Might Have
Snakes
garter
Kinds Where
boa
trees
copperhead
holes
cobra
ground
coral
Semantic maps have the
advantage of mirroring how
words are stored in the lexicon.
animal
mammal
“meow”
dog cat c-a-t
4 legs /kat/
pet
lion
Word Lines
hot cold
hot tepid cold
hot tepid cold
sweltering
hot tepid cold
sweltering chilly
hot tepid cold
sweltering chilly
Word Sorts
Open Sort
Categories are not given.
thorax pupa
abdomen antennae
wing larva
adult head
egg leg
Closed Sort
Parts Stages
Closed Sort
Parts Stages
thorax pupa
abdomen egg
wing larva
head adult
leg
antennae
Possible Sentences
1. Present a list of 8-12 words the
students will encounter in the new
text.
2. Add a few familiar terms.
3. Ask for sentences containing at
least two of the words.
4. Teach the text.
5. Return to the sentences.
6. Together decide whether they are
correct or can be edited to make
them so.
lexicon
syntactic clue
distributed practice
popinary
word
definition
*eponym
*toponym
*portmanteau
Some Research-Based Techniques
Read-Alouds
Semantic Feature Analysis
Graphic Organizers
List-Group-Label
Semantic Maps (word webs)
Web Trees
Word Lines
Word Sorts
Possible Sentences
What do all of these techniques
(except one) have in
common?
fan-tods
yallerboys
mudcat
Illinois
Missouri
Kentucky
Tennessee
Arkansas
Mississippi
Louisiana
Hannibal
Illinois
Missouri
•
Kentucky
Tennessee
Arkansas
Mississippi
Louisiana
Hannibal
Illinois
Missouri
•
Kentucky
Tennessee
Arkansas
Mississippi
Louisiana
More Suggestions
Echo student talk, using
richer vocabulary.
Wonderful. I hope
I wrote this. you told me exactly
what you saw on
your trip to the zoo.
“Sprinkle” your
classroom with
vocabulary.
Beck & McKeown (2004)
Talk around
words.
Stahl & Stahl (2004)
Be a Word Wizard!
wary scowl ridiculous fortunate
Tom
Sue
Ed
Juan
Maria
Lakesha
Paul
Jack
(including teachers!)
Words Named for People
(eponyms)
• einsteinium • silhouette
• teddy bear • sousaphone
• boycott • zinnia
• pasteurize • sideburns
• watt • shrapnel
• decibel • magnolia
• saxophone • hooligan
• braille • gardenia
Words Named for Places
(toponyms)
• bikini • ottoman
• tuxedo • bayonet
• badminton • cologne
• hamburger • frankfurter
• californium • magenta
• uranium • marathon
• plutonium • tangerine
• damask • manila
Words with Unusual Stories
• bazooka • googol
• gorilla
• bleachers
• jeep
• blurb • jumbo
• cowlick • sandwich
• crowbar • Pacific
• serendipity
• Dixie
• tank
• gas
• goatee
Blends (Portmanteaus)
• beefalo • jack rabbit
• bit • liger
• brunch • lox
• caplet • modem
• cockapoo • moped
• electrocute • motel
• guestimate • sitcom
• infomercial • skort
More Blends . . .
• slurb • telethon
• smog • tiglon
• snazzy • transister
• splatter • twiddle
• spork (why not • zap
foon?) • zedonk
• squiggle
• tangelo
Acronyms
• scuba
• radar
• sonar
• laser
• snafu
• fubar
Mnemonics
principle
rule
principal
pal
Connotations
Andy
Biemiller
Biemiller, A. (2004). Teaching vocabulary in the primary grades.In J.F. Baumann &
E.J. Kame’enui (Eds.), Vocabulary instruction: Research to practice (pp. 28-
40). New York: Guilford.
Suggested References
Baumann, J.F., & Kame’enui, E.J. (2004). Vocabulary
instruction: Research to practice. New York: Guilford.
Bear, D.R., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S.R., & Johnston, F.
Words their way (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice-Hall.
Beck, I.L., McKeown, M.G., & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing
words to life: Robust vocabulary instruction. New
York: Guilford.
Nagy, W.E. (1988). Teaching vocabulary to improve reading
comprehension. Newark, DE: IRA.
Stahl, S.A. (1999). Vocabulary development. Cambridge,
MA: Brookline Books.
Stahl, S.A., & Kapinus, B.A. (2001). Word power: What
every educator needs to know about teaching
vocabulary. Washington, DC: NEA.
Stahl, S.A., & Nagy, W.E. (2005). Teaching word meanings.
Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.