Growing Vocabulary and Knowledge in ELA
Vocabulary and Knowledge
David Liben [email protected] www.achievethecore.org
Why is Vocabulary SO Important?
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Hart & Risley (1995) “The 30 Million Word Gap”
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How important are words? • Nearly a century of research (Whipple 1925, NAEP 2012) • Feature of complex text that likely causes greatest difficulty (Nelson et al 2012) • Vocabulary assessed in grade 1 predicts 30% of grade 11 comprehension (Cunningham & Stanovich 1997)
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After much research…
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How Vocabulary Is Learned • Words can be learned directly through instruction in school
• But most vocabulary is learned indirectly through listening and reading. In the case of listening it is hard wired. • In K-2 most words are learned through listening in any medium and generally not what children can read themselves • The more words you know the more you learn (Biemiller 2010, Stanovich 1986) PAGE 6
The Achievement Gap at Work • Below Level: Shelter, splattered, fixed, rescue, magic, stumbling, suggestion • On Level: Journal, tremors, traction, interval, volunteered, retrieve • Above level: Generation, abandoned, languished, terrified, warble, galvanized, debris, hoisted, shuddered PAGE 7
Words are Learned Through Reading But Not All Reading is the Same
• Cervetti, Wright and Hwang (2015) • Landauer and Dumais (1997) • Some concrete examples
PAGE 8
So it turns out…
a great way to grow vocabulary is to grow knowledge – in fact, the best way we know at this point.
PAGE 9
Importance of Knowledge • Similar history of research (Kintsch 1998, most of John Guthrie's work, Adams 2009, numerous others) • Recht and Leslie, 1988 – baseball study • Makes sense as knowledge of words and knowledge of the world go together
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A good way to build knowledge is to populate your state with text sets
PAGE 11
Text Sets: where to go to get them • Text sets on Achieve the Core • Textsets at Readworks Articles a Day •
Soon, print-on-demand, low-cost pre-built textsets from XanEdu
• Text sets using articles and books from Reading A-Z (and soon prebuilt on R-A-Z) • American Reading Company has built out text sets. • Newsela Text Sets (science works best, social studies gets problematic) PAGE 12
Text Sets: home-grown efforts, how-to guides and logistical questions: • Louisiana DOE has built a guide to creating text sets • CT Guide Good guide put out by Connecticut Education Department • Cappiello, M. A., & Dawes, E. T. (2013). Teaching with text sets
• Your source should be the article databases you ALL subscribe to for your teachers to create text sets based on your state science and social studies standards (your librarians have all this knowledge at their fingertips!!) • Where do text sets fit in the literacy block? • When are we going to start seriously questioning the primacy of the literacy block? PAGE 13
Another approach – slimming down the basal
What are teachers dealing with in every early elementary classroom that uses a basal?
PAGE 14
One week’s work in a typical first grade basal • • • • • • • • • • •
Leveled text lessons Listening centers and writing centers Daily independent reading Media literacy lessons Research skill lessons Lessons on authors purpose Daily proofreading practice Lessons on comparing texts Lessons on classifying and categorizing words Read aloud connected to anchor text and topic Listening comprehension lessons focusing on character traits, story structure and themes PAGE 15
One week’s work (continued!) • Essential Question in this case what kind of plants and animals would you find in the ocean, connected to writing –formed basis of much discussion • Close reading of anchor text – complex • Additional informational text related to anchor text read by all essentially close reading • Writing lessons on sentence that inform • Writing lessons on revising and proofreading • Grammar lessons on proper nouns • Grammar lessons on possessives • Daily Vocabulary instruction with word cards • Leveled readers (not phonetic) with students grouped by ability PAGE 16
One idea to solve the Basal Overload Problem:
Produce a MAP for it! The last of the CVCs!
PAGE 17
Growing Vocabulary and Knowledge Robust Interactive Reading Aloud • Read Aloud Alignment Project (RAP) with easy additions (many of these are slated to be built out this summer) • Read Aloud K-3 with focusing on conceptually coherent topics
• Connect to state science and social studies standards PAGE 18
Growing Vocabulary and Knowledge Throughout the Day • It’s called Independent Reading not Independent Stories • Focusing on Knowledge that occurs in any reading we do • Rearranging the book bins: coherent topic baskets instead of leveled baskets • Brainstorming before text sets or in introducing any topic to create a list of questions to answer. • Authentic Learning and GOING OUTSIDE the school into the world PAGE 19
PROCUREMENT: ENCOURAGE THE RIGHT SELECTION These go beyond ELA to include Core Science and Social Studies as well: • • • • •
EL Education (formerly Expeditionary Learning) Wit and Wisdom from Great Minds Core Knowledge Language Arts American Reading Company Core Program Bookworms
…If you’re lucky enough to be able to influence science procurement: • Seeds of Science Roots of Reading PAGE 20
Family Academy Curriculum
• Structured Phonics Program K-2
• Read Aloud every day one hour K-2 • Fluency Program Second grade • Close Reading grade level text 40 minutes a day • General Knowledge Curriculum • LOTS of trips PAGE 21
QUESTIONS AND THOUGHTS?
PAGE 22
David Liben [email protected] www.achievethecore.org
Why is Vocabulary SO Important?
PAGE 2
Hart & Risley (1995) “The 30 Million Word Gap”
PAGE 3
How important are words? • Nearly a century of research (Whipple 1925, NAEP 2012) • Feature of complex text that likely causes greatest difficulty (Nelson et al 2012) • Vocabulary assessed in grade 1 predicts 30% of grade 11 comprehension (Cunningham & Stanovich 1997)
PAGE 4
After much research…
PAGE 5
How Vocabulary Is Learned • Words can be learned directly through instruction in school
• But most vocabulary is learned indirectly through listening and reading. In the case of listening it is hard wired. • In K-2 most words are learned through listening in any medium and generally not what children can read themselves • The more words you know the more you learn (Biemiller 2010, Stanovich 1986) PAGE 6
The Achievement Gap at Work • Below Level: Shelter, splattered, fixed, rescue, magic, stumbling, suggestion • On Level: Journal, tremors, traction, interval, volunteered, retrieve • Above level: Generation, abandoned, languished, terrified, warble, galvanized, debris, hoisted, shuddered PAGE 7
Words are Learned Through Reading But Not All Reading is the Same
• Cervetti, Wright and Hwang (2015) • Landauer and Dumais (1997) • Some concrete examples
PAGE 8
So it turns out…
a great way to grow vocabulary is to grow knowledge – in fact, the best way we know at this point.
PAGE 9
Importance of Knowledge • Similar history of research (Kintsch 1998, most of John Guthrie's work, Adams 2009, numerous others) • Recht and Leslie, 1988 – baseball study • Makes sense as knowledge of words and knowledge of the world go together
PAGE 10
A good way to build knowledge is to populate your state with text sets
PAGE 11
Text Sets: where to go to get them • Text sets on Achieve the Core • Textsets at Readworks Articles a Day •
Soon, print-on-demand, low-cost pre-built textsets from XanEdu
• Text sets using articles and books from Reading A-Z (and soon prebuilt on R-A-Z) • American Reading Company has built out text sets. • Newsela Text Sets (science works best, social studies gets problematic) PAGE 12
Text Sets: home-grown efforts, how-to guides and logistical questions: • Louisiana DOE has built a guide to creating text sets • CT Guide Good guide put out by Connecticut Education Department • Cappiello, M. A., & Dawes, E. T. (2013). Teaching with text sets
• Your source should be the article databases you ALL subscribe to for your teachers to create text sets based on your state science and social studies standards (your librarians have all this knowledge at their fingertips!!) • Where do text sets fit in the literacy block? • When are we going to start seriously questioning the primacy of the literacy block? PAGE 13
Another approach – slimming down the basal
What are teachers dealing with in every early elementary classroom that uses a basal?
PAGE 14
One week’s work in a typical first grade basal • • • • • • • • • • •
Leveled text lessons Listening centers and writing centers Daily independent reading Media literacy lessons Research skill lessons Lessons on authors purpose Daily proofreading practice Lessons on comparing texts Lessons on classifying and categorizing words Read aloud connected to anchor text and topic Listening comprehension lessons focusing on character traits, story structure and themes PAGE 15
One week’s work (continued!) • Essential Question in this case what kind of plants and animals would you find in the ocean, connected to writing –formed basis of much discussion • Close reading of anchor text – complex • Additional informational text related to anchor text read by all essentially close reading • Writing lessons on sentence that inform • Writing lessons on revising and proofreading • Grammar lessons on proper nouns • Grammar lessons on possessives • Daily Vocabulary instruction with word cards • Leveled readers (not phonetic) with students grouped by ability PAGE 16
One idea to solve the Basal Overload Problem:
Produce a MAP for it! The last of the CVCs!
PAGE 17
Growing Vocabulary and Knowledge Robust Interactive Reading Aloud • Read Aloud Alignment Project (RAP) with easy additions (many of these are slated to be built out this summer) • Read Aloud K-3 with focusing on conceptually coherent topics
• Connect to state science and social studies standards PAGE 18
Growing Vocabulary and Knowledge Throughout the Day • It’s called Independent Reading not Independent Stories • Focusing on Knowledge that occurs in any reading we do • Rearranging the book bins: coherent topic baskets instead of leveled baskets • Brainstorming before text sets or in introducing any topic to create a list of questions to answer. • Authentic Learning and GOING OUTSIDE the school into the world PAGE 19
PROCUREMENT: ENCOURAGE THE RIGHT SELECTION These go beyond ELA to include Core Science and Social Studies as well: • • • • •
EL Education (formerly Expeditionary Learning) Wit and Wisdom from Great Minds Core Knowledge Language Arts American Reading Company Core Program Bookworms
…If you’re lucky enough to be able to influence science procurement: • Seeds of Science Roots of Reading PAGE 20
Family Academy Curriculum
• Structured Phonics Program K-2
• Read Aloud every day one hour K-2 • Fluency Program Second grade • Close Reading grade level text 40 minutes a day • General Knowledge Curriculum • LOTS of trips PAGE 21
QUESTIONS AND THOUGHTS?
PAGE 22
