Vocabulary: More than Relying on Context - Ohio Speech

VOCABULARY:
More Than Relying on
Context
Cyndi Schultz, M.A., CCC-SLP, F/AOGPE
[email protected]
Monica Gordon Pershey, Ed.D., CCC-SLP
[email protected]
VOCABULARY
First-grade children from higher SES know about
twice as many words as lower SES (Graves, Brunetti,
& Slater,1982; Graves & Slater, 1987)
Top performing high school seniors use four times
as many words as their lower performing
classmates (Smith, 1941)
High-knowledge third graders use as many words
as the lowest performing 12th graders (Smith,1941)
SO WHY TEACH
VOCABULARY
Children need to learn 2,000 to 3,000 new
words each year from 3rd grade onward, about
6–8 per day.
• Vocabulary knowledge is strongly related to
overall reading comprehension.
In 1st and 2nd grade, children need to learn
800+ words per year, about 2 per day.
• If a word is decoded and pronounced but the
meaning is not recognized, comprehension
will be impaired.
Children who are behind by 1st grade have a
hard time making up the gap.
Andrew Biemiller; Nagy & Anderson
TEACHING ASSUMPTIONS
Vocabulary is learned in context
Words learned in context are added to
vocabularies
Instruction must focus on learning
vocabulary from context because there
are too many words to teach using
direct instruction
• Knowledge of a word!s meaning also
facilitates accurate word recognition.
The phonological, orthographic, and meaning
processors all contribute to reading!
Natural contexts are not that informative for
deriving word meanings (Beck, McKeown, & McCaslin).
Four categories were identified:
– Misdirective
• leads the reader to an incorrect meaning
– Nondirective
• provides no assistance in determining any meaning
for a word
– General
• places meaning within a category
– Directive
• leads the reader to a specific, correct meaning of a
word
Misdirective Context
Sandra had won the dance contest, and
the audience!s cheers brought her to
the stage for an encore. “Every step she
takes is so perfect and graceful, Ginny
said grudgingly as she watched Sandra
dance. (p.4)
Nondirective Context
Dan heard the door open and wondered
who had arrived. He couldn!t make out
the voices. Then he recognized the
lumbering footsteps on the stairs and
knew it was Aunt Grace. (p.5)
General Context
Joe and Stan arrived at the party at 7
o!clock. By 9:30, the evening seemed to
drag for Stan. But Joe really seemed to
be having a good time at the party. “I
wish I could be as gregarious as he is,”
thought Stan. (p.5)
Directive Context
When the cat pounced on the dog, he
leapt up, yelping, and knocked down a
shelf of books. The animals ran past
Wendy, tripping her. She cried out and
fell to the floor. As the noise and
confusion mounted, Mother hollered
upstairs, “What!s all that commotion?”
(P.5)
TO LEARN FROM READING
Must read frequently and with right level
of difficulty to encounter a substantial
number of unfamiliar words… requires
– Adequate decoding skills
– Recognition of unfamiliar word
– Motivation to pursue understanding
– Ability to extract or infer meanings from
context
PROBLEM
Students who need vocabulary
development:
– Do not engage in wide reading
– Do not choose books with unfamiliar
vocabulary
– Are less able to identify main ideas, infer
meaning or derive meaning from context
(Kucan & Beck, 1996; McKeown, 1985)
WORDS HAVE
• phonological form (sounds, syllables)
• morphological form (meaningful parts)
• spelling patterns (orthographic form)
• meanings and meaning networks
• syntactic roles
• linguistic history (etymological features)
Stages of Word Knowledge
• Stage 1: Never saw it before; no knowledge
• Stage 2: Heard it, but doesn!t know what it
means; general sense like recognizing negative
connotation
• Stage 3: Recognizes it in context as having
something to do with; narrow context-bound
knowledge or unable to readily recall
• Stage 4: Knows it well; decontexualized
(Dale, 1965); (Beck, McKeown, & Omanson, 1987)
Qualitative Dimensions of
Word Knowledge
• Generalization: ability to define
• Application: use word in appropriate
situations
• Breadth: knowledge of multiple meanings
• Precision: apply correctly and recognize
incorrect usage
• Availability: use in thinking and discourse
(Cronbach,1942)
CHOOSING WORDS
– Evaluate use and importance to student
– Frequently appears in variety of texts
– Adds productivity to language ability
– Has some conceptual knowledge
– Will be able to explain in own words
– Offers precise/complex forms of the familiar
– Instructional potential: relates to other words;
brings meaning to text; represents a new
concept
REACHING DEEP… TO KNOW
Students need to “own” their words
Requires repetitive practice
Notice words in their environment
Explore relationships
INTRODUCTIONS
Student friendly definitions
– Explain how it is typically used
• Start with focused concept rather than multiple
meanings
• Concept grows with use
– Use everyday language
• Avoid puzzling words
– Interactive discussions
INTRODUCTIONS
• Notice word pronunciation and
word spelling.
• Explore morphology (compounds, prefixes,
roots, suffixes).
• Generate a definition then check it against the
dictionary.
• Compare similar words.
SPELLING AND VOCABULARY
Spelling Knowledge
• Provides the basis for explicit awareness
and understanding of morphology.
• Should be based on morphemic structure
and word origin (Leong, 2000).
• Emphasizing the spelling meaning
connection (paradigm/paradigmatic).
CONTEXT
Contextual Information
– Relationship to context
• Analyzing word structure
• How does the word change with different
places, people or sentences
• Differences in formal and informal language
environments
• Constructing definitions for context
DEFINE
Definitional Information
– Relationships with other words, connect to
know
•
•
•
•
Synonyms
Antonyms
Categories; semantic groups
Descriptions; semantic features
– similarities and differences
DECONTEXTUALIZE
Becoming conscious
(acquiring knowledge):
– of the word!s sounds and morphemes
– of the word!s origins
– of the word!s usage and multiple
meanings
INSTRUCTIONAL TIPS
Instructional context
–
–
–
–
–
Provides strong clues to word!s meaning
Develops explanation of target word
Ensures clear and correct conclusion
Gives how meaning was derived from context
Builds stronger connection between word and
meaning
Provide meanings as words are encountered
– Meaning can then be integrated into the context
of use immediately
TEXT TALK
Repetition, Repetition, Repetition
• Use word in context; role in the story
• Children repeat the word; creating a
phonological representation
• Give understandable definition
• Provide additional contexts; examples of
use
• Children join in examples; use structured
activities
• Children say the word again
ENGAGING
ACTIVITIES
Word Associations
– Which word goes with...
Have you ever…?
– Describe a time when you might urge someone,
commend someone, banter with someone.
Applause, Applause!
– Clap if you want to be described as: vain, stern,
intelligent, creative, frugal
ENGAGING ACTIVITIES
Idea Completions
– Using sentence stems to integrate a word!s
meaning into a context to explain a situation
• The audience asked the virtuoso to play another piece
of music because…
• The skiing teacher said Maria was a novice on the ski
slopes because…
• The teacher said the students are exhausted after
testing because…
• When might you feel impatient? How would you rescue
a cat? or Why might you be glum?
MORE ACTIVITIES
How much energy does it take to…
• Meander down a hill?
• Vault over a car?
• Stalk a turtle?
Making choices
– Which are examples of clutching
• Holding on tightly to a purse
• Softly petting a cat!s fur
MORE…
Making Definitions
• A darkroom is a room for developing photographs that
has very dim, special light and running water.
• To plunder is to rob or pillage, usually by an invading or
conquering group.
• (Moats, 2004)
Relating words
– Would you prefer to budge a sleeping lamb or a
ferocious lion?
FLOCABULARY
FLOCABULARY LESSON PLAN
Appropriate for grades 7-12.
Curriculum Areas:
*Vocabulary Building
*Reading Comprehension
*Aural Comprehension
*Pronunciation
*Spelling
*Word Recognition and Analysis
Goal: In each lesson, your students will:
*Memorize a rap
*Engage with vocabulary and wordplay
*Learn the meaning, pronunciation and spelling of
forty to fifty SAT-level vocabulary words
*Work as a team *Have fun
The Pre-Lesson: Discussion - optional (5 - 10 minutes)
A great way to introduce Flocabulary to the classroom is
with an open discussion on hip-hop and vocabulary. Use
the following questions to spark discussion:
"Can rap music be considered poetry?"
"What are the qualities of hip-hop that are
unique?"
"How many poems do you have memorized?”
“How many rock / hip-hop songs?"
"Is memorizing a rhyme easier than memorizing a
non-rhyming sentence?"
"What could explain this difference?"
Time Needed: Two thirty minute sessions on
separate days with homework.
Materials needed:
*Flocabulary A Dictionary and A Microphone cd
*A page of the lyrics and definitions for the song from
the Flocabulary Workbook
*A list of the vocabulary words without definitions
from the website
*A Teacher’s Guide to the Songs from the website
*cd-player
The Lesson (20 - 30 minutes)
*Distribute the lyrics to the Flocabulary song chosen.
*Play the song for the class. Students should
listen and follow along on the printed page.
*Ask for reactions and comments.
*Use the Guide to Theme, Language and References
sheet to engage in a brief discussion of the theme,
narrator, plot-line, language and references.
*Play the song again. This time students should listen
for vocabulary.
*Ask the students if there are any words that they still
don't understand the meaning of in the context of
the song. (You can test understanding by asking
them to fold the page so that the definitions are
hidden and then asking them to define words
based on their context in the lyrics).
Flo + Cab
Homework Assignment
First Follow Up (5-15 minutes)
Performance Time (30 minutes)
Final Assignment
Alternative Ideas
FLO CAB
Where ever you go we’ll be there.
FLO CAB
Rocking harder than your grandma’s chair.
FLO CAB
Rocking the apocalypse until there’s nothing left.
FLO CAB
A better recipe for success than the iron chef.
There are copious connotations for every single word,
many meanings that are varied and diverse.
So I could be terse, and not talk with too many words,
and a preponderance of meanings could still emerge.
Some say different voices create dissonance, white noise,
and cacophony, actually they make harmony.
And without harmony BoyzIIMen would still be boys,
and Art Garfunkel would be unemployed.
We’re in harmonious agreement, in concord, like the fast plane
and we’d like you to get on board.
We confound and frustrate those who must hate us,
and think hip-hop is the scourge of the English language.
They offer scathing criticism and indictments.
They think that when you’re studying there should be no excitement,
but then they listen to our songs, they retract and withdraw their
statements like it was a bank card.
Like a boomerang we’re back, together again,
the collusion, two people huddled and making a plan.
Rocking iPods to Etch-A-Sketches, it’s Escher,
urgent and exigent, exerting mad pressure.
Like how peanut butter always tastes better with jelly,
we added flow to vocab, to get Flowcabulary.
It’s the confluence of two discrete things,
like french fries and onion rings,
we make things meet that are different.
Now sometimes it’s true that divergent things,
split people apart and are divisive.
Some people try to disparage our project, speak ill of it
and criticize us, but we’re imperious to bad vibes,
we’re untouchable, stick together like Heathcliff and Claire Huxtable.
Two things come together just coalesce like when you zip up the two
sides of your vest.
We juxtapose those who know and those who don’t,
by putting them together to compare and contrast.
We variegate and differentiate these tracks so they don’t
all run together like sidewalk chalk in the rain.
We ameliorate our orations, make our speeches better,
Improve and troubleshoot, don’t maintain.
I stress and accentuate positivity in life,
like peas accentuate the taste of rice.
So I’m sanguine, optimistic and cheery, the opposite of
enervated and weary, you hear me, clearly we spread
good vibes like Beverly Cleary, but not as saccharine, overly sweet.
Maudlin is sentimental like your dentals are your teeth.
We fight holes in our mores, those moral cavities.
The amalgamation, combination of two rare things,
I can’t believe it’s so butter…
AFFIXES
PREFIXES
• The 15 most frequently occurring prefixes
appear in over 4000 words.
• Occur at the beginning of words which
make them easy to identify.
• Tend to be consistently spelled.
Tis a Very Dirty Manner of
Life
Source: Colonial House
• Translate spoken words of 17th-century New
England colonists into 21st-century language.
Grade Level: 6-8
Subjects: Reading & Language Arts, Social Studies
Topics: Vocabulary. United States History: 15851763.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
• http://www.pbs.org/teachers/readlanguage/
HISTORY OF ENGLISH
Many of our oldest words, given to English from
Anglo-Saxon, have undergone the most changes
in meaning over time.
house (AngloSaxon)
habitat (Latin)
residence (French)
Teaching Roots
MEMORY AIDS
• Humor
• Visualization
• Mnemonics
MEMORY AIDS
INSTRUCTIONAL FEATURES
Create an Environment that…
Frequent encounters
– Focus of attention 8 to 10 times
– Cumulative review
Richness of instruction
– Opportunity to use and think about meaning
– Consider relationships
• Values words as important and interesting
• Rewards the use sophisticated words in
everyday situations
• Stimulates student!s interest in words and in
contexts outside of school
• Encourages students to ask word meanings
Extension beyond the classroom