FOCUS ON VOCABULARY
Narrowing the Achievement Gap

by Jan Jenner

What does it mean to “know” a word? What role does vocabulary play in comprehension and reading achievement? How do you help students know words and know how words work to achieve meaning?

Researchers and practitioners explored these questions at PREL’s Focus on Vocabulary Forum held October 1-2, 2003. Participants explored vocabulary knowledge as a cause and a consequence of reading achievement.

Building Vocabulary
Researchers estimate that children learn at least one new word per day. Through active teaching, they can learn 6-10 words per week or about 400 words a year. The average child learns nearly 3,000 words through ordinary reading of moderately challenging text (or text in which 95% of the words are known).
According to Dr. Steven Stahl, children learn most words from wide reading.

There is a reciprocal relationship between reading volume and vocabulary. “Despite individual differences in early reading abilities, vocabularies, and general cognitive functioning, reading volume is a robust predictor of vocabulary development,” explains Dr. Anne Cunningham. Since children learn most words from wide reading, encouraging students to read frequently builds their vocabulary and cognitive ability.

Vocabulary Instruction
Vocabulary instruction consists of teaching specific words to children as well as developing their understanding of how words work. Stahl identifies three categories. Simple words label concepts children
already know. Teaching them may consist of giving a synonym or a brief definition. “Goldilocks” words are “not too hard, not too easy.” To learn words like “nocturnal” and “emerge,” children may require examples and more explanation. Complex words represent abstract concepts or ideas (like “immune system”). Telling children the category the word belongs to and how it differs from others in the category may help students learn these words. Giving synonyms and antonyms, examples of word use, and
explanations of how the word fits the context may also help. To develop an understanding of complex words, children may need multiple exposures.

Vocabulary instruction also consists of developing word consciousness, or an understanding of how words work to achieve meaning. According to Dr. Judith Scott, this includes understanding how a word functions as a language unit and how word order can affect meaning. Knowledge of word parts (for example, that “poly-” means “many”) is also important. Teaching strategies include concept or semantic maps and semantic word analysis. Students can also learn prefixes, suffixes, and common roots for the many academic words with Latin or Greek origins. Enjoyment of and playfulness with words contribute to students’ word consciousness. An activity like Word Wizard, in which children pick a “school” word and report on its use, also promotes word consciousness.

Although closing the achievement gap is still a challenge, participants left the Focus on Vocabulary Forum with a greater understanding of actions schools and educators can take to prevent that gap from widening.