Solbolak, M. J. (2008).

Effects of amount of vocabulary instruction for low-

socioeconomic students. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, 125.

WHAT?
children from families on welfare or near poverty have limited vocabulary
in comparison to their peers from higher socioeconomic households. (p. 6)
The vocabulary level of children in first grade from high socioeconomic
families was about twice the size of their lower socioeconomic peers. (p. 7)
students from low socioeconomic backgrounds know about 6,000 fewer
words than their middle-class peers do at the start of schooling. (p. 7)
Children from socially disadvantaged homes are at a higher risk for reading
failure, which is a contributing factor to school failure, juvenile delinquency
and teenage pregnancy. (p. 8)
There is a growing consensus that a good source for identifying words to
teach to young readers are trade books that are read aloud to students. (p.
14)
Trade books are chosen because they provide text with challenging concepts
and higher level vocabulary that is important for comprehension. (p. 14)
It is important that educators choose words that will provide students with
the greatest utility for comprehending, speaking, and writing. (p. 15)
Requiring active participation from students has proven to be an effective
method of teaching higher-level vocabulary. (p. 17)
Educators must be prepared to provide additional instruction when initial
instruction doesnt allow all students to reach mastery. (p. 53)
Providing additional instruction can increase students vocabulary gains and
the probability of closing the gap between vocabulary levels of students from
varying socioeconomic levels will be increased. (p. 53)

SO WHAT?
I do not have much experience with students from low socioeconomic
households. I grew up in a middle-class neighborhood and have only worked with
middle to upper middle-class children. That is part of the reason that I chose to do
my multigenre project on this topic. Before I started conducting research, I did not
know what to expect or how to help these children. Reading this article has really
opened my eyes.

NOW WHAT?
Now that I have more insight into the needs of children from low
socioeconomic households, I feel more equipped to help them succeed. I
understand that children from lower status families often have parents that are
unavailable. They may spend hours alone every day, with no one to converse with
them. This is one of the reasons that they have such low vocabulary levels. These
students may need one-on-one time, in addition to whole group lessons. The best
strategy to help your students build vocabulary is to read to them and read often. In
addition, incorporating opportunities to speak, listen, and write will increase
vocabulary.