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.