Vocabulary Acquisition Model

Payton DeMers-Sahling & Lana Blakeman

What is vocabulary acquisition?

The process of learning new words by placing them into long term memory instead of short term.
The National Reading Technical Assistance Center said, “The goal of vocabulary is to help
students learn the meanings of many words so they can communicate effectively and achieve
academically. Effective vocabulary instruction requires educators to intentionally provide many
rich, robust opportunities for students to learn words, related concepts, and their meanings.
Students need strong instructional opportunities to build their personal warehouse of words, to
develop deep levels of word knowledge, and acquire a toolbox of strategies that aids their
independent word acquisition.” Specifically, the vocabulary acquisition model focuses on the
idea that our brain can recognize patterns and meaning.

This model is a 5-step process:

1. Pretest Knowledge of Words Critical to Content
2. Elaborate on and Discuss Invented Spellings and Hypothesized Meanings
3. Explore Patterns of Meaning
4. Read and Study
5. Evaluate and Post-Test

Vocabulary Resources

Tips to Teaching Vocab:

https://education.wm.edu/centers/ttac/documents/packets/awordaboutvocabulary.pdf
https://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/blog/how-to-teach-vocabulary-acquisition

Support for ELL’s with Vocab:

https://www.nctq.org/dmsView/Attachment_8_Reading_Vocabulary_Acquisition_for_ELL
http://www.readingrockets.org/article/vocabulary-development-ells
https://www.nwp.org/cs/public/download/nwp_file/11080/vocab_annotatedbib-jb.pdf?x-
r=pcfile_d