Building Vocabulary Skill

Developmental Reading

LEARNING MODULE RATIONALE

This module is concerned with reading words. However, the focus will
be on dealing with words whose meanings are unknown. In
preparation for reading this module, you may want to explore your
knowledge of this topic by asking yourself the following questions:

 How many words would you estimate are in your vocabulary?

 Where and how did you learn them?

 Have you ever read a book or taken a course designed to

increase your vocabulary?

 If so, how well did the book or the course work?

 What strategies do you use when you encounter an unknown

word?

 How would you go about teaching vocabulary to an elementary

or middle school class?

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the conclusion of this learning module, the students are expected to:

A. Enumerate and describe different tasks for word knowledge.

B. Demonstrate an understanding of principles for selecting words for

instruction.

C. Demonstrate an understanding of principles of developing

vocabulary.

D. Generate student activities for vocabulary skills development.

E. Draw implications of vocabulary development and skills for reading

instruction.

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TEACHING STRATEGIES/LEARNING ACTIVITIES

 Lecture

 Classroom Discussion

Resources/ Materials

Here are some great tips for remembering your vocabulary and learning
new words. This video lesson will show you how to learn more than one
new word at a time and how to practice learning and remembering
words that will improve all areas of your English quickly.

http://www.engvid.com/how-to-increase-your-vocabulary/

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Building Vocabulary Skill

Word Knowledge Tasks (Graces, 1987)

Task 1: Learning to read known words

Task 2: Learning new meanings for known words
Task 3: Learning new words that represent known concepts
Task 4: Learning new words that represent new concepts
Task 5: Clarifying and enriching the meaning of known words
Task 6: Moving words from receptive to expressive vocabulary

Seven Principles of Developing Vocabulary

1. Building Experiential Background

- a teacher can take to build vocabulary by providing students
with a variety of rich experiences

Example: The teacher takes the children to an apple orchard,

supermarket, zoo, museum, or office.

2. Relating Vocabulary to Background

- this involves relating vocabulary to students’ background

Example: The teacher teaches the word “compliment”. The

teacher mentions some nice things that were said as
complimentary. Working in pairs, students compose
compliments for each other.

3. Building Relationships
- showing how new words are related to each other.

Example: The teacher discusses how autobiography and

biography are two similar types of nonfiction, and students
describe the subject’s accomplishments and some of the
obstacles that he or she had to overcome.

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4. Presenting Several Exposures

- found to be essential to comprehension because of limitations
of attention and memory

Example: Third graders were shown a model of a brain where

words “lobe” and “hemisphere” were mentioned during the
discussion. They were asked to read a selection where those
two words are included. The activity involved the use of the
words “lobe”
and “hemisphere”

5. Creating an Interest in Words

- generating interest in words can have a significant impact on
vocabulary development

Example: In their experiential program, Beck and McKeown

(1983) awarded the title “Word Wizard” to any student who
noted an example of taught word outside of class and reported
it to the group. Children virtually swamped their teachers with
instances of
seeing, hearing or using the words as they worked toward
gaining points on the Word Wizard Chart.

6. Developing Depth of Meaning

- the most frequent method of teaching new words is to define
them

The teacher provides the following contexts for the word

“persistent” persistent detective, persistent salesperson,
persistent pain, and persistent rain

7. Teaching Students How to Learn New Word

- entails promoting independent word- learning skills

Example: The teacher shows to the class tools for vocabulary

instruction such as context clues, morphemic analysis, and
dictionary skills.

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Techniques for Teaching Words

1. Graphic Organizers- semantic maps, pictorial maps, webs, and

other devices that allow students to view and construct
relationships among words.

Figure 5.1
Graphic Organizer
2. Dramatizing- putting words in the context of simple skits,
which adds interest and reality.
3. Creating Memorable Events- create events that lead to the
introduction of a new word and provide contextual clues to its
meaning
4. Determining Shades of Meaning- semantic gradients, or
differentials, can be used to help students note differences in
shades of meaning (Greenwood & Flanigan, 2007).
5. Exploring Word Histories- knowing the histories of words
helps students in three ways: it sheds light on their meanings and
helps students remember them better and longer; it “can function

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as a memory device by providing additional context” (Dale &

O’Rourke, 1971, p.70); and it can spark an interest in words.
6. Discovering Sesquipedalian Words- students enjoy the
challenge of sesquipedalian words (Dale & O’Rourke, 1971).
Composed of the Latin form sesqui (“one and one-half”) and ped
(“foot”), sesquipedalian means “foot and a half”, or very long
words.
7. Word of the Day- a good way to begin the day is with a new
word. The word might tie in with the day, the time of year, or
some special or national event.
8. Labeling- provides greater depth of meaning to words by
offering at least second- hand experience and, in some instances,
helps illustrate relationships.

Figure 5.1
Labelling
9. Feature Comparison- through questions that contain two
newly learned words, students can compare major meanings
(Beck & McKeown,1983)
10. Wide Reading- the most productive method for building
vocabulary-- wide reading—requires no special planning or
extra effort (Nagy & Herman, 1987)
11. Speaking and Writing- the ultimate aim of vocabulary
development is to have students use new words in their speaking
and writing. In- depth study of words and multiple exposures

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will help students attain sufficient understanding of words and

how they are use so that they will be able to employ them in their
speech and writing.
12. Using a Thesaurus- a thesaurus is an excellent tool to help
students use a greater range of vocabulary by seeking out and
using synonyms

Learning How to Learn Words

 Morphemic Analysis
A reading or word learning technique that empowers a
reader to decipher the meaning of words by using the parts of a
word “to approximate meaning” (p. 233 Alvermann)
 Contextual Analysis
A method of deriving the meaning of an unknown word
from the surrounding context.
Clues found within the context include
 antonyms,
 cause and effect associations,
 comparison and contrast associations,
 examples,
 glosses (a brief definition like this parenthetic clarification)
 phrases of contrast,
 phrases of similarity,
 restatements, and
 synonyms

Figure 5.1
A Model on “Why Teacher Vocabulary”

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Figure 5.2
Frayer Model

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Figure 5.3
Vocabulary Development Model

References

Gunning,T. (2012). Creating Literacy Instruction for All Students (8th

Edition). USA: Pearson
Images retrieved from
http://ci5451literacystrategiescollective.pbworks.com/w/page/6064036
/Vocabulary%20Morphemic%20Analysis
http://00.edu-cdn.com/worksheet-image/560230/vinnie-volcano-
vocabulary-earth-science.gif

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