Early vocabulary development is critical, and research shows that a lack of word knowledge has lingering effects. For example, kindergarten students’ word knowledge predicts reading comprehension in second grade (Catts, Fey, Zhang, & Tomblin, 1999; Roth, Speece, & Cooper, 2002). Similarly, other researchers (Wagner, Muse, & Tannenbaum, 2007) find the same predictive ability persists from kindergarten to fourth grade. Perhaps even more surprisingly, Anne Cunningham and Keith Stanovich (1997) find that first-grade students’ vocabulary knowledge predicts their reading comprehension level even later, in the eleventh grade.
Not only is vocabulary knowledge important for comprehension, it also relates to one’s skills in writing. A student who reads frequently and possesses a large and varied vocabulary has many more words to choose from when writing. Although research on the connections between vocabulary and writing is sparse, one study shows that students who receive instruction in word consciousness use a greater number of rare words in their writing after instruction than before (Scott, Jamieson-Noel, & Asselin, 2003). The number of words a student knows greatly influences his or her verbal output, which is one of the first things other people, including teachers, notice. If you and your colleagues have discussed voice and word choice in writing with students, you likely know from experience that the best papers are the ones in which students use the most precise and specific words. These data all illustrate that students who enter school with deficient vocabulary knowledge seem to remain deficient.
Vocabulary Gaps and Literacy
Betty Hart and Todd R. Risley (2003), in their study of the vocabulary growth of three-year-old children from low-income families compared with toddlers from middle-class and professional families, find a stark and persistent difference in vocabulary knowledge and word acquisition between these groups. Hart and Risley (1995) estimate that students from professional families have been exposed to thirty million more words by age three than their low-income counterparts.
Some may wonder how such a large gap exists. In varied home settings, children’s language experience differs both in quality and number of words heard. For example, professional parents more routinely engage with their children, using a variety of more sophisticated words and a broader array of words than working-class and low-income parents (Hart & Risley, 1995). Hart and Risley (1995) note that children of professional families enter school with a vocabulary of about 1,100 words, whereas children of working-class families enter knowing about 700 words, and children of welfare families have only amassed about 500 words upon entering school. Simply put, young children’s language and social interactions closely mirror those of their parents. Putting it another way, “to grow up as the child of well-educated parents in an affluent American home is to hit the verbal lottery” (Pondiscio, 2014).
Unfortunately, the vocabulary gap in preschool-age children often starts them off in a game of catch up and keep up that compounds as they learn to read and later when they encounter increasingly difficult academic content. A large oral vocabulary helps students as they begin learning to read. Students with larger vocabularies tend to become better readers, enjoy reading more, and read independently with more frequency than students with smaller vocabularies, who struggle as readers and dislike reading (Stahl, 1999). Whether you teach upper elementary, middle, or high school, we suspect you know far too well the moans and groans of some of your students when independent reading time rolls around or textbook reading is required. Struggling readers actively seek to decrease their time and engagement with all sorts of text, trapping themselves in a world of simplistic vocabulary, limited content knowledge, and a distaste for reading for pleasure or information.
In addition, those students with broad vocabularies read more independently, which, in turn, exposes them further to words and additional vocabulary growth (Stanovich, 1986). Frequently referred to as the Matthew effect (Figurelli, 2015), reading volume makes a difference not only in terms of acquiring reading skills but also in deepening and broadening an individual’s word knowledge (Fielding, Wilson, & Anderson, 1986; Nagy, Herman, & Anderson, 1985). And, of critical importance to learning, one’s vocabulary knowledge directly relates to reading comprehension. To sum it up, the “rich get richer” (Stanovich, 1986, p. 380).
We know vocabulary and word knowledge gaps widen as students mature through the grades. Research supports the urgency we should feel to positively influence our students’ understanding of a broad range of words. Given the importance of vocabulary, one would reason that schools would emphasize a comprehensive approach to vocabulary development—one that would shore up deficits and build students’ word knowledge. Yet, historically, schools have not done so (Blachowicz, Fisher, Ogle, & Watts-Taffe, 2006). For as much as we know about the positive effects of equipping students with a wide vocabulary, well-meaning teachers typically provide little more than a cursory nod to word meanings and often simply mention synonyms when defining a word or refer students to the dictionary (Scott et al., 2003). Both of these methods are insufficient to build the vocabulary students need to become capable readers.
Therefore, we are proposing a blended vocabulary model that consists of several components: modeling, explicit instruction, and orchestration of incidental learning opportunities. Use of online tools and digital applications runs throughout all components. This model honors other models of vocabulary instruction, is grounded in research, and utilizes modern technologies.
About This Book
In spite of decades of research on vocabulary and word learning, many of the practical aspects of that research have failed to trickle down to classroom instructional practice. As we’ve noted, persistent gaps in students’ vocabulary knowledge affect their comprehension and therefore their overall academic achievement. We have seen the ways academic achievement, or lack thereof, further affects students’ futures beyond the classroom. It’s imperative that we address these gaps and deliver direct instruction to all students to expand their vocabulary acquisition and ensure their learning and future success. We seek to address these gaps within these pages. Our goal in writing this book is straightforward. Within this professional resource, we seek to provide K–12 educators with a research-based, practical guide to more clearly understand vocabulary learning and its important implications for classroom instruction.
Word learning occurs through many varied avenues—reading, discussion, listening, environmental print, games, and direct instruction, to name just a few. Today, technology offers new avenues for practice, review, and word learning, and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English language arts advocate using digital technology to support domain-specific literacy in secondary classrooms (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices [NGA] & Council of Chief State School Officers [CCSSO], 2010). This book seeks to inform and expand educator understanding around a blended learning framework that harnesses the power of digital tools to reinforce and expand effective, practical word learning in the classroom. We share instructional strategies for word learning for students of all ages and varying abilities. Integrating digital technology into instruction can help bridge the gap between students’ out-of-school and in-school practices (Alvermann, 2008; Hinchman, Alvermann, Boyd, Brozo, & Vacca, 2003/2004). Note that not every strategy we share will be conducive to digital tool use, nor should it be. Curriculum standards, along with your instructional decisions, come first in the planning cycle. You can then select technology and digital tools to support specific standards and instructional goals. In other words, it’s not about the technology but rather the teaching and learning that occur both inside and outside the classroom. We offer this simple yet meaningful model to help you better equip students for greater command over the power of words.
Intended Audience
When we write and create resources, we think about those who will likely read the book or blog post or use the resources. While our primary audience is teachers and literacy leaders, other individuals may also benefit from the information about vocabulary learning within this book. Though these roles vary in respect to implementing standards and vocabulary, each is nonetheless important. Our overarching goal is to provide educators with greater understanding specific to selecting, teaching, and assessing vocabulary