Implementing Explicit Vocabulary Instruction

A strong vocabulary (along with ample background knowledge) is one of the best predictors of reading comprehension success. Honing both receptive and expressive vocabulary is important, and there are many ways to do this. But first, let’s discuss some vocabulary terminology.

Receptive vocabulary is the vocabulary understood through listening and reading, whereas expressive vocabulary is the vocabulary one uses to express oneself when speaking or writing. It is not unusual for a student to have strong receptive vocabulary but weak expressive. They may understand what is said to and asked of them, but when it comes to using rich vocabulary to express themselves, they struggle. They get their points across, but by using more Tier 1 vocabulary rather than fluency with Tier 2 vocabulary — and Tier 3 as necessary.  Building one’s expressive vocabulary is vital for helping students better articulate their thoughts and ideas, and boosting their confidence.

TIERED VOCABULARY

Tier 1 Vocabulary is familiar to most students. In other words, common knowledge. (Note: this may not be the case for EL students who may require additional Tier 1 vocab support.) These words are basic, high-frequency words. They are used in everyday conversations and typically require no direct instruction.  (Examples: blue, animal, happy).

Tier 2 Vocabulary is more academic. These words are high frequency words, but they are more sophisticated. They may be found across curriculum and in content texts. These words can become part of our everyday lexicon with direct instruction and increased exposure. They are critical for becoming a more descriptive speaker, knowledgeable listener, and proficient reader and writer.  (Examples: navigate, surface, exhilarating)

Tier 3 Vocabulary pertains to very specific academic domains. They are words that are generally not used in everyday conversation unless discussing a specific content area. (Examples: atom, photosynthesis, mitosis)

WAYS WE LEARN

Learning happens one of two ways: indirectly or directly. Indirect vocabulary exposure is vocabulary that students are exposed to in their environments. They become familiar with these words by overhearing those in their community use them, through daily conversations, or seeing them in print. Students may or may not become receptively and expressively proficient in vocabulary through indirect exposure; however, it is through direct instruction when students have a better chance of gaining proficiency in both receptive and expressive knowledge of words, particularly at the Tier 2 and 3 levels. Direct instruction of vocabulary relies on an intentional focus of explicitly teaching language. One of the best ways to facilitate this direct instruction is through structured word inquiry, a powerful and effective way to investigate words through etymology, morphology, and phonology. When a word is taken apart, and all aspects of the word are dissected, meaning — and spelling! — are better retained. .

STEPS TO ACQUIRE NEW VOCABULARY

When new or unfamiliar words are introduced to students, consider an explicit step-by-step process such as the one below to support students in building their vocabularies for long-term retention.

  1. Say the word. Have students repeat the word. Say each sound / syllable in the word clearly.

  2. Write the word so that students can see how it is spelled. Say the word again.

  3. Ask if students have heard this word before. If so, how have they heard it used?

  4. Ask students to write the word. Address any spelling patterns that seem relevant for discussion with your students. Point out morphemes and roots or bases.

  5. If applicable, show a picture of or relating to this word.

  6. Does this word have more than one meaning? If so, what are the different meanings or associations?

  7. Give a student-friendly definition.

  8. Use it in context more than once.

  9. Ask students to use the word in a sentence. Ask them to read their sentences to a partner.

  10. Allow time for students to illustrate the word.

When we take sequential steps to directly teach vocabulary, students start thinking more about the words they come across. They become better able to comprehend texts, and more proficient at articulating their thoughts and ideas by utilizing just the right words. They will present themselves as more interesting, descriptive and articulate.

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6 Ways to Build Background Knowledge

Background knowledge is a significant driving factor behind successful reading comprehension. Without it, readers struggle to make connections and grasp what they are reading. Students will come with different types of background knowledge, some more than others. This will be dependent upon many factors, such as:

  • How language-rich the student’s home environment is (the books read to that student and discussions with caregivers)

  • The access students have had to places such as museums, libraries, and other hands-on learning destinations to develop new knowledge and make connections

  • Extracurricular and enrichment activities

  • Opportunities for travel

  • Exposure to other cultures

The above are variables that we cannot control, so we focus on what we CAN control to build a sturdy framework of background knowledge. Here are my favorite ways for helping students build background knowledge regardless of their socioeconomic background:

  1. Read Alouds

    Read Alouds using picture books with authentic visual information is a powerful way to pack knowledge and information about a new topic.

  2. Field Trips

    Whether virtual or in-person, field trips are fantastic ways to learn about and engage in new topics. Since the pandemic, there is more opportunity now than ever to explore places, history, topics with a click of a mouse, and interact with guides and experts in the field.

  3. Guest Speakers

    Guest speakers can range from a child’s family member in a specific field of interest or relevance to someone in the local community.

  4. Show and Tell with Intention

    This isn’t the type of show and tell done in the early grades. This type of show and tell is done with a specific intention using an explicit outline to follow. The student would prepare an “expert presentation” about the item’s relevance, and facilitate a Q&A to further engage peers in discussion.

  5. Informational and Appropriate Media

    Whether it be a musical performance, famous speech, photographs or other piece of art, or short video, we can use the good that media does have to offer to connect our students with critical background knowledge.

  6. Sensory Experiences

    Engage students’ senses to connect more deeply with topics. Studying coconuts? Bring one in to explore. Learning about medicinal plants? Bring in an aloe plant!

Background knowledge should always be presented with rich, academic vocabulary that students become fluent in, both receptively and expressively.

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Considerations for Instruction of Consonant Blends

Before we decide to take up valuable instruction time to teach a skill or concept, it is critical to gauge its value. WHY am I teaching this and HOW will my students benefit from this? Today I’m discussing whether or not there is value in teaching consonant blends.

Is teaching blends necessary?

One school of thought is NO, it’s not. If you are teaching explicit phonics, and your students can segment and blend the phonemes in a word with automaticity when they look at the graphemes, they are already blending regardless of how those graphemes are classified. They do not need to know that, for example, the letters s + l are a blend in order to successfully sound out the words slime or slow. Makes sense, right?

And I agree.

HOWEVER, there are two reasons why explicit instruction of consonant blends (initial and final) do carry value. 

The first consideration:

The first benefit of teaching blends is for those struggling spellers who may spell a word like stand as sdand. In other words, students who write what they hear themselves sound out, even when our language never spells those letters next to each other. Other examples of similar spelling mistakes are:

jraw for draw

chrain for train

In this case, explicit instruction of blends can help prevent these types of spelling errors when students learn that certain letter combinations simply never go together.

The second consideration:

Another time to consider explicit instruction of blends is to support knowledge of accurate syllable division. For example, VCCCV (vowel-consonant-consonant-consonant-vowel) words like monster, conflict, and pumpkin all require division somewhere among the consonants. Having knowledge of blends that stay together helps immensely in understanding where the division will occur. 

So, is teaching blends absolutely necessary?

When it comes down to it, what’s the verdict? If students have the fluent ability to blend the phonemes represented by the graphemes in front of them to read words, have no spelling deficits, and can effortless divide VCCCV words properly, they will not require much instructional time spent on blends, and may just benefit from a quick reinforcement. Conversely, if students are struggling with spelling and syllable division, time spend on blends will be warranted. As always, explicit instruction is crucial.

Types of Consonant Blends

L-blends: bl, cl, fl, gl, pl, sl

R-blends: br, cr, dr, fr, gr, pr, tr,

S-blends: sc, sk, (sl), sm, sn, sp, st, sw

Final blends: ct, ft, ld, lf, lk, lp, lt, mp, nd, nk, nt, pt, rd, rk, sk, sp, st, xt

3-letter blends: scr, shr, spl, spr, squ, str, thr, nch

Other blends: dw, tw

I hope this information helps to drive meaningful instruction and sorts out any questions you may have had about the shoulds or ifs of consonant blends instruction.

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Supporting Upper Elementary Readers

I’ll never forget what a colleague of mine told me in my early days of teaching: “Once the kids get to third grade, there isn’t a way to help them figure out a word. You just have to tell them what it is, and then they’ll memorize it.” 🙄

I know, I know. 

This didn’t sit well with me, but I had no authority and little experience with this grade level at the time. What I did, however, was my own detective work to uncover the truth, and to help those students out.

You cannot tell me that once a child is in third grade reading instruction ends, and that there is no way to support these readers to read the longer, multisyllabic words in their chapter books and content texts across curricula.

So what did I do? I watched and listened. I observed the types of words that were stumping these readers. 

Here is what I discovered about most of them:

  • With some of the words, students could have used knowledge of advanced phoneme-grapheme relationships to blend and sound out words. They could have tried different sounds made by the same letter. For example, EA and CH each make three different and unique sounds. 

  •  If students had been provided explicit instruction on syllable types, they could have identified where the division occurs in each word and divide the word into manageable syllables. 

  • They could have isolated the root, base, and affixes, thereby also making the word more manageable to decode. 

10+ years later and I still cringe when I think about that comment, and at the thought of this idea (or rather, lie) being perpetuated — that reading instruction at the intermediate and upper elementary level comes to a halt because the words “can’t be sounded out” like readers are taught to do in K-2.

As students get older and have more advanced texts in their hands, we must move with them and guide them and give them more advanced strategies. It’s no coincidence that this is also the age when students, who once liked to read, avoid it. There is an absence of explicit strategies to support them. It’s now hard. It’s frustrating. It’s no longer enjoyable. 

Decoding text is just one component of the ability to be a proficient reader. We need comprehension as well. However, if students cannot master decoding fluently, they will not be able to work on comprehending efficiently. With explicit instruction in advanced phonemic and phonological awareness, syllable division, and morphology, we can help bridge that instructional gap and provide students with what they need to guide them towards becoming competent and confident readers who actually want to read once they cross the bridge from the lower elementary grades to the upper elementary grades. One best practice at a time, and we CAN appropriately support and motivate these transitional readers.