Abstract
For over 10 years, Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction has been one of the staple resources in K–12 literacy teachers’ professional libraries. In its second edition, Isabel Beck, Margaret McKeown and Linda Kucan (2013) respond to a broader set of concerns regarding vocabulary instruction for students of all abilities and backgrounds, while maintaining the evidence-based rigor of the first edition. The authors continue to draw from seminal studies of the past few decades, as well as recent articles and dissertations, and offer insights, instructional guidelines, research summaries, and examples of lesson plans. The second edition of Bringing Words to Life has been enriched with broader topics, such as the interplay between vocabulary and writing skills, the role of vocabulary instruction in the Response to Intervention process, and instructional considerations for students who, either by nature of a disability, English as a second language, or other needs, exhibit a markedly different lexical competency from their same-age peers. This text also provides insights on appropriate word selection, ways to energize ‘novel study’, and teaching vocabulary in content areas; it is, therefore, going to be useful to teachers in all fields, including educators of gifted and talented.
As in the previous edition, the authors provide a research-based rationale for the need for vocabulary instruction at all grade levels and the need for ‘robust’ teaching strategies. They continue to use the three-tier system of vocabulary, emphasizing that, unlike everyday Tier One words, Tier Two and Tier Three words are not as easily acquired and therefore need to be carefully selected and taught rigorously. This rigor is especially relevant for students of low socio-economic backgrounds, who – as the authors point out – largely lack the rich lexical input characteristic of well-to-do environments. Tier Two vocabulary comprises the base of an educated person’s lexicon, providing for the joy of reading a variety of fiction and nonfiction literature and offering a stepping stone to understanding scientific or highly specialized Tier Three words.
In Chapter 1, readers will readily recognize the ‘dull’ strategies historically used to teach vocabulary: looking up words in a dictionary and then using the word in a sentence. Current research indicates that, despite their frequent and continued use, these strategies are not very effective. Equally, the often-heard advice to ‘teach words in context’ may be too general. In Chapters 1 and 7, Beck at al. define and explain various types of contexts that teachers need to use and sometimes mediate, based on students’ vocabulary competency, learning characteristics, and needs. It is this emphasis on creating a space for students to interact with relevant vocabulary that makes this book so universal in its application.
A considerable part of this Second Edition of Bringing Words to Life still offers a discussion and examples of purposeful instructional sequences, from introducing words (Chapter 3), to creating activities for younger and older learners (Chapters 4 and 5, respectively). The questioning that lies at the heart of many described activities is a great modeling tool for gifted learners who begin to research specific topics of interest or engage in interdisciplinary study with their counterparts. For gifted educators, these chapters can provide insights into strategy instruction, which gifted students will rely on in upper grades, as content-area demands grow. Gifted learners can apply these strategies for mastering Tier-Three words, too, as they become more comfortable with difficult content material. A novel component of the text highlights ideas for assessing and maintaining learned vocabulary (Chapter 6), emphasizing the overlap between assessment and instruction. Because of their self-directed and interactive nature, some suggested activities in Chapter 6 may just as well be featured in a gifted educator’s handbook.
Another keystone of the publication is the topic of vocabulary selection, featured in Chapter 2. Teachers who approach this book for the first time will appreciate the authors’ guidelines on selecting vocabulary for instructional purposes. The authors posit that a teacher’s decisions regarding the choice of vocabulary to teach explicitly must not be entangled in ‘word lists’; rather, these decisions must be based, among other factors, on students’ needs, context, and lexical foundation. The authors’ trust in educators’ professional judgment is as refreshing today as it was when the first edition was published some 11 years earlier. The authors give convincing explanations about why word lists have extremely limited applicability in teaching vocabulary robustly and offer alternatives, many of which are as suited for a typical student as they are for a gifted learner. The authors’ approach for solving teachers’ vocabulary selection dilemmas is even more applicable to those who work with twice-exceptional or multi-exceptional gifted learners. These children’s high overall ability for learning is hindered by one or more disabilities, often resulting in low motivation and engagement. Nevertheless, some other gifted children are more competent mathematically than verbally, and they will benefit from the focus on Tier-Two words, just like typical students. The authors’ learner-centered philosophy for choosing instructional vocabulary and getting the students excited will go a long way towards maintaining the structure and vitality of lessons.
Not a prescriptive program, the second edition of Bringing Words to Life continues to be a well-researched text presenting a set of best practices in the domain of vocabulary instruction. Multiple examples from the field, both on selecting and teaching vocabulary, and suggestions for original texts are included. Since virtually every school context presents a vocabulary learning opportunity, this text can be recommended for use in professional development for teachers of all grade levels and disciplines. Gifted education should not be an exception! It is true that most vignettes come from general education contexts, but the authors constantly emphasize – and quite often model – how lesson segments can be modified to address the unique needs and characteristics of diverse groups of learners. Most importantly, the authors’ guidelines can be easily related to inclusion contexts, where gifted learners are increasingly educated today, which makes this source so much more relevant and useful. While the book has not been written explicitly for the gifted education audience, most ideas on selecting vocabulary and creating more authentic opportunities for practice will certainly apply. The book can serve as a source of wonderful ideas on strengthening the vocabulary development aspect of academic games, research projects and other activities that respond to the nature and needs of gifted learners. In particular, this book is an excellent resource for teachers of diverse gifted populations because it discusses advanced content-specific vocabulary, provides information on differentiating vocabulary instruction (Chapter 9), and fostering the idea that teachers should be promoting vocabulary learning as a life-long intriguing and enjoyable adventure.