Abstract
Based on concepts from
Neuman, S. B., & Wright, T. S. (2013). All about words: Increasing vocabulary in the common core classroom, pre K–2. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Neuman and Wright propose an instructional approach that helps children to build meaningful relationships among words. The goal should be to help children understand words as they relate to concepts. As you teach vocabulary, help children organize words and concepts in ways that will enable them to become self-learners. The following steps represent a process for this type of vocabulary instruction.
1. Identify two or three exemplar words related to your topic
Although there are many different words to teach, select only a few that are especially relevant to the topic. For example, in a marine unit for kindergarteners, Newman and Wright suggest initially introducing the words whale and dolphin. Children are likely to know something about these animals so you can build on their interests. Or if learning about the body, introduce the words brain and heart. As the unit progresses, you introduce additional words. Once children have a mental picture for dolphins and whales, it is easier to introduce the other marine animals such as manatee and sea lion and associated characteristics like blubber they use to keep warm and oxygen they breathe just like us.
2. Provide a child-friendly definition, description, and explanation of the new word
A common approach is to ask children to share what they know or think they know about a word. The idea is that you might hear accurate prior knowledge that you can build on or misconceptions you can correct. Researchers have recently challenged this view, arguing that misconceptions can be difficult to correct. Wild guesses and inaccuracies are as likely to be remembered as a more accurate response. Instead, begin with a simple explanation or succinct description, for example, “A dolphin is a marine animal. That means it lives its whole life in the ocean. It looks like a fish but it has lungs and breathes air just like us.” After the explanation, you can build further understanding through guided assistance that can include the following:
Using videos to give meaning to words. Many short videos on topics you are teaching can be found on the web, for example, life cycle of plants or animals (butterflies, frogs);
Using pictures to provide close-ups of the terms you want the children to learn;
Making connections by teaching categories. In addition to a definition or explanation, you want children to structure their knowledge in ways that make it more accessible for learning. You can do this by giving information about a word’s category, for example, “A fig is a type or fruit” or “An evergreen is a type of plant.” Also teach the properties of categories. For example, evergreens are similar to other plants because they have things in common (such as, plants are living things; they need sunlight and water to grow). If you learn a new word, such as fiscus, and you know it is a plant, then you can generalize beyond the definition;
Relating words to key concepts or big ideas. Deepen word knowledge by linking new vocabulary to concepts that are being taught. One might talk about habitat, protection, and life cycle across different topics. When talking about the human body, you might talk about our home as a habitat; when talking about marine animals, you talk about the ocean as a habitat;
Playing a guessing game, for example, say, “I’m thinking of a part of the body that helps us breathe.” Encourage children to take turns, making their own questions/riddles;
Trying synonyms and antonyms. You can focus on synonyms one day and antonyms another day. For example, ask, “Let’s see how many words we can think of that mean the same thing as delicious in 2 minutes.” On another day, play the same game with antonyms. (This is likely to be harder.)
3. Give children many opportunities for guided practice
Children must hear words multiple times in multiple contexts and must have the opportunities to use words multiple times in multiple contexts. Neuman and Wright suggest beginning with targeted questions, then moving on to more open-ended questions, for example,
Choral recall response. Ask questions to which children can respond as a group: • Teacher: Is a dolphin a marine mammal? • Children: yes • Teacher: Where does it live? • Children: ocean • Teacher: Do marine animals breathe oxygen? • Children: yes • Teacher: What type of mammal breathes oxygen? • Children: dolphin (Newman & Wright, p. 49)
Questions that help children apply their new knowledge • Teacher: How are a whale and dolphin alike? • Child: They are both marine mammals. • Teacher: How might they be different? • Child: A whale is fatter than a dolphin. • Teacher: Yes, a whale has lots of blubber and weighs several tons more. Open-ended responses, for example, What is your favorite marine animal and why?
4. Distributed review
Provide many opportunities to view the words, both initially and over time. Overlearning is the practice of reviewing newly acquired words well beyond the point of initial mastery. Provide many books that use the vocabulary. Place key vocabulary words on pocket cards under the title, “magic words,” so children can use them in their independent activities. Do not review the words just after the lesson or at the end of the day; revisit the words a week or two later. Sometimes you might find you need to do substantial review. Whenever possible, use the words when they are relevant for new topics that are introduced.
5. Monitoring children’s progress
We need to catch misconceptions that children may have about certain words or concepts. One can monitor children’s word knowledge by
Play the “Can you?” game with children, asking questions that call for a yes/no or thumbs up/thumbs down. For example, say, “Can you see a dolphin in a fishbowl?” “Can you find seaweed in the ocean?” “Can you make a manatee fly?”
Ask children to draw or write about their descriptions of words.
Picture bingo and concentration games can identify children’s understanding of new words.
By teaching words in meaningful clusters, you are helping children build schema that will enable them to better understand and retain new words. If children who have learned that lions and elephants are wild animal are introduced to new words such as tapir or meerkat and told they are wild animals, they are likely to infer that the animals are not tame, must take care of themselves, and live outside and away from people. Teaching words in clusters helps children make generalizations and become more independent learners.