Teaching Vocabulary and Morphology in Intermediate Grades

Abstract

Direct vocabulary instruction of Tier 2 and Tier 3 words in intermediate-grade curricula is an important tool of literacy instructionbecause English is a language grafted from many roots and has not developed a one-to-one phoneme-grapheme correspondence. In addition to knowing graphemes and phonemes, students must formally learn words that cross domain knowledge and introduce subject-matter concepts. Intermediate-grade teachers can deal with these curricula demands and help their students advance their reading ability and their subject learning by combining vocabulary instruction with word recognition skills and by incorporating the meaning of vocabulary words with subject knowledge. Teaching vocabulary and morphology improves students' comprehension of text because knowledge of meaningful word components, syllabication, and academic vocabulary improves both word recognition skills and subject specific understanding. In addition, teaching content terminology and Latin and Greek stems improves students' word recognition skills, increases students' academic vocabulary knowledge, and helps students meet Common Core State Standards. Cloze exercises and learning opportunities that engage students in using their newly acquired vocabulary are helpful teaching techniques and support all students' annual reading growth.

Morphology Matters, but What Do Teacher Candidates Know About It?

“…Through an extensive search, we were unable to identify published studies that reported a broader audience of teacher knowledge (i.e., middle and secondary teachers). In addition, because researchers (Palumbo, Kramer-Vida, & Hunt, 2015; Reed, 2008) have indicated that students with learning disabilities may need more systematic reading instruction that incorporates learning morphemes, we wanted to tap the knowledge of special educators as well as general educators. Upon consideration of the larger body of research on teacher knowledge of reading-related concepts, there has been a greater emphasis on examining teacher knowledge of phonological and phonetic concepts than there has been on morphological concepts.…”

Analysis of learning activities included in English text directed at students of Hospitality and Tourism

“…It is something so basic that it seems unnecessary, but sometimes we try to learn a large amount of vocabulary that maybe we will not use for now or ever. Therefore, it is better to focus, at first, on learning the most basic and necessary to relate to other people, use it for a specific job, travel, among other aspects (Palumbo, Kramer-Vida, & Hunt, 2015). This does not mean that acquiring more knowledge is something negative, but when we start studying a language, it is important to go little by little, with patience, because later we will increase the vocabulary and, with this, possibly also the difficulty of learned (Kalyuga & Kalyuga, 2008).…”

“…In this case, by focusing on research in technical English, the readings involve students to better understand the culture (Palumbo, 2015). The language is a true reflection of the values and customs of the communities of speakers.…”