Vocabulary Instruction during Reading Lessons in six Classrooms

Abstract

This study was conducted to explore two research questions: (a) How do teachers teach meaning vocabulary during reading lessons? and (b) What are teachers' stated purposes for teaching meaning vocabulary? The data were collected in six classrooms, three each at the fifth-and sixth-grade levels, in a large urban school district. Reading instruction in each of the six classrooms was observed over the course of 4 months, for a total of 47 observations. At the end of the observation period, participating teachers were interviewed. Data analysis consisted of a search for dominant themes through open and axial coding. A taxonomy of methods for teaching vocabulary was developed in order to further describe the nature of observed instruction. New words were taught most often as a prereading activity and there was a distinct pattern of discourse surrounding word meaning instruction. Teachers typically used more than one method for teaching words, most frequently employing definitional and contextual types of instruction. Characteristics associated with effective instruction in the research literature such as activation of prior knowledge, multiple exposures, and provision of strategies for independent word learning were rarely observed. Teachers' stated purposes for vocabulary instruction were congruent with the requirements of the basal reading series used to teach reading in their school district. Teachers defined the importance of vocabulary knowledge in terms of the immediate classroom environment and requirements thereof, and not within the context of larger environments such as the school or society.

The role of derivational morphology in the reading comprehension of Spanish-speaking English language learners

“…Consistent with previous research that has documented, for several decades, the limited time spent on vocabulary instruction in many classrooms (e.g., Durkin, 1978Durkin, /1979Roser & Juel, 1982;Scott, Jamieson-Noel, & Asselin, 2003;Watts, 1995), informal observations at the three schools studied revealed that none of them emphasized language instruction in general or attention to morphology in particular. Had there been a specific instructional focus on these elements of language, these learners may have developed more sophisticated morphological awareness and broader vocabulary knowledge sooner, which would have likely accelerated the development of reading comprehension ability.…”

Vocabulary Instruction in K-3 Low-Income Classrooms During a Reading Reform Project

“…A second important contribution to the literature is that this study looked at K-3 teachers. Most other studies examined vocabulary instruction at the fourth-grade and beyond (Blachowicz, 1987;Blanton & Moorman, 1990;Durkin, 1978Durkin, -1979Scott et al, 2003;Watts, 1995). This study focus on K-3 classroom teachers reveals that teachers were not, as often assumed, teaching vocabulary simply as part of sight word or decoding instruction but were introducing new word meanings.…”

“…Therefore, the percentages of time that she observed this type of vocabulary instruction were between 6.75% and 11%. Watts (1995) conducted the most detailed observational study of vocabulary instruction to date. She worked in six classrooms, three each at the fifth and sixth grade.…”

“…These sources included: (a) research-based practices for high-quality vocabulary instruction identified by Baumann et al (2003) and others (Diamond & Gutlohn, 2006;Graves, 2006), (b) other studies that recorded vocabulary instruction in schools (Watts, 1995), and (c) field notes from our observations. After reviewing the observations and considering what researchers deemed important to teach, three broad categories of instruction were determined for the K-3 Table 2).…”

Desarrollo de la lectoescritura en español en alumnos bilingües

“…A pesar de la importancia del conocimiento del vocabulario para el desarrollo de la lectoescritura, la enseñanza sistemática de vocabulario en las escuelas primarias sigue siendo extremadamente rara (Scott, Jamielson-Noel y Asselin 2003;Watts 1995). El énfasis de las escuelas en las habilidades de lectura (identificación de palabras) durante los primeros años de instrucción generalmente no requiere conocimientos de vocabulario demasiado avanzado (Becker 1977;Biemiller 2001).…”