Science Vocabulary Paper

Studies have shown that the average student should gain at least 3000 words in a year (Johnson, C. & Johnson, D, 2004). Furthermore, that means a student have to learn six to eight words every day. In this case, a significant amount of these words can be taught through direct instruction. Based on numerous studies, vocabulary instruction is crucial for comprehending science texts and vital in interpreting the simplest text to the most complex text (Beck, McKeown, and Kucan, 2002; Braswell and Flood, 2004; Nagy and Anderson, 1988; and Lapp, Flood, Brock, and Fisher, 2005). Traditionally, as part of the science vocabulary instruction, teachers present students with a list of vocabulary words to look up in the dictionary. Students were instructed to write them down, and use them in sentences. However, this method is not an effective way to improve students' reading comprehension. This topic of study was selected because

With this in mind, Crawford W. Long Middle School received the Georgia Milestone Assessment results which revealed students are deficient in vocabulary usage across all content areas. In-class observations, I did not see students using strategies to decode or recognize vocabulary for comprehension and mastery. As a result, a schoolwide action plan in vocabulary instruction was integrated across all content areas. For this reason, all teachers had to use the first 20 minutes of class incorporating vocabulary strategies in the lesson such as showing students how to recognize word parts(decoding), and context to figure out new words through reading a caption or paragraph, writing a sentence, or analyzing a picture. Overall, will this intense, purposeful vocabulary instruction be enough to increase student comprehension and science literacy at Crawford Long Middle