Knowledge of Vocabulary Creates Classroom Success

658 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Relationship between language and literacy

Vocabulary knowledge is highly correlated with reading comprehension and general academic success. Oxford Dictionaries defines vocabulary as “the body of words used in a particular language” (Oxford Dictionaries, 2013, para. 1). Vocabulary knowledge can be demonstrated in two ways: receptively or expressively. Knowledge of the words we see and hear would be described as the individual’s receptive vocabulary. Expressive vocabulary consists of the words that are used to convey information, by either writing or speaking. Typically, receptive vocabulary is larger than expressive vocabulary. Although individuals may understand the general idea of a word in their receptive vocabulary, they might lack the knowledge of the true definition that would be needed in order to use the word in their expressive vocabulary (Kamil & Hiebert, in press). Vocabulary development is important for a variety of reasons.
Children’s vocabulary development is important from an early age. Studies have shown that children who are regularly read to have larger vocabularies and better success at decoding words when reading (Burgess, Hecht, & Lonigan, 2002). Children’s vocabulary at age three is a strong predictor of their language and reading comprehension in third grade (Hart & Risley, 1995). Further, it has been shown that children with poor vocabulary skills struggle with reading comprehension.
Not only does vocabulary play a crucial role in reading comprehension, it is also highly correlated with academic success (Lehr et al., 2004). As students progress through the grades, the vocabulary necessary to succeed in higher grades becomes more extensive. Typically, academic vocabulary demands appear in children’s 3rd and 4th grade books (Chall, Jacobs, & Baldwin,...

... middle of paper ...

...ice activities for the spelling words that pertain to each unit. These activities include phrase completion, identifying misspelled words, adding prefixes, adding suffixes, and sentence completion.
Statement of the Problem
The problem to be investigated is whether the students are increasing their vocabulary through the current methods used in the classroom. Students’ vocabulary knowledge will be assessed through expressive knowledge of current vocabulary words. Those results will be compared to standardized vocabulary measures to determine the relationship to overall vocabulary ability. The following questions will be explored:
1. Are 4th grade students in Grand Forks public schools learning vocabulary using the Reading Street curriculum??
2. Is 4th grade students’ vocabulary knowledge of weekly spelling words related to overall vocabulary ability? (PPVT, EVT)

Show More
Related

  • Nt1310 Unit 1 Assignment

    425 Words  | 1 Pages

    Students will use vocabulary builders to help them become familiar with new vocabulary related to the topics being covered in the Chemistry

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Reading Habits In The Glass Castle

    1284 Words  | 3 Pages

    From the Glass Castle, Jeannette’s mother read picture books with Jeannette and her siblings in their early childhood. This activity established good reading habits for Jeannette and her siblings. When she was older, after dinner, her father read the dictionary with the kids, looked up the words they did not know, and discussed the definitions (Walls 56). Because of the reading habits her parents gave her, every time Jeannette did not understand a word, she looked up the word in the dictionary. The routine of reading dictionary after dinner and the habit of looking up an unknown word in the dictionary helped Jeannette build up her vocabulary. With abundant vocabulary and excellent reading skills, Jeannette did not have problem with her college admission test. Studies show that having good reading habits not only increase the volume of children’s vocabulary but also help them perform well on their exams. In the Educational Testing Service (ETS) Policy Information Center 's report, The Family: America 's Smallest School, the author points out the importance of reading to children:

    Read More

  • Influence of Phonological Memory on ESL Learners

    1732 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...y and Vocabulary Development During the Early School Years: A Longitudinal Study. Developmental Psychology. American Psychological Association Inc.

    Read More

  • Summary Of The Jennings Informal Reading Assessment

    269 Words  | 1 Pages

    After, reviewing the vast amount of reading inventories that can be utilized to obtain a reading competency level for a student. I decided to utilize the Jennings Informal Reading Assessment, this assessment had all of the essential elements needed to analyze and evaluate the reading styles and comprehension level of a student. The unique qualities that assist me in selecting this strategy were that of the preprimary word list. The word list offers the student a chance to learn and observe terms that he/she may not have known prior to the assessment. This also provided me with a better understanding of the student usage of visual cues and ability to utilize prior knowledge to understand and recognize information. This is a cognitive ability

    Read More

  • The Six Areas of Reading

    1804 Words  | 4 Pages

    Vocabulary- it is very difficult to understand a given text if a student is stopping at every other word because a student does not know those words. This is a very critical component and will be discussed later in this paper.

    Read More

  • Word Journey Summary

    900 Words  | 2 Pages

    This book teaches children to become "word solvers": readers who can take words apart while reading for meaning, and writers who can construct words while writing to communicate. In the book there is a word study that includes systematically planned and applied experiences focusing on the elements of letters and words; writing, including how children use phoneme-grapheme relationships, word patterns, and principles to develop spelling ability; reading, including teaching children how to solve words with the use of phonics and visual-analysis skills as they read for meaning. This is a great book that includes practical information on how to engage in interactive writing and shared reading, how to use a word wall and word sorting, and how to use effective assessment

    Read More

  • Problem of Practice

    1190 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... Without adequate vocabulary, students do not have the ability to understand, discuss, and learn. However, teaching specific vocabulary in a meaningful and explicit way improves ones vocabulary and allows them to understand and gain knowledge from the classroom within which that vocabulary is being used. Consequently, learning vocabulary skills addresses the problem of students being able to read but not having sufficient vocabulary skills to understand what they are reading within and outside the classroom environment. Works Cited Gibbons, P. (2000).

    Read More

  • Emotionally Disturbed Students

    2468 Words  | 5 Pages

    Scott, T. M., & Shearer-Lingo, A. (2002). The effects of reading fluency instruction on the academic and behavioral success of middle school students in a self-contained E/BD classroom. Preventing School Failure, 46, 167-173.

    Read More

  • Lexile Levels: Grade Level Analysis

    211 Words  | 1 Pages

    The assignment and over dependence on Lexile levels has turned teachers into gatekeepers instead of educators, turning students away from reading for enjoyment. (Pennington, 2013) The Kentucky MAP test is given at the beginning and end of each school year to assess student growth in several subjects. One of these subjects is reading level. Once children reach a certain literacy level they are given a Lexile score to coincide with how literate the MAP test shows them to be. These levels coincide with “grade levels” and are meant to show at what “grade level” each student is reading at. (Handsfield et al. 2012) Students are then told to read books +/-50 of their Lexile and are prohibited, by some educators, to read anything outside (generally

    Read More

  • Early Childhood Literacy Development

    1424 Words  | 3 Pages

    Literacy is most commonly understood as reading and writing. But before children can read and write, they need to learn about sound, words, language, books and stories (Raising Children, 2015). Children begin to develop and gain knowledge quite differently and with support and developmentally appropriate learning skills children will also come to understand the connection between letters and sounds. Literacy development or early literacy is the most essential in the first three years of life as it the earliest experience children have with language, sound and the positive interactions between child and adult. Vygotsky (1978) believed in how children developed, and the important role of adults in leading child’s early development. The interactions

    Read More

  • Middle Childhood: Tearing Into Vocabulary

    964 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the beginning of infancy to childhood, these children start their memory by following the system of sensory register to working memory and followed by long-term memory. By middle childhood, children increase their selectivity in their attention and work on improving their control of their attention and strategies. With this, children’s knowledge base expands because they gain more experience from inside and outside of home and school. When implementing “Tearing Into Vocabulary”, these students get the chance to come up with their own definitions and by putting vocabulary terms into their own words better increases their chances of using the words in the future and transfer the terms from working memory to long-term memory. Next, when the students work with their groups to piece together the vocabulary words with the definitions, it increases their memory by actually saying definitions out loud and effectively communicating with others and receiving others imputes and understandings. By receiving direct feedback from peers, it also influences the amount of information that is effectively stored in their long-term memory bank and forces them to focus their attention on to what their peers are suggesting. Implementing “Tearing Into Vocabulary” is a simple way to improve these middle childhood children’s long-term memory that stabilizes and expands the capacity of

    Read More

  • Sustained Silent Reading

    1918 Words  | 4 Pages

    Most administrators and educators, if asked what is the area that needs the most improvement in schools today, would answer reading. Children seem to battle with reading at almost every grade level. As reported by Trelease (2006) students do not read very much. In one reported study, 90% of the students studied devoted only 1 percent of their free time to reading and 30% to watching television. Fifty percent of the students read for an average of four minutes or less per day, 30% read two minutes per day, and 10% read nothing at all (p. 1). These statistics only serve to worsen the fear of students low reading abilities. Educators have developed a myriad of programs to improve students’ comprehension, retention, and higher level thinking skills. These skills are especially important in the improvement of scores on the state mandated assessments.

    Read More

  • Vocabulary Importance Of Vocabulary

    927 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mastery over vocabulary help learner to be an effective speaker whereas lack of vocabulary cause him/her to failure in establishing and achieving successful communication. When learner have a low vocabulary, it can trap EFL learners in a vicious circle, since if EFL learners who cannot read more advanced texts he or she miss out on opportunities to extend their vocabulary and they are also less successful in using strategies for word learning.it is important we Develop the vocabulary of EFL learners because all other language skills get affected due to the lack of vocabulary or deficiency of vocabulary. One of the main causes of failure of EFL learners in establishing successful communication is Lack of vocabulary, whether it is written or oral. It is always noticed that learners who have poor vocabularies they have reading problems. Sound knowledge of essential vocabulary supports EFL learners in speaking and writing whereas lack of vocabulary often results in lack of meaningful communication. Accordingly, we should attempt to improve the vocabulary of EFL learners. This is the reason why many scholars and ELT luminaries like Linda Taylor (1990) emphasize on conscious attempt to develop the vocabulary of EFL

    Read More

  • Literature review:Reading Comprehension

    1131 Words  | 3 Pages

    How can what we know about the development of readers inform reading comprehension instruction? Reading instruction typically starts in kindergarten with the alphabetic principle, simple word blending, and sight word recognition. Texts read by early readers usually include very little to comprehend. As children develop reading ability, they are able read more complex texts requiring greater comprehension skills. Separate and explicit instruction in reading comprehension is crucial because the ability to comprehend develops in its own right, independent of word recognition. The ability to read words and sentences is clearly important, but as readers develop, these skills are less and less closely correlated with comprehension abilities. (Aarnoutse & van Leeuwe, 2000) While no one would argue that word blending and sight word reading skills be omitted from early reading instruction, vocabulary and listening comprehension may be at least as important in achieving the even...

    Read More

  • Vocabulary Development: The Importance Of Vocabulary Development

    725 Words  | 2 Pages

    Beginning as a young child, we develop an understanding of how important vocabulary is in our daily lives. Vocabulary allows us to consciously participate in speaking comfortably and confidentially. Parents, guardians, and teachers actively teach and support children in vocabulary development and comprehension.

    Read More

More about Knowledge of Vocabulary Creates Classroom Success

Open Document