Workshop for VAEYC in 2016

1. Developing a
POWERFUL VOCABULARY
NAEYC Conference
Saturday, October 15,2016
Starting with You
Think of the Word …..

2. WHY? WHAT? HOW?
Why is it so important to develop a powerful
vocabulary early?
*The 30 Million Word Gap
*Early predictors of later success
*The challenge of “catching up”
*Implications for literacy development-- vocabulary
power from struggles with reading
*The ability to express feelings, needs, interests…

3. WHY?: Some Expert Viewpoints
The 30 Million Word Gap: Building A Child’s Brain by Dana
Suskind, M.D. (Birth-Age 3)
NAEYC, Young Children, July, 2010 by Christie and Wang:
Bridging the Word Gap
Speaking & Listening for Preschool Through 3rd Grade by
L. B. Resnick and C. Snow.
Beginning Literacy with Language, D. K. Dickinson and P.
O. Tabors (Eds.)(3-5 year olds)
Small Kids, Big Words by L. Pappano, Harvard
The Importance of the Number of Words Known by Age
Five for Later School Achievement, A. Biemiller, U. of
Toronto

4. HOW
to facilitate vocabulary learning
Some Approaches:
1 Tune In, Talk a Lot, Take Turns (Suskind-0-3yrs)
2 Speaking/Listening: Word Meanings, Connecting
Words and Knowledge, Learn New Words (Interest)
3Dickinson/Tabors: Learning Words at home &
school: Books, Conversation & Extended Discourse
4Christ & Wang: 4 Teaching Tips
5 Synthesis

5. Resnick and Snow
Speaking and Listening: Preschool-Grade 3
Domains
^Add words to familiar knowledge domains (KD)(people, animals, foods, households)
^Sort relationships among words in KD
^Add new domains from subjects and topics being studied.
Conversation
^Learn new words daily in conversation
^Learn new words daily from what is being explored or read about
^Shows a general interest in words and word meanings, asking adults what a word
means or offering definitions
Word Dimensions
^Recognize that things may have more than one name (cat/fluffy/pet)
^Categorize objects/pix and tell why they go together
^Add verbs, adjectives, adverbs
^Use some abstract words and understand how they differ from concrete things
^Use verbs referring to cognition, communication and emotions

6. Dickinson
Beginning Literacy with Language
Conversation and Dialogic Reading
In the Home--Book Reading: Immediate Talk (about the book) and Nonimmediate Talk (recollection of personal
experiences, comments/qs about general knowledge (P. 49)
*Choose a variety of types of books to read
*Read discuss some aspect of the book before and after reading *Vary intonation
*Use gestures and point to illustration to add to your children’s comprehension without interrupting flow of text.
*Make the book experience overflow into other areas of life.
In the Preschool: Book Reading
*Schedule sufficient time for book reading
*Read and reread various types of books (books you love, theme-based
*Be thoughtful about book discussion
*Enjoy reading and minimize time spent on Organizational matters
*Make book and book reading part of the full day
Mealtime in Preschool
*Sit with children and encourage discussion about nonimmediate evens by asking children to share personal
experiences by asking open ended questions
*Encourage children to use novel vocabulary during mealtime by using new words leaned during class lessons in
mealtime conversations
Large Group and Free Play Time suggestions: using varied and novel vocabulary and sustained exchanges

7. How: Suskind
Setting the Stage for Optimal Brain Development
Tune In: Follow the child’s lead: notice what child is doing and
join in, using “motherese,” responding to child’s response
(behavioral and verbal), use repetition (same stories, same
words), get on the same physical level.
Talk More: Talk with the child, paying attention to kinds of
word and how they are said, using a variety of “tools”—
narration, parallel talk, use “rich” words, go beyond the “here
and now” @3-4—using familiar words and contexts.
Take Turns: Engage children in conversational exchanges,
related to book reading, remembering and comments on
recent and/or common experience, and using open-ended
questions (like “how” and “why” vs “what.”

8. How Framework 2 (NAEYC)
• Christie/Wang July 2010
• Purposeful words
• Intentionally teach word meaning
• Teach word learning strategies
• Offer opportunities to use newly learned
words

9. HOW Synthesis
Words that are developmentally*? appropriate
Opportunities to use words in a meaningful way
Representing/recording words in a form that encourages
remembering and retrieving
Dialogue is at the heart of word learning
Situation (context) is important—across time and place.
See also MAPS Multiple exposures, Across contexts,
Providing opportunities for reading and conversation, So
that words/concept is meaningful and memorable!

10. WHAT?
*There is no magic set of words.
*But there are criteria for choosing the “types” of
words to focus on
^Developmentally appropriate words?
^Personally meaningful words
^Contextually relevant words
^50 Cent Words (Tier 2 Words)
^Words to grow on: next slide

11. NAEYC: Molly Collins (1)
The Importance of Discussing 50c words with
Preschoolers…because
*They exposure children to new words and new
concepts
*They clarify differences in meaning between new
words and known concepts
*They deepen meaning of partially known words
*They repair misunderstandings
*They prime children to value words and increase
their knowledge about word learning.

12. NAEYC: Molly Collins (2)
Implications for Teaching
*Knowing What to know
-Basic Definition
-understanding how its meaning varies across
contexts
-knowing its mechanics (structure/form: s, ed, ing)
Thinking Outside the Book: Across Multiple
Contexts

13. Laura Pappano
Small Kids, Big Words
“Teachers should pick 4-5 Tier 2 words a week that relate to “big time
concepts like Oceans,” which not only connect to children’s
experiences but can be extended to touch on larger concepts and
related words.”
Linking Vocabulary to Content
“Using the OWL Curriculum…preschool teachers choose a theme such
as “wind and water.” Using 6 books related to the theme, they target
60 key words during a four-week unit…Teachers read each book four
times, using a different approach each time. The first time, teachers
verbally highlight targeted vocabulary words and post them on cards.
The second time, they reconstruct the story, with children helping to
retell. The third time, the teacher leaves out words which children fill
in orally. The fourth time, children act out the story. …The children (4
and 5 year olds – aren’t reading independently, “but their ability to
capture meaning of a story depends on understanding what the words
mean.”

14. NAEYC: Christ and Wang
Selecting Appropriate Words and Methods
1. Identify all the words that most children in
the class already know.
2. Select a small set of vocabulary words to
work on.
3. Determine what methods will best support
children’s acquisition of the selected
vocabulary

15. How many/which ones/kinds
Development: How many words do kids know/when; what
kind of words
What kinds of words need to be “intentionally” learned?
Biemiller (Tier 2 Words) (NAEYC/50C Words)
Dickinson(Concept, Amazing, Story, Academic Words)
Christ/Wang: Using a Decision-Making Model to Select
Appropriate Words and Methods
Creative Curriculum: Study “Words” (Themes)

16. Words to Grow On
*Words that give them a “tool” for
expressing/communicating their feelings,
wishes, interests, curiosities, confusions
*words that build their knowledge of the world
around them
*words that take them beyond the present (here
and now)
*words that help them “learn how to learn”–
words, thinking skills, negotiating skills…..

17. Examples of “Kinds” of Words
*Communicate: about “me,” “my family”, “my feelings,”
“my concerns,” “my interest”....Journal
*Interacting with the world around them: stations
*World outside: field trips, events
(fire station, park, …..event: season,
*Beyond the present: there—zoo, factory, farm
then: “olden days—grandparents”, “last year’s
trip/vacation”, future “next week we will…”Dialogic
reading:
*”learn to learn” -- how to learn new words, new
ideas…. Creative Curr: Investigations, Nonfiction

18. Making Choices of HOW and WHAT
Building a Framework for Developing a Powerful
Vocabulary
What: Choose a “set” of words
How: Choose a Framework
Why: Why these words
In this way for these children?
HOW
WHY
WHAT

19. Biemiller 2011
• http://www.eetcconference.org/wp-
content/uploads/AndrewBiemiller_EETC_2011.pdf
• Table 1. Growth of Average Root Word Meanings
• Words
• Age Acquired Cumulative Grade
• 1-1.9 400 400 (early toddler)
• 2-2.9 800 1200 (late toddler)
• 3-3.9 800 2000 Preschool
• 4-4.9 1000 3000 Preschool or Pre K.
• 5-5.9 1000 4000 Kindergarten

20. Biemiller Vocabulary
• http://www.aft.org/periodical/american-
educator/spring-2001/teaching-vocabulary
• Early
• Direct
• Sequential