A Study of Vocabulary Instruction with Fourth Grade Students Participating in an Individualized Reading Program

he purpose of this study was to determine the effects of one approach to vocabulary instruction on the reading and writing vocabulary of fourth grade students in an individualized reading program. The vocabulary instructional approach used student-selected vocabulary words as well as instruction in vocabulary strategies such as context clues, structural analysis, and definition strategies. The twelve week study exposed one fourth grade classroom to vocabulary instruction in a Reading Workshop setting. Major components of the program were mini-lessons, which often involved vocabulary strategies, the silent reading of self-selected books, one-on-one researcher/student interactions, and the self-selection of vocabulary words. The research design is descriptive in nature and used both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Qualitative data included student interviews, teacher interviews, student writing samples, and field note observations. Quantitative data included vocabulary test scores from two groups of students, Group A and Group B. Group A participated in the self-selected vocabulary approach and received vocabulary instruction from the researcher acting as participant observer. Group B received some vocabulary instruction from their classroom teacher, but did not participate in the same program. The test was constructed weekly from a class (Group A) generated list of ten words. Results from vocabulary tests indicate that the vocabulary instruction was effective in helping Group A learn vocabulary. Multiple exposures to words as well as use of vocabulary words in context influenced student performance on tests. Results from qualitative data indicate that students attend to vocabulary words in their print environment. In addition, students used vocabulary words in expressive language, including writing and speaking. The results of this study support opportunities for wide reading, implementation of a variety of vocabulary strategies, repeated exposures to vocabulary words, and opportunities for student choice of vocabulary, as ways to enhance vocabulary learning.

[1]  Michael F. Graves.  Chapter 2: Vocabulary Learning and Instruction , 1986 .

[2]  Zelene Lovitt.  Rethinking My Roots as a Teacher. , 1990 .

[3]  Michael F. Graves,et al.  Growth of reading vocabulary in diverse elementary schools: Decoding and word meaning. , 1990 .

[4]  Sherrie L. Nist,et al.  The Role of Context and Dictionary Definitions on Varying Levels of Word Knowledge. , 1995 .

[5]  Barbara J. Guzzetti,et al.  Correlates of Effective Reading Instruction. , 1984 .

[6]  Linda B. Gambrell.  Creating Classroom Cultures That Foster Reading Motivation. , 1996 .

[7]  Roger J. Quealy,et al.  Senior High School Students Use of Contextual Aids in Reading. , 1969 .

[8]  B. Joyce,et al.  Models of Teaching , 2024 .

[9]  Monique Sénéchal,et al.  Vocabulary acquisition through shared reading experiences , 1993 .

[10]  William E. Nagy,et al.  Understanding the Definitions of Unfamiliar Verbs , 1997 .

[11]  Richard C. Anderson.  Becoming a Nation of Readers: The Report of the Commission on Reading , 1985 .

[12]  Robert B. Ruddell.  A Whole Language and Literature Perspective: Creating a Meaning-Making Instructional Environment. , 1992 .

[13]  Corrine Glesne,et al.  Becoming Qualitative Researchers: An Introduction , 1991 .

[14]  Nancie Atwell,et al.  In the Middle : Writing, Reading, and Learning with Adolescents , 1987 .

[15]  Patricia A. Herman,et al.  Learning Words from Context. , 1985 .

[16]  Louise M. Rosenblatt,et al.  The Reader, the Text, the Poem: The Transactional Theory of the Literary Work , 1979 .

[17]  Anna Christine Friend.  The Effect of a Literature-Based Approach on the Reading Attitudes of Male Students in the Third and Fifth Grades. , 1995 .

[18]  Lyman C. Hunt,et al.  The Effect of Self-Selection, Interest, and Motivation Upon Independent, Instructional, and Frustrational Levels. , 1970 .

[19]  Janice F. Almasi.  The Nature of Fourth Graders' Sociocognitive Conflicts in Peer-Led and Teacher-Led Discussions of Literature. IRA Outstanding Dissertation Award for 1993-94. , 1994 .

[20]  Norbert Schmitt.  Vocabulary Testing: Questions for Test Development with Six Examples of Tests of Vocabulary Size and Depth. , 1994 .

[21]  Julianne C. Turner.  The Influence of Classroom Contexts on Young Children's Motivation for Literacy. , 1995 .

[22]  Julie Ann Szymborski.  Vocabulary Development: Context Clues versus Word Definitions. , 1995 .

[23]  Jennifer Dale,et al.  Effects of Instruction on Time Spent Reading and Reading Attitudes. , 1995 .

[24]  J. Dole.  Teaching Vocabulary within the Context of Literature. , 1995 .

[25]  Harry Singer,et al.  Theoretical models and processes of reading , 1976 .

[26]  Margaret G. McKeown.  Creating Effective Definitions for Young Word Learners. , 1993 .

[27]  J. R. Jenkins,et al.  Two Approaches to Vocabulary Instruction: The Teaching of Individual Word Meanings and Practice in Deriving Word Meaning from Context , 1989 .

[28]  C. Chomsky.  Stages in Language Development and Reading Exposure , 1972 .

[29]  Carole A. Ames.  Classrooms: Goals, structures, and student motivation. , 1992 .

[30]  F. Davis,et al.  An experiment in individualized reading , 1971 .

[31]  Joseph R. Jenkins,et al.  Learning Vocabulary Through Reading , 1984 .

[32]  Dale D. Johnson.  Format Effects on Vocabulary Assessment. , 1978 .

[33]  Barbara Comber,et al.  Language stories and literacy lessons [Book Review] , 1985 .

[34]  Patricia A. Herman,et al.  Incidental acquisition of word meaning from expositions with varied text features , 1987 .

[35]  Thomas M. Haladyna,et al.  A technology for test-item writing , 1981 .

[36]  Julia T. Greer.  Student Attitudes Regarding a Reading Workshop: The Effects of the Process. , 1994 .

[37]  Cheryl Boyd Zimmerman,et al.  Self-selected reading and interactive vocabulary instruction : knowledge and perceptions of word learning among L2 learners , 1994 .

[38]  Theodore L. Harris,et al.  The Literacy Dictionary: The Vocabulary of Reading and Writing , 1995 .

[39]  Earl F. Rankin,et al.  Reaction of Intermediate Grade Children to Contextual Clues , 1969 .

[40]  G. Miller,et al.  How children learn words. , 1987, Scientific American.

[41]  L. Vygotsky.  Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes: Harvard University Press , 1978 .

[42]  Louise M. Rosenblatt,et al.  The Transactional Theory of Reading and Writing , 2018, Theoretical Models and Processes of Literacy.

[43]  Patricia A. Herman,et al.  Breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge: Implications for acquisition and instruction. , 1987 .

[44]  D. Carnine.  Utilization of Contextual Information in Determining the Meaning of Unfamiliar Words. , 1984 .

[45]  Cynthia H. Brock,et al.  Diverse learners participating in regular education «Book Clubs» , 1995 .

[46]  William E. Nagy,et al.  Teaching Vocabulary to Improve Reading Comprehension , 1988 .

[47]  Martha Rapp Haggard.  The Vocabulary Self-Collection Strategy: Using Student Interest and World Knowledge to Enhance Vocabulary Growth. , 1986 .

[48]  Sharan B. Merriam,et al.  Case Study Research in Education : A Qualitative Approach , 1991 .

[49]  Steven A. Stahl.  Three Principles of Effective Vocabulary Instruction. , 1986 .

[50]  K. Stanovich.  Matthew effects in reading: Some consequences of individual differences in the acquisition of literacy. , 1986 .

[51]  Margaret G. McKeown,et al.  The Nature of Vocabulary Acquisition , 1991 .

[52]  Albert C. Oosterhof,et al.  Developing and using classroom assessments , 1996 .

[53]  G. Carlsen,et al.  Voices of Readers: How We Come to Love Books , 1988 .

[54]  Michael F. Graves,et al.  Intensive Vocabulary Instruction as a Prewriting Technique. , 1987 .

[55]  Anne C. Stallman.  Learning vocabulary from context: Effects of focusing attention on individual words during reading , 1991 .

[56]  Cheryl Boyd Zimmerman,et al.  Do Reading and Interactive Vocabulary Instruction Make a Difference , 1997 .

[57]  Marie M. Clay,et al.  Becoming Literate: The Construction of Inner Control , 1991 .

[58]  Steven A. Stahl,et al.  Teaching Children to Learn Word Meanings from Context: A Synthesis and Some Questions , 1998 .

[59]  P. Salmon.  Coming to Know , 2021 .

[60]  R. Sternberg.  Most vocabulary is learned from context. , 1987 .

[61]  Margaret G. McKeown,et al.  Conditions of Vocabulary Acquisition , 1991 .

[62]  Linda S. Lotto.  Qualitative Data Analysis: A Sourcebook of New Methods , 1986 .

[63]  Judith N. Thelen.  Vocabulary Instruction and Meaningful Learning. , 1986 .

[64]  Frederick B. Davis,et al.  Research in comprehension in reading. , 1968 .

[65]  L. S. Vygotksy.  Mind in society: the development of higher psychological processes , 1978 .

[66]  P. David Pearson.  Handbook of reading research. , 1990 .

[67]  E. Joanne Melody.  Implementing Library Reading in Second and Third Grades through Sustained Silent Reading and Motivational Techniques. , 1987 .

[68]  Richard C. Anderson,et al.  Growth in Reading and How Children Spend Their Time Outside of School , 1986 .

[69]  James S. Cangelosi.  Designing tests for evaluating student achievement , 1989 .

[70]  Margaret G. McKeown,et al.  Learning words well? A program to enhance vocabulary and comprehension , 1983 .

[71]  D. Reinking,et al.  Developing Engaged Readers in School and Home Communities , 1995 .

[72]  Michael O. Tunnell,et al.  Using "Real" Books: Research Findings on Literature Based Reading Instruction. , 1989 .

[73]  Nancie Atwell,et al.  In the Middle: New Understandings about Writing, Reading, and Learning. Second Edition. , 1998 .

[74]  Margaret G. McKeown,et al.  Vocabulary Development: All Contexts Are Not Created Equal , 2008 .