Vocabulary - Overview

The National Reading Panel (NRP) classifies vocabulary into two major categories, Receptive and Productive.  It also subcategorizes vocabulary into Oral and Reading vocabularies, as illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 1:  Vocabulary Categorization

NPR describes the importance of oral vocabulary to the understanding of a printed word.  For example, if the learner has decoded the word "cat" and "cat" is not in the learner's oral vocabulary, then the learner would not be able to gain meaning, even though they were able to decode the word.  NPR (NPR Chapter 4) states "Oral vocabulary is a key to learning to make the transition from oral to written forms, whereas reading vocabulary is crucial to the comprehension processes of a skilled reader." (4-15)

As illustrated in Figure 2, My Breakfast Reading Program (MBRP) provides tools to address both the decoding of text but also the development of meaning for the decoded word.  MBRP does not focus on nonsense words.  MBRP has a database of 3,300+ single syllable words.  If the decoded word does not exist in the reader's oral vocabulary, it can be perceived as a nonsense word.  If the reader cannot communicate the meaning of the decoded word, MBRP provides two direct and explicit activities to help develop the oral vocabulary.  These tools are represented by the owl icon and the dictionary icon. 

  The Text to Speech icon illustrates adaptive technology for struggling readers.

Figure 2: Steps from Decoding to Vocabulary Development

To assist the NPR panel members in reviewing the research related to vocabulary instruction, they developed a taxonomy with five major categories:  explicit; indirect; multimedia; capacity; and association.  Following is a summary as to how MBRP is applied to the integration of explicit and multimedia categories.

Integration of Explicit and Multimedia Categories:  

As indicated in Figure 2, MBRP has two activities for providing explicit instruction.  The owl icon in Figure 3 uses the selected word and displays the illustrated screen .  When Text to Speech (TTS) is active, the different inflections of the word will be played when clicked.  In addition, one to four images, many are animated gif files, are displayed.  In addition, several sentences will be displayed using the inflections and/or different meanings of the word.  TTS provides adaptive technology to allow non-readers to hear the words in context.

Special Note:  All words in the MBRP single syllable database (3,300+ words) have the inflections developed.  The inclusion of images and/or sentences is a "work in progress".  

  Clicking on the dictionary icon in Figure 3 will link to Wordsmyth, a free online dictionary, as illustrated in Figure 4.  Note that in Figure 4, the student can click on the sound icon and the word will be pronounced.  In addition, multiple definitions are provided.   In many cases, the definition also provides an example with the word in a sentence.  In some cases, images are also included.  TTS provides adaptive technology to allow  struggling readers to hear any selected and copied text.

 

Figure 3:  Oral Vocabulary Development - Morphology and Context

Figure 4 - Oral Vocabulary - Dictionary

 

The NRP report also indicates that two effective instructional approaches for vocabulary instruction are repeated multiple exposures and pre-instruction.  MBRP provides the opportunity for multiple exposures by allowing the learner to work independently at workstations and/or at home.  The TTS adaptive technology also enables the independent use of the program. 

For pre-instruction, the teacher/coach may enter their wordlists in the Build Your Own tool to tailor the introduction of words related to the story they will be reading.  The use of computer projectors and/or Smartboards allows the teacher/coach to work with the entire class and/or small groups.

The NRP report also discusses the use of active engagement as one of the most effective instructional approaches.  Two active engagement activities that could be used in conjunction with Figure 3 is that of pantomiming the meaning of the words and/or drawing their own pictures related to their own experiences.

The University of Oregon's excellent site, Big Ideas In Reading, is aligned with the National Reading Panel's findings.  The site breaks down the concepts into five categories, vocabulary being the fourth.

One of the main focuses of the vocabulary category is the "vocabulary gap" and that relative economic advantage is the primary contributor to the gap.  Table 1 provides a summary of the root of the "vocabulary gap".  As indicated above, MBRP, in conjunction with Text to Speech adaptive technology, provides the opportunity for greater exposure to oral vocabulary to help close the gap.

Table 1:  Cumulative Vocabulary Experiences (University of Oregon - Big Ideas)

Family Status Words heard per hour Words heard in a 100-hour week Words heard in a 5,200 hour year Words heard in 4 years
Welfare 616 62,000 3 million 13 million
Working Class 1,251 125,000 6 million 26 million
Professional 2,153 215,000 11 million 45 million

Inflectional and Derivational Morphology:

As indicated in the three associated links in the sub-topic list, inflectional morphology is related to the changing of a word form to reflect grammatical features such as plural, past and present tenses.  Derivational morphology is related to the formation of new words for old words with each word being its own word.  As indicated in the first link, creation is made from create, but each word has its own meaning. 

My Breakfast Reading Program explicitly addresses inflectional morphology for single syllable words as indicated in Figure 3. 

 

My Breakfast Reading Program explicitly addresses derivational morphology for multisyllabic words by providing lists of words with prefixes and suffixes in the syllabication tool in Figure 3. 

  In addition, the dictionary provides links to derivations as well as illustrating and including inflections, as illustrated in Figure 5.  For example, the selected word is adapt.  Note that in the left column of the dictionary results, there are words in gray representing inflections and bold representing derivations.  For adapt, the derivational morphemes are adaptable, adaptation, adaptor and adaptive.  The inflections for adapt are adapted, adapting and adapts.

Synonyms, Antonyms and Similar Words:  Another benefit of the online dictionary is that it provides synonyms, antonyms  and similar words for each definition, if applicable, as illustrated in Figure 4 and Figure 5. 

 

  Figure 5:  Derivational and Inflectional Morphology