Children are exposed to vocabulary from the time they are born. They develop knowledge about words through repeated oral and written exposure. According to Tompkins (2010), "students' vocabularies grow at an astonishing rate-- about 3,000 words a year, or roughly 7 to 10 new words every day. By the time students graduate from high school, their vocabularies can reach 25,000 to 50,000 words or more." The four levels of word knowledge are unknown words, initial recognition, partial word knowledge and full word knowledge. Children gradually progress from not knowing a word at all to being able to recognize that word, to having a partial or general sense of the word's meaning to finally understanding multiple meanings of the word.
I was surprised to find that the vocabulary gap between "students in the top and bottom vocabulary quartiles" is as large as 4,000 words according to Patrick Manyak's article Character trait vocabulary: A schoolwide approach. It is our job as teachers to further expose children to words that they might not otherwise hear or write through social interactions. Character trait vocabulary is especially important because across grades, students are expected to identify character traits and use supporting details, which demonstrates deeper understanding of the text. Mastery of character trait vocabulary words enhances reading comprehension and frees up cognitive processes to make connections, extensions and inferences. Manyak (2007) suggests teaching 20 designated character trait vocabulary per grade.
Many teachers use an alphabetized word wall to post the high frequency words to which students are gradually exposed and expected to know by the end of the year. I also believe it is a best practice to highlight vocabulary from all disciplines. As part of our social studies curriculum, we discussed the qualities of being trustworthy and respectful, which are character traits. Following that lesson, the words trustworthy and respectful were posted on the word wall. In addition, I tell students to be trustworthy and to respect themselves and others when reminding the class to stay on task and be responsible during independent literacy centers.
I believe that the first step of vocabulary instruction is introduction of words. The words should be used and revisited through different disciplines. This reinforces the way in which the words can be used in oral and written language. This also sets a model for how students can use vocabulary to express their ideas more precisely (Tompkins, 2010). After all, the goal of oral and written language is to communicate effectively and broadening one's vocabulary guides children on the correct path.
References
Tompkins, G.E. (2010). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach (5th ed.). Boston, MA:
Pearson Education, Inc.
Manyak, P. (2007). Character trait vocabulary: A schoolwide approach. The Reading Teacher 60(6),
574-577.
574-577.
Hi Christina:
ReplyDeleteI am really glad you wrote this blog on character trait vocabulary. It is something I have wondered about as a parent of three school age kids and also feel it is critical for teachers to be cognizant of character trait vocabulary, and expose their students to it on a daily basis by incorporating it into interdisciplinary lessons. Teaching character trait vocabulary words is a critical component of self-esteem among all students and helps students be more aware of what it takes to be a contributing member of society on a collective basis. Modeling a wide range of character traits in the classroom in verbal and written formats is a definite way to guide students on the correct path through life.