Word Consciousness: One Vital Part of a Comprehensive Vocabulary Program Michael F. Graves University of Minnesota, Emeritus [email protected] Spotlight

Mike Graves, Univ of Minn

Word Consciousness: One Vital Part of a Comprehensive Vocabulary Program

Michael F. GravesUniversity of Minnesota, Emeritus

[email protected]

Spotlight on Vocabulary: Researchand Practice From IRA Publications,

Corinne Mooney, Chair

IRA Convention, Atlanta

May, 2008

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Mike Graves, Univ of Minn 2

Why Vocabulary Instruction Is Important

Vocabulary is a hugely important factor influencing success in and out of school.

It is central to reading, writing, communicating, and probably thinking.

Many students of poverty, students who struggle with reading, and English learners come to school with vocabularies half the size of those of their middle-class classmates (see particularly Hart & Risley, 1995, 2003, on children of poverty).

Without help, these students will fall further and further behind.


Why Word Consciousness Is Important

The vocabulary learning task is huge:

The average seventh grade student probably knows 30,000 words.

The average high school graduate probably knows 50,000 words.

Acquiring this number of words means learning about 8 words a day.

In fact, both of these are underestimates as they do not take into account multiple meanings, proper nouns, or idioms.


Why Word Consciousness Is Not EnoughBecause the vocabulary learning task is huge,

only a multifaceted program is strong enough

to help students accomplish the job they face.


A Multifaceted Vocabulary Program

From M. Graves. (2006). The Vocabulary Book. New York: Teachers College Press

Providing frequent, varied, and extensive language experiences

Teaching individual words

Teaching word-learning strategies

Fostering word consciousness


Word Consciousness-1

word consciousness n

1. an awareness of words

2. a positive disposition toward words

3. interest in learning words and learning about words

4. knowledge of various aspects of words



As noted, the term “word consciousness” refers to an awareness of and interest in words and their meanings (Graves & Watts, 2002).

Word consciousness integrates metacognition about words, motivation to learn words, and deep and lasting interest in words (Anderson & Nagy, 1992).

Students who are word conscious will simplify our task as teachers because they will learn a lot of words on their own.



Although fostering word consciousness differs from grade to grade, doing so is vital at all grade levels.

There are some time-consuming word consciousness activities, but for the most part fostering word consciousness does not take a lot of your time or your students’ time.


Some Types of Word Consciousness Activities

Creating a Word-Rich Environment

Recognizing and Promoting Adept Diction

Promoting Word Play

Fostering Word Consciousness Through Writing

Involving Students in Original Investigations

Teaching Students about Words

(Graves & Taffe, 2007)


Creating a Word-Rich Environment-1

Fill the room with books and other material on many topics and many reading levels, and be sure the books contain some new words for all students.

Frequently read to students from books that include some new vocabulary.

Include lots of discussion of meaty topics that invite sophisticated words.

Make the classroom a safe place that invites and rewards experimentation with language and ideas.

Include dictionaries and thesauruses for students reading at various levels.


Creating a Word-Rich Environment-2

Include a really good dictionary for English learners like the Collins COBUILD New Student’s Dictionary or the Longman Study Dictionary of American English.

Include books in which words play a central role like DeGloss’s Donavan’s Word Jar, Schotter’s The Boy Who Loved Words, Clements’ Frindle, and Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth.

Include word books for young writers like Babs Bell Hajdusiewicz’s Words, Words, Words (for beginning writers) and Words and More Words (for young writers).

Ms. Hadley’s Wonderful Word Wall is a good example of a wonderfully word-rich classroom.

Encourage reading and writing outside of school.



Can be accomplished in four simple steps:

1. Make it a point to use some sophisticated vocabulary, and sometimes comment on your word choices.

2. Point out adept word choices in the material students are reading, listening to, or viewing.

3. Compliment student on their adept word choices in their discussions and their writing.

4. Have students keep personal notebooks in which they record new and interesting words.


Promoting Word Play

Play commercial games like I Spy, Balderdash, Taboo Junior, and Taboo.

Play well-known home-made games like Hangman, Word Bingo, or Dictionary. (Billsgames.com has a nice version of Hangman.)

Play newer home-made games like Applause-Applause, Word Associations, and Idea Completion.

Engage in word play activities with idioms, clichés, and puns.

Use books that employ a lot of word play like Fred Gwynne’s The King Who Rained and A Chocolate Moose for Dinner.

Use books filled with word play activities like Bernard Most’s Zoodles and Richard Lederer’s Pun and Games.



Make vocabulary work a significant part of the writing process.

Create writing activities focused on vocabulary.


Make Vocabulary Work a Significant Part of the Writing Process: Focus on Vocabulary During Revising

Is this the best word to get across my meaning?

Is the word precise enough?

Is it appropriately formal or informal?

Is it a word my reader will know?

Is it a word my reader will find interesting.

Have I used it too much? Should I use a synonym?


Create Writing Activities Focusing on Vocabulary

Teaching Vocabulary as a Writing Prompt: A procedure based on the work of Duin (Duin & Graves, 1987, 1988)and Beck (Beck, McKeown, & Kucan 2002):

Select a set of ten or so words that lend themselves to writing about a particular topic.

Involve students in rich and robust activities over several days: Define the words, compare them to other words, examine the contexts in which they do and do not apply, play games with them, etc.

Have students write an essay in which they use as many of the words as possible.


A Writing Sample from a Student in Duin’s Program

“I think the space program would be more feasible if we sent

more than just astronauts and satellites into space. We

need to send tourists and change the whole configuration of

the space shuttle so that it can accommodate more people.

When the tourists are in space, they could fly some of the

manned-maneuvering units and retrieve stuff from space.

They could maybe even see if other planets are habitable.

When the tourists come back they would have the

capability of doing anything in space. They truly would be

advocates of space. But, in order to make these special

missions happen, we will need to add more modules onto

our space station.”


Involving Students in Original InvestigationsBecause students are surrounded by words, vocabulary makes and excellent topic of investigation. Some possibilities include:

The use of slang versus more formal vocabulary.

The vocabulary of different groups: Short order cooks, movie people, hucksters on TV or at fairs.

The vocabulary that is appropriate in different settings: School, home, church, the cafeteria.

How vocabulary changes over time. (See alphadictionary.com/articles/generation_test.html)

The use of terms of address such as Mr., Mrs., Miss,Ms., Dr.

The use of first names: on TV and in the newspaper, for females versus males, for children versus adults.


An Original Investigation by Two High School Students

An investigation by Scott Rasmussen and Derek Oosterman “to determine the best means of vocabulary acquisition in high school students.”

These high school seniors read extensively about vocabulary instruction and hypothesized that learning would be stronger when instruction was (1) continuous and frequent, (2) explicit and active, and (3) incorporated several senses.

In one experiment, they tested instruction involving 0, 1, 1, and 2 senses, and those groups scored 42%, 77%, 74%, and 86% respectively.



Some aspects of words that Nagy and Scott (2000, Scott & Nagy, 2004) suggest teachers consider themselves and consider teaching to students:

Word learning is incremental.

Many words have more than one meaning

Word meanings are interrelated.

There are various aspects of word knowledge.

What it means to know a word varies across types of words.

What it means to know a word depends on the needs of the knower.


The Six Types of Word Consciousness Activities

Creating a Word-Rich Environment


Promoting Word Play


Involving Students in Original Investigations



ReferencesAnderson, R. C., & Nagy, W. E. (1992). The vocabulary conundrum. American

Educator, Winter, 14-18, 44-47.

Beck, I. L., & McKeown, M. G. (2001). Text talk: Capturing the benefits of read-aloud experiences for young children. The Reading Teacher, 55, 10-20.

Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G., & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words to life: Robust vocabulary instruction. New York: Guilford Press

Collins COBUILD new student’s dictionary (3rd ed.). Glasgow, Scotland: HarperCollins.

Graves, M. F., & Taffe, S. W. (2007). For the love of words: Fostering word consciousness in young readers. Paper submitted for publication.

Graves, M. F., & Watts-Taffe, S. M. (2002). The place of word consciousness in a research-based vocabulary program. In S. J. Samuels & A. E. Farstrup (Eds.), What research has to say about reading instruction (3rd ed., pp. 140-165). Newark, DE: IRA.

Longman Study Dictionary of American English. (2006). Essex, England: Pearson Education Limited.

Nagy, W. E. & Scott, J. A. (2000). Vocabulary processes. In M. Kamil, P. Mosenthal, P. D. Pearson & R. Barr (Eds.), Handbook of reading research (Vol. 3, pp. 269-284). New York: Longman.

Scott, J. A., & Nagy, W. E. (2004). Developing word consciousness. In J. F. Baumann & E. J. Kame'enui, (Eds.), Vocabulary instruction: Research to practice (pp. 201-217). New York: The Guilford Press.


Children’s BooksClements, Andrew. (1996). Frindle New York: Scholastic.

Degross, Monalisa. (1994). Donavan’s Word Jar. New York: Scholastic.

Gwynne, Fred. (1976). A Chocolate Moose for Dinner. New York: Windmill Books.

Gwynne, Fred. (1970). The King Who Rained. New York: Aladdin Paperbacks

Haidusiewics, Babs Bell. (1997). Words and More Words. New York: Golden Year Books.

Haidusiewics, Babs Bell. (1997). Words Words Words. New York: Golden Year Books.

Juster, Norton. (1996). The Phantom Tollbooth. New York: Random House.

Lederer, Richard. (1996). Pun and Games. Chicago: Chicago Review Press.

Most, Bernard. (1992). Zoodles. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

Schotter, Roni. (2006). The Boy Who Loved Words. New York: Schwartz and Wade Books.

Documents

Word Consciousness: One Vital Part of a Comprehensive Vocabulary Program Michael F. Graves University of Minnesota, Emeritus [email protected] Spotlight