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Robust Vocabulary Instruction in Grades 3–5: Reflecting on Word Study and Bringing Words to Life

By Jeremy Hyler & Kristy Rauch | Categories: Reading

Introduction 

In our first blog in this two-part series, we highlighted the research behind robust vocabulary instruction in grades K–2  and what Dr. Isabel Beck’s seminal book Bringing Words to Life says about evidence-based, teacher-friendly approaches to vocabulary instruction. From introducing words to young students, to making crucial connections to their writing, we shared the importance of inviting students into discussions and lessons that nurture their interest and allow them to experience the joy of robust vocabulary instruction. 

Now let’s turn our attention to evidence-based vocabulary instruction in grades 3–5, focusing on the intentional shift to word study. As in our first blog, we’ll draw on Dr. Beck’s approach to teaching vocabulary and use specific, aligned examples from Being a Reader, Collaborative Classroom’s comprehensive reading program.

How Can We Help Students Develop an Expansive Vocabulary? 

The phrase “dead words” has been around since we were in school, if not longer. Dead words are those words often repeated by students in their writing because they lack an expansive vocabulary to draw upon. I can still recall sitting in English class and seeing the laminated tombstones above the chalkboard outlined with words not to use in our writing.

Exhorting students not to use “dead words” in their writing has value, but that alone won’t help students develop an expansive vocabulary. That’s where word study comes in. 

What Is Word Study?

Word study gives students the skills they need to expand their vocabulary, such as understanding how new and unfamiliar words are constructed, recognizing patterns and similarities, and creating associations among words. 

Even more importantly, word study—when done well—provides opportunities for students to play with vocabulary, applying their growing knowledge in creative ways and everyday situations. As Dr. Beck says, “. . . [I]f students find places for words in their own surroundings, the words are more likely to have a permanent place in their vocabulary repertoire . . . ”(p. 111).

Now let’s consider some specific recommendations from Dr. Beck, illustrated by examples from Being a Reader.

Word study—when done well—provides opportunities for students to play with vocabulary, applying their growing knowledge in creative ways and everyday situations. 

Leverage Speaking and Listening Competencies in Vocabulary Instruction

Dr. Beck urges educators not to overlook the power of speaking and listening competencies to make vocabulary instruction robust. She reminds us, “As children are developing their reading and writing competence, we need to take advantage of their listening and speaking competencies to enhance their vocabulary development . . .”(p. 59).  

By speaking and listening to new combinations of words, students gain confidence in trying new words in their writing—and in their ability to figure out the meanings of words through the process of playing with roots, prefixes, and suffixes. 

In Word Study instruction for Grades 3–5 of Being a Reader, the goal is to create generative learning through word learning strategies and word consciousness. For example, let’s consider the following speaking and listening activity “Invent a New Word” from Word Study in grade 4 of Being a Reader

Activity: Invent a New Word

In this activity, students begin by reviewing roots they have learned. They work with partners and put two root words together to invent a different word—whether it is a word that exists or an invented word. 

Students must define their new word and be able to justify the definition using the meaning of the root words. As shown below in Image 1, students invented the imaginary word “telebio” and then they justified its definition. 

Image 1

At the end of the activity, pairs of students share their list of words with the class and, for invented words, invite classmates to analyze the roots, prefixes, and/or suffixes to guess the invented word meanings. 

Below are some words—two invented words and two real words—that a pair of fourth grade students shared after doing this activity:

  • photobio
  • mobscope
  • teleport
  • telephon(e)

This particular pair of students experimented with new combinations to create the invented words photobio and mobscope and came up with plausible meanings for them:

“We know photo means ‘light’ and bio means ‘life.’ So, the definition we invented for photobio is ‘light that’s made by a living thing.’ We know the root mob means ‘to move’ or ‘having to do with motion’ and scope means ‘to examine or inspect.’ So we’re defining mobscope as a device used for studying moving objects.’”

The students also listed the real words teleport and telephone, adding the final “e” to telephone because they knew that is how it is spelled. 

Go Beyond Definitions: Thinking About Meaning and Creating Associations Among Words

According to Dr. Beck, truly robust vocabulary “goes beyond definitional information to get students actively involved in using and thinking about word meanings and creating associations among words” (p. 83). Looking at Word Study instruction for Being a Reader grade 4, consider the activity “Which Word Does Not Belong?” as an example of this guidance in classroom practice. 

Activity: Which Word Does Not Belong?

In this activity, students are given a group of four words. Working in pairs, they are invited to consider the words and determine which word does not fit within the group. Students are encouraged to consider concepts they have learned about, such as syllables, parts of speech, prefixes, suffixes, and word meanings. 

After coming to agreement about which word does not belong, pairs take turns sharing their decision with classmates and explaining it.

Image 2

 Note that there is no single way to do this activity “correctly.” There are many ways students might identify associations among the words and select the one word they don’t think belongs. For example, one possible response might be: 

Interview, preview, and review belong together because they all have a prefix in front of -view. We think viewer is the one word that doesn’t belong. We also think viewer shouldn’t be in the group because a viewer usually refers to a person, while the other words aren’t about people.”

The true instructional goal of the activity is for students to actively apply the vocabulary knowledge they have, explain their thinking, and give them the space to discuss critically how they are thinking about words. 

This activity also leverages the power of speaking and listening competencies by having students work in pairs and discuss their ideas. And finally, because the activity has no one “right” answer, there is an element of play and creativity that encourages deeper learning and engagement.

Putting It All Together

We all want our students to have an expansive vocabulary, especially since we know how important it is to their success as both readers and writers. As Dr. Beck writes in Bringing Words to Life, “It is clear that a large and rich vocabulary is the hallmark of an educated individual” (p. 1).

Keeping vocabulary instruction engaging and active can, however, be a challenge. It’s not enough to provide definitional information or refer students to a list of “dead words” to avoid. We hope that the evidence-based lesson examples in this blog post have provided ideas and inspiration for what generative learning through word learning strategies and word consciousness can be for grades 3–5. 

References

Beck, I. L., McKeown, M., & Kucan, L. (2013). Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press.