Vocabulary

A third-grade classroom includes several students who are English Language Learners (ELLs). The students are reading a novel, and the teacher has introduced a list of vocabulary words on a bulletin board. The ELL students are not currently reading on grade level. Which of the following strategies could help them to learn the vocabulary words? Select all answers that apply.

-provide translated versions of the vocabulary words -pair the vocabulary word with a picture and simple definition

Prefix

A letter or letters at the beginning of a root word that changes its meaning

Affix

A letter or letters that change a root word's meaning

Vocabulary Knowledge Scale

A self-report scale allows students to indicate how well they know vocabulary terms. It is administered on a regular basis to track growth.

Which of the following scenarios describes incidental vocabulary learning?

A student visits his grandparents and listens as his grandfather reads interesting articles from the newspaper aloud.

What is the difference between academic vocabulary words and high-frequency vocabulary words?

Academic vocabulary words are specific to particular content areas or necessary for comprehension-related tasks. High-frequency vocabulary words are selected based on how often students will encounter them in texts.

Tier 3 Words

Academic words that are specific to a particular content area or discipline. These are words that would appear, for example, in a subject-specific textbook or in the glossary of an informational text.

Tier 2 Words

Academic words that students will encounter frequently and that are used in multiple content areas. Many of these are process words that commonly appear in assessment.

Word Wall

An on-going bulletin board with terms used frequently in the classroom; words are often added as they are introduced

Effective vocabulary instruction can be achieved with which of the following methods?

Choosing words that appear in multiple contexts and forms across a student's reading and listening activities.

Tier 1 Words

Common words that are already familiar to students when they enter school. These words do not need to be taught in a classroom setting.

Before reading a text, which activity would best enable students to build academic vocabulary and increase decoding skills?

Create a word cloud using academic vocabulary and discuss the connections between these words and words students already know by examining morphological components.

Which of the following tasks specifically requires a person to use tier-three vocabulary words?

Explain how to graph the answer to a math problem.

Decoding

In reading out loud, being able to sound out words by breaking them into simple forms. In reading for comprehension, the understanding of how to read each letter or letter pattern in a word to determine the word's meaning

In her Identity Unit, a teacher has included multiple articles that contain tier 3 vocabulary that may make comprehension challenging. She is deciding on an instructional approach to help students comprehend these challenging texts. As she makes these decisions, what should the teacher prioritize?

Incorporating activities that encourage students to combine the contextual meaning of words with their background knowledge and experiences

Why might discussing the etymology of a word encourage word consciousness?

It encourages thinking about the meaning of a word in new ways.

Which of the following best describes why a teacher would prioritize teaching word consciousness in addition to direct vocabulary instruction?

It facilitates vocabulary development outside of direct instruction.

Mr. Brand is wanting to promote the vocabulary development of his students. Which of the following strategies would best align with current research on promoting vocabulary development among students?

Mr. Brand should introduce new vocabulary words by incorporating them into multiple aspects of instruction and in various contexts.

When English learners encounter an unknown word while reading a text, what can the teacher do to develop their vocabulary acquisition skills?

Provide students with an opportunity to use context to determine the meaning.

Which of the following instructional strategies would be most beneficial when providing Tier Two vocabulary instruction to a group of struggling readers?

Provide the students with sentence stems that they can incorporate new words in context.

A teacher is preparing an instructional activity that will involve use of context clues to determine words' meanings. Which of the following strategies would be most appropriate when guiding students in analysis of a paragraph of text?

Select a text that contains vocabulary words that support ideas in the text.

How does speaking vocabulary differ from reading vocabulary?

Students are exposed to more varied and higher-level vocabulary while reading.

Which of the following would be the best way to conduct a formal assessment of a student's ability to use the correct homophone in writing?

Students create a short story using ten homophones from a teacher-provided list.

Which of the following activities would not be appropriate to use as a vocabulary assessment?

Students highlight unknown words while reading a text.

English Language Learners (ELLs)

Students who are learning the English language, or for whom English is not a first language

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)

The state foundation curriculum developed by the State Board of Education, that requires all students to demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to read, write, compute, problem solve, think critically, apply technology, and communicate across all subject areas

Semantics

The study of word or symbol meaning

Inference

a conclusion based on evidence, observation, and reasoning

When revising their writing assignment, a student refers to the following entry: Demote [dih-moht] 1. Verb. to decrease in rank or position. Synonym: RELEGATE Where is this entry from?

a dictionary

Semantic Mapping

a form of scaffolding which helps students to develop connections among words

Glossary

a list of important words to know along with their meanings

Denotation

a literal, dictionary meaning of a word

Frayer Model

a popular form of semantic mapping which helps students to identify and define unfamiliar concepts and vocabulary

A first-grade teacher includes planned vocabulary instruction over the following words: identify describe support consider Students will work with these words in various ways and use them across all subject areas. Which of the following best describes the category of this group of vocabulary words?

academic vocabulary

In order to develop student's proficiency in the third tier of vocabulary, a teacher would focus vocabulary instruction on:

academic vocabulary.

Speaking Vocabulary

all the words known and used by a person in speech

Writing Vocabulary

all the words known and used by a person in writing

Semantic Gradient

an array of related words placed on a continuum that which helps distinguish between shades of meaning

Dictionary (Digital)

an online dictionary

Thesaurus (Digital)

an online thesaurus

Analogies

are used to compare two things that are usually thought of as different but have something in common

Ms. Sanders is planning to be more deliberate with her vocabulary instruction this coming school year. Which of the following would be the most effective approach to use in her plan for improving her students' long-term vocabulary?

choose vocabulary terms related to the content of her class

While reading aloud in front of the class, the teacher comes across the word "desirable." The teacher then points to clues in the surrounding text that help the students to understand what "desirable" means. What is the teacher modeling?

contextual analysis

Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines

detailed descriptions of expected behaviors across multiple skill domains that should be observed in children from the beginning to the end of prekindergarten

One strategy for improving student retention of new vocabulary terms is to create deeper connections to the terms by:

helping the student find personal links to the terms.

Cindy continues to write the word "hole" when she means "whole." Cindy needs further instruction in:

homophones.

Suffix

letter or letters at the end of a root word that changes its meaning

Which of the following would best promote the increase of students' reading vocabulary?

make time for students to engage in independent reading

Which of the following is not a best practice instructional technique for developing vocabulary?

matching terms to dictionary definitions

Word Consciousness

method of vocabulary instruction that encourages student interest in new and unfamiliar words

A teacher divides students up into small groups. She projects a prefix, suffix, or root and gives the groups 60 seconds to come up with as many words as they can that contain the specified word part. This activity is assessing her students':

morphemic word knowledge.

Which of the following pairs of words are homophones?

phase and faze

A second-grade student is a struggling reader with a limited vocabulary. Which of the following would best support her comprehension of grade-level texts?

pre-teaching of vocabulary words

A teacher wants to promote students' vocabulary development. Which of the following would be the best approach for the teacher to utilize when selecting texts to read aloud to students?

reading from a wide variety of genres and texts

The following is a list of vocabulary words for third-grade students presented at the start of a new vocabulary week. seam bias bobbin baste gather woven topstitch needle grain feed The teacher has chosen these words because the students will be reading a short story in which the main character makes a living by sewing. Even though the words are related to the upcoming text and could be valuable during a pre-reading activity, they are not the best choice of words for targeted vocabulary instruction. When choosing targeted vocabulary words for instruction and in order to present the most learning opportunities, the words should:

represent words that students will encounter and use frequently across subject areas.

In preparation for an upcoming unit, a second-grade teacher has identified a list of vocabulary words that will support students' learning. After providing direct instruction on the words' meanings, the teacher is considering how to best support student learning of these new words. Which of the following activities is LEAST likely to help these words become part of the students' working vocabulary?

requiring students to copy definitions into their writer's notebooks

Digital Resources

resources that provide content beyond what is available in print

While reading a new passage, a student raises her hand and asks, "What does this word mean?" Instead of defining the word for her, the teacher should encourage the student to determine the meaning of the word by:

searching the sentence and surrounding sentences for context clues like synonyms, antonyms, or examples.

Limited Vocabulary

smaller or more restricted bank of words than is typical

Academic Vocabulary

specialized vocabulary commonly found in an academic setting

Vocabulary / Vocabulary Development

the ability to effectively know and use words in their listening, speaking, reading, and writing

Reading Comprehension

the ability to read a text and understand its meaning

Lexicon

the collective vocabulary of a person or language

Utility (in vocabulary)

the frequency with which a word will be encountered

Connotation

the implied meaning of a word; the feeling a word conveys

A third-grade teacher plans to use the Frayer Model graphic organizer for upcoming vocabulary lessons. What does her use of the tool demonstrate about her understanding of vocabulary development?

the importance of active engagement and critical thinking to vocabulary retention

Root

the smallest unit or core of a word that carries the meaning

Matthew Effect

the tendency for stronger readers to build exponentially on their strengths and weaker readers to continue to struggle with their weaknesses, thus widening the gap between weak and strong readers

Dictionary (Print)

use when you need to define a word

Thesaurus (Print)

use when you need to locate a more suitable synonym for a word

Structural / Morphemic Analysis

using meaningful word parts (morphemes) to study a word and determine its meaning

Context Clues / Contextual Analysis

using the words before and after an unknown word to determine its meaning

Listening Vocabulary

words a listener can recognize when heard

Reading Vocabulary

words a reader can recognize while reading a text

Domain-Specific Vocabulary

words primarily used in a specific content area

Homophones

words that are pronounced the same as another word but have a different meaning and may be spelled differently

Homographs

words that have the same spelling as another word but have different meaning

Antonyms

words with the opposite meanings

Synonyms

words with the same or a similar meaning