April Author Blog

Blog Author

By Diane E. Paynter

Using a Comprehensive Framework to Determine Essential Vocabulary

Districts and schools across the country are following a growing body of evidence showing the importance of students mastering the important academic language needed to access the content of academic texts and academic talk. While academic content vocabulary is certainly important, educators must also consider the importance of students knowing vocabulary that is essential to proficiency in the English language.

Using a comprehensive framework with different categories, districts and schools can identify specific lists of words to represent the different types of vocabulary teachers need to address within the classroom that will create consistency across grade levels and ensure a stronger, more focused approach to vocabulary instruction. We suggest the following frameworks be used by districts and schools.

When Creating a List of Essential Academic Vocabulary:

Classify academic vocabulary as guaranteed, supportive, or cognitive. This will help limit the number of words or phrases to be taught and help teachers deal with issues related to importance levels, overlap across grade levels, and different instructional expectations.
 

Guranteed Academic Vocabulary Supportive Academic Vocabulary Cognitive Academic Vocabulary

A limited amount (30 or so) of subject-specific terms or phrases that:


Are essential to the content found within the subject area’s content standards.

Have a high probability of being assessed on district and/or state assessments.

Do not overlap from one grade/course level to the next.

The school or district guarantees are taught and learned.

Require direct instruction (six-step vocabulary process).

Require a collection of evidence to determine whether students have mastered them.

Additional subject-specific terms and phrases that:

Relate to and can be clustered with the guaranteed vocabulary. It may be important for students to learn these words, but they are not “guaranteed” by the school or district.

Are determined by the classroom teacher or grade-level teams.

May require varying levels or degrees of direct instruction using the six-step vocabulary process.

May be assessed and reinforced informally through games and observations.

Verbs that:

Describe cognitive processes that students use to work with information.

Are determined by the district or school to be important.

Are typically identified in standards documents and state or district assessments.

Can be clustered to help students see relationships and connections.

Cut across subject areas and are therefore cross-disciplined in nature (such as symbolize, classify, analyze, evaluate, predict, summarize).


 

When Addressing English Language Proficiency Vocabulary:

English Language Proficiency Vocabulary is general vocabulary critical to understanding and using the English language. Students who are English language learners and/or from poverty-stricken backgrounds often do not enter school with a thorough grounding in this vocabulary. A lack of knowledge of these words can severely limit a student’s academic achievement. In his book Teaching Basic and Advanced Vocabulary, Dr. Marzano has identified the vocabulary essential to English language proficiency. He identifies those that are most basic and those that are advanced. While students may already know some of these words, it allows teachers to target students who do not and provide a basis for increasing their English proficiency vocabulary in a more systematic way.
 

 

 

 


 

 

 

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