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ACTION RESEARCH FALL 2015
Students:
o Student K and Student P have been chosen for this action research group because they do
not receive any additional help (Student K actually does receive some sort of Math
intervention. This changed during the course of my research). Ms. Harris felt like both
students would benefit from small group instruction. Both student are grade level
students. Student K struggles with new information, but eventually catches on. Student P
has difficulty staying focused in class. This particular student does not enjoy writing
anything. This assignment will be used in order to build the students vocabulary and
deepen their word knowledge.
The Question:
o After talking with Ms. Harris we decided to address the issue of vocabulary. Neither
student is struggling with vocabulary, but Ms. Harris suggested a desire to strengthen the
students word knowledge. Working on their vocabulary will strengthen their reading and
comprehension skills. Throughout the next two months I will be showing students
strategies in order to help them understand the meaning of words. I also believe that
giving students exposure to multiple words will broaden their vocabulary.
o What strategies are the most effective in improving a second grade students vocabulary
knowledge?
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Proposed Timeline:
Initial Meeting:
Met with Ms. Harris during her break time.
We choose the focus of the action research project, vocabulary in text.
She choose the book we would be using: Henry and Mudge Under the Yellow
Moon
Ms. Harris choose two students for me to work with. Both of these students are
on grade level and do not receive any kind of special service from the school
(gifted or intervention).
Meeting One: October 1st, 2015
Ms. Harris asked me to quickly meet with the students because of time constraints. She
only wanted me to explain what we would be doing. I met with both students for 15
minutes. We discussed why we would be meeting and what we would be working on.
Gave both students an initial vocabulary screening. I used CORE Vocabulary.
Ms. Harris suggested that I work with the students each Thursday during her
intervention time (8:00-8:30)
Meeting Two: October 8th, 2015
At this point I plan to give a higher level vocabulary assessments because both students
scored over 90%. I will give a CORE vocabulary assessment on a higher second grade
level. The first was a beginning second grade.
Pre-assessment: I will pre-assess the students vocabulary knowledge from the text
Henry and Mudge Under the Yellow Moon.
We will begin reading the book and looking at the words. (pages 1-11)
Meeting Three: October 15th, 2015
Once I have scored the pre-assessment I will know what level the students are on. I
plan to prepare 1 strategy for each meeting.
If the students did not score out of Henry and Mudge, I will use a prepared PowerPoint
to introduce the words
Read (12-27)
What is our objective? How will I assess that theyve reached our goal?
Meeting Three: October 15th, 2015
Henry and Mudge finish this book
Context Clues
What is our objective? How will I assess? How will I engage?
**Note: Our timeline will change throughout the next couple of weeks. In order to have a solid
plan, I will need to pre-assess the students more in depth. I am in the process of gathering
resources and other strategies to use to improve vocabulary skills.
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Description
Observations
Initial
Meeting
N/A
Meeting
One:
October 1st,
2015
Students
seemed to fly
though the
assessment.
They had no
problems
completing the
level 1B
vocabulary
assessment.
Data Collected/
Assessment
N/A
Diagnostic
Vocabulary
Screening
Give a more
advanced
vocabulary
screening.
Choose words
from the book
Henry and
Mudge Under
the Yellow
Moon.
Create preassessment
for these
words
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intervention time (8:008:30)
Meeting
Two:
October 8th,
2015
Meeting
Three:
October
15th, 2015
Meeting
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Four :
October
20th, 2015
Meeting
Five:
October
23rd, 2015
skills to use
with some
sort of
activity.
Assessment of
dictionary skills:
Dictionary
Detective
Choose a
second
strategy:
Introduce
second
strategy
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Meeting
Six:
October
27th, 2015
Meeting
Seven:
Student K
seems to be
making
progress. She is
proving that her
work
knowledge is
expanding.
When I say this,
I mean that she
can use the
words in
multiple ways.
She can provide
examples, but
has trouble
verbally explain
and presenting
non-examples.
Student P seems
to be
understanding.
He was very
distracted today.
We also
finished reading
the Henry and
Mudge book.
*Talked to Ms.
Harris about
Student Ps
behavior. She
said that there
has been
changes in his
household.
Student K and
Student P both
Frayer Models
Pave Worksheet
Choose and
present new
strategy.
Finish Lesson
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November
2nd, 2015
Meeting
Eight:
November
19th, 2015
vocabulary terms
looking, sniffing,
picked, and together.
Standard:
38. [L.2.4] Determine
or clarify the meaning
of unknown and
multiple-meaning
words and phrases
based on Grade 2
reading and content,
choosing flexibly from
an array of strategies.
We made it through the
first two words
(looking and picked) in
our allocated time. We
used the PAVE strategy
and an open sort game.
picked the
selected
vocabulary
terms out of the
text. I had them
predict what
they thought the
words meant by
looking at
context clues
and pictures.
Students
seemed to do
this very well.
These particular
students
respond better
when we take
turns writing. I
had students
work
cooperatively to
complete the
PAVE
worksheet with
me. Students
told me what to
write down. I
let each student
have a turn
writing an
answer on the
page.
Formative
Assessment:
Activity Closed
Sort,
Picture/Term
Match
We completed the
lesson by going over
the last two words
(sniffing and
together).We continued
using the PAVE
strategy. I gave the
final assessment to see
I believe that
students have
made progress
over the course
of this project.
Students
accomplished
what I had
Pave Worksheets
Give final
assessment
Based off of
the Henry and
Mudge terms
**Should I
give another
diagnostic
vocabulary
assessment?
Has the
students
overall word
knowledge
improved?
Practice Activity
Final Vocabulary
Assessment
Our Project is
now
completed.
We will not
have any
other
meetings.
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students progress.
Meeting
Nine:
December
3rd, 2015
intended. They
now know
multiple
strategies to
help them
understand
unknown
words. They
can manipulate
words and use
them in
multiple
scenarios.
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I gave two assessment in order to test for our particular topic. I started by giving a
formative assessment. I wanted to observe how strongly the student read, paying particular
attention to what types of words she stumbled over. I realized that this particular student reads
very slowly with little expression and stumbles over countless words. I also gave a preassessment for the words that I purposefully picked out of the Henry and Mudge book. The
student could easily place the words in a CLOZE passage assessment, but struggled when they
were asked to describe the word, illustrate the word, or use the word in their own sentences.
These assessments helped me design my plan for the action research project.
CVS 2B
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CVS 2A
27
CVS 1B
29
10
15
20
25
30
35
Student P:
Just like the previous student, I started by giving the 1B (upper level first grade) vocabulary
screening. This student missed two words, but still reached the benchmark. After looking
carefully at the words that the student missed, I understood why. For example, the student was
given the word over. He was to choose which word best matched the term: soon, above, or ready.
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The student could not decide between soon or ready. I believe the student was having this
problem because he was thinking about over in the context of being done or completed. The
student should have chosen above. After seeing that the student could easily pass the first grade
vocabulary screening, I moved on to the beginning second grade level. The student missed one
word in this screening, and reached the benchmark. Just like the first assessment, the student
only missed a word that could be easily confused. The word given was terrible. The student
should have chosen awful, but instead chose sorry. I believe that the student chose sorry,
because he has been exposed to the phrase I am terribly sorry. After the student easily passed
level 2A, I gave level 2B orally. The student scored a 16 out of 30, which would not be
considered proficient.
After given the diagnostic test, I decided to focus on the book chosen by Mrs. Harris. She
choose Henry and Mudge: Under the Yellow Moon. I gave a pre-assessment to see which words
this students knew. The student easily placed all words in the correct sentence when given a
cloze passage assessment. However, just like the first student, Student P could not verbally
define the word. I decided from this point on I would expand the students knowledge of certain
words and teacher them new strategies to find word meaning when reading.
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CVS 2B
CVS 2A
Category 1
10
15
20
25
30
Strategies Used:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
35
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9. Oral Conversations
10. Context Clues
Lessons/Assessments
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Instructional Changes:
1. After the initial meeting I realized that Student K was on a different level than Student P.
Student P seemed to be a much better reader and therefore had better comprehension
skills. Student P was also familiar with more word than Student K. Student K was a less
fluent reader and stumbled over various words. The book was on Student Ks reading
level. In order to give Student K an opportunity to practice reading skills, I made sure to
give her opportunities to read aloud. She was also given opportunities to hear fluent
reading.
2. After the third meeting I realized that Student P does not like to write, at all. When
student P is presented with an assignment/activity that requires writing he completely
shuts down. I realized that if I wanted to get anything done within the short amount of
time we were together I would have to change my approach. I had two options. Either
give Student P assignments that required less writing, or make the assignments a group
task. I did both throughout our meeting times.
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ACTION RESEARCH FALL 2015
3. About midway through our journey, Student P seemed to be losing control during our
morning meetings. At first, I felt like it was a mistake on my part. In general, I knew that
I struggled with discipline and needed to find new ways to manage classroom behavior.
After talking with Ms. Harris, I realized that Student P was also dealing with issues
outside of the classroom. Ms. Harris could not elaborate on these issues, but they were
obviously causing behavioral problems. Ms. Harris suggested that I use her classroom
reward system. If the students were well behaved the classroom gained a marble. If the
classroom has 16 marbles by the end of the week, they were given a Fun Friday treat. I
decided to do this, but also an individual behavioral system. Each meeting I gave the
students a sticker, if their behavior permitted. If they got 5 stickers, they earned a marble
for the classroom! I found that this worked much better for Student K than Student P.
4. Student Ps behavior continued to deteriorate. I understood that many of his problems
were caused by things out of his control. He tried to be polite and have good classroom
manners, but his situation was against him. I decided to sit down and have a private talk
with Student P. Student P apologized for his behavior and understood that he could do
much better.
5. I thought that using a Frayer Model would be helpful for these students. I believed that it
gave them an opportunity to look at the word in an in depth way. It showed them a
picture, examples and non-examples, a definition, and a sentence. At first, I taught a short
lesson on the words. I had students fill out the definition and example/non-example as a
class. I then had the students individually complete the Frayer Model. I found that this
did not help the students understand the words. These students learn more when they are
involved in an active classroom discussion or activity. The Frayer Model seemed too
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much like busy work for them. I feel like it would have been more effective for a higher
level grade.
Student Ks Progress/Work:
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Overall Progress:
Student Ps Progress/Work:
Core Vocabulary Screening
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Overall Progress
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Group Work:
PAVE Worksheet Activity
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with unknown words. I know that that the strategies and techniques that I used
were effective, because students were able to prove their knowledge of the terms
covered. I believe that because of the action research, these students will be able to
use a dictionary, find synonyms and antonyms, make connections to everyday life,
create illustrations, and use context clues in order to determine word meaning.
Students were also engaged in conversation about the vocabulary terms. Each of
the planned strategies seemed to benefit the students overall vocabulary
knowledge.
Throughout the process, I was able to learn a large amount about each
student. Student K seems to struggle in the classroom. During the project I learned
that Student K is pulled by the Title 1 teacher. I also learned that she receives math
intervention from Ms. Harris. Student K did show improvement in using certain
vocabulary terms, reading aloud, and using strategies to determine word meaning.
Student K demonstrated that she could use most of the strategies presented in
different situations. Student P was already advanced when he entered into the
action research project. Ms. Harris felt like he would benefit from the extra
attention. Throughout the process Student P seemed to have major behavioral
issues, which I feel at times inhibited his growth. Once I was able to work through
some instructional changes, Student P was able to benefit from the extra
instruction. While I do not believe he made as many improvement as Student K, he
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Abstract:
What strategies are the most effective in improving a students vocabulary knowledge?
Vocabulary has a direct link to a students overall achievement in academics, especially reading.
Teachers can use both direct and indirect instruction in order to teach students new vocabulary
terms. This paper will discuss numerous strategies used in vocabulary instruction.
Keywords: vocabulary, instructions, strategies, student achievement
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working or welfare families (Ruetzel & Cooter, 2009). One way to expose children to these
language interactions is through meaningful conversations. While listening to adults speak,
children hear new words and repeated words. According to the National Reading Panel, the
more experiences children have with oral language, the broader their vocabulary will be
(Arbruster, Lehr, Osborn, & Adler, 2009). The second way to provide oral language interactions
is by reading aloud to students. By reading aloud to students, you are exposing them to words
they may not have ever heard before. Books provide students with information, detailed
descriptions, and pictures. It is not enough to just read to the child. Teachers should
purposefully choose words that are unknown to the students. While reading the book, teachers
should stop at unknown words, define the word, discuss the word, make connections, and ask
questions (Arbruster, Lehr, Osborn, & Adler, 2009). When the read aloud is completed, the class
should engage in a conversation about what they learned and any new words they encountered.
These language interactions will be beneficial in expanding a childs vocabulary.
While indirect instruction has been proven highly effective, direct vocabulary
instruction is still needed. Direct instruction does not mean having students copy definitions.
Instead teachers should provide specific word instruction. This can be done before reading a
certain book or covering a specific concept (Arbruster, Lehr, Osborn, & Adler, 2009). Teachers
should examine the text or content to determine which words should be taught. Students should
then be provided with a kid-friendly definition. The teacher should then make connections by
showing videos and picture representations, examples of the word in context, or antonyms and
synonyms (Ruetzel & Cooter, 2009). In order to keep students actively engaged teachers can use
semantic maps and other graphic organizers. This will also help students make connections and
create a deeper understanding of the words meaning. One example of this would be the Frayer
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Model. (Rupley, Logan, & Nichols, 1998). This is the most basic form of direct vocabulary
instruction.
Another way to teach vocabulary is by showing students how to use context clues to
determine a words meaning. Context clues can be found surrounding the unknown words in
sentences, phrases, and other words. Context can include examples, descriptions, and
restatements (Arbruster, Lehr, Osborn, & Adler, 2009). There are six types of context clues that
teachers should inform students about: word parts, contrast, logic, definition, examples or
illustrations, and grammar. Teaching students to ask questions such as: what are the
surrounding words? How do these offer me clues? What does this word mean in this text?
(Zorfass & Gray, 2014) Teachers can practice working with context clues by having students
circle the clues in a text. Teaching children the importance of context clues can help the
independently determine word meaning. Eventually this skill should become an automatic
response when reading.
Vocabulary instruction should also be enjoyable for students. While you must have the
more serious direct instruction and purposeful language interactions, you can still provide
exciting ways to reinforce word meaning with group work and games. First, you can engage
students by involving them in word sorts. When covering a new topic, pick out important terms.
Having students create categories or organize the words into premade categories can give them
repeated exposure and help discover new meanings (Ruetzel & Cooter, 2009). Teachers can also
play word games such as the old fashion hangman. For lower level grades the teacher will
provide the students with a word bank. Otherwise, teachers can provide a category. By giving
clues the teacher will allow students to guess a letter one by one until the word is guessed or
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revealed (Ruetzel & Cooter, 2009). Using these strategies can keep students engaged and help
give repeated exposure to vocabulary terms.
In conclusion, vocabulary is a crucial aspect to a balanced reading program and
assist students in their ability to infer meaning and better comprehend text (Rupley, Logan, &
Nichols, 1998). Teachers should utilize both direct and indirect instruction. Children should
have the opportunity to partake in various oral language activities that facilitate the acquisition of
word knowledge. We can directly teach vocabulary with specific word instruction by providing
student friendly definitions, teach the words using pictures, videos, graphic organizers, and other
resources. Covering the role of context clues can enable students with the ability to understand
words in text on their own. Teachers can also take a less serious approach with games, videos,
and word sorts. All of these methods prove that there are a variety of instructional strategies that
teachers can use in order to improve a students vocabulary knowledge
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Reference:
Armbruster, B. B., Lehr, F., Osborn, J., & Adler, C. R. (2009). Put Reading First: the
research building blocks of reading instruction: kindergarten through grade 3. [Washington,
D.C.] : National Institute for Literacy, [2009].
Rupley, W.H., Logan, J. W., & Nichols, W.D. (1998). Vocabulary Instruction in a
Balanced Reading Program. The Reading Teacher, (4). 336.
Ruetzel, D., & Cooter, R. (2009). Increasing Reading Vocabulary. In The Essentials of
Teaching Children to Read: The Teacher Makes the Difference (3rd ed., pp. 174-209). Pearson.
Zorfass, J., & Gray, T. (2014). Using Context Clues to Understand Word Meanings.
Retrieved October 11, 2015.Readingrockets.org