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Content-Area Vocabulary: A Critical Key to Conceptual Learning
by Janis M. Harmon and Karen D. Wood
The limits of my language are the limits of my mind. All I know is what I have words for.
—Ludwig Wittgenstein
As middle-level and secondary educators, we understand and acknowledge the critical role that vocabulary plays in academic success. We nod our heads at the words of Ludwig Wittgenstein, an influential Austrian philosopher of the twentieth century, as we think about the importance of language learning in the various subject-matter disciplines. We all want our students to demonstrate newly learned concepts with the words they know as they discuss, write, and visually represent specific topics. These expressive language modes require a well-rounded vocabulary base that includes the specialized terminology of particular content areas—terminology that is intricately embedded in conceptual learning. In fact, teaching vocabulary in the content areas of mathematics, science, history, and English is not a separate entity from teaching the core understandings of each domain. As Vacca and Vacca (2008) have always stated, words are labels for concepts, and so teaching vocabulary is actually teaching about the ideas they represent. In this article, we present important research findings about vocabulary learning and teaching that have direct application to teaching content-area vocabulary. We also describe an instructional sequence that can serve as a useful guide for embedding important vocabulary activities within content lessons across all subject-matter disciplines.
What Research Tells Us About Vocabulary Learning and Teaching
There are several important features that we need to keep in mind about effective vocabulary instruction and the implications each has for teaching vocabulary in the content areas. These features or components have been described in detail by Nagy and Scott (2000) in their efforts to demonstrate the complex nature of word knowledge.
Learning new words is a cumulative task that takes place gradually over time. We learn words in incremental fashion by internalizing new understandings in each subsequent encounter with the words. The meanings become deeper and more sophisticated as we are exposed to the words multiple times in different contexts and as we actively use the words in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. For example, our understanding of the term global warming is far more refined, complex, and elaborate as adults than what we would expect middle school age students to have acquired. As a result, our knowledge of specific words at any time can shift on a continuum ranging from no knowledge to thorough understanding (Beck, Perfetti, & McKeown, 1982). Therefore, in regard to teaching words in any content area, we need to keep in mind that different students will have different levels of understanding about a term and will internalize new information through each successive engagement with the term.
Words with multiple meanings are common in the content areas. Many words students encounter in mathematics, science, and social studies have multiple meanings, or are polysemous. These terms represent different meanings depending upon the content areas in which they are used, and therefore can be confusing to some students, especially students whose first language is not English. We must be vigilant to clarify the meanings of even simple terms that we might assume all students know. For example, in mathematics the word scale as in scale drawing has a different meaning in biology when referring to the scales on a fish or snake and in music when talking about a series of musical steps.
Affixes and root words need to be taught. A large percentage of the words and terms found in the different content areas contain meaningful parts that can be taught. In fact, Nagy and Anderson (1984) claim that more than 60 percent of the words students meet in academic texts have meaningful roots and affixes that can be learned through direct instruction. This is especially true for social studies words, given that Milligan and Ruff (1990) found that 71 percent of the terms in social studies textbooks contained teachable roots and affixes. For example, teaching students that demo refers to “people” can help students learn democracy, demography, and endemic. Another example is merc, meaning “trade,” as in merchant, merchandise, and mercantile.
Words need to be taught in relation to other words. Words representing concepts are not taught in a vacuum, but rather in contexts that illustrate how they are associated with other words and ideas. This feature of word knowledge is at the heart of effective content-area teaching and critical to vocabulary building. For example, science classes studying the causes and effects of earthquakes will more than likely encounter other related terms such as tremors, seismic waves, Richter scale, and magnitude. In mathematics, understanding how to solve linear equations involves having a knowledge base about factors, variables, equality, and coefficients. These examples show how words and their meanings are intricately related to each other and how these relationships are tied to conceptual understanding. It is important then to help students understand these relationships and connections.
Productive vocabulary instruction must extend beyond word definitions. Research has shown us that there are limitations associated with using definitions alone to teach word meanings (Miller & Gildea, 1987; Scott & Nagy, 1997) and that definitions by themselves are unlikely to enhance comprehension (Baumann, Kame'enuu, & Ash, 2003). The pitfalls of definitions are obvious to all of us. We can all remember having to look up a word in the dictionary, copy the definition, and then write a sentence using the term. Because many times we did not really understand the definition, our sentences left a lot to be desired. While such activities occurred (and in some instances still do) in language arts classes, definitions representing concepts taught in content-area classes can also constrain learning. For example, when the term hinterland is defined as “undeveloped land away from a coast or land that is far away from large metropolitan areas,” students living in inner cities may think that hinterland refers to bedroom communities that are located on the outskirts of major cities. We must be very cognizant of how students might interpret a word definition that makes sense to us but may be misleading and confusing to those with less background knowledge.
Instructional Framework
Effective vocabulary instruction across subject-matter disciplines incorporates both broadly defined learning opportunities and explicit instruction in word-meaning acquisition. Broadly defined learning opportunities include the incorporation of wide reading in content classes as well as word consciousness. Reading widely about a topic across a variety of texts provides students with multiple exposures to newly learned words along with opportunities for incidental word learning to occur. In fact, in their studies, Nagy and Herman (1987) and Sternberg (1987) found that upper grade students of varying ability levels learned new words incidentally through reading and listening. In addition, broad learning opportunities include the development of word consciousness or awareness, where students learn habits of attending to new and interesting vocabulary that will enable them to acquire appropriate language for communicating in particular content areas (Scott, Skobel, & Wells, 2008; Stahl & Nagy, 2006). In other words, content-area teachers can promote vocabulary learning by encouraging students to read widely about topics and by promoting an awareness and enthusiasm for learning new words.
The other component of an effective vocabulary program in the content areas involves explicit instruction. We describe one structured lesson format using steps which are typically found in general lesson plan formats and also provide a framework for incorporating vocabulary. The steps include preparation, explanation, application, and reinforcement (P.E.A.R.).
Preparation. In this step, teachers select the words to teach. These words and phrases should be those most critical to understanding the concepts in the passage or learning session and should be limited in number. Too many targeted words can be overwhelming to students, especially those who struggle with reading. This step also includes assessment of student background knowledge about the terms. One useful assessment tool is the knowledge rating scale (Blachowicz & Fisher, 2006). Figure 1 provides an example of a knowledge rating scale for geography terms. This activity enables students to determine their own knowledge about the terms and also serves as a summative assessment to help students evaluate their own learning.
Content area: world geography
Figure 1. Knowledge rating scale (Blachowicz & Fisher, 2006)
Explanation. Once teachers have selected the vocabulary, the next step is to introduce the words and terms to the students using clearly understandable definitions—what Beck and her colleagues call student-friendly definitions (Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2002). For example, for the term urban sprawl, instead of the definition “the unplanned, uncontrolled spreading of urban development into areas adjoining the edge of a city,” a more easily understood definition could be “a word that describes what happens when a city starts spreading farther and farther out into the area around it.” These student-friendly definitions also need to be accompanied by supportive instructional contexts (Graves, 2006). In this case, the teacher can show students various photographs that depict urban sprawl.
Application. After discussing the word meanings, students can then apply the words and terms in meaningful activities. These activities are designed to move students’ interaction with the words beyond the definitional level to higher levels of cognitive processing. For example, the following questions and prompts require students to have a working knowledge of the words in order to provide reasonable answers (Beck et al., 2002):
- Meaningful-use prompts
- Things you would expect to see in an urbanized area:
- Examples of textiles:
- Statement completions
- Urbanization creates major changes in the landscape of an area because . . .
- Urbanization may be contributing to global warming
because . . .
- Word associations
- Which word is used when talking about renovating old warehouses in inner cities?
- Which word would you use when talking about buying and selling goods from other countries?
- Meaningful questions
- Would you expect to find textile mills in a megalopolis?
- Would urban sprawl have an impact on the Dairy Belt?
- Are the people living in the Corn Belt affected by NAFTA?
If we only ask students to provide definitions for terms, then they can memorize definitions, pass the tests, and not really have an understanding of the concepts. However, questions and prompts such as those above require that students apply what they know about the terms in order to successfully answer them. Such responses are more indicative of learning. Other activities for relating, connecting, clarifying, and applying word meanings are described in Instructional Strategies for Teaching Content Vocabulary, Grades 4–12 (Harmon, Wood, & Hedrick, 2006).
Reinforcement. In this last step, teachers review newly learned words and terms to help students internalize word meanings. Writing activities that are interesting can serve to reinforce vocabulary. For example, the cubing activity (Bean, Readence, & Baldwin, 2008) illustrated in Figure 2 requires students to examine a concept from different dimensions. Students demonstrate their understanding of a term by describing, comparing, associating, analyzing, applying, and arguing for or against it.
Term: market economy
Figure 2. Cubing (Bean, Readence, & Baldwin, 2008)
Another example is the R.A.F.T. activity in Figure 3 (Santa, Haven, & Harrison, 2008). R.A.F.T. stands for role, audience, form, and topic. Students select one of the tasks to write about, and they use newly learned vocabulary in the writing.
Content area: world geography
Figure 3. R.A.F.T. example (Santa, Haven, & Harrison, 2008)
Closing Remarks
In this article, we have presented important features that serve as guidelines for implementing effective vocabulary instruction in content-area classrooms. We have also outlined a lesson plan format that highlights the use of understandable word definitions and the application of meaningful-use activities that provide students with opportunities to internalize word meanings in relation to the concepts they represent. These instructional suggestions apply across all content areas to help students develop the appropriate language needed to learn even more sophisticated and complex understandings about various subject-matter topics.
References
Baumann, J. F., Kame'enuu, E. J., & Ash, G. E. (2003). Research on vocabulary instruction: Voltaire redux. In D. L. J. Flood, J. R. Squire, & J. M. Jensen (Eds.), Handbook of research on teaching the English language arts (2nd ed., pp. 752–785). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Bean, T. W., Readence, J. E., & Baldwin, R. S. (2008). Content area literacy: An integrated approach (9th ed.). Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.
Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G., & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words to life: Robust vocabulary instruction. New York: Guilford Press.
Beck, I. L., Perfetti, C. A., & McKeown, M. G. (1982). Effects of long-term vocabulary instruction on lexical access and reading comprehension. Journal of Educational Psychology, 74, 506–521.
Blachowicz, C., & Fisher, P. J. (2006). Teaching vocabulary in all classrooms (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
Graves, M. F. (2006). The vocabulary book: Learning and instruction. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Harmon, J. M., Wood, K. D., & Hedrick, W. B. (2006). Instructional strategies for teaching content vocabulary, grades 4–12. Westerville, OH: National Middle School Association.
Miller, G. A., & Gildea, P. M. (1987). How children learn words. Scientific American, 257(3), 94–99.
Milligan, J. L., & Ruff, T. P. (1990). A linguistic approach to social studies vocabulary development. The Social Studies, 81, 218–220.
Nagy, W. E., & Anderson, R. C. (1984). How many words are there in printed school English? Reading Research Quarterly, 19, 304–330.
Nagy, W. E., & Herman, P. A. (1987). Breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge: Implications for acquisition and instruction. In M. G. McKeown & M. E. Curtis (Eds.), The nature of vocabulary acquisition (pp. 19–35). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Nagy, W. E., & Scott, J. A. (2000). Vocabulary processes. In M. L. Kamil, P. B. Mosenthal, P. D. Pearson, & R. Barr (Eds.), Handbook of reading research (Vol. III, pp. 269–284). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Santa, C., Haven, L., & Harrison, S. (2008). Teaching secondary science through reading, writing, studying, and problem solving. In D. Lapp, J. Flood, & N. Farnan, Content area reading and learning (3rd ed., pp. 237–256). New York: Erlbaum.
Scott, J. A., & Nagy, W. E. (1997). Understanding the definitions of unfamiliar words. Reading Research Quarterly, 32, 184–200.
Scott, J. A., Skobel, B. J., & Wells, J. (2008). The word-conscious classroom: Build the vocabulary readers and writers need. New York: Scholastic.
Stahl, S. A., & Nagy, W. E. (2006). Teaching word meanings. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Sternberg, R. J. (1987). Most vocabulary is learned in context. In M. G. McKeown & M. E. Curtis (Eds.), The nature of vocabulary acquisition (pp. 89–105). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Vacca, R. T., & Vacca, J. L. (2008). Content area reading (9th ed.). New York: Allyn & Bacon.
Janis Harmon is professor of literacy education at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in literacy. Her research interests include vocabulary learning and teaching, secondary reading, and young adult literature.
Karen Wood is professor of literacy education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where she teaches graduate and doctoral courses in literacy. Her research interests include adolescent literacy, content-area reading K–12, and vocabulary and comprehension learning and teaching
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