Vocabulary and Enrichment Possibilities

Samantha Becker
Diff 506 Dr. Fisher
St. Bonaventure

Introduction
Raven (a pseudonym) is a 9th grade student currently in a Global
Studies class. She comes from a family where she lives with both of her
biological parents and siblings and participates on one of the school teams.
Within the class there are approximately twenty students on any given day.
Within the class the students are placed in rows before a large TV that has
been adapted to work as a touch screen for presentations as well as is used
as the projector for presentations when the teacher teaches. Raven does not
currently receive any additional supports or receive any school services.
Raven achieves highly in all of her subjects. She is quick to complete
her work and her work is completed at the mastery level. Due to her high
achievement and her quickness in completing her work Raven is often bored
during class when assignments are given out. Because the work is too easy
for her she spends the rest of the work time attempting to speak with other
students. This causes the other students to not complete their work or
complete their work inaccurately due to Ravens distractions. One of the
areas that Raven has expressed interest in is the vocabulary of the lessons.
She likes to learn about more specific details of events in history.
Therefore in order to help Raven become more challenged and prevent
her from causing distractions in class the intervention chosen has been to
advance the writing samples that she will use when completing the in class

assignments. The papers will be slightly more in-depth with the content and
will include more advanced vocabulary. Raven will receive a few minutes of
direct instruction at the beginning of the individual work session to learn
about some of the specific vocabulary that she may not have been exposed
to prior to her completing her assignment.

Literature Review
When looking at the importance of vocabulary usage by students there
is specific vocabulary to specific content areas. Specific vocabulary terms are
used in different professions as well as in different content areas when
looking at education. Having an understanding of vocabulary helps
individuals to better understand the topics with which they are working.
Because vocabulary is an important aspect of learning direct teaching of
vocabulary is important due to the lack of generic vocabulary. (Durrant,2014)
As young children there are specific words that all children are taught that
will be seen and used across the content areas. However at the high school
level some vocabulary terminology can no longer be transferred across the
disciplines making it all the more necessary to be focused on in specific
courses so that students may further their understanding of the content
being taught.
In comparison to this one approach to vocabulary instruction is the
idea of a three tiered system of determining what words students should

know and understand.(Bates, 2008) This idea directly relates with Durrant
whose research has indicated that every person needs a different vocabulary
set for their profession, education, and daily life. The idea of teaching
students on a three tier system so that all individuals have a similar
vocabulary repertoire has value when looking at the need for vocabulary
instruction. By having all students learn similar vocabulary they will be
capable of interrelating ideas. But with this approach students will also learn
specific vocabulary necessary to their lives and what they need to know.
When considering the best ways to teach vocabulary however current
vocabulary instruction is in some ways lacking for students to not receive the
necessary understanding of the terminology nor do students always receive
the vocabulary that is most necessary for their education. A major issue that
is involved with the difficulty in students understanding of vocabulary is the
textbooks that are used in schools. Often when looking at textbooks they
give only quick facts of the topic. (Twyman, McCleery & Tindal, 2006)
Because of the lack of depth and the lack of vocabulary used within
textbooks and often times traditional methods of teaching a more direct
approach to educating students about vocabulary has been seen as more
beneficial to students. (Twyman, et. al, 2006)
A direct approach to educating students is seen as being effective for it
also draws the students attention to the words that they previously did not
understand of have exposure to. The direct instruction of vocabulary

promotes the importance of the vocabulary terms rather than having student
attention being drawn to another part of the assignment. (File & Adams,
2010) This means that students understand the focus of the lesson rather
than focusing on comprehending the text and not the specific words within
the text. Vocabulary has shown to make an impact on student learning and
understanding of texts. Having an understanding of the vocabulary in the
text allowed for students to have a more defined idea of what the text was
discussing and the key ideas and details involved.(Johnston, 1984) As in
other research this demonstrates the need for direct instruction of
vocabulary for content specific information as well as general
understandings.
One strategy to improve on vocabulary acquisition is the idea of using
classical literature to expose readers to a larger assortment of words and
terms. (Thompson, 2001) Including literature where the reading is high in
vocabulary provides students with the opportunities to learn about the word
and see it demonstrated within the text. Another way to combat the issue of
poor exposure to vocabulary is creating vocabulary lessons where the
information is relatable to prior knowledge and is being used to make
connections between concepts. Lessons involving this as well as comparison
and contracting of differing topics helps students to create more in depth
understandings about the topic as well as the vocabulary for students will
being to develop understandings of the vocabulary being used. (AlexanderShea, 2011) By coming to the conclusions themselves students are able to

make connections with the material seeing as they themselves took the
steps to come to an understanding of the topic.
One aspect of increasing vocabulary understanding is explaining to
students the need to look at all parts of the text. In many cases unknown
words are either skipped or viewed as being unimportant because the
teacher did not teach the word. (File & Adams, 2010) The ignoring of the
vocabulary term can cause a variety of issues one of which would be a
misunderstanding of the text. Without having an understanding of a wide
range of vocabulary terms students reading and writing skills will not develop
to the extent that the students would need to be successful.
Comparatively when looking at vocabulary understanding there is a
correlation between vocabulary knowledge and the ability to speak a
secondary language. This correlation demonstrates the importance for
educating students about vocabulary. Particularly within the current structure
of American society being bi-lingual is becoming more of an important skill
for individuals. The lack of emphasis on vocabulary instruction has an impact
on students abilities to learn a second language. (Olmos, 2009) The idea of
the effect vocabulary has on one aspect of students education creates the
idea that vocabulary has a major role in students abilities to learn effectively
and to apply their knowledge.
.

Intervention
Prior to the intervention Raven completed all of her work in a matter of
minutes. In all cases observed the class was given twenty minute work
periods. Based upon the observations Raven completes her work quickly and
efficiently. The quicker the work is completed however the more students she
distracts as seen on the first day of data collection.
For the intervention Raven received a reading sample that was
designed to look like the rest of the class. Her reading however contained
more specific details about the historical event with a higher vocabulary.
There were the same number of questions to be answered and the reading
was the same length as the rest of the class. To see how well Raven does on
the sheet she did not meet with any adults at the beginning of the work
session to discuss vocabulary. She did however ask vocab specific questions
in the second and third observation, at which time the words were explained
to her.
As discussed in the research students can learn vocabulary from
having more specific and vocabulary rich readings. The research also
expressed the need for direct instruction of vocabulary in order to enrich the
students. The choice to not have initial meetings with the student to discuss
the vocabulary was to see if the readings were still too easy for Raven or if
the work was now too difficult. Raven would be given the option of redoing
the sheets if the work proved to be too difficult so as to not penalize her.

Findings
The data shows that when Raven did not initially receive any help for
the reading she somewhat struggled with the assignment taking almost the
whole work session and receiving a lower grade than usual. The work does
appear to challenge her more as she receives slightly lower grades on her
papers and takes her longer to complete the assignments.
Because Raven feels that she is being more challenged she will
continue to receive more advanced readings for her assignments. This has
not affected her socially in any way though it has made her look forward to
coming to class. She is enjoying having more challenges in the classroom
and enjoys learning new vocabulary words. The teacher is willing to continue
working with Raven for the remainder of the year so long as Raven can
continue to do as well as she currently is.
One of the benefits that has come from the intervention aside from
Ravens benefits is there are now less distractions within the class during the
work portions of class. The other students are less distracted and have
improved their work. These students have also scored higher on their most
recent exam. This cannot definitively state that the students have improved
but it suggests that there might be a correlation between the students
grades on tests and how distracted they were by Raven.

Discussion
The process was interesting. Because I am often working with students
with disabilities I look into ways of making content for the student easier to
understand or ways to teach the information in a way that would be relevant
to the student. This was the first time that I have had to determine a way of
making the information more difficult for the student. It was interesting to
see how I could use a similar strategy that I would use with a student who
has a disability, adjusting the reading material and questions, to challenge
the gifted student more.
Determining a student to work with was one of the most difficult
aspects of this project aside from having to determine an intervention. For
choosing a student it was difficult to know that Raven was such a high
performing student because of how often she distracted her classmates.
Once I was able to determine that Raven was indeed bored due to the
easiness of the work the next difficult step was determining how to challenge
Raven without bringing attention to her or making her complete extra work.
After deciding on what I wanted to challenge Raven with I watched
Raven begin to be challenged. It was interesting to see her reaction to being
more challenged and seeing that she indeed liked having a slightly more
challenging assignment than the other students. Her approach to the work,

being willing to take on the challenge and willing to ask for help when
needed, was another aspect that amazed me.
From the research I learned a lot about vocabulary. The importance of
vocabulary is something that I myself have forgotten about in recent years.
Having only taught younger grades those students are learning generic
vocabulary terms that they will be using across disciplines and for years to
come. I did not think about how in the older grades vocabulary is equally
important though it is often discarded and something that students teach
themselves as they read textbooks.
It was also interesting to learn that vocabulary is something that works
best when directly taught. For many subjects there has been research that
says that students need to be actively involved with the learning and that
direct instruction does not always provide students with the best
understanding of the material. Yet when it comes to vocabulary instruction
direct instruction seems to be one of the more effective ways to education
students. This is something that I think will greatly help me when I enter a
job in a school for the research describes various methods and techniques to
educate students on vocabulary.
Conclusion:
Raven often finished her work quicker than her peers which often led to
her distracting her classmates. Because of Ravens distractions an

intervention was created to help Raven become more challenged and to help
keep Raven from distracting her peers.
During the intervention advanced reading material was given to Raven
in place of the actual classwork. These readings and questions included
advanced vocabulary and more descriptive material to engage Raven in the
topic. The higher difficulty of the reading and questions prevented Raven
from distracting her peers and provided her with a challenge.
I think that this overall was a good benefit for Raven. I think that by
having enriching material Raven will be able to continue learning at the
same rate as her peers without becoming bored or distracted. This
enrichment I think will benefit her throughout her high school and possible
college career for it will expose her to more challenging material that she will
be likely to encounter. With this exposure I think that it will help Raven to be
more successful throughout her school career because it will have prepared
her academically for success.
This plan is supported by literature because one of the reoccurring
methods for teaching students vocabulary involves having students reading
advanced material to help expand their vocabulary knowledge. Raven
appears to be doing well as she is transitioning into the more difficult
readings. Her vocabulary has begun to expand and has given her a more
enlightening look into history that the easier readings were not doing.
Overall I believe that completing this project with Raven has proven to be

successful. Raven has begun to become more active in her learning and
more eager to learn rather than distracting her classmates.

Appendix A
Lesson Plan
Samantha Becker
9th grade Global Studies class
NYS or other learning standard
9.5 POLITICAL POWERS AND
ACHIEVEMENTS: New power
arrangements emerged across
Eurasia. Political states and empires
employed a variety of techniques
for expanding and maintaining
control. Periods of relative stability
allowed for significant cultural,
technological, and scientific
innovations. (Standards: 2, 3, 4, 5;
Themes ID, MOV, GOV, CIV, TECH)
9.5b Political states and empires
employed a variety of techniques
for expanding and maintaining
control, and sometimes disrupted
state-building in other regions.
* Students will examine the
locations and relative sizes of
postclassical states and empires at
the heights of their power, including
the Abbasid Caliphate, Byzantine
Empire, Mongol Empire, and Song
and Tang dynasties, noting relative
position, power within their regions
and the areas they influenced.

Learning objective
Students will read an
article pertaining to the
Mongol empire and
identify key details
within the text.

Assessment
Students will complete
a worksheet based
upon their reading with
80% accuracy.

Foundations:
Describe how you have considered the needs of gifted learners in the
development of this lesson plan. Include academic and affective needs, as
well as individual student interests, strengths and goals.

For the gifted students I want to expose them to information that will give a more
specialized look into the history of the Mongols. This information will be new to the
students providing them with opportunities to expand upon their learning.

Lesson introduction (anticipatory set):

The lesson will begin with a quick review game. I will have a ball that the students
can toss from one person to the next to answer questions. The first student to catch
will answer the question that I read to them. They will then toss the ball to another
student (politely) and choose one of the questions to ask that student. 10 minutes

Procedure:
1. Students will be broken up into two groups. One group will be at station 1 the
other at station 2.
2. At station 1 the students will complete a game called Fact and Q: Mongol
Style. Students will roll a die and move spaces on the board. They can either
land on a Fact or Q space. For the fact they can pick up a fact card and read
the fact aloud to the group. If they land on a Q someone else will ask them a
question if they are able to answer it correctly they may stay on the space. If
they are incorrect they have to go back to the previous space.
3. At station 2 the students will read an article and answer some questions
about what they read. The final question they will share with the rest of the
class before they leave.
4. The groups will switch after 15 minutes and complete the other activity.

Differentiation (tiered by product, process, outcome, complexity,

resources, OR challenge) what are your tiers and how did you decide on
them?
The reading group will be differentiated by resource because each of the groups will
be given a different resource to read. The more advanced group I believe would like
to learn more about something new. The second group has demonstrated the need
for more reinforcement of content information indicating that for that particular
group an article pertaining to the review of information will prove to me the more
valuable to the students.
One resource will be at a higher reading level on a related topic that is different
than what the students were currently learning.
The other resource will be a slightly easier read and will pertain to reviewing
information about the Mongols.

Acceleration or enrichment for gifted learners:

The students in the more advanced group will be receiving acceleration for they will
be learning new material about the Mongols that will give them a more well-rounded
knowledge about the Mongols that their classmates did not receive.

Technology used:
None

Closure:
The groups will return to one group and each student will share something that
they found interesting from their reading, the last question on their sheet.

Appendix B
Data collected prior to intervention:

Time taken to
Grade on
complete work (Min) completed work

Number of
students Raven
distracted

99

100

98

Data collected after intervention:

Time taken to
Grade on
complete work (Min) completed work

Number of
students Raven
distracted

19

89

16

93

15

92

References:
Alexander-Shea, A. (2011). Redefining Vocabulary: The New Learning
Strategy for Social Studies. Social Studies, 102(3), 95-103.
doi:10.1080/00377996.2010.509371
Bates, L.. (2008). Responsible Vocabulary Word Selection: Turning the Tide of
50-Cent Terms. The English Journal, 97(4), 6876.
http://doi.org/10.2307/30047250
Durrant, P. (2014). Discipline and Level Specificity in University Students
Written Vocabulary. Applied Linguistics, 35(3), 328-356.
FILE, K. A., & ADAMS, R.. (2010). Should Vocabulary Instruction Be Integrated
or Isolated?. TESOL Quarterly, 44(2), 222249. Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/27896723
Johnston, P.. (1984). Prior Knowledge and Reading Comprehension Test
Bias. Reading Research Quarterly, 19(2), 219239.
http://doi.org/10.2307/747364
Olmos, C. (2009). An Assessment of the Vocabulary Knowledge of Students in
the Final Year of Secondary Education. Is Their Vocabulary Extensive
Enough?.International Journal Of English Studies, 73-90.
Thompson, M. C. (2001). Vocabulary and Grammar: Critical Content for
Critical Thinking. Journal Of Secondary Gifted Education, 13(2), 60.
Twyman, T., McCleery, J., & Tindal, G.. (2006). Using Concepts to Frame
History Content. The Journal of Experimental Education, 74(4), 331
349. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20157435