lit 5203 Module 2 Application

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American College of Education *

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5203

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Linguistics

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Apr 3, 2024

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1 LIT 5203 Module 2 Application: Literacy Research Summary American College of Education LIT 5203 Strengthening Literacy Dr. Vicki Strunk September 3, 2023 Literacy Research Summary
2 In Module 1, a school’s literacy program was analyzed using a survey to evaluate its strengths and areas of need. The areas of need that were identified were the program’s vocabulary instruction. The school’s Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) scores from the 2022-2023 school year showed that the passing score of third grade students dropped from 80% in 2021-2022 to 71% in 2022-2023. This 9% decrease is very concerning. Research shows that vocabulary knowledge is directly related to reading comprehension. Cunningham and Stanovich (1997) found that students with a richer vocabulary became better at reading comprehension and were overall more successful in school than their peers with limited vocabulary knowledge. It is critical that this literacy program revamps their vocabulary instruction to better support readers in their comprehension. Manzo and colleagues also support the idea that a rich vocabulary increases comprehension. They also stated, “ Vocabulary level has the highest correlation of all other factors and with every measure of every aspect of intelligence” (Manzo et al., 2006, p. 818). Therefore, not only is vocabulary knowledge critical for reading comprehension, it is also essential to intelligibly communicate effectively. Review of Literature Article One In an article, The Power of Content-Rich Vocabulary Instruction, Wright and Neuman discuss the importance of providing explicit and implicit vocabulary instruction to children of all ages. They explain that implicit instruction is when a teacher creates an environment in which
3 vocabulary is supported through read-alouds and conversations. Explicit instruction is when the teacher teaches the definition of different words. In their 660 hours of observations in kindergarten classrooms, they found that most teachers explained the meaning of different words when they came up organically during teachable moments, however, they did not teach vocabulary words in a systematic, intentional way. Additionally, they found that the least number of words and the least difficult words were taught to students in the lowest income schools. This is an issue because these students are already at risk of struggling with reading. Wright and Neuman recommend content-rich vocabulary instruction that is programmatic and explicit, where the vocabulary words are being used and practiced throughout all content areas throughout the day. According to Wright and Neuman (2015), “Here is what content-rich vocabulary is not: isolated vocabulary lessons, brief mentioning of word meanings, rote memorization of words, looking up lists of words in the dictionary, or vocabulary teaching that is relegated only to read-alouds” (p. 26). The authors go on to mention that students learn vocabulary words best when they are explained in multiple ways, in multiple contexts, and repeatedly. Children need practice with these words numerous times for them to really understand them and begin to add them to their own vocabulary. Using content-rich vocabulary instruction at my school would be beneficial because each literacy unit is focused around either a science or social studies theme, so integrating vocabulary words in all content areas would be easy to do. Article Two In an article, Rationale for Systematic Vocabulary Development: Antidote for state mandates, Manzo and Colleagues discuss a decline in low frequency word knowledge, words
4 that are used in literature, advanced schooling, and are likely to be on standardized tests. Vocabulary knowledge of 18-year-old students who are headed to college has dropped significantly in the recent past. The authors claim that semantic-cultural-instructional paradoxes are to blame for the decrease of vocabulary knowledge. This means that teachers have unknowingly been “watering down” their use of higher vocabulary to benefit students with learning disabilities and English Language Learners (ELL), and we are now seeing the consequences from doing so. Another reason they believe vocabulary knowledge has decreased could be since whole language was against explicit vocabulary instruction where words were taught in isolation. According to Manzo and Colleagues (2006), “It tended to stress vocabulary development primarily as an incidental byproduct of wide and authentic story-based reading” (p. 612). The authors go on to discuss that schooling that lacks the power of the English language does not help students, but deprives them, especially the less privileged students who are not exposed to low frequency words at home. The authors support explicit, sequential, and incidental vocabulary instruction. They give a few research-based strategies to teach vocabulary instruction. The first strategy they discuss is the Keyword strategy. This strategy involves connecting new words to images. Another strategy they discuss is motor imaging where a word meaning is connected to a motion or gesture. The authors suggest that vocabulary instruction be taught intentionally and is most effective when done so with wide reading. This means that words are taught through literature that captures students’ interests. Article Three
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