RESEARCH IN REVIEW

Bridging the Vocabulary Gap

What the Research Tells Usabout Vocabulary Instruction

in Early Childhood

Ms. Allen has gathered the 4- and 5-year-olds on the rug, where she reads themJeannle Baker's book, Where the ForestMeets the Sea.

Ms. Allen: (Reads) My father knows a piacewe can only reach by boat. (Pauses)Where do you think they are going?

Patrick: An island? i

Abby: Somewhere far away.

Ms. Allen: Let's keep reading to see ifPatrick and Abby are correct. (Continuesreading) Not many people go there, andyou have to know the way through the reef

Abby: Where is the reef? i don't see it.

Ms. Allen: A reef is under the water andis very sharp, so the boat needs to goaround the reef so that it doesn't getcaught on it. (Continues reading) Whenwe arrive, cockatoos rise from the forest ina squawking cloud. (Looks to the children)What makes a squawking noise?

Daren: Oh, I know! A bird!

Ms. Allen: Yes, Daren, exactly. Now, lookat the illustration—what do you see thatcould be the squawking cloud?

Daren: All of those birds.

Ms. Allen: Yes. Do you recall what thename of those birds was? Listen whileI read that part again: When we arrive,cockatoos rise from the forest in asquawking cloud.

Abby: Oh, they're cockatoos!

Ms. Allen: How did you know, Abby?

Abby: Because they squawk and they looklike a cloud.

Ms. Allen: (Several pages later, still read-ing) On the bank of the creek, the vinesand creepers try to hold me back. I pushthrough. Now the forest is easy to waik in.Can someone point to the vines?

Moses: Oh! (Raises his hand very high)

Ms. Allen: Moses, come point to the vines.

Moses: They're right here. (He points themout in the illustration.)

Ms. Allen: What do you know about vines?

Abby: They grow on trees.

Daren: They grow across trees, and they'revery twisty.

Moses: Monkeys swing [on them].

Tanya Christ, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Reading and Lan-guage Arts at Oakland University, in Rochester, Michigan. Her research focuses on earlychildhood reading intervention, particularly supporting children's vocabulary acquisitionto facilitate reading comprehension in later grades. Christ@oakland.edu

X. Christine Wang, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Learning andInstruction at the State University of New York at Buffalo. She is working with TanyaChrist to develop "Little Word Wonders," a supplementary vocabulary curriculum forpreschoolers, wangxc@buffalo.edu

This Research in Review article was edited by journal research editor Sharon K.Ryan, PhD, associate professor of early childhood education at the Rutgers UniversityGraduate School of Education.

This article is available in an online archive at www.naeyc.org/yc/pastissues.

Tanya Christ andX. Christine Wang

Ms. Allen: Yes. And if monkeys can swingon them, they must be strong, so theymight be difficult to push through. How doyou think the boy managed to get throughthe vines?

Patrick: He probably had a knife.

Abby: Or he's really strong, like Superman.

I

2,3

T IS IMPORTANT FOR CHILDREN todevelop knowledge of words' meaningsfrom a young age because vocabularydevelopment has an impact on theirreading comprehension and academicsuccess as they get older (Chali, Jacobs,& Baldwin 1990). Put simply, whenchildren do not understand the mean-ings of important words in a text, theyare unlikely to understand the text.Therefore, the vocabulary instructionthat Ms. Allen provides is a criticalaspect of early literacy instruction.

Some children come to school know-ing far fewer words than others. Hartand Risley (1995) studied young chil-dren's vocabulary development andfound that when children from familieswith low incomes were 3 years old, theyknew 600 fewer words than childrenthe same age from families with upperincomes. By grade 2, the gap widens toabout 4,000 words (Biemiller & Slonim2001). These facts heighten the needto purposefully teach vocabulary inearly childhood, especially in programs

84 Young Children'My 2010

serving chiidren from iow-incomehouseholds.

This review identifies effective waysfor teachers to help young childrenlearn new word meanings. First, we dis-cuss factors that affect young children'svocabulary development. Then, wepresent four research-based vocabularyteaching practices for early childhoodclassrooms: providing purposeful expo-sure to new vocabulary, intentionallyteaching word meanings, teaching word-learning strategies, and giving childrenopportunities to use newly learnedwords. We conclude by offering class-room tips on vocabulary instructionbased on our review of the research.

Vocabulary development inearly childhood

Young children are amazing wordlearners. During the preschool years,they quickly acquire extensive vocabu-laries (Carey 1978). Researchers haveconcluded that between the ages of 12months and 18 years, children learn onaverage 10 words a day if they hear lotsof new words used in their environment(Bloom 2002). Although we do not knowthe exact nature of the word-learningprocess, research suggests that todevelop vocabulary knowledge, a youngchild needs (1) exposure to new vocabu-

lary; (2) self-motivation and engagement;(3) multiple exposures to new words thatgive contextual and definitional infor-mation; and (4) the use of independentword-learning strategies (Blachowicz,Beyersdorfer, & Fisher 2006).

Word consciousness. Young chil-dren predominantly acquire vocabularyby hearing new words used in their envi-ronment (Hart & Risley 1995)—throughconversations, television, and beingread storybooks aioud (e.g.. Rice &Woodsman 1988; Beals 1997; De Temple& Snow 2003). However, they do notpassively acquire words when they hearthem (Bloom 2002). Children learn newvocabulary only if the words pique theirinterest (Stahl & Stahl 2004). This hap-pens when children are word conscious,or interested in new word meanings. Forexample, when Ms. Allen reads ". .. youhave to know the way through the reef,"and Abby asks, "Where's the reef?" Abbyis demonstrating word consciousness.She noticed a new word (reef) during

the read-aloud and is curious about itsmeaning. Because noticing words andbeing interested in them precedes learn-ing their meanings, word consciousnessis an important aspect of vocabularydevelopment (Graves 2000).

Fast mapping. While we do notknow exactly how children acquireword meanings, research does suggesta general process that occurs over time.Initially, based on a single or limitedexposure to a word, children developa quick, partial understanding of theword's meaning—this is called fast map-ping (Carey 1978). For example, basedon the story's context, Daren deducesthat cockatoos are birds—that is, hemakes a connection between the wordcockatoo and the concept of birds. Dueto initial fast mapping, Daren may over-generalize, calling other birds, like rob-ins or blue jays, cockatoos (e.g.. Miller& Gildea 1987). This happens becausewith a single exposure, it is difficult forDaren to know which specific aspectsof a cockatoo to attend to in order todifferentiate it from other birds (Nagy &Herman 1987; Stahl & Stahl 2004).

Knowing a word's meaning includesknowing what the word refers to andbeing able to limit the use of the wordto actual examples—that is, cockatoosare not robins or blue jays. Fortunately,each context in which a child encoun-ters a word typically offers additionalinformation about the word's mean-ing (McKeown 1985). So, as Daren isexposed to the word cockatoo multipletimes, he will come to know that cocka-toos are part of the parrot family andare generally less colorful than otherkinds of parrots. In this manner, Darenwill eventually develop full and flexibleknowledge of the word cockatoo (e.g.,McKeown 1985).

Knowing a word's meaning includes knowing whatthe word refers to and being able to limit the use ofthe word to actual examples.

Young Children'My 2010 85

Word-learning strategies. Tomore readily acquire information abouta word's meaning through multipleexposures, children need to use word-learning strategies: they need to noticewhen a new word is used, attend toclues that suggest the word's meaning,and organize this new information intotheir existing knowledge of word mean-ings. When children use word-learningstrategies, they develop more nuancedunderstandings of words' meanings(Nassaji 2006) and can acquire vocabu-lary more efficiently and independently.For example, if Daren notices when theword cockatoos is used and knows tolisten and look for clues that suggestinformation about cockatoos, he is morelikely to integrate cind organize newinformation about the word's meaninginto his repertoire of word knowiedge.Not all children strategically attend toclues in the environment to help themexpand their understandings of wordmeanings. Therefore, children may notmake full or automatic use of word-meaning clues unless explicitly taughtto do so (Alexander, Graham, & Harris1998; Siegler 2005). So, explicit strategyinstruction is critical, especially forchildren who know fewer words.

Four research-basedvocabuiary teaching practices

There are four ways teachers can sup-port young children's vocabulary learn-ing: (1) provide purposeful exposureto new words, (2) intentionally teachword meanings, (3) teach word-learningstrategies, and (4) offer opportunities touse newly learned words (see "TeachingTips for Vocabulary Instruction").

Provide purposeful exposureto new words

As discussed earlier, young childrenneed to be exposed to new vocabularyto acquire word knowledge, and expo-sure in different contexts supports theiracquisition of nuanced understandingsof words' meanings (e.g., McKeown1985). Providing exposure in classroomsis critical particularly for children whoenter school knowing fewer words. Earlychildhood teachers can expose children

Teaching Tips for Vocabulary instruction

Instruction Method

Provide purposefulexposure to newwords

Intentionally teachword meanings

Teach word-learningstrategies

Offer opportunitiesto use newly iearnedwords

Teaching Tip

Teach thematically to provide muitipie exposures to

words throughout the day, through read-alouds, conver-

sations, centers, and projects.

• Select books for read-alouds in which illustrations and

text provide ciues to word meanings.

• Use an interactive read-aloud style and engage children

in cognitiveiy challenging discussions about books.

• Create media centers where children view DVDs,

explore electronic books, and listen to interactive

read-aiouds on DVD that use new vocabulary.

Use a variety of direct teaching strategies.

• Ask eliciting and noneliciting questions during read-

aiouds to prompt chiidren to think about new words

and their meanings.

• Provide an embedded definition when exposing chil-

dren to a new word whose meaning is important for

them to understand.

• Use extended instruction to help children gain a

nuanced understanding of a word's meaning.

Teach word-learning strategies while reading aloud.

• Use the three steps for strategy instruction: model,

guide, and practice.

• Select books in which both text and illustrations give

clues to a word's meaning.

Provide a variety of opportunities for chiidren to usenewly iearned vocabulary.

• Use concept-mapping activities to organize pictures

and props related to a classroom theme or project.

• Have children reteli, buddy read, or act out texts that

have been read in the classroom.

• Write down stories dictated by children that are related

to a classroom theme or project.

• Develop art and craft projects in which children can

apply newly learned concepts.

• Engage in inquiry projects related to the curricuiar

theme.

• Provide props related to the theme that may elicittheme-related vocabulary use.

86 Young Children'My 2010

to new words through (a) read-alouds,(b) teacher use of words, and (c) videoor multimedia presentations. Learningnew words through exposure seems towork best with words that representfamiliar concepts (Kibby 1995). Forexample, if a child understands themeaning of the word happy, she is likelyto learn the word ecstatic through mean-ingful exposures to this word.

Read-alouds. Reading books aloudin the classroom introduces children tonew vocabulary in meaningful contexts.Children's books tend to contain a highproportion of advanced vocabulary(Hayes & Ahrens 1988), and children aretypically engaged by a good book. JimTrelease's (2006) Read-Aioud Handbookis an excellent guide to selecting high-quality books to read aloud.

When teachers read an assortment ofbooks within a theme, they give childrenmultiple opportunities to learn newwords. For example, while the word vineoccurred only once in Where the Forest

Meets the Sea, it occurred 81 times in sixother books about the rain forest thatMs. Allen read aloud to the children. Thisis important because the more frequentlychildren hear or read a word, the morelikely they are to understand its meaning(Elley 1989; Robbins & Ehri 1994).

Children's literature in which both illus-trations and text provide clues to newword meanings best supports vocabularylearning (Elley 1989). Where the Forest

Engaging children ininteractive read-aloudsand cognitively chal-lenging discussionsabout books enhanceschildren's vocabularylearning.

Meets the Sea provides a meaningful con-text for the word reef in the illustrationsand in the text. Engaging children ininteractive read-alouds and cognitivelychallenging discussions about the books,as Ms. Allen does, enhances children'svocabulary learning (e.g., Brabham &Lynch-Brown 2002). The deeper process-ing required for children's participationin these activities contributes to theirdevelopment of more nuanced word-meaning understanding. While readingaloud Where the Forest Meets the Sea,Ms. Allen stops frequently to check thechildren's understanding of the story byasking them to make predictions ("Wheredo you think they are going?") and pos-ing questions that engage the childrenin critical thinking about the text ("Howdo you think the boy managed to getthrough the vines?").

Teaciiers' word use. Teachers'intentional, meaningful use of newvocabulary whi!e talking with childrenis another effective way to promote

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Young CWWren »July 2010 87

word learning (e.g., Carey 1978). This isan important teaching method becauseteachers can use new vocabularythroughout the day and during a varietyof activities. Teachers pian meaning-ful exposures to vocabulary (iike usingcompromise or cooperative when helpingchildren to resolve conflicts) to broadenchiidren's gênerai word knowiedge orto reinforce words learned during read-aiouds (using the words reef and vinewhile constructing art projects).

Multimedia presentations. Hearingnew vocabuiary in DVDs and multime-dia presentations aiso supports youngchiidren's vocabuiary iearning (e.g.. Rice& Woodsmall 1988; Dockrell, Braisby, &Best 2007). Eiectronic texts (e.g., Higgins& Hess 1999) and read-alouds on DVDs(Wang, Christ, & Chiu 2009) can bemotivating and effective when they callfor children to actively engage with thewords. It is important to note that chil-dren learn words that represent famiiiarconcepts through these media; however,they do not tend to learn the meaningsof words representing unfamiiiar con-cepts (Dockreii, Braisby, & Best 2007)uniess teachers pair direct instructionwith viewing activities (Neuman, Dwyer,& Neuman 2008).

Intentionally teach wordmeanings

Direct word-meaning instruction isan effective way to facilitate children'svocabulary development (e.g.. Beck,McKeown, & Kucan 2002) especially forwords that represent unfamiliar concepts(Kibby 1995). For this type of instruction,select words that are important for com-prehension (Kibby 1995; Beck, McKeown,& Kucan 2002) and useful in children'severyday interactions (Beck, McKeown,& Kucan 2002). There are three mainapproaches to directly teaching youngchildren word meanings: asking ques-tions related to a particuiar vocabularyword, embedding definitions of vocabu-iary words when they occur naturally,and extending instruction to inciudeopportunities for children to demon-strate their word-meaning understanding.

Eliciting-type questions. To evokechiidren's thinking about word mean-ings, teachers can ask them questions

Embedded definitionssupport children's wordlearning and lead togreater understandingof a word's meaningthan do picture clues.

to elicit recognition of a vocabularyword (Senechal, Thomas, & Monker1995; Senechal 1997; Walsh & Blewitt2006)—"Where are the cockatoos in theillustration?" or, pointing to cockatoos inthe illustration, "What are these called?"Using eliciting-type questions results inchiidren's learning more word meaningsthan simpiy exposing them to words incontext (Senechal, Thomas, & Monker1995; Senechal 1997). Teachers can alsoask questions that request informationabout the concept represented by thevocabulary word (Justice 2002), like, "Whywouid you need to be careful of a reefi"

Embedded definitions. Teacherscan also quickly explain word meaningswhen chiidren encounter unfamiiiarwords. These explanations are calledembedded definitions, because the expla-nation of the word's meaning is embed-ded in the natural context in which theword occurs. Ms. Allen provides anembedded definition for the word reefso that the children will understand whypeople would need to "know the waythrough the reef." She explains, "A reefis under the water, and is very sharp,so the boat needs to go around thereef so that It doesn't get caught in it."Embedded definitions support children'sword learning and lead to greater under-standing of a word's meaning than dopicture clues (DeBaryshe & Whitehurst1986) or exposure to a word throughread-alouds (Biemiller & Boote 2006).

Extended instruction. When teach-ers want to help children develop anuanced understanding of a word, theyuse a muitistep approach often referredto as extended instruction (e.g.. Beck,McKeown, & Kucan 2002; Juel et al. 2003;Coyne, McCoach, & Kapp 2007; Silverman2007). Isabel Beck, Margaret McKeown,

and Linda Kucan (2002) suggest imple-menting six steps aifter a read-aioud:

1. Contextualize the word as it appearsin the story—Ms. Allen might ask thechiidren to recall that in the story, peoplehad to "know the way through the reef."

2. Explain the word's meaning—she mightremind the children that a reef grows fromthe ocean floor and is very sharp.

3. Ask the chiidren to repeat the wordaloud to create a phonologicai imprint(a memory of the word's sound).

4. Offer exampies that extend beyondthe story context—Ms. Aiien might tellthe chiidren that they wouid need to becareful not to swim too near a reef to besure that they would not get cut, andthat the fish that swim and live near areefneeà to be agile to get around itssharp edges.

5. Have chiidren demonstrate word-meaning understanding by making ajudgment, articuiating an example, andso on—Ms. Allen might ask the chiidrento decide whether they wouid like tosleep on a reef, have a reef in their bed-room, or see a reef in an aquarium.

6. Have the children restate the word toreinforce its phonologicai imprint.

Children learn more about word mean-ings from extended instruction thanfrom embedded Instruction or exposurealone (Silverman 2007).

Teach word-learning strategies

For young children to develop themental tools to infer word meanings fromcontext, they need to be taught how todo so. Use the foiiowing steps, over time,to support chiidren in strategic wordlearning (Wang, Christ, & Chiu 2009).

1. During the first several read-aloudsin which you plan to support chiidren ininferring word meanings, use a "think-aioud" to model how to use clues andbackground knowledge to infer wordmeaning. For example, Ms. Allen mayhave thought aloud about the meaningof cockatoos. Perhaps she said to thechildren, "I know that birds squawk. Ifthe cloud squawks, then the squawk-ing may be coming from birds. Maybethe cioud is made up of birds. Since theauthor says that there is a cioud of cock-atoos, the cockatoos must be birds."This shows the steps in her thinking

88 Young Children'My 2010

about the clues in the text (cockatoosform a squawking cloud) and her back-ground knowledge (birds squawk).

2. Then, after you have modeled think-ing about using clues in the text andbackground knowledge to infer wordmeanings several times, ask childrenquestions to guide them through thesame process. Perhaps Ms. Allen asked,"What do you think might squawk?" (toelicit background knowledge), "Whatare in the form of a cloud in the illustra-tion?" (to connect background knowl-edge with clues from the text), and "So,what do you think cockatoos are?" (to

garner a hypothesis about the meaningof cockatoos}.

3. Next, after you have guided childrenmany times to infer word meaning, askthem to infer word meanings indepen-dently, using background knowledge andthe clues in the text.

It is critical that the text have cluesthat suggest the word's meaning in orderfor this type of instruction to work. InWhere the Forest Meets the Sea, the writ-ing and the illustrations both provideclues as to what cockatoos are. The textreads, "When we arrive, cockatoos risefrom the forest in a squawking cloud,"and in the illustration, birds hover in the

air like a cloud. Based on these clues,children can figure out that cockatoosare birds and that they live in the rainforest (the book's setting).

Offer opportunities to use newiyiearned words

Providing opportunities for childrento use newly learned words is a criti-cal aspect of supporting word learning.Construct classroom activities in whichchildren are likely to use newly learnedwords.

One such activity is concept mapping,as when children work in groups to orga-nize pictures of animals in a Venn dia-gram (at left) to show which animals arecarnivores, omnivores, or herbivores.This supports their learning and use

Young Children'My 2010

Multiple exposures to new words across classroom

contexts (in a read-aloud, then in the art center, and

so on) give children opportunities to acquire informa-

tion about word meanings.

of new concept names (red-eyed treefrog), categories (carnivores, omnivores,herbivores), properties (plant eating,meat eating, plant and meat eating), andrelatedness (herbivores and carnivoresare opposites, and omnivores eat whatboth herbivores and carnivores eat)(Christ & Wang 2010a).

Other word-mapping activities includehaving children "read" or retell a storyfrom a familiar book (Wasik & Bond 2001;Coyne, Simmons, & Kame'enui 2004;Schwanenflugel et al. 2005; Labbo, Love,& Ryan 2007; Leung 2008; Wang & Christ2009; Christ & Wang 2010b); dictatestories based on knowledge acquiredthrough a curriculum theme (Christ &Wang 2009); and engage in theme-relatedarts and crafts (Wasik & Bond 2001;Wang, Christ, & Chiu 2009) and socio-dramatic play (for example, in a dra-matic play center with a child-createdrain forest backdrop [see p. 89], wherechildren's pretend play with stuffed andplastic animals relates to the rain foresttheme) (Wang, Christ, & Chiu 2009).

Conclusion

Using a variety of teaching methods toimprove children's vocabularies helpsto advance educational equity becausea well-developed vocabulary correlateswith greater reading comprehensionand general academic success. Overtime, and with emphasis on vocabularylearning as a critical aspect of literacyand conceptual development in theirclassroom, teachers will expose childrento a vast number of new words. Multipleexposures to new words across class-room contexts (in a read-aloud, then inthe art center, and so on) give childrenopportunities to acquire informationabout word meanings. Through teach-ers' own interest in words and theirmodeling of interest in and attention towords and to clues about word mean-

ings, children can become active, moti-vated, and strategic word learners.

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