Book excerpt and sample lesson

1. Vocabulary in a SNAP!
An excerpt from the book by Angela Peery, Ed. D.
Chapter 1: This Ain’t Your Mama’s Vocabulary Lesson!
In the past decade or so, teachers have realized that “look it up in the dictionary” or “check the glossary” is
not an appropriate response when students inquire about word meaning. The weekly lists of words to
study for Friday quizzes have (thankfully) been replaced in most classrooms with vocabulary assignments
that create better retention, yet teachers know that their students need to know and use more words than
ever. Why have they come to this conclusion? Several factors have come into play.
First, the increasing rate of children living in poverty means that children arrive in pre-kindergarten or
kindergarten programs already displaying a deficit in words they know. The “30 million word gap,” as it has
become known, references the number of words that students in welfare families have heard spoken
versus the number of words that students in professional families have heard spoken before they enter
school (Hart and Risley, 2003). This gap, if not addressed, is compounded over time and becomes a serious
impediment to reading comprehension. Studies have shown that kindergarten vocabulary knowledge
accurately predicted second-grade reading comprehension (Roth, Speece, and Cooper, 2002). Cunningham
and Stanovich’s work (1997) showed a correlation between first-grade vocabulary knowledge and reading
comprehension in high school. Thus, boosting the vocabulary of our economically disadvantaged students is
incredibly important because they have an early and huge disadvantage.
Second, academic standards have increased in rigor. New standards demand that students have large,
general academic vocabularies in addition to advanced, discipline-specific vocabularies. These more
rigorous standards that have been adopted not only in the United States but in nations around the world
have been crafted with attention to the workings of our global economy. It’s simply no longer possible for
the masses to get a good factory or office job with attractive benefits and comfortable pensions. The world
has changed a great deal since the 1960’s, and the best jobs require high levels of literacy and numeracy in
addition to 21st century skills like effective collaboration and the ability to choose and use technology
wisely. Teachers feel pressed for time, as they always have, but they also know that the high level of
literacy expected in recent standards requires more attention to vocabulary.
And third, teachers know that students with rich vocabularies do better in many facets of life. Reading
comprehension is definitely tied to the strength and size of one’s vocabulary, as mentioned earlier. Oral
expression is highly dependent on a person’s vocabulary, and the words spoken by a person greatly impact
anyone else’s first impression – and a first impression may be critical to a student’s success, as in a college
or job interview. Also, teachers know that as students progress through school, the demands of each
subject area increase. Those content-area demands require the application of hundreds of words. Our
students, many of whom have been subjected to years of multiple-choice testing of reading and
vocabulary, must be reconditioned to learn words not only at a recognition level or in context with answers
from which to choose, but at a deep level for use in speaking and writing.
I understand the concerns teachers have about the size and strength of their students’ vocabularies. When
I was a full-time classroom teacher, I pondered how to improve vocabulary instruction for years and finally
found a few things that seemed to work. My concerns were mainly about two things: one, the actual words
I should teach explicitly because they were vital to understanding content, and two, how to encourage
incidental vocabulary learning. I questioned the words my literature textbook emphasized when I used it to
teach short stories, drama, and poetry. Sometimes I thought, “Who in the world selected these words?”
Archaic terms, words used metaphorically, and lists of words to study for the ACT and SAT often seemed so
disconnected from what I felt my students needed to know right then for academic success. So I gradually
started selecting words within the required literature selections that I found necessary for the deep
understanding of the text – not necessarily the same words the publisher had selected. Also, I wanted my

2. students to be word-seekers, to find words in the books they chose for their independent reading, to be
genuinely interested in growing their own vocabularies. I understood that by requiring my students to read
their choice books for over two hours a week in class and for homework, I could support their vocabulary
growth by asking them to be cognizant of words they did not know, record them, and try to apply them. I
finally settled upon a vocabulary log assignment in which students would find several unknown words per
week in their reading or in their environments and tackle those words by recording the context, defining
each word as it was used in context, and using the word in an original sentence. Periodically, I asked
students to do “word talks” during which they shared a word or two with their classmates and explained
why those words were important or interesting. Eventually, I also made a section on my final exam that
required students to argue for ten words they thought everyone in their grade level should learn. These
assignments weren’t perfect, but they were certainly more aligned with how we actually learn vocabulary
through reading and just in life in general.
So, it seems that most teachers no longer hand out a list of words on Monday for students to study, be
quizzed on, and then promptly forget. I remember such word lists from my own middle and high school
education. I remember studying the words fondly, because I love words – obviously, since I became an
English teacher and writer.
However, I can’t say that I remember many of the words themselves. When I reflect, I think I learned most
new words I learned in both high school and college by taking Latin classes. The basis of so many English
words can be found in Latin, and, along with context, these core components often help me continue flying
through a text even if I encounter an unfamiliar word. And isn’t that a worthy goal – that our students are
able to fly through text without becoming so befuddled by an unfamiliar word that they stop reading?
This book is intended to be a resource for you no matter where you are on the vocabulary-teaching
spectrum. If you’re just beginning to feel the itch to improve in this area, terrific! If you’ve been tinkering
with vocabulary instruction for a while, you will find specific ideas here that can add to what you’re already
doing. And if you’re an expert teacher of vocabulary, you will find resources here that save you time and
give you new ideas. Enjoy.

3. References
Cunningham, A. E., and Stanovich, K. E. (1997). Early reading acquisition and its relation to
reading experience and ability 10 years later. Developmental psychology, 33(6), 934-945.
Hart, B. and Risley, T. R. (2003). The early catastrophe: The thirty million word gap. American
educator, (27)1 4-9.
Roth, F. P., Speece, D. L., and Cooper, D. H. (2002). A longitudinal analysis of the connection
between oral language and early reading. Journal of educational research, 95(5), 259-272.

4. Key: SNAP Icons
Seeing and saying each word
Acceleration
Naming a category and/or group to which the word belongs
Acting on the words (engaging in as brief task or conversation about thewords)
Producing an original application of the words
Scaffolding

5. Sample Lesson
Target Words:
Proceed
Progress
Advance
Rationale: Forms of these words can often replace forms of the verb “go” and sound more sophisticated.
Effective Instructional Strategies Used:
Choral response
Kinesthetic activity
Cooperative learning
Narrative of the Mini-Lesson
Teacher: “Students, sometimes we want to use a more sophisticated word instead of an ordinary word,
especially when we want to impress our audience. So I’d like for us to look at three words today that all
mean, general, to go, to move forward, or to continue. So, they are SYNONYMS for those words.”
(She points to the words written on the SMART board.) “Stand up and let’s have some fun with this.
Let’s do I say, you say. I say PROCEED! Now you say proceed…” (Students do a choral response with each
word after receiving the cue from the teacher.)
“All these words are about movement, usually movement ahead or forward. Let’s put a little movement
with these words. Since they all mean to move forward, to continue, or to keep going, let’s take a step
forward with each one. Ready? Proceed!” (Everyone steps forward and says the word at the same time.)
“Progress!” (Again, all step forward when saying the word. The same happens with the word advance.)
(Note: You may want to include a unique gesture for each word.)
“All right, let’s have a seat. Let me give you an example of the use of each word. Then I’m going to ask
you to partner A and B and have a quick chat. Lastly, you’ll do a quick writing task for me on the index
card on your desk.”
“Okay, the word PROCEED is up first. After students complete kindergarten, they PROCEED to first
grade. Does that make sense? After one grade level, you proceed to the next one. How else might you
use the word PROCEED? Remember, all these words go in the category of words meaning to go
forward.” (Allows some discussion.)

6. “PROGRESS as a verb – not the noun progress, which you can hear is pronounced differently, with the
accent on the first syllable – means to move forward or to keep going also. So here’s an example. As you
PROGRESS through these mini- lessons this year, you learn additional vocabulary words.”
“Last we have ADVANCE. When I use Powerpoint presentations with you in class, I advance from slide to
slide. That means I go forward. The little gadget I use in my hand is even called a slide ADVANCER.”
“Now, partner with your assigned person and quickly discuss the words with each other. Make sure you
can share how you would use the word in your speaking or writing.”
(Allows 3 minutes.)
“Now, at your seat, quickly grab the index card I gave you, and write a sentence for each word. It can be
about anything you like. Think about how you could use the words today or tomorrow as you complete
your assignments or talk with your friends.”
(Allows 2-4 minutes. It’s okay if not everyone finishes. The teacher takes whatever amount of writing
each student is able to do.)
“Great! I’ll take the index cards. Let’s PROCEED into today’s science lesson…” (End of mini-lesson.)
Students could do the writing task with partners or as part of a small group. Students who struggle with
writing or with the English language could meet with the teacher during the writing time and instead
respond orally or receive additional support from the teacher at that time.
For extra challenge or more advanced students, the teacher could also teach REGRESS as the opposite of
PROGRESS, or mention the word and write it on the board and encourage students to study it on their
own. Also, ADVANCE and its opposite, RETREAT, may be worth discussing. RECEDE is another related
verb.
The verbs FURTHER, ENSUE, and EVOLVE may also be worth consideration as additional target words.