The Fertility of Some Types of Vocabulary Instruction [microform] / Isabel L. Beck and Others

Designed to improve reading comprehension and other complex verbal functions, fertile instruction in word skill focuses on improving accuracy of word knowledge, increasing fluency of access to meanings in memory, and enriching semantic network connections among related concepts. It is particularly appropriate for teaching the high frequency words of mature language users to less skilled readers. In a program for less skilled readers in the fourth grade, semantic groups of about 10 words were presented over one-week periods. Instruction included a range of tasks from matching words with definitions to using words in new contexts and contrasting words to discover new relationships. The program also motivated children to carry their vocabulary learning beyond the classroom. Three studies of instructional effects revealed that (1) children gained an accurate knowledge of word definitions as measured by a multiple choice test, (2) children were able to access instructed words faster in word categorization tests, and (3) students receiving rich instruction outperformed those with more traditional instruction on a word context task. Finally, recall and multiple choice questions showed that students receiving fertile instruction had improved reading comprehension for stories with instructed words. (MM)