Visualizing Vocabulary

Jeffrey Carrus
Second Grade Teacher
Barrington Place Elementary School

Abstract

This action research project investigated instructional methods used for teaching vocabulary to
nineteen second grade students. Explicit vocabulary instruction accompanied with student
created definitions and visualizations were used to teach vocabulary to twelve female and seven
male students, including six ESL and one autistic child. Instruction was given for six words per
story and pre and post test data was collected for four stories. Findings proved that students
learned and internalized newly acquired vocabulary when they were given explicit instruction
and created personal visualizations. Student comprehension of words was evident in post test
data, tracking of vocabulary usage, and visualizations created by students.

Background/Context

In order to conduct a beneficial research project it is essential to pick a topic that is

relevant to the life or interests of the researcher. A main focus in schools has always been

improving reading scores of students. Vocabulary development is crucial to help attain this

reading progress. This research project focuses on how to explicitly teach vocabulary to students.

It also brings to light the importance of how meaningful visualizations can create personal

connections in students’ minds. These two practices can significantly impact student

comprehension and achievement in reading.

Students can then apply this new vocabulary into their everyday lives which will help

them grow as learners and as members of society. Improving vocabulary will also improve

students’ test scores and comprehension since they will have more background knowledge and

exposure to more words. Vocabulary development, as a foundation for learning, is crucial to

students’ reading development.

The research question of this study is to explore how explicit vocabulary instruction and

creating visualizations of new vocabulary terms will impact student comprehension and

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achievement in reading. The student population to be observed is a class of nineteen second

grade students. In this class, there are twelve females and seven males. Six students are classified

as ESL and one student is autistic. The students will be observed during regular reading

instruction, specifically during vocabulary building instruction.

This topic is very meaningful to the researcher because of the lack of vocabulary

observed in students over the years. Students need to have exposure to new vocabulary in order

to develop as readers and speakers in their lives. It is important that teachers find meaningful

ways to teach vocabulary so that these new words become familiar and relevant to students.

Otherwise, they will not be retained and applied into their normal conversations. The researcher

wanted to study the impact that can be made when teaching vocabulary explicitly to students in a

significant manner.

Research on Vocabulary Instruction

Reading instruction is essential to teach students the skills they will need to apply to all

other subjects as well as their every day lives. Wanzek, Vaughn, Ae-Hwa, and Cavanaugh (2006)

suggested that there may also be benefits to experiencing success in reading, such as improved

self esteem, positive self concept, appropriate social skills, and overall social competence.

Students need to develop a strong foundation in reading to experience success throughout their

educational careers. Teachers need to ensure that their reading instruction includes phonemic and

phonics building, vocabulary building, and fluency practice to lead to the overall goal of reading

comprehension. This research project shows how meaningful vocabulary development correlates

with reading improvement. By providing students with explicit initial vocabulary instruction,

giving them meaningful examples and non examples, and by facilitating them to visualize a

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personal definition of their new vocabulary words; teachers can foster vocabulary growth in their

students.

In Free Reading (Krashen, 2006), a strategy for building children’s reading skills through

vocabulary development is suggested. The researcher found that students who read for pleasure

do much better than their peers who are forced to silent read for periods of time. Student’s test

scores were tracked by this researcher and he found the prior statement to be true in eight out of

ten cases. He found that students must develop a love for reading. In connection with his work,

this project discusses the importance of helping students develop a love for using new words and

exploring their meanings.

Otaiba, Kosanovich-Grek, Torgesen , Hassler, and Wahl (2005) found that many of the

core reading programs used in schools are evaluated using a rating scale. The main aspects of

reading such as phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension are all

looked at in each program. Vocabulary development is one of the key aspects looked at in

making this rating. They found that vocabulary development needs to be explicit and meaningful

to children’s lives in order to be successful in the classroom. Reading programs that had a strong

vocabulary component incorporated into the other four aspects yielded more educational gains in

the students tested.

Rupley (2005) states the importance of students’ vocabulary acquisition early in their

education (before third grade). Students’ comprehension scores were tested and it was confirmed

that vocabulary development played a major role in improving scores. Reading comprehension is

influenced in many ways by vocabulary knowledge or lack thereof. Teachers can assess students’

vocabulary knowledge and plan intervention accordingly if needed. Students need opportunities

to develop their vocabulary through experience, explicit instruction, and social interactions. This

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study by Rupley (2005) fits perfectly with this particular action research described in this paper.

Vocabulary development helped raise student’s comprehension scores and enhance student

writing in the classroom observed. This research project focuses on specific vocabulary

instruction to achieve these same goals with this second grade population.

The previous research keys in on the importance of vocabulary development in young

learners. Explicit instruction is one of the proven instructional methods that lead to student

success in vocabulary. This research study will use explicit instruction accompanied with

visualizations and other various instructional methods mentioned within to ensure that children

are provided with the strong vocabulary foundation they need to thrive in their reading. The goal

of this project is to use effective teaching strategies while allowing students to grow a love for

reading and vocabulary in the process.

Methodology
Participants
Nineteen second grade students, 12 female and 7 male, participated in our action

research. The children’s reading levels spanned from a first grade level (DRA 12) to a second

grade level (DRA 24). Six of the children in the study were ESL students and one child is

classified as autistic. Three of the children in the class had previously been retained because of

their reading levels, which where at a DRA 12. Five of the students in the class (including the

three previously mentioned) had reading levels of 12, which usually coincides with beginning

first grade readers. Most second graders should enter second grade with a reading level (DRA

level) of 18.

Materials
Some of the vocabulary instruction in this study comes from the Scholastic Text Talk

teacher’s guide (2005). This book provided an assortment of children’s books to be used for this

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project as well as the vocabulary to be focused on. Various books were used in the study such as,

Ruby the Copy Cat, Amelia’s Road, Mole’s Hill, Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse, and Strega

Nona. A vocabulary pocket chart with laminated sentence strips was needed to post the

vocabulary words and definitions.

Procedures
Students will participate in explicit vocabulary instruction on a daily basis. They will be

exposed to this explicit instruction on 6 new words for each story we read. Teacher observations

and whole group student discussions will be an indicator of student progress. Students will have

a vocabulary pre-test at the beginning of each week (Day One) and a post-test (Appendix A) at

the end of each week (Day Five) to see if they have a deep understanding of the words. Students

will also be asked to visualize the words and create a representation of what the word means to

them in their vocabulary notebooks throughout the week. This representation will be used to see

if they have created meaning of the new words and this will be tested on each post-test.

On Days three and four, students will develop a deep understanding of three words per

day. The teacher will have the students repeat these words as they look at the spelling.

Repetition and focused attention on the spelling of the words will help them internalize the

concepts. The teacher uses examples of each word to allow students to apply the word into

different contexts. The teacher uses non-examples of each word to reveal to students situations

in which the word would not apply to the context. The words are posted on the wall and left up

for two weeks so students can refer to the chart to use these new words in their writing and

speaking while also noting their use in books they may be reading.

On Day five, students will be given more examples and non-examples of each word to

deepen their understanding of them. Students will also give their own examples and usage of the

words to add meaning to their visualizations (Appendix F). On Day six, students will take their

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post test (Appendix A). On Days 7-9, students will try to find classroom situations to apply and

use the new words. The class will keep a tally of every time they use one of the words in the

correct context or see it in literature. The teacher will encourage the use of these words

throughout the year and cite some examples of students’ usage in the documentation. On Day

Ten, the students will celebrate the word with the most tallies by sharing their personal

experiences related to the word and acting it out.

Table 1

Daily Vocabulary Instruction Procedures

Day One Day Two Day Three Day Four Day Five

Vocabulary Teacher will 1. Focus on 1. Focus on 1. Students will

Pre-test read story and three of the remaining three review their
introduce 6 new words and words and visualizations
vocabulary explain them, explain them, and add words
words. Teacher provide provide to them to
will note their example and example and elaborate on
usage in text. non-examples; non-examples; their
2. Have 2. Have understanding
students create students create of each;
visualizations; visualizations; 2. Teacher will
3. Teacher will 3. Teacher will quiz students
post student post student on words
created created giving them
definitions on definitions on opportunities to
vocabulary vocabulary hear more
chart on wall. chart on wall. examples and
non-examples
of each.
Day Six Day Seven Day Eight Day Nine Day Ten

Students will Words will be Words will be Words will be Students will
take post test written on written on written on celebrate the
small chart and small chart and small chart and “word winner”
each time one is each time one is each time one is or word with
used in writing used in writing used in writing most tallies by
or speaking; it or speaking; it or speaking; it acting it out
will be tallied will be tallied will be tallied together.
on chart. on chart on chart.

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Data Sources

Several instruments were used to measure the results of this project. All of the data will

be collected to see if explicit instruction and visualizations can lead to students having a

meaningful connection to these words. This allows them to recall them and apply them.

First, student DRA2 scores will be used for formal assessment purposes. The DRA2 is a

formal reading assessment used in the district. It tests student’s oral reading and comprehension.

Secondly, pre and post tests were created by the teacher/researcher on a lesson to lesson

basis to analyze student learning of each set of words. These tests contained true/false questions

and inference type questions as well as a section where students were asked to create a

visualization of each word.

Another data source was a vocabulary tracking sheet that was posted in the front of the

room to mark every time one of the words was used. The teacher took note of the student usage

and application of the words following instruction.

Finally, the teacher will give visualization quizzes on a weekly basis. These will consist

of students drawing their sketch and adding words or a sentence to explain the meaning of

various words.

Data Analysis

The researcher will mainly use the pre and post tests for data analysis. The scores will be

charted and analyzed to see if the vocabulary instruction helps them learn the intended words for

each lesson. The mean scores of these quizzes will be presented in graph form to determine the

effectiveness of the teaching strategies. Student DRA2 scores will also be presented in this graph

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form. DRA scores will be looked at to see if this vocabulary development has a positive impact

on increasing scores.

Another tool that will be used to gather information will be the students’ vocabulary

visualizations. The teacher will look at each student’s work individually to see if they drew a

picture that connected to the meaning of the word and if they added their own words to show that

they had a personal understanding. If the students drew a meaningful and correct illustration for

each word and explained their drawing in their own words, then they will receive full credit.

These papers will allow the researcher to determine whether or not students can create their own

meaning with the new words using the teacher judgment.

Student writing samples will also be evaluated to conclude if students are applying these

new words to their everyday writing assignments without being prompted to do so. The teacher

will observe the students’ normal writing activities and assignments to determine if students

actually use the new vocabulary words in their everyday writing.

Parental Consent Procedure

All parents will be notified of the goal of this instruction so they can be aware of how the

students use these new words outside of school. Parents can help reinforce the usage of these

vocabulary words by praising students for using new and challenging words. No permission is

required for this research and all materials will be gathered and supplied by the administering

teacher.

Analysis/Findings
Pre and Post test findings

This chart shows the students’ scores over four different vocabulary units. The pretests

were issued before students began work with the words and the posttests followed the

instructional plan. Individual student scores can be viewed in Appendix B.

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 Mean Pre and Post Test Scores

120
97 95 97 96
100

80

60 45 46 46
43
40

20

0
Pre 1 Post 1 Pre 2 Post 2 Pre 3 Post 3 Pre 4 Post 4
Mean Student Scores

Figure 1. Student scores on vocabulary pre tests and post tests.

Student scores doubled from every pre test to post test. Before explicit instruction,

students scored less than fifty percent on every pre test. In contrast, students scored over ninety

percent on all of the post tests. Students improved in all three areas of the test including their

visualizations and descriptions, true/false, and multiple choice questions. On the pretest students

were weakest in the area of drawing visualizations because they did not have a fifty-fifty chance

of getting the question correct, as in the other categories of test items. After instruction, students

could provide detailed visualizations with personal explanations of the words.

Student Visualizations

This graph (Appendix F) shows how students scored when they were asked to draw

visualizations for the given words from the vocabulary instructional unit. The before score stands

for their mean scores before they received explicit vocabulary instruction with the words, while

the after score shows the mean score following this instruction.

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 100 92
90
80
70
60
50
40
30 23
20
10
0
Before After

Figure 2. Percentage of correct student visualizations.

When students were asked to draw visualizations of some of the vocabulary words (found

in Appendix C) before the project began, they only scored twenty-three percent. However, after

the project they could draw correct visualizations for these same words ninety-two percent of the

time. Student visualizations improved drastically because students could now draw on their

classroom experiences and personal connections with the words to guide them in their drawings.

DRA2

The student DRA2 scores are shown in this graph below. The first administration of the

DRA came before the research project began. The second administration fell in the middle of this

research project and the third administration of the DRA came after the conclusion of this

project.

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 Average DRA Scores

35
29
30

25 22
20
16
15

10

5
0
DRA 1st DRA 2nd DRA 3rd

Figure 3. Student DRA2 scores.

The DRA is administered three times a year in second grade. The average DRA score of

the students entering second grade was below grade level prior to this study. After the third

administration, the researcher found that the average DRA score was right on grade level (28) for

students entering third grade while five students scored above grade level. This progress shows

the impact of the vocabulary instruction on the students’ overall comprehension scores.

Student Word Usage

The graph below shows how many times the students in the classroom used or found the

specific vocabulary words for each two week period.

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 Student Word Usage

90 82 85
76
80 70
70
Times Used

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1st Week 2nd Week 3rd Week 4th Week
Word Lists

Figure 4. Student word usage (relating with pre and post tests).

The teacher tracked how many times the new words were used by students in the two

week period for each set of words. There is no data for how many times the students used these

words prior to instruction because students did not know these words well enough to apply them

in conversation. Therefore, the words were either not used at all or used very seldom in the

correct contexts. After instruction, students used the new words an average of 78 to 79 times in

these four vocabulary units. The teacher used the Word Winner chart (Appendix D, bottom) to

count how many times the class used the new words in writing, speaking, or found them in their

reading. Before this vocabulary instruction, students rarely used these words because they had

not been exposed to them.

One student announced to the teacher that they would take the new vocabulary home with

them and share the words with their family since they did not know much English. This

comment made the researcher realize how important vocabulary is to our lives. Some of the

words learned can be applied to student conversations and schoolwork on a daily basis. The list

of words explicitly taught to students over the course of the year can be found in Appendix C.

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 The teacher also noticed that the students would apply these new words across the

curriculum. For example, when the class learned about weather the students used the new

vocabulary words, damp and drafty to describe the outside conditions. When the students

learned about animals; they stated that certain animals must adapt when the weather changes.

There were numerous examples of students applying their new vocabulary in the classroom as

well as many examples out of the classroom. Students’ writing improved greatly because of

their application of these new vocabulary words (Appendix E). Students in the cafeteria stated

that their lunch was scrumptious. One of the parents called the teacher and commented that their

child told them they were anticipating coming back to school on Monday. These specific

examples show that the students not only learned the words but they internalized them and made

them a part of their everyday vocabulary.

Discussion

The researcher can clearly determine that this vocabulary instruction has increased the

scores on the post tests. Students were unfamiliar with the majority of the vocabulary words

before instruction. After instruction, students performed significantly higher on the test. In all of

the testing scenarios, students’ scores have increased by more than fifty percent. Students have

also increased their usage of the words in the classroom. Students used these new words less

than one percent of the time before explicit teaching and exposure to them. The researcher

charted the usage of the new words on a weekly basis and concluded that, after instruction, the

classroom students used an average of 78 to 79 times per two week period as discussed in the

procedures.

Explicit vocabulary instruction accompanied with having students create personal

visualizations for the vocabulary causes students to internalize the meaning of new vocabulary.

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This, in turn, leads to students implementing the new vocabulary in their everyday conversations

as well as in their daily writing. An increase in students’ DRA scores may be correlated with

students’ increased vocabulary knowledge from the instruction in this study. One limitation to

this study was that DRA scores are affected by many other classroom practices, which is why the

researcher can’t specifically link the increase in scores to this vocabulary instruction. However,

students’ vocabulary improvement likely contributes to their increases in the DRA scores.

This correlation coincides with the research by Al Otaiba, Kosanovich-Grek, Torgesen ,

Hassler and Wahl (2005), who found that the five aspects of reading; phonics, phonemic

awareness, fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary all play a crucial role in reading

development. Vocabulary is just one of the factors that need to be addressed in order to have

meaningful reading instruction. Another limitation of this study was that there was no

comparison group. In future studies concerning this topic, a comparison group of students who

do not receive this instruction, would be beneficial for statistical comparison. This would allow

researchers to determine how beneficial this vocabulary instruction is compared to not having it

at all.

Rupley’s (2005) study of the impact of vocabulary knowledge on reading comprehension

was also proven by this study. Students in this study saw their comprehension scores increase as

well as their recognition and application of new vocabulary in different contexts. Vocabulary

knowledge helps students improve academically and feel more confident as learners because

vocabulary knowledge gives them more word choice when they are trying to express themselves.

Students in this class were enthusiastic about learning new vocabulary words and they

were determined to implement their new vocabulary in their everyday lives. Students were able

to apply the newly learned vocabulary words in their everyday lives as evident by the statements

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made by students and parents regarding this project. Students made significant gains in

vocabulary shown by all of the data sources. Students’ understanding and comprehension of the

words increased as did their usage of the words. The researcher feels that by adding some of

these new words to their everyday conversations, students have been given new ways to describe

their feelings and surroundings.

Reflections/Action Plan

In conclusion, this project proved the importance of vocabulary instruction in the

elementary classroom. The action research pretests clearly showed a lack of student vocabulary

knowledge prior to instruction and a significant increase in vocabulary knowledge following

explicit instruction. The researcher will continue to teach vocabulary as described in the

methodology section. Students took pride in speaking and writing with more intelligent words

and knowledge and confidence are two key elements that will lead students down a successful

path. All students, ESL and special needs students included, benefited from explicit instruction

and visualizations. These teaching strategies were successfully applied to vocabulary instruction.

The challenge that lies ahead is incorporating these teaching methods into all curriculum areas.

References
Al Otaiba, S., Kosanovich-Grek, M. L., Torgesen , J. K., Hassler, L., & Wahl, M.

(2005,October). Reviewing core kindergarten and first grade reading programs in light of

no child left behind: An exploratory study. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 21(4), 377-400.

Krashen, S. (2006, September). Free reading. School Library Journal, 52(9), 42-45.

Rupley, W. H. (2005, July). Vocabulary knowledge: Its contribution to reading growth and

development. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 21(3), 203-207.

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Wanzek, J., Vaughn, S., Ae-Hwa, K., & Cavanaugh, C. (2006, April-June). The effects of

reading interventions on social outcomes for elementary students with reading

difficulties: A synthesis. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 22(2), 121-138.

Appendix A Vocabulary Quiz Format

Name: ________________________ Date: ___________________

Circle One

1) Who would have labored?

One who moves rocks all day or one who watched movies all day

2) Which would be accidental?

A farmer discovering oil on his land or a farmer finding his crops he planted

3) Which would you associate with Thanksgiving?

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 Elephants or turkeys

4) Which is permanent?

Your baby teeth or your adult teeth

5) Which would be more sturdy?

A rotten bridge or a paved highway

6) Which would be cherished?

A letter from a pen pal or a coupon from the paper

True or False

7) You would be tired if you labored in the sun all day?

True or False

8) It would be accidental if you didn’t mean to, but knocked a vase off the table?

True or False

9) You can associate playing in the snow with summer?

True or False

10) If something is permanent then it lasts a long time?

True or False

11) A sturdy chair would break if you touched it?

True or False

12) You would throw a cherished object in the trash?

True or False

13) Draw a visualization of the word cherished.

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14) Draw a visualization of the word labored.

15) Draw a visualization of the word accidental.

16) Draw a visualization of the word associate.

17) Draw a visualization of the word permanent.

18) Draw a visualization of the word sturdy.

Appendix B - Individual Student Scores (Vocabulary Quizzes)

Student Pretest 1 Postest 1 Pre 2 Post 2 Pre 3 Post 3 Pre 4 Post 4

1 61 100 56 94 44 100 56 94
2 44 89 44 100 22 89 56 100
3 44 100 33 89 33 100 39 94
4 44 100 56 94 50 100 33 94
5 44 94 56 94 33 94 44 94
6 22 89 28 94 50 94 50 100
7 61 100 67 100 56 100 44 94
8 67 100 72 100 44 100 39 100
9 56 100 33 89 44 94 67 100
10 44 100 56 100 61 100 39 94
11 22 94 50 89 22 100 22 89
12 39 100 33 89 50 94 56 94

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 13 44 100 44 100 28 100 39 100
14 39 100 44 94 50 100 61 100
15 44 94 33 89 50 94 44 100
16 50 100 33 94 44 94 67 100
17 44 100 50 100 56 100 28 89
18 56 100 44 94 50 100 61 94
19 33 89 44 100 28 94 28 94
Student Pretest 1 Postest 1 Pre 2 Post 2 Pre 3 Post 3 Pre 4 Post 4
Average 45.15789 97.31579 46.10526 94.89474 42.89474 97.21053 45.94737 96

Individual Student Scores (DRA)

DRA DRA
Student DRA 1st 2nd 3rd
1 16 24 28
2 18 20 28
3 16 24 28
4 16 24 28
5 18 20 28
6 12 16 24
7 16 20 28
8 18 24 30
9 18 24 30
10 12 16 28
11 12 16 24
12 20 28 34
13 16 24 28
14 12 16 28
15 18 28 34
16 16 24 28
17 12 16 28
18 24 28 38

Appendix C New Vocabulary Words Learned Over Course of the Year

Lesson 1: coincidence, loyal, murmured, recited, bitter, sensitive

Lesson 2: delicate, drafty, rave, trickster, genuine, imposter

Lesson 3: assortment, civilized, contributed, inappropriate, concoct, orderly

Lesson 4: damp, nasty, perfect, suspicious, gullible, versatile

Lesson 5: compliments, hero, sputter, valuable, abundance, eavesdrop

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Lesson 6: basking, dazzling, gazing, instead, anticipation, exhausted

Lesson 7: astonishment, gleefully, launched, splattered, chaotic, complicated

Lesson 8: craving, joyfully, screeched, scrumptious, devious, scheme

Lesson 9: clutched, crooned, gasped, sighed, adapt, plunged

Lesson 10: adventure, cautiously, envy, precious, fond, transform

Lesson 11: burst, gathered, quivered, strolled, compromise, obstacle

Lesson 12: destination, intricate, selected, venture, enthusiastic, merchant

Lesson 13: miserable, necessities, privilege, stranded, opportunity, reliable

Lesson 14: labored, accidental, associate, permanent, sturdy, cherished

Appendix D - Vocabulary Chart on Wall and Vocabulary usage Tracking Chart (Word
Winner portion)

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 Appendix E – Student Writing Samples from Morning Work
Student 1 (Words used: eavesdrop, suspicious, cautiously, assortment, scrumptious)

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Student 2 (Words used: envy, assortment, scrumptious, privilege, abundance,
contributed)

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Appendix F – Student Visualization (Quiz and Journal)

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