Vocabulary instruction -- is it necessary?

After our discussion during the last class about vocabulary development, I was curious to see what research I could find about vocabulary instruction for the early childhood grades (preK - 2).  The reading specialist at my elementary school has mentioned the importance of exposing our young students to rich vocabulary, especially during shared reading time.

So, it just so happens that I found an article that discusses vocabulary instruction during shared reading!  Maynard and her colleagues at the University of Virginia conducted a study to enrich vocabulary instruction for first grade students through repeated, shared storybook reading.  The researchers took groups of first graders and provided them with rich, basic or indirect vocabulary instruction.  The purpose of the study was to see if direct vocabulary instruction for young students would help them with overall reading comprehension.

The researchers mentioned that 95% of students can read more words than they can define or explain, which indicates the importance of early vocabulary development (Maynard, et. al., 2010).  There is also concern for students who encounter reading difficulties and the fact that most of these students don't have a well developed vocabulary. 

During the study, teachers who taught vocabulary using rich instruction, engaged students in activities that encouraged deep processing and increased their exposure to certain vocabulary words from the storybooks read in varied and meaningful contexts.  These teachers also used open-ended questioning to encourage higher-ordered thinking by the students.

The results of the study were interesting.  Students who were taught using a rich or basic approach to vocabulary instruction during storybook reading, showed a statistically significant difference in their receptive, expressive and contextual knowledge of targeted vocabulary words than students who were not directly instructed.

One of the considerations for instruction is the extra time it takes to teach vocabulary in this manner.  As  a first grade teacher, just about every minute of my instructional day is planned.  My school has set priorities for reading instruction that would make it challenging to initiate a formal vocabulary instruction program. 

I like the idea of vocabulary instruction and will continue to introduce my students to the rich vocabulary that we encounter in our storybook read alouds.  I have a "wonderful word" wall in my classroom where I post some of the vocabulary words we discuss during class.  This past week, we've been studying pumpkins.  I've introduced the word "tendrils" and I've been pointing out the word when it's encountered in our various non-fiction pumpkin books.  Perhaps it would be worthwhile to further study this word or others like it from time to time as instructional time permits.  There's just so much to teach young children; at times, it can seem overwhelming to make sure I'm teaching them what they need to know to be successful readers and writers.

Here's the link to the study:
http://proquest.umi.com.proxy3.library.jhu.edu/pqdweb?did=2100152041&Fmt=3&clientId=5241&RQT=309&VName=PQD

Source

Maynard, K., Pullen, P., & Coyne, M.. (2010). Teaching Vocabulary to First-Grade Students Through
Repeated Shared Storybook Reading: A Comparison of Rich and Basic Instruction to Incidental
Exposure. Literacy Research and Instruction, 49(3), 209-242.  Retrieved October 23, 2010, from
ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 2100152041).