Generating Knowledge of Academic Language Among Urban Middle School Students

Catherine E Snow,Joshua F Lawrence,Claire White

doi:10.1080/19345740903167042

Abstract

A quasi-experimental study of a novel, cross-content area vocabulary intervention program called Word Generation showed significantly greater growth among 6th- to 8th-grade students in schools implementing the program than in comparison schools, on a curriculum-specific test. Furthermore, the language-minority students in the treatment, but not the comparison, schools showed greater growth than the English-only students. Improvement on the curriculum-specific test predicted performance on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) English language arts assessment, again only for students in the treatment schools. Recognizing the need to implement a more rigorous experimental study of this program, nonetheless we conclude that participation in the intervention, with its focus on deep reading, comprehension of current-events topics, productive classroom discussion, developing arguments, and producing persuasive essays, was a plausible contributor to student performance on the MCAS.

Highlights

The reading comprehension of post–primary grade students, in particular those attending urban schools, is a matter of recurrent concern
Word Generation adheres to research-based principles of vocabulary learning and incorporates opportunities for students to use the five words taught each week in classroom discussion, debate, and writing by embedding those words in brief texts that present controversies of high interest toadolescents
In this article we report on an analysis of the impact of Word Generation on students’ learning of words taught and the relationship of their performance on curriculum-linked assessments of Word Generation vocabulary to their performance on the English Language Arts assessment administered as part of the state accountability system

Summary

Introduction

The reading comprehension of post–primary grade students, in particular those attending urban schools, is a matter of recurrent concern. Middle school students are expected to read content-area texts that contain many technical, discipline-specific words as well as many “all-purpose academic words.” This latter category of words is less likely to be explicitly taught, in particular by math, science, and social studies teachers who concentrate their instructional time and effort on the words of their respective disciplines. Students who do not know the all-purpose academic words struggle with comprehension of texts containing them (Anderson & Freebody, 1981), and struggle as well to learn the disciplinary concepts and words that are being taught For these reasons, a basic Word Generation design principle was to focus on all-purpose academic words but to enhance content area teachers’ willingness to teach them.

Methods

Results

Conclusion