This volume is a joint project of the Albert Shanker Institute (ASI), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and Core Knowledge Foundation, each of which is dedicated to improving education and closing the achievement gap through high-quality early education. This volume is a curated collection of essays on some of the policies and practices required to create an excellent early childhood education system for all children and on the research supporting them. Except for the preface, which was written by the acclaimed reading researcher Marilyn Jager Adams expressly for this volume, all of the essays were previously published in American Educator, the AFT’s quarterly magazine of educational research and ideas. Most of the artwork in the volume was cheerfully created by the children of the AFT’s staff.

The Albert Shanker Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization estab- lished in 1997 by the American Federation of Teachers to honor the life and legacy of its late president Albert Shanker. The Institute’s mission is to pro- mote democracy by supporting two fundamental principles: the right of every child to quality public education and the right of every worker to a voice on the job.

The American Federation of Teachers is a union of professionals that cham- pions fairness; democracy; economic opportunity; and high-quality public education, healthcare and public services for our students, their families and our communities. We are committed to advancing these principles through community engagement, organizing, collective bargaining and political activism, and especially through the work our members do.

The Core Knowledge Foundation is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded in 1986 by E. D. Hirsch, Jr., that advocates for content- specific, coherent, cumulative curriculum. The Foundation develops curri- cula, publishes educational books and materials, provides professional development for educators, and supports a growing network of Core Knowledge schools.

Copyright © Albert Shanker Institute and American Federation of Teachers. Permission is hereby granted to reproduce and distribute copies of the work for nonprofit education purposes, provided that copies are distributed at or below cost, and that the author, source, and copyright notice are included on each copy. Any other distribution of these materials is prohibited without first receiving express written permission. Table of Contents

4 Preface: Knowledge for Literacy By Marilyn Jager Adams 11 The Magic of Words Teaching Vocabulary in the Early Childhood Classroom By Susan B. Neuman and Tanya S. Wright 18 Dual Language Learners Effective Instruction in Early Childhood By Claude Goldenberg, Judy Hicks, and Ira Lit 22 Why Reading to Children Is Important By Susan L. Hall and Louisa C. Moats 30 Building Knowledge The Case for Bringing Content into the Language Arts Block and for a Knowledge-Rich Curriculum Core for all Children By E. D. Hirsch, Jr. 42 How Knowledge Helps It Speeds and Strengthens Reading Comprehension, Learning—and Thinking By Daniel T. Willingham 47 Teaching Vocabulary Early, Direct, and Sequential By Andrew Biemiller

52 Oral Comprehension Sets the Ceiling on Reading Comprehension By Andrew Biemiller 54 Beyond Comprehension We Have Yet to Adopt a Common Core Curriculum That Builds Knowledge Grade by Grade—But We Need To By E. D. Hirsch, Jr. 59 Advancing our Students’ Language and Literacy The Challenge of Complex Texts By Marilyn Jager Adams

LITERACY LADDERS | 3 PREFACE Knowledge for Literacy

By Marilyn Jager Adams

he very purpose and promise of schooling is to prepare students for responsible adult lives—to be civically minded and Tinformed, to pursue higher education, and to find gainful work that allows them to grow and contribute to society. Tragi- cally, a significant percentage of U.S. students leave high school unable to read well enough for college, career, or citi- zenship. Given technology’s accelerating impact on the labor market alongside trends in globalization, this shortfall has dire consequences for our children’s social, physical, and economic well- being. Ensuring that schooling fulfills its purpose and promise for all children is the urgent objective of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English lan- guage arts and literacy.1 A primary component of this objective is that students be given ample support and practice in reading, interpreting, and five grade levels higher2—than those gen- is an overview of major points to bear in writing about texts as complex as those erally used in high schools today. But here mind as you read. that characterize life beyond high school. lies our great dilemma. All by itself, just Indeed, the complexity of the texts that 1. Comprehension increasing the sophistication of assigned CCSS recommends for high school stu- texts is unlikely to do much good. The Depends on Knowledge dents is far higher—by some estimates, problem in the first place, after all, is that The overarching theme of this collection is most students are unable to understand that if we wish to advance our students’ Marilyn Jager Adams is a visiting scholar in the such rigorous texts, and people do not literacy, we must devote ourselves to Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences Department at Brown University and former learn from texts that they cannot under- increasing the breadth and depth of their chief scientist for Soliloquy Learning, Inc. She is stand: They do not even learn new words, domain knowledge. the author of numerous scholarly papers and much less assimilate new information. This may sound very unmodern. With several books, including two landmark works, In other words, the promise of the CCSS the internet, it seems that one can get the Beginning to Read: Thinking and Learning depends unforgivingly on our ability, as answer to virtually any question in a frac- about Print and Phonemic Awareness in Young Children, as well as a number of empirically educators, to raise our students’ language tion of a second. Why, then, should how validated classroom resources, including Scho- and literacy to levels that enable them to much somebody knows matter at all? The lastic’s System 44 (2009) and iRead (2013), understand and gain from such texts. And answer is that one can only understand technology-based programs for building literacy again, for the majority of students, a dra- and learn from language (oral or written) if foundations. She has served on the advisory matic increase is required. it builds on what one already knows. Thus, board for several of the Public Broadcasting System’s educational programs including Ses- The essays in this anthology are focused the internet can be a wonderful tool for ame Street and Between the Lions. She also on this challenge. If you are like me, you extending our knowledge of a topic. For developed a vocabulary assessment for the 2014 will need to read all of these pieces more wholly new topics, however, how can one National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) than once to begin to “hear” them and see even know what question to ask? More- and was on the development team for the Com- how they fit together to inform instruction. over, the internet is notorious for leading mon Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy. In the spirit of an advance organizer, here less savvy readers astray.

4 | LITERACY LADDERS Through language, novel concepts can thing happens when you encounter each mill.” Rather, knowledge is the very medium only be communicated in the form of successive word in the sentence. As the of understanding. It is for this reason that novel combinations of familiar concepts. associations tied to each ensuing word in “Effectively teaching reading requires The meanings of new words can be ver- the sentence become activated, there are schools to systematically teach the diverse bally explained only in terms of known subsets of knowledge from different words enabling knowledge that reading with com- words. Sometimes a new word can be that overlap or fit together, effectively prehension requires” (Hirsch, p. 57). adequately explained by comparing and becoming superactivated. As these over- contrasting it with familiar concepts (e.g., lapping associations correspond to the a mayfly looks like a giant mosquito but it ways in which the meanings of these words 2. Start Early is harmless). Otherwise, we must define Knowledge, writes Willingham, grows the word by decomposing it into familiar exponentially: The more you know, the concepts and then piecing together the easier it is to learn (p. 42). Thus, as Hirsch4 whole. Either way, the usefulness of the points out, the earlier that children are effort depends on the familiarity of the enrolled in quality preschool programs, the supporting concepts we offer. Working greater the gains (p. 40). The more they with young children, for example, the The overarching know each year, the more they will learn by word tigers might be adequately defined the next. as “large wild cats with orange and black theme of this But what makes a preschool program stripes”; in contrast, a definition such as good? As Neuman and Wright have noted,5 “large carnivorous felines of Asia” would collection is that one very important preschool predictor of surely be far less helpful. to advance our literacy is alphabetic knowledge—includ- Yet the role of prior knowledge in under- ing the abilities to recognize, sound, and standing language runs far deeper than students’ literacy, we write the letters (p. 11). In the wake of the these examples show. The core definition of must increase their Early Reading First Initiative,6 most early a word is only a tiny fragment of the mean- childhood education programs include ing that makes it useful in understanding domain knowledge. activities intended to develop alphabetic language. Neuroimaging confirms that the knowledge. Yet, evidence abounds that full meaning of a familiar word extends most such efforts contribute little at all to broadly through the mind, including asso- their students’ alphabetic knowledge.7 ciations to every trace that your experience This is not good. We must do a better job with that word or its concept has left in your developing children’s alphabetic knowl- memory. For instance, your full knowledge edge. Unfortunately, there are fifty-two of the word “apple” extends to the traces in are related to one another, they are the letters (since children must learn the capi- your memory of the many apples in your life candidates for the intended sense and talized and lower case forms), which is a and how they have looked, felt, tasted, nuance of each of the words in this context. lot. Worse, the letters look a lot like each smelled, or sounded (e.g., when you bit into, Meanwhile, the syntax of the sentence other, and their names rhyme with each dropped, or sliced them); of where you were selects from these overlaps and organizes other. Worse still, they must be learned and what else and who else was there with their roles and relevance so as to create a very, very well. Perhaps understandably, each apple; of picking apples, peeling “best-fit” reconstruction of the author’s some have voiced concern that teaching apples, and bobbing for apples; of cider, intended message in your mind.3 the letters is developmentally inappropri- apple pie, caramel apples, and Waldorf sal- Alternatively, consider what happens ate for preschool and kindergarten chil- ads; of apple trees, teachers’ apples, and if—whether due to vocabulary or reading dren. Yet the fact remains that the poison apples; of “rotten apples,” “apple- difficulties—you cannot recognize a word developmental inappropriateness of first cheeked,” “apple a day,” and the “Big Apple;” at all. What you lose is not just the meaning grade is brutal for children who do not yet of Adam and Eve, William Tell, George of that particular word, but also the work it know the alphabet on entry. Washington, Steve Jobs, the Beatles, and so was supposed to do in selecting the appro- Take care to fit letter work and play into on. The more strongly or frequently any priate dimensions of the meanings of the every day—have the children sing them, such association has been tied to the apples other words around it. In between—to the march to them, chant them, name them, in your life, the more strongly it dominates extent that you recognize the word but match them, play games with them, and your overall concept of an apple. But all of have scant knowledge of its meaning and write them over and over. Keep it light, and your experiences, be they direct or linguis- usage—your understanding is commensu- keep it fun, but do make sure the children tic, are there—all waiting to be used in mak- rately impoverished. learn. Happily, rote memorization profits ing sense of “apple” the next time you see or The bottom line, as Hirsch (p. 33) sum- more from revisits than cramming. This hear it. marizes, is that “In order to become better means that, given daily attention, the let- When you encounter the word “apple” at reading with understanding, you already ters can be well-supported in developmen- in conversation or text, it will automatically have to be able to read with understanding.” tally appropriate ways in the time activate its entire, extended complex of In other words, as Willingham (p. 42) points surrounding activities that are cognitively associations in your mind, and the same out, knowledge is far more than “grist for the more absorbing.

LITERACY LADDERS | 5 And what should be those cognitively reduces to word salad. and so on. What is stored directly with any absorbing activities? Most important are But again, there is good news. When the particular concept (or individual) is only activities designed to build the language, same sentence is expressively read aloud that knowledge that belongs especially to knowledge, and modes of thought on to a child, the shifts in the reader’s pitch it: a robin is a medium-sized woodland which understanding written text depends. and timing convey its structure and make bird that is mostly grey with an orange Of these three dimensions, it is language— it comprehensible. Further, unlike the breast and that eats worms; a vulture is a or, specifically, vocabulary—that is most ABCs or phonics, learning syntax is natu- hawk-like bird with brownish-black feath- measurable. Consequently, efforts to build ral; it is our birdsong. Research shows that ers except on its head and neck (which are children’s reading comprehension are children come to grasp a new syntactic naked) and that eats carrion; a canary is a often focused on vocabulary per se. But again, words are not just words. What makes vocabulary valuable and important is the knowledge to which each word points and the understanding afforded by that knowledge. Developing a serviceably rich representation of a word— of the ways the word is used, and of the knowledge that the word represents, and with which that knowledge, in turn, is asso- ciated—necessarily requires many differ- ent encounters across many different (and understandable!) contexts. Unfortunately, as Neuman and Wright report, remember- ing to adequately repeat and revisit new vocabulary is nearly impossible in the busy multi-task environment of the classroom (p. 14). How might we do better? Neuman has said it beautifully, “Return book reading to its original purpose: Learn- structure just by hearing and understand- small yellow bird that sings and is often ing about ideas and the words that convey ing it remarkably few times.11 Using and kept in a cage; Freddie is my grandmother’s them.”8 Moreover, organizing the readings extending a new syntactic structure on her canary. into topical units—such as kings and or his own, however, makes it part of the Similarly, the brain builds categories of queens, or bees, or deserts—can multiply student’s own productive language reper- verbs based on their core or nuclear mean- the impact many times over. Topical read- toire. Thus, Neuman and Wright urge early ing. As an example, the meanings of peek, ings, as Hirsch points out,9 provide a natu- childhood educators to pick topics that can glance, glare, and ogle are all built around ral and highly productive way of revisiting be enriched across a number of different the core meaning of look; they differ from and extending new learning (p. 38). Across texts, both fiction and nonfiction, and to each other only in how, why, or at what you readings, as the books build interlaced complement the read-alouds with lively are looking. As other examples, march, networks of knowledge, the similarities, discussion, play settings, and other activi- strut, amble, and tiptoe are all variations of contrasts, and usages of the words gain ties designed to engage the children with the core verb walk, while grumble, whisper, clarity. In tandem, the stories gain plot and the language and content of the books. whine, and exclaim are all variations of the excitement, and the informational texts Again, the full meaning of any concept core verb speak. gain structure and provoke wonder. Fur- in your mind is made up of all of the experi- The brain builds such categories auto- ther, as the knowledge network is enriched, ences and knowledge with which that matically as a result of its own architecture the mind is ever better prepared to under- concept has ever been associated over and organizational dynamics; because stand the language of each new sentence. your lifetime. Yet, if you think about it, the they are natural, categorization games are Beyond vocabulary, research shows meanings of most words overlap with the fun and easy for children. Even so, giving that gains in “book language” are among meanings of many other words in one way children conscious, thoughtful awareness the strongest measurable benefits of read- or another. These overlaps are very effi- of the nature and structure of categories ing aloud to children.10 The syntax of writ- ciently exploited by the brain. In particular, allows them to examine, edit, and use cat- ten language is very different from that of the brain makes heavy use of categories. egories purposefully, in service of thinking oral language—so much so that asking For example, much of what you know and language learning. Further, because students to read a sentence with familiar about the meaning of any common noun, categorization games inherently require words but unfamiliar syntactic structure is say, robins, vultures, or canaries is stored children to think carefully about both the like asking them to solve a math problem with their category, birds: each has wings similarities and differences between the without the operators: The syntax specifies and feathers, it lays eggs, and it belongs to items to be sorted, they are an exception- how the words in the sentence are to be the larger category of vertebrate animals, ally efficient and powerful means of build- interrelated; without it, the sentence which actively eat and move, have hearts, ing vocabulary. In effect, the result is a

6 | LITERACY LADDERS separate knowledge network for each word to help them become more knowledge- dents read for just 30 minutes per day, that or concept that is firmly anchored to and able. The answer, echoed across all of these would be six times more than is currently clearly differentiated from its cousins. essays, is that the kind of knowledge their norm. The bad news, of course, is that It is for these reasons that games that required for reading develops first and asking children to read does not ensure involve categorizing nouns and compar- foremost through reading. Our students that they will read or that they will do so ing, contrasting, and enacting verbs are need to be engaged in lots more reading productively. It is easy to fritter away 30 recommended in the Foundation levels of than has been the norm. This means more minutes a day. Besides which, just as too the CCSS. As Neuman and Wright’s study eyes-on, minds-on reading by them, and it many students don’t read well because so thrillingly demonstrates, these sorts of also means more reading aloud to them. they don’t read much; many of those same games are more than worthwhile (p.15). students don’t read much because they In the study they describe, categorization don’t read well. games worked wonders in narrowing the Each of us is nodding and sighing. We gap between less-advantaged preschoolers all know this is so. However, the point—the (including both native speakers and Eng- urgency—of the CCSS is that somehow we lish language learners) and a comparison must figure out ways to make it not so. group of upper-middle class preschoolers. There is good news: For students who As for dual language learners, the can cold read even a below-grade-level text review by Goldenberg, Hicks and col- Most effective early with decent accuracy (≥95%) and moder- leagues12 (p.18) reveals many different ate fluency (≥100 words per minute), sig- ways of complementing home- and Eng- childhood education nificant improvement in reading ease and lish-language instruction. Building, dis- programs are efficiency tends to come with surprisingly cussing, categorizing, and exploring new little practice—provided that students concepts is valuable for every child, regard- coordinated with attend to those aspects of the texts that less of the language in which it is done; early parenthood pose difficulties along the way.17 what matters are the ideas and knowledge For primary-grades students, the poten- that underlie language. Based on the les- education. tial of well-managed partner reading for sons of cognitive science, writes Hirsch,13 increasing time on text is broadly appreci- knowledge-centered units in the early ated.18 While such extra time-on-text grades should raise reading achievement should be equally valuable for older stu- for all students even as they should help to dents, they would seem to need some narrow the language and literacy gaps that additional dynamic—something that will exist at school entry (p. 30). induce them to read more attentively. One Indeed, it is primarily this goal, the clos- such possibility follows directly from what ing of gaps, that drives the universal pre- As so brilliantly assessed through a pro- is known as Zipf’s Law. As I explain19 (p. school movement. As is, the differences in gram of research by Cunningham and 63), the essence of Zipf’s Law is that every children’s language and literacy levels at Stanovich,16 the amount of reading that natural language sample is centered on a school entry are huge and tend to persist school children do is a strong predictor of relatively small set of words that are and even to grow across the school years. their general knowledge, vocabulary, repeated over and over; these are the words (p. 49).14 Moreover, as Thomas Sticht has growth in reading comprehension, decod- most closely related to the topic of what the pointed out,15 children actually spend very ing and spelling facility, and the quantity language sample is about. little of their time at school; while quality and quality of their writing. And that’s so As an example, consider a history text- preschool programs are insuperably even when subtracting entry-level reading book. The book can be completed by year’s important, gap closing necessarily depends skills and general intelligence out of the end by assigning a chapter a week, and you on improving the educational support and equation. Among college students, the can motivate students’ reading by schedul- encouragement children receive at home. amount of reading predicts academic ing a quiz each Friday. But alas, the results Whether gauged by their impact on chil- knowledge, practical knowledge, vocabu- of the Friday quiz inevitably show that this dren or parents, and whether measured in lary, spelling, and verbal fluency even after incentive is somehow not enough for many terms of cognitive or noncognitive skills, controlling for differences in their reading students. Indeed, many students seem not the recurrent finding is that the most effec- comprehension and nonverbal ability. even to have digested the first few pages of tive early childhood education programs Among senior citizens, the amount of read- the chapter. In fairness, this should prob- are coordinated with early parenthood ing protects general knowledge and vocab- ably not be surprising; after all, the first few education. ulary from the cognitive decline of aging. pages of each chapter are typically the In short, regardless of age or entry ability, hardest because they introduce new terms 3. Lots More Reading reading makes people smarter. and issues. But here equally is the oppor- If the productivity of students’ reading is so The good news is that a reasonably tunity: As quantified by Zipf’s Law, these integrally dependent on the relevant modest reading schedule would make a same terms, words, and issues will domi- knowledge with which they meet the text, huge difference to our students’ literacy nate the chapter as a whole. That is, if you then the next obvious question is how best growth. If, for example, middle-grade stu- can get the students to process the chal-

LITERACY LADDERS | 7 lenges that arise in the first few pages, then challenging text just once with a child is comprehension, relevant knowledge is the rest of the chapter should be far easier seldom enough. With a roomful of kids, even more important that general reading to read and understand. even less gets through; sometimes, so little ability. When the high- and low-knowledge Suppose, then, that you devote Monday’s gets through that they do not even want a groups are divided into good and poor class time to having the students partner- re-reading—ouch. Adults can discern readers, those with little knowledge rele- read the first few pages of the chapter with speech in noisy environments by filling in vant to the text at hand perform relatively the primary task of identifying aspects of the the blanks from their own language and poorly, regardless of how well they read in text—be they difficult words, complex sen- vocabulary. For students who do not yet general. In contrast—and this is impor- tences, allusions to information that is not own the language and words of the book, tant—the performance of the poor readers in the chapter, or whatever—that they feel a wireless microphone can make all the with higher background knowledge is might pose difficulty for at least some stu- dents. The members of each pair are to take turns reading aloud and taking notes on issues of concern while you wander from pair to pair, sampling and guiding their dis- cussion and note-taking and, importantly, praising their perspicuity in identifying potential difficulties. Bringing the whole class back together, ask the students to share and grapple with the issues they have identi- fied. To close the session, you can lead them to shape the major questions to be borne in mind while reading the rest of the chapter on their own—and they will now be in good stead to do so. Of course, the chapters in a textbook generally offer little more than an introduc- tion to a topic, rarely managing to convey well why a topic may be important or inter- difference. Similarly, panning books across generally better than that of the good read- esting to think about. Think of the glass as the group so that all can see and respond ers with less background knowledge, and half full: A solid introduction opens the was the best available option not so long nearly as good as the good readers with lots door for more thoughtful and substantive ago; today, a projection system can make of background knowledge. exploration of the topic. Textbook chapters the book-sharing sessions far more engag- Prior knowledge about the topic at hand are always best followed with more specific ing and efficient. These sorts of aids should is like mental velcro. The relevant knowl- and thought-worthy texts (which can be not be thought of as nice-to-have luxuries. edge gives the words of the text places to coupled with variations on the same game, They are valuable for all students and argu- stick and make sense, thereby supporting e.g., look for each side’s arguments, incon- ably indispensable for younger children, comprehension and propelling the reading sistencies, critical events, and the like). those with low vocabularies, and English process forward. Thus, in a study described Remember too that, as mentioned in language learners. In addition, they can by Willingham, scientists monitored read- many of the essays, children’s listening significantly increase the ease, efficiency, ers’ eye movements while reading about comprehension surpasses their reading and power of your classroom instruction, topics that were more versus less familiar comprehension roughly until they are able discussion, and management. to them (p.43). Given texts about the less to cold-read texts of middle-school reading familiar topics, people’s reading slowed levels with solid fluency. As a result, reading 4. Topical Units down and the progress of their eye move- aloud and discussing materials that are Across these essays are descriptions of a ments was marked with more pausing and beyond the students’ current reading capac- number of studies designed to ask how rereading. In other words, it is not just that ity serve to enrich their understanding of the topic-relevant background knowledge readers with less topic-relevant back- topic at hand while preparing them to man- affects reading performance. Over and ground knowledge gain less from reading age more complex language, information, over, studies find better performance from about that topic, it is also that less-knowl- and modes of thought on their own. The people with ample versus slim background edgeable readers must expend more time essay by Hall and Moats20 provides a vivid knowledge about the general topic of a and more effort to arrive at what limited tapestry of the kinds of learning that book text. The studies have found that people understanding they do gain. reading affords, resulting in “a huge inven- with more topic-relevant knowledge learn What does information have to do with tory of mental images of life’s experiences … more, read more critically, make more and text complexity? They are closely related in much more rapidly than the child could better inferences, are more alert to incon- two important ways (p. 60). On one hand, experience firsthand” (p. 23) and, more, one sistencies within the text, and are better texts that are more complex in vocabulary that is available forever. able to see and apply the pertinence of and syntax tend also to be more presump- Even one-on-one, however, reading a what they’ve read to other situations. For tuous of readers’ background knowledge.

8 | LITERACY LADDERS On the other, texts that strive to present accelerated vocabulary growth, and deep knowledge affords are part of the lit- more precise argument or more specific improvements in the spelling, style, organi- erate mind. information on a topic are unavoidably zation, and ideas in their writing. Because more complex in vocabulary and syntax. In topical units offer a means of scaffolding 5. Don’t Neglect the Basics or order for students to become comfortable texts both lexically and conceptually, they Avoid Direct Instruction and competent with these sorts of texts, allow students to rapidly work their way up There are some who are (mistakenly) cel- they must first develop a supportive under- to engage productively with texts that would ebrating the CCSS as an abandonment of standing of the broader topic or situation otherwise be beyond their reach. In turn, basics and a return to whole language. in discussion. And that’s where topical experience in understanding more sophis- Similarly, many have come to look askance units come in. ticated texts brings additional benefits. In at the value of direct instruction—too often First, what is a topical unit? In a topical cast as a the lingering dross of some old- reading unit, all texts are about some aspect fashioned notion of children’s minds as of a single main concept. As the texts empty jugs to be filled, drop by drop, with become more sophisticated, their focus little pellets of knowledge meted out by the may turn to particular aspects of that con- teacher. The bottom line, however, is that cept—for example, a unit on sharks might unless and until the basics are in place, include texts on their peculiar anatomy (no higher-order learning is not possible. Con- bones), ram ventilation (the inability of sistently, even while emphasizing the some sharks to breathe unless they are The bottom line importance of nurturing students’ lan- swimming), sensory systems (their awe- is that unless and guage and knowledge, every one of these some ability locate prey), how their skin essays firmly reminds us of the importance (basically made of teeth) contributes to their until the basics are of securing the basics and of the value of speed, and/or what is known about prehis- in place, higher- direct instruction in so doing. toric sharks—but the core concept, sharks, Within the literacy domain, basics are remains the same. Be warned that some order learning is those core insights or principles that reading programs mistake what might bet- not possible. undergird systems of knowledge or con- ter be called “thematic units” for topical ventions. Just as with any other kernel of units. As a quick rule of thumb, if it is a topi- knowledge, the basics become useful and cal unit, then the word or words naming the usable only as they are linked within the same core concept—in this case “shark”— student’s mind to specific examples of their should appear frequently in every text. application. (Note: Superficial treatments and texts Consistently, direct instruction consists about different concepts labeled with the of two parts, corresponding to two different same word don’t count.) particular (p. 63), the mind is structured meanings of the word “direct.” The first is In beginning a topical unit, it is wise to such that both the syntax and the sorts of that the basic in focus is to be explained choose a text that presents a short, simple relations among concepts that are built explicitly or directly. The second is that the overview and to engage students in using through deep reading about one topic are usability of the lesson depends on directing its core words and in discussing and won- available in reading many others to the the students’ attention to concrete exam- dering about its core concepts, making degree that they are related and so, too, are ples of the basic that is being taught. sure they are well anchored. Moving the kinds of arguments that authors offer to Indeed, the value of direct instruction is through the unit, as major topical words support their points.22 hastened by establishing (and, as neces- arise over and over across texts, students In short, an expert oceanographer can sary, reminding) an explicit contract with will come to recognize them at a glance. be expected to penetrate an advanced text the students: More importantly, as these words will arise in oceanography with remarkable ease and (1) My job is to explain how this basic with slightly different linguistic and con- incisiveness. However, people who have works and walk you through some ceptual surroundings on each encounter, engaged deeply with complex information examples; students will effectively be building and and argument in any scientific field— (2) Your job is to think—to apply and refining a network of knowledge about the experts in biogenetics, mineralogy, phys- generalize the basic to new examples. concepts that the words name that is ever ics, or marine biology, for example—could As Cunningham and Stanovich put it, more richly interconnected and, therefore, be expected to be able to understand the “We must ensure that students’ decoding ever more richly receptive and supportive same text far better (even if with signifi- and word recognition abilities are progress- of comprehension and refinement. cantly more effort than the oceanographer) ing solidly,” for “it is difficult to overstate the The deeper domain knowledge that topi- than the man on the street. The advantage importance of getting children off to an cal units help students acquire is of inesti- of the oceanographer is due to the fact that, early successful start in reading.”24 Thus it is mable importance in itself, but topical units as Hirsch23 points out, knowledge is that the CCSS Foundational Skills for kin- also bring a number of other benefits along- domain specific. The advantage of the dergarten and the lower elementary grades side. Direct benefits that Hirsch21 discusses other well-read scientists is due to the fact include a number of standards for word (p. 30) include increases in reading fluency, that the modes of thought and analysis that

LITERACY LADDERS | 9 recognition and spelling basics, phonemic a relatively stable, identifiable body of (1996) 489–508. awareness, phonics, and decoding. It is “core” knowledge—knowledge of certain 3. For an educator-friendly review of the neural connections from letters to meaning, see: M. J. Adams, “The Relation worth calling out, however, that the CCSS people, places, events, and of certain between Alphabetic Basics, Word Recognition and Foundational Skills also recommend that all social, natural, and physical principles, Reading,” in What Research Has to Say about Reading Instruction, 4th edition, eds. S. J. Samuels and A. E. Farstrup children be able to recognize and write the processes, and phenomena—that the aver- (Newark, DE: International Reading Association, 2011), letters of the alphabet by the end of kinder- age American is broadly expected to pos- 4–24. 4. E. D. Hirsch, Jr. “Building Knowledge: The Case for garten. With respect to literacy growth, letter sess. Such “core” knowledge, he argues, is Bringing Content into the Language Arts Block and for a knowledge is a basic among basics. Unless essential to literacy as it is presumed by— Knowledge-Rich Curriculum Core for all Children,” 30–41 (this volume). and until the students’ can reliably discern and therefore required for the understand- 5. S. Neuman and T. Wright, “The Magic of Words: Teaching one letter from another, teaching phonics, Vocabulary in the Early Childhood Classroom,” 11–17 (this volume). decoding, or spelling is a waste of time and 6. Archived information can be found at http://www2.ed. even phonemic awareness remains out of gov/programs/earlyreading/index.html. reach. Nevertheless, recent data show that 7. For a review, see M. J. Adams, ABC Foundations for Young Children: A Classroom Curriculum (Baltimore, MD: only a minority of children is able to name, Paul H. Brookes Publishing, 2013). sound, or write all the letters of the alphabet Hirsch’s work 8. S. Neuman, “Sparks Fade, Knowledge Stays: The National 25 Early Literacy Panel’s Report Lacks Staying Power,” American by the end of first grade. This is a problem demonstrates Educator, v. 34, no. 3 (2010), 17. that we can and must fix. 9. E. D. Hirsch, Building Knowledge; E.D. Hirsch, Jr. “Reading Across the essays, you will also find rec- that there is Comprehension Requires Knowledge—of Words and the World,” American Educator, v.27 no.1 (2003), ommendations for direct instruction in indeed an 10–13,16–22,28–29,48. grammar, spelling, recognizing and under- 10. H. S. Scarborough and W. Dobrich, “On the Efficacy of Reading to Preschoolers,” Developmental Review 14, no. 3 standing root words, and manipulating identifiable body of (1994), 245–302; A. G. Bus, M. H. van Ijzendoorm, and A. affixes. Goldenberg and colleagues26 remind D. Pelligrini, “Joint Book Reading Makes for Success in “core” knowl- Learning to Read: A Meta-Analysis on Intergenerational us that that students’ home language can be Transmission of Literacy,” Review of Educational Research invaluable in anchoring and clarifying les- 65, no. 1 (1995), 1–21. edge that the 11. J. Huttenlocher, M. Marina Vasilyeva, and P. Shimpi, sons. Meanwhile, with focus on the strong “Syntactic Priming in Young Children,” Journal of Memory association between the vocabulary gap average American is and Language 50, no. 2 (2004), 182–195; P. M. Shimpi, P. B. Gámez, J. Huttenlocher, and M. Vasilyeva, M., “Syntactic and the fourth grade slump, Biemiller27 (p. Priming in 3- and 4-Year-Old Children: Evidence for Abstract expected to possess. Representations of Transitive and Dative Forms,” 48) argues passionately for more and better- Developmental Psychology 43, no. 6 (2007), 1334–1346. planned attention to direct instruction in 12. C. Goldenberg, J. Hicks, and I. Lit, “Dual Language vocabulary, reminding us of both parts of Learners: Effective Instruction in Early Childhood,” 18–21 (this volume). the equation: (1) direct explanation of the 13. Hirsch, Building Knowledge words’ meanings, and (2) ample experience ing of—tests, textbooks, and all manner of 14. A. Biemiller, “Teaching Vocabulary: Early, Direct, and with each new word in meaningful context, Sequential,” 48–52 (this volume); and A. Biemiller, “Oral responsible news and journalism. Comprehension Sets the Ceiling on Reading Comprehen- especially as gained through reading both sion,” 53–54 (this volume). If such knowledge is expected of every by and to the children. 15. T. Sticht, “Getting It Right from the Start: The Case for adult, then surely it ought to part of the Early Parenthood Education,” American Educator 35 no. 3 education that our schools provide to (2011), 35–39. 6. Curriculum 16. A. Cunningham and K. Stanovich, “What Reading Does every student. Moreover, Hirsch argues, it for the Mind,” American Educator, v.22 no. 1–2 (1998), Finally, there is the question of “what is just plain sensible to organize these top- 8–15. knowledge?” The CCSS outline how well 17. M. J. Adams, Technology for Developing Children’s ics in sequence, grade by grade. Such Language and Literacy: Bringing Speech-Recognition to the students should be able to read, write, and organization would ensure efficient cov- Classroom (New York: Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame understand at each grade level, even to the Workshop, 2011). http://joanganzcooneycenter.org/ erage across classrooms and grades, and upload_kits/jgcc_tech_for_language_and_literacy.pdf point of specifying the sophistication or significantly mitigate the educational 18. D. Simmons, L. Fuchs, D. Fuchs, P. Mathes, and J. P. difficulty of the texts. The CCSS also recog- Hodge, “Effects of Explicit Teaching and Peer-Mediated costs of between-school mobility. “If Instruction on the Reading Achievement of LD and nize the importance of knowledge in this states would adopt a common core cur- Low-Performing Students,” Elementary School Journal 95, no. 5 (1995), 387–408. challenge, both through emphasizing riculum that builds knowledge grade by 19. M. J. Adams “Advancing our Students’ Language and informational texts and even the standards’ grade,” concludes Hirsch,29 “reading Literacy,” 60–69 (this volume). full title: “The Common Core Standards for achievement would rise for all groups of 20. S. L. Hall and L. C. Moats, “Why Reading to Children Is Important,” 22–29 (this volume). English Language Arts and Literacy in His- children.… Equally important, the tory/Social Studies, Science, and Technical 21. Hirsch, Building Knowledge achievement gap between social groups 22. Adams, Advancing our Students Subjects.” However, the CCSS provide no would be greatly narrowed and social 23. E.D. Hirsch, “Beyond Comprehension: We Have yet to guidance with respect to the domains of justice would be served” (p. 59). ☐ Adopt a Common Core Curriculum that Builds Knowledge knowledge that warrant familiarity. Given Grade by Grade­—But We Need To,” 55–59 (this volume). 24. Cunningham and Stanovich, What Reading Does the brouhaha about a “nationalized cur- Endnotes 25. M. J. Adams, ABC Foundations for Young Children riculum,” perhaps this omission was politi- 1.For the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts, see http://www.corestandards.org/ 26. Goldenberg, et al., Dual Language Learners cally wise. But is it educationally wise? wp-content/uploads/ELA_Standards.pdf. 27. Biemiller, Teaching Vocabulary Hirsch28 argues strongly that it is not. 2. D. P. Hayes, L. T. Wolfer, and M. F. Wolfe, “Schoolbook 28. Hirsch, Building Knowledge; and Hirsch, Beyond His work demonstrates that there is indeed Simplification and its Relation to the Decline in SAT-Verbal Comprehension Scores,” American Educational Research Journal 33, no. 2 29. Hirsch, Beyond Comprehension

10 | LITERACY LADDERS The Magic of Words Teaching Vocabulary in the Early Childhood Classroom

By Susan B. Neuman and ences across socioeconomic lines, differ- Tanya S. Wright ences so dramatic that they represent a 30 million word “catastrophe” (i.e., chil- t seems almost intuitive that develop- dren from high-income families experi- ing a large and rich vocabulary is ence, on average, 30 million more words central to learning to read. Logically, than children from low-income fami- children must know the words that lies). Recent analyses indicate that envi- Imake up written texts in order to under- ronmental factors associated with stand them, especially as the vocabulary vocabulary development and emer- demands of content-related materials gent literacy skills are already pres- increase in the upper grades. Numerous ent among children as early as 15 2 studies have documented that the size of a months of age. person’s vocabulary is strongly related to By first grade, unfortunately, how well that person understands what he the repercussions become all or she reads, not only in the primary too clear: children from high- grades, but in high school as well.1 income families are likely to Yet here’s the practical problem. Right know about twice as many from the beginning of schooling, there are words as children from low- profound differences in vocabulary knowl- income families, putting these edge among young learners from different children at a significantly 3 socioeconomic groups. Just consider the higher risk for school failure. following statistics: by age 4, a child’s inter- Even more disturbing, how- action with his or her family has already ever, is that these statistics are produced significant vocabulary differ- often treated as inevitable, more or less a byproduct of poverty or low-income status. Susan B. Neuman is a professor and chair of the Teaching and Learning department at the Stein- Think of the consequences! hardt School of Culture, Education, and Human This would mean that these Development at New York University. Previously, children could be designated she was a professor of educational studies at the as reading failures before they University of Michigan, where she directed the ever enter through the school- Ready to Learn Project. She has authored numer- ous books on early childhood, including Giving house doors. delays can go on to achieve grade-level Our Children a Fighting Chance: Poverty, Lit- Luckily, there is now a rich and accu- expectations in fourth grade and eracy, and the Development of Information mulated new knowledge base that suggests beyond.5 Capital. Tanya S. Wright is an assistant professor a far different scenario. Consider these • The quantity, quality, and responsive- in the Department of Teacher Education at points: Michigan State University and a former kinder- ness of teacher and parent talk can garten teacher. This article is adapted, with per- • The highest rate of vocabulary develop- effectively mediate socioeconomic mission of Teachers College Press, from Susan B. ment occurs during the preschool status, thereby ensuring children’s Neuman and Tanya S. Wright, All About Words: Increasing Vocabulary in the Common Core years; therefore, it represents a crucial growth in receptive and expressive 4 6 Classroom, PreK–2. New York: Teachers College time when we can intervene. vocabulary. Press. Copyright 2013 by Teachers College, Columbia University. All rights reserved. It • Effective vocabulary intervention can • Gains in oral vocabulary development appeared, with permission, in the Summer 2014 ameliorate reading difficulties later on. can predict growth in comprehension issue of American Educator. Children with resolved vocabulary and later reading performance.7

LITERACY LADDERS | 11 This means that, in contrast to dire early grades. Here, in a nutshell, are some harder text than before. In the past, we prognostications, there is much we can do of the design features: used to try to meet children’s needs by to enable children to read and read well. selecting reading materials according • A cumulative model of expectations: Although we certainly have more to learn, to their instructional level; in some It used to be called “spiraling,” but the the good news is that we now have an accu- cases, when they have difficulty com- principle is the same. From grade to mulated body of evidence on the charac- prehending text, we’ll even choose an grade, similar standards will increase teristics of effective vocabulary instruction. easier text and have them gradually in complexity. For example, in kinder- And it turns out that this news couldn’t build up speed for more challenging garten, children will be expected to “ask come at a better time. materials. The CCSS use a very different and answer questions about key details model: children are required to read in a text, with prompting and support.” Oral Vocabulary Development grade-level text. A teacher’s job will be Grade 1 has the same exact standard, and the Common Core State to help them learn through these more Standards You might say that we are entering into a new age of educational reform: the age of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). In the distant past, education was a local issue; districts acted on their own to adopt instructional guidelines and cur- riculum. In recent years, however, educa- tion has increasingly become more of a state and even a federal concern. The No Child Left Behind Act, the Bush adminis- tration’s reauthorization of the Elemen- tary and Secondary Education Act, increased the role of states in enacting standards, assessments, and accountabil- ity. In 2010, state governments took their although the children will now be challenging texts without telling them turn, becoming more proactive in educa- required to do it on their own. what the texts say. For example, a tional reform. The Council of Chief State teacher might focus on the organiza- • Informational texts: Right from the School Officers and the National Gover- tional features of the text, the headings start, the standards place greater nors Association, working with the orga- and subheadings, or the use of the glos- emphasis on listening to and eventually nization Achieve, set out to develop sary to unlock the meaning of words in reading informational books. In this world-class standards that would essen- context. tially create a shared vision of what all respect, the standards focus on the students should know and be able to do in integration of knowledge and ideas • An integrated model of literacy: all grades, kindergarten through high through text. Further, there is the Although the standards are divided into school. expectation that children will be able to reading, writing, speaking and listen- The reason that this is relevant for those cross traditional genre boundaries and ing, and language, there is an expecta- in early education on up is that 46 states compare and contrast text features; for tion that all of these skills work together. and the District of Columbia have adopted example, children might listen to an Even kindergartners are expected to these Common Core State Standards in informational book about insects one engage in rich conversations that place English language arts and mathematics. day and a story about insects the next a greater emphasis on their abilities to The standards don’t define how teachers day, and then be asked about the con- build arguments from evidence in the should teach, but they do tell them what nections between the two. Children will text, whether it is read to them or they students need to know and be able to do. be expected to learn about key subject read it themselves. areas, particularly science and history, Further, starting in 2014–2015, state tests • An integrated media environment: through texts. Certainly, this does not will be geared toward measuring whether There is a greater recognition that mean that we are going to abandon the or not students are achieving these stan- today’s “texts” don’t come through only children’s literature or stories that we dards. In essence, education is moving one medium—print. As all of us know, all have come to know and love. Rather, toward a more unitary system with a a high volume of information comes it simply means a greater balance shared vision of expectations for student through print and nonprint media between literary storybooks and infor- learning. forms, both old and new. The CCSS mational texts. These CCSS represent a sea change in encourage teachers to make use of how we think about early literacy and read- • Challenging materials: There is multimedia, as it’s embedded into ing, in particular, even before children greater emphasis on stretching stu- every aspect of today’s curriculum. enter kindergarten and throughout the dents to meet the demands of reading Children will need to be able to gather,

12 | LITERACY LADDERS comprehend, evaluate, and synthesize in the cognitive development of an indi- accurately apply these individual color information and ideas through differ- vidual.8 This conclusion led to designing terms.12 Typically, words such as red or yel- ent forms of media. new opportunities to engage children in low may appear in their vocabulary; how- early learning. ever, their application of these words to In short, these standards focus on Similarly, a number of myths have been their referents may be haphazard and results rather than on means. They estab- perpetuated about oral vocabulary devel- interchangeable. lish clear goals and expectations that are opment, and in many ways they have sty- Children, then, may have knowledge of designed to help children succeed in a mied efforts to promote quality teaching these words, but this knowledge will be far world in which the development of infor- early on. Recent evidence has called into from complete. Rather, word learning in mation capital is increasingly important. question these notions, and it suggests that most cases requires many exposures over And whether they are ultimately successful we not only can improve children’s vocab- an extended period of time.13 With each in achieving these lofty goals depends on ulary—we can accelerate it with instruc- additional exposure, the word may become teachers and how well they are supported tion. These new findings have powerful incrementally closer to being fully learned. in implementing these new standards in the classroom. So how do the CCSS relate to oral vocabulary development? And, for those who work with preschoolers or even By first grade, children from high-income younger children, how do K–12 standards affect what they teach? Here’s why teach- families are likely to know about twice as many ers need to be informed about these stan- words as children from low-income families. dards: it is impossible for children to read, and to understand what they read, with- out a strong foundation in oral vocabulary development. Without vocabulary knowl- edge, words are just words—without implications for further reading develop- Myth 2: There Is a much meaning. If we are to help children ment and content learning. Vocabulary Explosion take on seriously challenging texts, then It is often said that word learning starts we need to give them word and world Myth 1: Children Are Word Sponges rather slowly, then at about 16 months or knowledge to bring to these texts. Given Children seem to pick up words prodi- when a child learns about 50 words, all of a that most oral vocabulary development giously and quite effortlessly. It looks natu- sudden things begin to happen.14 Word grows from a massive immersion in the ral. In one classic study, for example, learning begins in earnest. Variously called world of language, there is not a moment researchers taught preschoolers a new the “vocabulary explosion” or “word spurt,” to waste. color word simply by requesting, “You see it reflects the apparent dramatic ability of The purpose of this article is to explain those trays over there? Bring me the chro- young children to acquire new words—on our rationale for content-rich oral vocabu- mium tray. Not the red one, the chromium the scale of learning 10 or more new objects lary instruction in the age of the CCSS, and one.”9 When their memory for the new and names within a two- or three-week how to effectively build children’s vocabu- word was assessed one week later, the period. This notion of a vocabulary explo- lary. But first, we dispel some of the com- majority of children (63 percent) were able sion may suggest that the optimal time for mon myths about oral vocabulary to correctly identify which color was chro- oral vocabulary development is in these development, which have often led to a mium. Since this experiment, the term fast toddler years. lack of attention for this important topic in mapping—the notion that words can be Recent evidence, however, suggests that school instruction. We then move to a set learned based on a single exposure—has the “spurt” in word learning does not cor- of instructional principles that should become common parlance to explain the respond to any change in the rate of word guide teachers’ work. extraordinary rate at which children seem learning, but to a change in the rate of chil- to pick up words early on. dren’s integrating new vocabulary.15 In Common Myths Today, however, there is ample evi- other words, it suggests that the vocabulary Like many myths, these notions may dence to suggest that children do not learn explosion is a byproduct of the variation in contain some partial truths, almost like words through fast mapping.10 Rather, they the time it takes to learn to actually use folk wisdom. For example, some authori- learn words by predicting relationships words. Although children are accumulat- ties once claimed that learning was between objects and sounds, which ing words at a constant rate, the written and based on the “neural ripening” of the become more accurate over time. Word verbal use of the words accelerates. We see, brain; applied to reading, this reflected a learning is incremental.11 Evidence for this for example, a similar pattern with recep- philosophy of “wait and see” until the child comes from children’s struggles to under- tive and expressive language, with children appeared “ready” for instruction. Research stand color words. Although infants can demonstrating far greater capacity to and writings in the 1950s and 1960s by distinguish between basic color categories, understand meaning before they are able cognitive psychologists provided powerful it is not until about age 4 that they can to effectively express ideas in words. evidence that early childhood was crucial

LITERACY LADDERS | 13 The course of word learning, therefore, effects were reduced to negligible levels school, vocabulary words are likely to be has little to do with vocabulary explosions, when children were 4 to 5 years old or repeated frequently. The problem is, bursts, or spurts. To the contrary, word when they were at risk for language and teachers do not have that luxury. In our learning is cumulative.16 The high-per- literacy impairments. study of 55 kindergarten classrooms, for forming student who knows many thou- This means that exposure to words example, we found that although teachers sands of words has learned them not by through storybooks is not likely to be provided more than eight of these word having received a jolt of oral language early potent enough to narrow the substantial explanations per day, they were rarely, if on, but by accruing bits of word knowledge gap for children who may be at risk for ever, repeated more than once.22 Further, for each of the thousands of words encoun- reading difficulties. Rather, to improve words selected for teachable moments tered every day. By the end of high school, children’s oral vocabulary development, were different across classroom settings. one estimate is that college-ready students teachers will need to augment the read- Far too predictably, our study reported that children who attended schools in the most severely low-income neighborhoods were likely to hear far fewer explanations, with those explanations offered at lower difficulty levels, than children in middle- and upper-income areas. With the implementation of the CCSS, children will be expected to understand content-related words in science and his- tory. This means that we cannot rely on teachable moments alone to help children develop word meanings. Rather, we will need to be proactive in selecting words that have greater application to academic texts with increasingly complex concepts.

Myth 5: Just Follow the Vocabulary Scope and Sequence in a Core Reading Program will need to acquire about 80,000 words.17 aloud experience with more intentional This means that we should immerse stu- strategies that require children to process Several years ago, researchers examined dents for extended periods in oral and words at deeper levels of understanding. the prevalence of oral vocabulary instruc- written vocabulary experiences through- tion in core reading programs at the pre-K 23 out their instructional years. Myth 4: We Do It All the Time level. We found a dearth of instructional Most teachers try to consciously engage guidance for teachers, despite some “men- Myth 3: Storybook Reading Is children in active experiences that involve tioning” of words. Since then, we have Sufficient for Oral Vocabulary lots of conversation throughout the day. turned our attention to kindergarten and Development In the course of a science activity, for first-grade materials, focusing on the four Reading books aloud to children is a pow- example, a teacher may explain a word to most commonly used core curricula, to erful and motivating source for vocabu- help children understand the context. She examine the breadth and depth of oral lary development.18 We now have a large might pause during the lesson and say, vocabulary instruction—the pedagogical corpus of research showing that children “That’s the predator. That means he wants features of instruction and how these fea- learn words through listening to and to eat the frog,” providing a brief explana- tures might align with research-based interacting with storybooks. Nevertheless, tion that fits the context of the story. Or evidence on vocabulary development. recent studies have begun to question during a classroom discussion, a teacher Despite greater attention to words in whether incidental instruction through might use the word celebrate when elementary curricula, our results indicated 24 book reading may be substantial enough describing a birthday activity and then tremendous disparity across curricula. to significantly boost children’s oral explain, “Celebrate means to do some- For example, one curriculum listed an vocabulary development.19 Several meta- thing fun.” These events represent impor- average of 20 target vocabulary words per analyses, for example, have reported only tant teachable moments—informal week to be taught, whereas another listed, small to moderate effects of book reading opportunities to engage in word learning, on average, only two. Further, the criteria on vocabulary development.20 One group somewhat parallel to the types of lan- used to select words to teach remained a of researchers examined the added ben- guage exchanges between parents and mystery. In one curriculum, words were efits of dialogic reading, an interactive their children. selected based on the weekly stories. In reading strategy, on children’s vocabulary However, over the course of the 20,000 other curricula, we could find no organiz- growth and reported only modest gains hours parents and children spend ing principle for the selection of words at for 2- to 3-year-olds.21 Further, these together in the home before entering all. Finally, using three different criteria, we found that many of the vocabulary words

14 | LITERACY LADDERS selected for instruction were far too easy to ing and to raise their hands whenever they engage children in rich language instruc- warrant school-based instruction. hear one.27 Then the teacher might say to tion, have shown impressive results with This means that until such materials are students, “Oh, good. Some of you raised kindergarten and first-grade children, developed, teachers are going to have to your hands! What word did you hear? Yes, demonstrating vocabulary gains about rely on a set of research-based principles the word peculiar. When Anansi said the twice as large as those resulting from read- to ensure that all students receive the qual- word seven, a peculiar thing happened. aloud studies.30 Given this research-based ity of oral vocabulary instruction they Peculiar means strange or different.” evidence, the CCSS have adopted this need. In the age of the CCSS, students will Our syntheses of research reported that heuristic for selecting words to teach. need a specialized language—some vocabulary gains were significantly higher However, our research suggests that it’s describe it as academic language—to con- when words were identified explicitly also important to consider content- vey their ideas, which will facilitate the rather than implicitly (e.g., learning words related words very early on. These are development of more complex concepts in by listening to a story). However, here’s words that will be critical for developing multiple disciplines. And our efforts to something to keep in mind: the largest knowledge in key subject areas. For exam- ple, vocabulary related to living things, such as habitat, organism, and protection, can help children talk about and learn about key science-related concepts; moreover, science vocabulary words such Words represent the tip of the iceberg; as compare, contrast, observe, and predict underlying them is a set of emerging are fundamental inquiry words used not only in science but in all subject areas. In interconnections and concepts. our research, we found that Head Start preschoolers are highly capable of learn- ing and retaining these and similar words over time. Introducing students to con- tent-related vocabulary, therefore, helps enhance the ability of all children to com- gains were made when teachers provided them to build word knowledge and con- municate in academic language and aca- both explicit and implicit instruction. One cepts essential for developing knowledge demic thinking through oral vocabulary study, for example, found that engaging systematically from texts. development must begin early. children in acting out words after explicitly defining them enhanced word learning as Principle 3: Build Word Meaning through Knowledge Networks Principles of Effective measured by standardized assessments later on.28 In other words, when teachers It’s fair to say that words represent the tip Oral Vocabulary Instruction made children aware of the meaning of the of the iceberg; underlying them is a set of Although there is certainly more to learn, words and then engaged them in using emerging interconnections and concepts we now have a growing research consen- those words in a meaningful context, chil- that these words represent. It is the rich sus about the characteristics of effective dren achieved greater gains than from network of concepts and facts accompany- vocabulary instruction. Using evidence explicit instruction alone. ing these words that drives children’s com- from our two recent meta-analyses syn- prehension.31 Thus, helping children to thesizing research from 75 vocabulary Principle 2: Be Intentional in learn about words in clusters that represent 25 studies, as well as our own studies exam- Word Selection knowledge networks has been shown to ining some of the mechanisms for word Given that there are only so many words we strongly support children’s inferential rea- 26 learning, five principles emerge to can teach—for example, one estimate is a soning and comprehension. For example, enhance oral vocabulary development, as total of about 400 words in a year—we must if you know the word oar, you probably described below. carefully select the words that we plan to also know something about rowboats and teach. Some have argued that words for paddling. Teaching words in categories, Principle 1: Children Need Both vocabulary instruction should be selected such as “healthy foods” (e.g., fruit, vegeta- Explicit and Implicit Instruction from high-utility sophisticated words ble, protein), also aids in the retention of Children benefit from explicit instruction. (known as Tier 2 words) that are character- these words. That is, children who are given child- istic of written language.29 For example, Recent evidence for the support of friendly definitions of words or other attri- instead of using the words keep going, you teaching words in knowledge networks butes of the words to be learned are more can use a Tier 2 word such as maintain; comes from two large-scale studies of likely to remember them. Prior to the instead of the word lucky, you might use vocabulary interventions for low-income beginning of a story, for example, a teacher the word fortunate. These words are preschoolers. One study, for example, used might begin by introducing several words domain general and are likely to relate to a number of useful strategies to help chil- that are integral to the story. The teacher more refined labels for concepts that may dren share semantic similarities between might encourage children to listen for each enhance children’s verbal functioning. words.32 Strategies such as encouraging of the “magic words” during the story read- Studies of “Text Talk,” a strategy used to children to look at two picture cards with

LITERACY LADDERS | 15 words on them and make inferences about tioned in the literature, what is new is that teachers to expose children to additional how these words work together helped we may have underestimated the fre- contexts in which the word might be used. them make comparisons of concepts. In quency required to learn words. For Two researchers, in their work with second our World of Words curriculum, we teach example, in attempting to better under- language learners, suggest that multimedia words related to a semantic category. For stand how many repetitions might be can be highly effective for enhancing the example, children learn words associated needed to learn a novel word, researchers meanings of words.37 Their research with “parts of the body,” such as abdomen, studied 60 4-year-olds during a word- showed that multimedia-enhanced lungs, heart, and brain, while focusing on learning task.36 First, the researchers iden- instruction significantly narrowed the gap the common features of the category (e.g., tified a pseudo-word (e.g., toma) for the between English language learners and “parts of the body” means these are children, and then they engaged in playing non-ELL children in knowledge of targeted attached to the body).33 We then engage children in playful activities called “time for a challenge” and ask them questions such as, “Are eyeglasses part of the body?” or “Is hair part of the body?” (Some chil- Recent evidence indicates that children dren argue that hair is not part of the body because their daddies are bald!) need planned, sequenced, and systematic We found that clustering words within vocabulary instruction. categories facilitated children’s compre- hension and provided promising evidence of accelerating word learning. For example, we showed a picture of a word not taught— in this case, ankle—and asked, “Is an ankle a game involving the word, followed by a words. They found that video could help a part of the body?” Children who received brief assessment. For each word, 12 chil- children learn by representing words in instruction reported, “Yes, because it helps dren heard the new word repeated three more than one media format, clarifying the you walk,” whereas a comparison child not times; another 12 children heard the word instructional dialogue and adding more receiving instruction just said, “Yes, repeated six times; and so forth, for nine, information to make sense of words that ‘cause.” Similarly, children who received 18, and 24 repetitions. Only 20 percent of they are learning. Our research, as well, has our vocabulary curriculum were able to the children who heard a new word three shown that the addition of dynamic visuals apply their categorical information to new times remembered it; in fact, it wasn’t until and sounds in video accompanied by words, suggesting that they were using the after 24 repetitions that the majority of chil- informational books provides children semantic information about categories to dren (80 percent) successfully remem- with multiple strategies for acquiring word make inferences and generalizations. bered the word. knowledge. Together, this research high- Finally, helping children understand how The point, of course, is not that all words lights that frequency of exposure in a vari- words build knowledge networks facilitates need 24 repetitions. However, this research ety of meaningful contexts over an our ability to make teaching them more does suggest that children need many extended period of time enhances word meaningful. This represents a far cry from more encounters with new words than we learning. Further, children may continue our analysis of vocabulary in core curricula may have previously suspected. Strategies to benefit from additional exposures to a in which a teacher might be guided to such as repeated reading have been shown word and its meaning even if they appear teach the words platypus and around on to be effective in helping children acquire to already understand the word. the same day.34 Rather, children learn best new words. In addition, children may ben- Principle 5: Ongoing Professional when words are presented in integrated efit from rich explanations of newly Development Is Essential contexts that make sense to them. A set of encountered words. Rich explanations words connected to a category such as often include as much information as pos- The results of our meta-analyses suggest “energy” can help children remember not sible about the new word, including infor- that children’s oral vocabulary develop- only the words themselves but the linkages mation conveyed through defining, ment is highly malleable and can be signifi- in meaning between them. providing synonyms, pointing to illustra- cantly improved through intervention. tions, and using the words in other con- However, these analyses also showed that Principle 4: Children Need Repeated texts. These explanations can also give teachers who have not received adequate Exposure to Gain Vocabulary teachers further opportunities to repeat preparation and teachers with limited edu- Children are most likely to learn the words new words, thereby providing children cational backgrounds were not as effective they hear the most. Findings from a large with additional exposures. Another way to in helping children make significant gains number of correlational studies on lan- build repetition actually goes back to our in vocabulary. Similar findings have been 38 guage have shown that frequency of expo- previous point of teaching knowledge net- reported in other meta-analyses. This sure strongly predicts word learning and works. Categories and semantic clusters research highlights the importance of seems to have long-range consequences provide a built-in mechanism for repeating ongoing professional development for for later language and reading levels.35 words in meaningful contexts. teachers and other school staff who regu- Although this finding is often men- At the same time, it is also important for larly work with children who might need

16 | LITERACY LADDERS additional instruction. This means selecting words, concepts, and 30 (1995), 998–1015. 19. C. Juel, G. Biancarosa, D. Coker, and R. Deffes, “Walking Very recently, we have drawn from our ideas that matter most to children right with Rosie: A Cautionary Tale of Early Reading Instruction,” work with young children the notion of an from the very beginning of schooling. Educational Leadership 60, no. 7 (April 2003), 12–18. instructional regime as part of a teacher’s Many children from high-poverty cir- 20. S. E. Mol, A. G. Bus, and M. T. de Jong, “Interactive Book Reading in Early Education: A Tool to Stimulate Print ongoing work in the classroom. This pat- cumstances will have had fewer experi- Knowledge as Well as Oral Language,” Review of Educational Research 79 (2009), 979–1007; S. E. Mol, A. G. tern of instruction involves several key ences with the academic language that the Bus, M. T. de Jong, and D. J. H. Smeets, “Added Value of steps: standards require. Children who enter Dialogic Parent-Child Book Readings: A Meta-Analysis,” Early Education and Development 19 (2008), 7–26; and school in these situations will need skill- • Identifying words that need to be National Early Literacy Panel, Developing Early Literacy: fully developed instruction that not only Report of the National Early Literacy Panel (Washington, DC: taught; National Institute for Literacy, 2008). improves their word knowledge and con- • Defining these words in a child-friendly 21. S. E. Mol, A. G. Bus, M. T. de Jong, and D. J. H. Smeets, cepts, but actually accelerates their vocab- “Added Value of Dialogic Parent-Child Book Readings: A way; Meta-Analysis,” Early Education and Development 19 ulary development, maximizing the • Contextualizing words into varied and (2008), 7–26. limited time they have in school.  22. T. S. Wright and S. B. Neuman, “Paucity and Disparity in meaningful formats; Kindergarten Oral Vocabulary Instruction,” Journal of Literacy Research (forthcoming). • Reviewing words to ensure sustainabil- Endnotes 23. S. B. Neuman and J. Dwyer, “Missing in Action: ity over time; and 1. See, for example, I. L. Beck and M. G. McKeown, Vocabulary Instruction in Pre-K,” Reading Teacher 62 (2009), • Monitoring children’s progress and “Increasing Young Low-Income Children’s Oral Vocabulary 384–392. Repertoires through Rich and Focused Instruction,” reteaching if necessary. Elementary School Journal 107 (2007), 251–271; and K. E. 24. T. S. Wright and S. B. Neuman, “Vocabulary Instruction Stanovich and A. E. Cunningham, “Studying the in Commonly Used Kindergarten Core Reading Curricula,” Elementary School Journal 113 (2013), 386–408. This instructional regime, applied at any Consequences of Literacy within a Literate Society: The Cognitive Correlates of Print Exposure,” Memory & 25. L. M. Marulis and S. B. Neuman, “The Effects of grade level, promotes greater attention to Cognition 20 (1992), 51–68. Vocabulary Intervention on Young Children’s Word Learning: the depth of processing words and their 2. E. T. Rodriguez and C. S. Tamis-LeMonda, “Trajectories of A Meta-Analysis,” Review of Educational Research 80 the Home Learning Environment across the First 5 Years: (2010), 300–335; and L. M. Marulis and S. B. Neuman, meanings, and can provide a critical road Associations with Children’s Vocabulary and Literacy Skills at “How Vocabulary Interventions Affect Young Children at Risk: A Meta-Analytic Review,” Journal of Research on map for the future planning of instruction. Prekindergarten,” Child Development 82 (2011), 1058–1075. Educational Effectiveness 6 (2013), 223–262. Taken collectively, the five principles of 3. M. F. Graves, The Vocabulary Book: Teaching and 26. T. Kaefer and S. B. Neuman, “A Bi-Directional Instruction (New York: Teachers College Press, 2006). Relationship between Conceptual Organization and Word oral vocabulary development, in effect, Learning” (paper presented at the annual meeting of the highlight an approach that is designed to 4. G. Farkas and K. Beron, “The Detailed Age Trajectory of Literacy Research Association, Jacksonville, FL, November– Oral Vocabulary Knowledge: Differences by Class and Race,” December 2011). help children unlock the complexities of Social Science Research 33 (2004), 464–497. 27. M. D. Coyne, D. B. McCoach, and S. Kapp, “Vocabulary texts that we see throughout the CCSS. 5. D. V. M. Bishop and C. Adams, “A Prospective Study of Intervention for Kindergarten Students: Comparing the Relationship between Specific Language Impairment, Extended Instruction to Embedded Instruction and Incidental Given that these standards place greater Phonological Disorders and Reading Retardation,” Journal of Exposure,” Learning Disability Quarterly 30 (2007), 74–88. Child Psychology and Psychiatry 31 (1990), 1027–1050. emphasis on students’ abilities to build 28. R. Silverman, “A Comparison of Three Methods of arguments from evidence in texts, these 6. S. E. Mol and S. B. Neuman, “Sharing Information Books Vocabulary Instruction during Read-Alouds in Kindergarten,” with Kindergartners: The Role of Parents’ Extra-textual Talk Elementary School Journal 108 (2007), 97–113. instructional principles will give them the and Socioeconomic Status,” Early Childhood Research Quarterly 29, 4 (2014), 399–410. 29. I. L. Beck and M. G. McKeown, “Increasing Young tools to engage in academically enriching Low-Income Children’s Oral Vocabulary Repertoires through 7. A. M. Elleman, E. J. Lindo, P. Morphy, and D. L. Compton, Rich and Focused Instruction,” Elementary School Journal conversations that can be fulfilling and “The Impact of Vocabulary Instruction on Passage-Level 107 (2007), 251–271. Comprehension of School-Age Children: A Meta-Analysis,” highly rewarding. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness 2 (2009), 30. I. L. Beck, M. G. McKeown, and L. Kucan, Bringing 1–44. Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction (New York: Common myths are often based on Guilford, 2002). some partial truths that have since been 8. J. S. Bruner, R. Olver, and P. Greenfield, Studies in Cognitive Growth (New York: Wiley, 1966). 31. S. A. Stahl and W. E. Nagy, Teaching Word Meanings (Mahwah, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates, 2006). debunked or at least shown to have serious 9. S. Carey and E. Bartlett, “Acquiring a Single New Word,” flaws in their logic. This is the case with oral Papers and Reports on Child Language Development 15 32. S. D. Pollard-Durodola, J. E. Gonzalez, D. C. Simmons, (1978), 17–29. M. J. Davis, L. Simmons, and M. Nava-Walichowski, “Using vocabulary development. In the past, we Knowledge Networks to Develop Preschoolers’ Content 10. P. Bloom, How Children Learn the Meanings of Words Vocabulary,” Reading Teacher 65 (2011), 265–274. have often described young children as (Cambirdge, MA: MIT Press, 2000). 33. S. B. Neuman, J. Dwyer, S. Koh, and T. S. Wright, The “word wizards,” “word sponges,” “lexical 11. W. E. Nagy, R. C. Anderson, and P. A. Herman, “Learning World of Words: A Vocabulary Intervention for Preschool Word Meanings from Context during Normal Reading,” Children (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 2007). vacuum cleaners”—all denoting the sup- American Educational Research Journal 24 (1987), 237–270. 34. T. S. Wright and S. B. Neuman, “Vocabulary Instruction posedly easy process of vocabulary devel- 12. M. Rice, Cognition to Language: Categories, Word in Commonly Used Kindergarten Core Reading Curricula,” Meanings, and Training (Baltimore: University Park Press, Elementary School Journal 113 (2013), 386–408. opment. Too often, it has been assumed 1980). 35. J. Harris, R. Michnick Golinkoff, and K. Hirsh-Pasek, that word learning is natural and that the 13. A. Biemiller and C. Boote, “An Effective Method for “Lessons from the Crib for the Classroom: How Children conditions in classrooms provide sponta- Building Meaning Vocabulary in Primary Grades,” Journal of Really Learn Vocabulary,” in Handbook of Early Literacy Educational Psychology 98 (2006), 44–62. Research, vol. 3, ed. D. K. Dickinson and S. B. Neuman (New neous opportunities for vocabulary 14. A. Gopnik, A. N. Meltzoff, and P. K. Kuhl, The Scientist in York: Guilford, 2011), 49–65. development. the Crib: Minds, Brains, and How Children Learn (New York: 36. A. M. Pinkham, S. B. Neuman, and A. S. Lillard, “You William Morrow, 1999). Teachable moments are important; Can Say That Again! Preschoolers Need Repeated Exposures 15. B. McMurray, “Defusing the Childhood Vocabulary to Gain Expressive Vocabulary” (paper presented at the however, they will not be sufficient for stu- Explosion,” Science 317, no. 5838 (August 3, 2007), 631. annual meeting of the Literacy Research Association, Jacksonville, FL, November–December 2011). dents to engage in complex texts. Rather, 16. W. E. Nagy and J. A. Scott, “Vocabulary Processes,” in Handbook of Reaching Research, vol. 3, ed. M. L. Kamil, P. B. 37. R. Silverman and S. Hines, “The Effects of Multimedia- we will have to be much more strategic Mosenthal, P. D. Pearson, and R. Barr (Mahwah, NJ: L. Enhanced Instruction on the Vocabulary of English-Language Erlbaum Associates, 2000), 269–284. Learners and Non-English-Language Learners in Pre- about word learning than our previous Kindergarten through Second Grade,” Journal of 17. E. D. Hirsch Jr., “Reading Comprehension Requires Educational Psychology 101 (2009), 305–314. standards or instructional guidelines have Knowledge—of Words and the World,” American Educator acknowledged. Recent evidence indicates 27, no. 1 (Spring 2003), 10–29, 48. 38. S. E. Mol, A. G. Bus, M. T. de Jong, and D. J. H. Smeets, “Added Value of Dialogic Parent-Child Book Readings: A that children need planned, sequenced, 18. A. G. Bus and M. H. van Ijzendoorn, “Mothers Reading Meta-Analysis,” Early Education and Development 19 to Their 3-Year-Olds: The Role of Mother-Child Attachment (2008), 7–26. and systematic vocabulary instruction. Security in Becoming Literate,” Reading Research Quarterly

LITERACY LADDERS | 17 Dual Language Learners Effective Instruction in Early Childhood

By Claude Goldenberg, Judy Hicks, and Ira Lit

s the number of English learners in K–12 public schools has increased, so too has the popu- lation of preschool dual lan- guageA learners, or DLLs. For preschoolers, the term dual language learners is pre- ferred since young children are still in the midst of acquiring their first language.* More than 4 million DLLs are enrolled in early childhood programs nationally. Thirty percent of the children in Head Start and Early Head Start are DLLs.1 Although a large majority of preschool- age children in the United States attend

Claude Goldenberg is a professor of education at Stanford University. Previously, at California State University, Long Beach, he was a professor of teacher education, an associate dean of the College of Education, and the executive director of the Center for Language Minority Education and Research. Early in his career, he taught junior high school in Texas and first grade in a bilingual elementary school in California. He is some type of early education setting, childhood care or education setting, early the recipient of the Albert J. Harris Award from Latino children and children of immigrants educators must be informed by what the International Reading Association, among attend at a lower rate than do children of research has to say about creating optimal other honors. Judy Hicks (now Judy Hicks Pau- nonimmigrant parents.2 This is unfortu- learning environments. Concern over the lick) is a post-doctoral scholar in Stanford Uni- nate, since children who attend preschool achievement of this population of students versity’s Teacher Education program. Previously, she was an elementary school teacher in Comp- during the year before kindergarten have has led to a large number of recent research ton, CA, and a teacher educator in Tonga. Ira Lit an advantage in reading and math over reviews and professional publications is an associate professor of teaching at Stanford their peers who are not enrolled in center- aimed at improving preschool DLLs’ edu- and the director of the Stanford Elementary based care.3 Many children who are learn- cational opportunities.5 In this article, we Teacher Education Program. Previously, he was ing English as a second language while survey this growing body of research to an elementary school teacher and the executive director for the Teachers for a New Era initiative they are gaining early proficiency in their help inform educators responsible for cre- at Bank Street College of Education. This article home language are therefore dispropor- ating settings for our young DLLs. is adapted with permission from Claude Gold- tionately missing academic benefits that We organize our review of the research enberg, Judy Hicks, and Ira Lit, “Teaching Young attending preschool provides.4 by addressing four key topics: English Learners,” in Handbook of Research- For those DLLs who do attend an early Based Practice in Early Education, edited by D. 1. Employing children’s home language in Ray Reutzel (Guilford Press, 2013). It appeared, the early childhood curriculum; with permission, in the Summer 2013 issue of *For discussions of terms, see the CECER-DLL’s website American Educator. and the NCELA’s glossary of terms. 2. Comparing effective practices for DLLs

18 | LITERACY LADDERS and English speakers in English-only tended to rate their students more posi- English-speaking homes;11 this might be programs; tively in terms of the students’ frustration explained by the fact that the Spanish- tolerance, assertiveness, and peer social speaking students began with far lower 3. Promoting language development in skills. English levels than the English-speaking English and the home language; and Teachers can also use the students’ students. 4. Involving families in supporting chil- home language in various ways that sup- Studies also illustrate the value for dren’s language learning. port children’s learning, even when young DLLs of well-known elements of instruction is essentially in English. For effective teaching, such as explaining 1. Employing children’s home example, teachers could supplement a vocabulary words encountered during language in the early childhood book they are reading aloud with explana- curriculum tions or brief clarifications in the home The debate over bilingual education has language or by pointing out a cognate (e.g., been the most controversial aspect of the “Do you know what a market is? It sounds education of English learners for more like mercado, right?”), which can make than a half century and continues to be texts in English more accessible to DLLs politically charged.6 Bilingual education’s and possibly make them aware of linkages basic premise is that students should be across languages. taught academic skills in their home lan- Pictures help DLL guage as they learn and acquire skills in 2. Comparing effective practices English. According to this view, instruction for DLLs and English speakers in preschoolers with in the home language strengthens the English-only programs low levels of oral home language and creates a more solid Studies of effective early childhood curri- foundation for cognitive and academic cula have shown cognitive and social ben- English learn story growth in English; moreover, promoting efits for DLLs that may be comparable to bilingual competence is valuable in its own or greater than those for native English vocabulary. right. Opponents of bilingual education speakers. Researchers in Nebraska, for argue that instruction in students’ home example, found that a professional devel- language both delays English learners’ opment literacy workshop series (Head- entrance into the academic and social sUp! Reading) for early childhood mainstream and depresses English educators was equally effective in promot- achievement; bilingualism might be fine, ing early literacy skills for children from but the school should focus on rapid and English-speaking and Spanish-speaking 10 effective English learning. Others have also homes. In Oklahoma, one of the pioneers reading and using them in different con- raised concerns about the resources of universal high-quality pre-K education, texts.12 In other words, successful teaching required to fund bilingual programs and preschools produce developmental gains and curricula seem to be successful for 7 whether the benefits justify the costs. across various demographic groups, most children, suggesting that there is Preschool studies tend to find that at including Latinos, approximately 70 per- probably considerable overlap between best, instruction in the home language cent of whom come from predominantly what is effective practice for DLLs and for contributes to growth in both English and Spanish-speaking homes. Gains for these students already proficient in English.13 home language skills; at worst, there is no students (in Eng- Regardless of their level of English difference in English achievement but an lish) were stron- development, young DLLs who are advantage in home language achieve- ger than for working to master the rudiments of 8 ment. In addition to promoting bilingual students from English probably need additional language and literacy skills, uti- supports to help them participate fully lization of the home language in classroom learning activities if the can also have psychological and activities are in English. Although pre- social benefits that immersion in school DLLs benefit from explanations a second language cannot offer. about the meaning of words (just as Eng- 9 One study found that Spanish- lish speakers do), one study found that speaking children who experi- children who began with lower English enced Spanish interactions with scores learned fewer words than children their teachers were more likely with higher English scores.14 Pictures help to engage in more complex lin- DLL preschoolers with low levels of oral guistic interactions than chil- English learn story vocabulary (e.g., den- dren who experienced only tist, mouse, cap), suggesting that visual English interactions with their representations, not just explanations, teachers. Teachers in classrooms provide these children with additional where Spanish was used also

LITERACY LADDERS | 19 support for learning.15 Video resources also lish language development is critically have proven useful.16 important, but so is promoting devel- Attempts to incorporate additional sup- opment of the home language. ports such as these into comprehensive Developing the home language is programs and curricula have had mixed important in its own right and as success. For example, a professional devel- a means of promoting other opment program that succeeded in having important cognitive and social early childhood educators add scaffolding outcomes.18 strategies for DLLs into their core practices In her volume, One Child, Two found that the improvements in child out- Languages, dual language comes were limited to some phonological researcher Patton Tabors awareness measures.17 describes the sequence that most young children follow as they begin learning a second language in preschool.19 First, young children often attempt to use their home lan- guage. Then, when they realize their home language is not working in What we know this context, they tend to become silent. DLLs listen and observe, about effective gaining an understanding of the classroom language. Next, they instruction in general begin to “go public,” testing out is thefoundation of some new words and phrases. Finally, they begin to produce effective instruction the new language, using phrases and then however, about the relative effects, bene- for English learn- sentences. fits, and disadvantages of different Children may approach English learn- approaches to promoting English language ers of all ages. ing differently, so this developmental development for DLLs in early childhood sequence is not universal and invariant. settings (or K–12 schools). But when teachers are aware of the general In early elementary settings, research- sequence, they have the opportunity to ers 20 have found that a separate block of support DLLs most effectively. For exam- English language development instruction ple, it is important to be able to recognize during the school day was somewhat more and respond to children’s nonverbal effective than only integrating English lan- The key message is that what we know requests and protests—a silent child has guage development into other instruction about effective instruction in general is the needs that must be met, and the teacher throughout the day, although there cer- foundation of effective instruction for Eng- can couple meeting those needs with tainly should be English language learning lish learners of all ages. “Generic” effective introducing new phrases. Additionally, opportunities throughout the day as well. instruction, however, is probably not suf- children who are not yet communicating There is also evidence in the preschool ficient to promote accelerated learning verbally can be encouraged to build rela- context for a separate block of language among ELs, although it is almost certainly tionships through shared interests (e.g., development in the home language: for a necessary base. While we have some working with a partner on a puzzle or Spanish-speaking children in an English- intriguing clues about what else is needed dressing dolls) and through humor. Chil- immersion preschool, researchers found to make programs effective for English dren can also be provided with the space that a 30-minute block of Spanish-lan- learners (as described in the related arti- and time both to act as spectators and to guage development led to significant gains cles in the Summer 2013 issue of American rehearse what they hear and want to in children’s oral proficiency in Spanish.21 Educator, “Unlocking the Research on repeat. Furthermore, models of pragmati- Second-language instruction should English Learners” and “English Language cally appropriate phrases—that is, appro- provide an appropriate balance of oppor- Development”), there is little certainty about priate to the particular situation in which tunities for meaningful, authentic com- how to incorporate these supports into pro- the word or phrase is used—can be very munication and for more organized grams that optimize developmental out- useful for children who are just starting to instruction and specific feedback on the comes for DLLs. “go public” with their new language. proper use of conventional forms.22 As discussed in the article “English Lan- 3. Promoting language development guage Development” (in the Summer 2013 4. Involving families in supporting in English and the home language issue of American Educator), explicit Eng- children’s language learning Language development is, of course, a high lish language development instruction is Families play an important role in helping priority in early childhood programs. Eng- also important. We know surprisingly little, to make children’s preschool experiences

20 | LITERACY LADDERS successful. DLLs’ parents consistently Endnotes Children and Youth (New York: Routledge, 2008); and C. Goldenberg and R. Coleman, Promoting Academic show interest in their children’s education 1. N. Aikens, S. Atkins-Burnett, and E. Bandel, Approaches Achievement among English Learners: A Guide to the to Assessing the Language and Literacy Skills of Young Dual Research (Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, 2010). and are highly motivated to provide their Language Learners: A Review of the Research, Research Brief 14. M. Fuller Collins, “ESL Preschoolers’ English Vocabulary support.23 Unfortunately, teachers often #10 (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina, FPG Child Development Institute, Center for Early Care and Education Acquisition from Storybook Reading,” Reading Research underestimate language-minority parents’ Research—Dual Language Learners, 2012). Quarterly 40, no. 4 (2005), 406–408. 2. K. Turney and G. Kao, “Pre-Kindergarten Child Care and 15. T. Roberts and H. Neal, “Relationships among Preschool ability to help their children succeed in English Language Learners’ Oral Proficiency in English, 24 Behavioral Outcomes among Children of Immigrants,” Early school. Most parents are responsive to Childhood Research Quarterly 24, no. 4 (2009), 432–444. Instructional Experience and Literacy Development,” Contemporary Educational Psychology 29, no. 3 (2004), focused and sensitive efforts to help them 3. K. Magnuson, C. Lahaie, and J. Waldfogel, “Preschool 283–311. and School Readiness of Children of Immigrants,” Social play an active role in supporting their chil- Science Quarterly 87, no. 5 (2006), 1241–1262; and R. W. 16. R. Silverman and S. Hines, “The Effects of Multimedia- dren’s earliest school success. However, Rumberger and L. Tran, Preschool Participation and the Enhanced Instruction on the Vocabulary of English-Language Cognitive and Social Development of Language-Minority Learners and Non-English-Language Learners in Pre- researchers have found variability on the Students (Los Angeles: National Center for Research on Kindergarten through Second Grade,” Journal of Educational Psychology 101, no. 2 (2009), 305–314. impact of home intervention programs on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing, UCLA, 2006). 4. L. A. Karoly and G. C. Gonzalez, “Early Care and 17. V. Buysse, D. C. Castro, and E. Peisner-Feinberg, “Effects children’s academic learning, perhaps due Education for Children in Immigrant Families,” Future of of a Professional Development Program on Classroom Children 21, no. 1 (2011), 71–101. Practices and Outcomes for Latino Dual Language Learners,” to the range of design and implementation Early Childhood Research Quarterly 25, no. 2 (2010), features of various programs. 5. See, for example, Center for Early Care and Education 194–206. Research—Dual Language Learners, research briefs #1–#8 An important issue that parents and (2011), available at http://cecerdll.fpg.unc.edu/document- 18. F. Genesee, J. Paradis, and M. B. Crago, Dual Language library; and L. M. Espinosa, Getting It Right for Young Development and Disorders: A Handbook on Bilingualism teachers ask about is whether parents of Children from Diverse Backgrounds: Applying Research to and Second Language Learning (Baltimore, MD: Brookes, DLLs should use the home language with Improve Practice (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2010). 2004). 19. P. O. Tabors, One Child, Two Languages: A Guide for children exclusively or try to encourage 6. See, for example, P. Gándara and M. Hopkins, eds., Forbidden Language: English Learners and Restrictive Early Childhood Educators of Children Learning English as a more English use. Research and experi- Language Policies (New York: Teachers College Press, 2010). Second Language (Baltimore, MD: Brookes, 2008). ence have established that children can 7. O. Jimenez-Castellanos and A. M. Topper, “The Cost of 20. W. M. Saunders, B. R. Foorman, and C. D. Carlson, “Is a Providing an Adequate Education to English Language Separate Block of Time for Oral English Language learn more than one language, either Learners: A Review of the Literature,” Review of Educational Development in Programs for English Learners Needed?,” The Elementary School Journal 107, no. 2 (2006), 181–197. simultaneously or sequentially, with no Research 82, no. 2 (2012), 179–232; and T. B. Parrish, “A Cost Analysis of Alternative Instructional Models for Limited 21. M. A. Restrepo, A. P. Castilla, P. J. Schwanenflugel, S. adverse effects.25 In fact, in addition to the English Proficient Students in California,” Journal of Neuharth-Pritchett, C. E. Hamilton, and A. Arboleda, social and cultural benefits, there are Education Finance 19, no. 3 (1994), 256–278. “Effects of Supplemental Spanish Oral Language Program on 8. W. S. Barnett, D. J. Yarosz, J. Thomas, K. Jung, and D. Sentence Length, Complexity, and Grammaticality in potential cognitive advantages to growing Blanco, Two-Way and Monolingual English Immersion in Spanish-Speaking Children Attending English-Only Preschools,” Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in up bilingual.26 Yet many parents—and Preschool Education: An Experimental Comparison (New Brunswick, NJ: National Institute for Early Education Schools 41, no. 1 (2010), 3–13. teachers—assume it is common sense that Research, 2007); J. K. Bernhard, J. Cummins, F. I. Campoy, A. 22. W. M. Saunders and C. Goldenberg, “Research to Guide F. Ada, A. Winsler, and C. Bleiker, “Identity Texts and Literacy English Language Development Instruction,” in Improving speaking more English at home will pro- Development among Preschool English Language Learners: Education for English Learners: Research-Based Approaches, mote higher levels of English proficiency Enhancing Learning Opportunities for Children at Risk for ed. D. Dolson and L. Burnham-Massey (Sacramento: CDE Learning Disabilities,” Teachers College Record 108, no. 11 Press, 2010), 21–81; and P. M. Lightbown and N. Spada, for children. Correlational studies do tend (2006), 2380–2405; S. J. Campos, “The Carpinteria How Languages Are Learned, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford to corroborate these intuitions; use of any Preschool Program: A Long-Term Effects Study,” in Meeting University Press, 2006). the Challenge of Linguistic and Cultural Diversity in Early 23. C. Goldenberg and R. Gallimore, “Immigrant Latino language at home is positively associated Childhood Education, ed. E. E. Garcia and B. McLaughlin Parents’ Values and Beliefs about Their Children’s Education: with children’s learning outcomes in that (New York: Teachers College Press, 1995), 34–48; L. K. Continuities and Discontinuities across Cultures and Durán, C. J. Roseth, and P. Hoffman, “An Experimental Generations,” in Advances in Motivation and Achievement: language and negatively associated with Study Comparing English-Only and Transitional Bilingual Culture, Ethnicity, and Motivation, vol. 9, ed. P. R. Pintrich Education on Spanish-Speaking Preschoolers’ Early Literacy outcomes in the other language. But find- and M. L. Maehr (Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1995), 183–228; Development,” Early Childhood Research Quarterly 25, no. 2 N. J. Perry, S. Mitchell Kay, and A. Brown, “Continuity and ings are mixed: one study 27 found that (2010), 207–217; J. M. Farver, C. J. Lonigan, and S. Eppe, Change in Home Literacy Practices of Hispanic Families with “Effective Early Literacy Skill Development for Young Preschool Children,” Early Child Development and Care 178, increased use of English by Spanish-speak- Spanish-Speaking English Language Learners: An no. 1 (2008), 99–113; and A. Schaller, L. Oglesby Rocha, and ing mothers did not accelerate English Experimental Study of Two Methods,” Child Development D. Barshinger, “Maternal Attitudes and Parent Education: 80, no. 3 (2009), 703–719; and A. Winsler, R. M. Díaz, L. How Immigrant Mothers Support Their Child’s Education growth by children—but it did decelerate Espinosa, and J. L. Rodríguez, “When Learning a Second Despite Their Own Low Levels of Education,” Early Language Does Not Mean Losing the First: Bilingual Childhood Education Journal 34, no. 5 (2007), 351–356. Spanish vocabulary growth. Language Development in Low-Income, Spanish-Speaking Bilingual language development need Children Attending Bilingual Preschool,” Child Development 24. L. Brooker, “’Five on the First of December!’: What Can 70, no. 2 (1999), 349–362. We Learn from Case Studies of Early Childhood Literacy?,” not be a zero-sum game, and parents Journal of Early Childhood Literacy 2, no. 3 (2002), 291–313; 9. F. Chang, G. Crawford, D. Early, D. Bryant, C. Howes, M. and C. Goldenberg, “Low-Income Hispanic Parents’ should be reassured that use of the home Burchinal, O. Barbarin, R. Clifford, and R. Pianta, Contributions to Their First-Grade Children’s Word-Recogni- “Spanish-Speaking Children’s Social and Language language will not undermine children’s tion Skills,” Anthropology and Education Quarterly 18, no. 3 Development in Pre-Kindergarten Classrooms,” Early (1987), 149–179. Education and Development 18, no. 2 (2007), 243–269. English language development. Continu- 25. F. Genesee, J. Paradis, and M. B. Crago, Dual Language ing to speak the native language can also 10. B. Jackson, R. Larzelere, L. St. Clair, M. Corr, C. Fichter, Development and Disorders: A Handbook on Bilingualism and H. Egertson, “The Impact of ‘HeadsUp! Reading’ on and Second Language Learning (Baltimore, MD: Brookes, be important for other reasons in addition Early Childhood Educators’ Literacy Practices and Preschool 2004). Children’s Literacy Skills,” Early Childhood Research to the cognitive and linguistic benefits, Quarterly 21, no. 2 (2006), 213–226. 26. E. Bialystok, Bilingualism in Development: Language, Literacy, and Cognition (Cambridge: Cambridge University such as maintaining cultural and family 11. W. T. Gormley Jr., The Effects of Oklahoma’s Universal Press, 2001); and P. K. Kuhl, “Early Language Acquisition: values and communication. In sum, Pre-Kindergarten Program on Hispanic Children (Washing- Cracking the Speech Code,” Nature Reviews Neuroscience ton, D.C.: Center for Research on Children in the United 5, no. 11 (2004), 831–843. although more research is needed in this States, 2008); and W. T. Gormley Jr. and D. Phillips, “The Effects of Universal Pre-K in Oklahoma: Research Highlights 27. C. Scheffner Hammer, M. Dunn Davison, F. R. Lawrence, area, current research suggests that pre- and Policy Implications,” Policy Studies Journal 33, no. 1 and A. W. Miccio, “The Effect of Maternal Language on (2005), 65–82. Bilingual Children’s Vocabulary and Emergent Literacy school educators should use children’s Development during Head Start and Kindergarten,” 12. M. Fuller Collins, “ESL Preschoolers’ English Vocabulary Scientific Studies of Reading 13, no. 2 (2009), 99–121. native language where possible, apply Acquisition from Storybook Reading,” Reading Research specific strategies for building English lan- Quarterly 40, no. 4 (2005), 406–408. guage skills, and build bridges with fami- 13. D. August and T. Shanahan, eds., Developing Reading and Writing in Second-Language Learners: Lessons from the lies to support children’s learning. ☐ Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority

LITERACY LADDERS | 21 Why Reading to Children Is Important

By Susan L. Hall and Louisa C. Moats

“The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for even- tual success in reading is reading aloud to children. This is especially so during the preschool years.”1 –From Becoming a Nation of Readers

his conclusion, from an influen- tial report entitled, Becoming a Nation of Readers: The Report of the Commission on Reading, Tresulted from a study sponsored by the National Institute of Education. The pur- pose of this review was to summarize the findings from research about reading and to make recommendations for instruction. This report, which was published in 1984, is still recognized as a landmark summary

Susan L. Hall is the founder and president of 95 Percent Group, Inc., and a nationally certified trainer in the use of DIBELS and LETRS. Louisa C. Moats has extensive experience in the field of reading and language acquisition as a teacher trainer, diagnostician, researcher, consultant, and writer; she developed the landmark profes- sional development program LETRS for teachers and reading specialists. She is the former director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development’s Early Interventions Proj- ect in Washington, DC, and served as an adjunct professor of psychiatry at Dartmouth Medical School and a clinical associate professor of pedi- atrics at the University of Texas, Houston. This of research in reading and is frequently working fulltime and feeling very overex- article is excerpted from Susan L. Hall and Lou- quoted in educators’ books. tended. I read many popular parenting isa C. Moats’s book, Straight Talk About Reading: The fact that the Commission on Read- books and worried about what my child How Parents Can Make a Difference During the ing proclaimed the importance of reading ate, how to childproof the house, how to Early Years. Copyright 1999. Used with permis- to children may not surprise many parents; evaluate child-care options, and so forth. sion of NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group, Inc. (ISBN #0-8092-2857-2). Excerpts from Curi- most parents have been told in many ways After a few months of feeling overwhelmed ous George Gets a Medal by H.A. Rey. Copyright to read to their children. As a first-time par- with how much there was to learn and do 1957 and renewed 1985 by Margret E. Rey. Copy- ent, however, I became aware that although right assigned to Houghton Mifflin Company in I had been repeatedly advised to read to my *Whenever you see a personal segment that uses “I,” it 1993. Reprinted by permission of Houghton child, no one had ever explained why it was is a story told by Susan Hall. We wrote these stories in Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. This article important.* her personal voice because we knew that other parents appeared, with permission, in the Spring 2000 would readily identify with her puzzlement and her issue of American Educator. When my first child was born, I was worry when her own son developed reading difficulties.

22 | LITERACY LADDERS as a new parent, I decided to choose a couple of things that were important to me and do those really well. I chose two areas to concentrate on in my parenting, knowing I could not be an expert on every aspect of child rearing. Driven by interest, I made a commitment to do a particularly diligent job with building self-esteem and getting my child ready to read. My goal was to raise a child who loved to read and who had strong self-esteem. Little did I know at the time how connected these two goals are. My choice of parenting goals may be of interest because one is a gift my parents gave to me and the other is a gift I discov- ered myself. My parents were amazingly intuitive about how to parent in order to raise a child with strong self-esteem. However, my parents didn’t read to me as Six Reasons Why the fact that I had never seen an explana- a child, and our home contained very few Reading Aloud Helps tion of how this activity benefits children’s subsequent reading ability. books. If they had been advised that read- Having decided that I wanted my children It was during my first course in a mas- ing aloud was critical for success in school, to be readers, I began paying close atten- ter’s program in education called “Survey I have no doubt that my parents would tion to anything written about how chil- of Reading Methods and Materials” that have read to me and my siblings in spite of dren learn to read. In my journey through the answers emerged. One summer as I sat the fact that neither parent read for plea- all the parenting books, I was on the look- on my deck reading the textbook for this sure. In the 1950s, the importance of read- out for anything about reading. The recom- course, it all began to make sense. The ing aloud to children wasn’t widely known mendation that parents should read to information about what reading aloud to a or communicated to parents. Because their children came through loud and child accomplishes was there in the text- reading was not emphasized or modeled clear, so I began to purchase children’s books for educators. But why wasn’t this at home, I did not discover reading for books and read aloud to my children. How- information in parenting books? That was pleasure until my late teen years. I missed ever, being an overly analytical person, I probably the moment of conception for the pleasure of many classic children’s began to wonder about why I should read this book. stories in my own childhood; therefore, the to my child and what proof there is that it prospect of sharing them with my own really makes a difference. Although regu- Benefit: Builds children was doubly inviting. I’d get what larly reading aloud to our children was a Background Knowledge I’d missed; they’d get acquainted with the habit my husband and I embraced, I was Probably the most critical benefit of all wonderful world of books. nagged with these questions and struck by those hours of reading stories to our chil- dren is that the child gains knowledge of things, people, and places that he is less likely to acquire from any other source. How Does Reading Stories Aloud Benefit My Child? Every story a parent reads to a child gives There are some well-researched benefits to a child whose parents read aloud information about an environment and to him. images of things that happen in that envi- ronment. It is almost as if we are creating a Benefits from Reading Aloud huge inventory of mental images of life’s The child experiences and doing so much more rap- • develops background knowledge about a variety of topics. idly than the child could experience first- • builds his vocabulary. hand, even in families that emphasize • becomes familiar with rich language patterns. travel and conversation. Later, when the • develops familiarity with story structure. child reads a sentence or passage about a • acquires familiarity with the reading process. topic he is at least somewhat familiar with, • identifies reading as a pleasurable activity. it is so much easier for him to determine unknown words and comprehend what he Each of these benefits is explored in this article, along with evidence that is reading. Having background, or prior reading aloud to our children will encourage them to be readers. knowledge, about the topic when reading a new book is a critical component of later

LITERACY LADDERS | 23 comprehension after the child has learned yellow hat” (who had brought him from The book provides illustrations of the to read the words. Africa in the first book) arrives just in time several rooms of stuffed animals, including After reading about background knowl- to save him from being taken to the zoo. the dinosaur exhibits. For a very young edge in my education textbook, I began George’s friend is carrying the letter that child, this may be his first exposure to a examining children’s stories to see what had been delivered by the mailman at the museum of this sort. kind of information is contained in them. beginning of the story. The letter was writ- As the story continues through the Let’s take a popular children’s story and ten by “Professor Wiseman,” the director of spaceship scenes, there is some additional assess it from the perspective of what it the museum, to invite George to ride in a background provided. George is dressed in provides the child. My oldest child loved spaceship which has been built as an a space suit with a helmet, air tank, gloves, Curious George stories written by H. A. experiment. In order to be forgiven for the and shoes. A satellite dish and monitor Rey. Because I have fond memories of how mess he made at the dinosaur exhibit, screen are shown in the illustrations to much we enjoyed reading these stories, George agrees. George blasts off in a tiny explain how the people on earth commu- I’ve chosen one for an analysis of the back- ground information provided in it.

Overview of the Story— Curious George Gets a Medal Probably the most critical benefit of reading In this classic children’s book, a monkey named George is the center of the story. He stories to our children is that the child gains is very curious and causes some difficulty knowledge of things, people, and places. each time he pursues his curiosity by exploring something. In this 47-page illus- trated book, George, who is home alone, receives a letter. While trying to write a response, he spills ink which he is trying to spaceship and must bail out by pulling a nicate with the monkey in the spaceship. pour from a bottle into a fountain pen. The lever when a light is illuminated inside the The blastoff scene is complete with a mess becomes much worse as he tries to ship by remote control from Earth. He countdown before the rocket engine is clean up the ink with soap flakes and water parachutes out just in the nick of time and ignited and the ship blasts off. The descrip- from a garden hose. Having partially filled receives a medal for being the First Space tion of the ship continues: a room with lather and water, he runs to a Monkey. nearby farm where he remembers seeing a He pressed the button and the ship portable pump. rose into the air, slowly first, and then The events at the farm continue with Background Information from the Story faster and faster and higher and difficulties. Because the pump is too heavy There is an amazing amount of background higher, until they could no longer see for him, he decides that he can get a farm information in this story. Our lovable, curi- it in the sky. But on the screen they animal to pull the pump back to his house. ous monkey demonstrates practical things, saw George clearly all the time.3 However, his first effort to get a pig to pull such as how fountain pens are filled with A young child hearing this story retains the pump results in all the pigs rushing out ink and what happens when soap flakes are an impression of the blasting off of a space- of the fence once he lifts the latch. He sprayed with water from a garden hose. ship and continued communications with finally realizes that a cow is a better choice While George goes to the farm, he observes Earth. and begins the journey home on the cow’s the pigs squealing and grunting and run- This classic children’s story was written back with the pump pulled behind them. ning away as fast as they can. He also con- in 1957 and offers the opportunity for a However, the farmers see them and a chase trasts the pigs’ behavior to that of the cows, parent to explain that there were no begins. George hides in some laundry on a who were gentle and strong and far better manned space flights then, yet we have clothesline and then jumps in the back of candidates to pull the pump for him. All achieved enormous progress in space a passing pickup truck. these observations provide background flight during the last 40 years. Other scenes The truck happens to be on its way to information for the child about the behav- that date the book include the use of a the Museum of Science to deliver a large ior of different farm animals. fountain pen with a blotter and the laundry box. George, who does not know what a George, who had never been to a hanging on the outdoor clothesline. These museum is, goes inside to satisfy his curi- museum before, makes observations about nuances provide an experience from which osity. He explores the rooms with stuffed this unfamiliar environment. George to launch a discussion about the differ- prehistoric animals and eventually spots observes that the large animals he sees do ences in technology and life in the 1950s some nuts on a tree in the dinosaur exhibit. not move. The author writes: versus today. Since he is hungry he climbs onto the dino- saur’s head and accidentally pulls the They were not alive. They were Benefit: Builds Vocabulary artificial tree over, knocking down the stuffed animals, put into the Museum A child with a large listening and speaking dinosaur. The guards catch him and lock so that everybody could get a look at vocabulary has an enormous advantage in him in a cage. His friend, “the man with the them.2

24 | LITERACY LADDERS formally taught. They learn from listening Sample Vocabulary Words in Curious George Gets a Medal to the patterns spoken around them and modeling their own language patterns after Scenes at the those of other speakers. The brain is hard- Scenes at the House Scenes at the Farm Spaceship wired to learn the rules and organization of a language system; all that is required is professor curious shed sufficient input for the brain to sort out the flash fountain pen loop way words can be ordered to make sen- signal tences. As a child listens to sentence after funnel grunting bail out sentence, he develops a familiarity with a blotter hurled range of possible sentence patterns and emergency rockets garden hose latch grunting how ideas are communicated. The patterns permit tap squealing become part of his internal rule system for space suit putting words together. For example, he lather grazing launching learns that questions can be made in dif- escape rattling ferent ways: site groping portable pump lever parachute What did George do when he could not carry the pump? learning to read. Reading comprehension ing books read to them. Did George carry the pump? depends more than any other single skill Continuing with our Curious George (With a rising voice): George didn’t on knowing the meanings of the individual example, let’s examine the vocabulary carry the pump? words in the passage. When a child is trying words that appear in this children’s story. to read an unfamiliar word after he has During the beginning scenes at the house He learns as well that some words have learned some phonics and word attack involving the letter writing and attempted to go in a certain order to fill “slots” in a skills, he should begin to sound out the cleanup of the spilled ink, lots of rich sentence, and others are not bound by word. The process of relating the print to a vocabulary is used. Then while George is such rules. For example, he learns where spoken word is faster and more accurate on the farm, completely different words are to put an adjective that modifies a noun: when that word is already in the child’s included. The story continues with more before the noun, unless it is part of the verb speaking vocabulary. For example, if a rich experiences and vocabulary as George phrase. In English we say the curious mon- child encounters the word museum for the is asked to go up in a spaceship and bail out key, not the monkey curious, although we first time in print, he is likely to say the using a parachute to land safely. can say the monkey was curious. This part word correctly if he recognizes that it is a Below is a list of 28 sample words from of language “learning,” again, is not con- word he has heard and can interpret. And this book. Although some of these words scious or deliberately practiced in the not only can the child figure out the new may be spoken in our daily interaction with preschool years; it will take place with word faster, but because word recognition our children, many are words we would not exposure to language. What is different has required less time and effort, he has use regularly, and so the child’s vocabulary about the language in books and the lan- more attention to devote to comprehend- expands. It has been proven that children guage of speech? Plenty. The language of ing the passage. do not typically learn such words from books is much more complex. Sentences Imagine that a child who is an early television, from each other, or simply from are complete in book language but tend to reader doesn’t know the word rocket and is talking with adults. Reading books is the be incomplete and run-on in less formal reading the following sentence: key to knowing words. conversations between people who are talking to each other face-to-face. Sen- When we flash you a signal you will Benefit: Develops Familiarity tences tend to be longer and more complex have to open the door and bail out with Rich Language Patterns in books—that is, they have clauses built with the help of emergency rockets.4 Not only is exposure to the background into them, or they are joined by conjunc- As he sounds out rock-ets he will more information and specific words in books tions that are carefully chosen to express quickly recognize that he has read this important for children, but so is exposure an idea. They tend to be loaded with more unknown word correctly if this word is to sentence patterns and special uses of modifiers—adjectives and adverbs—and already part of his speaking vocabulary, language that are found only in books. The to use correct grammar more than we do and he knows what it means. The context more exposure to complex and well-struc- in casual speech. Printed language uses will help him know that he has deciphered tured sentences, the more likely it is that phrases and expressions in special ways the word correctly, and he will have a sense the child will use such sentence patterns that are peculiar to writing but uncommon that the word fits the meaning of the sen- himself. Thus, the exposure helps not only in speech, such as the greetings and clos- tence. Having a big mental dictionary of comprehension but also speaking and ings in letters. Finally, the way that sen- words facilitates reading comprehension writing ability as the child matures. tences are ordered and strung together in and reading fluency, and young children In the preschool years, children do not writing is usually much more organized acquire a big mental dictionary from hav- learn about sentence structure from being and less repetitious than the way we speak.

LITERACY LADDERS | 25 An example of well-written sentences from our Curious George book is the letter Common Characteritics of Stories from the Professor to George, which is printed in the book, as follows: • The story has a title. • There are characters, including a main character. Dear George, • The story takes places in a setting (time, place). A small space ship has been built by • The characters usually have a problem to solve. our experimental station. It is too • The action hinges on how the problem is solved. small for a man, but could carry a • There is a resolution (climax) in the story, before it ends. little monkey. Would you be willing to go up in it? • Language is used to create the effect of surprise, sadness, climax, or humor. I have never met you, but I hear that you are a bright little monkey who Out of the blue an open parachute I’ll blow your house down” becomes can do all sorts of things and that is came floating down to earth. The a language event of a particular kind.7 just what we need. truck raced over to the spot where Benefit: Develops Familiarity We want you to do something George would land. with Story Structure nobody has ever done before: bail What a welcome for George! out of a spaceship in flight. Children absorb a great deal about story Professor Wiseman hung a big structure from hearing many stories during When we flash you a signal you will golden medal around his neck. their preschool years. This knowledge is have to open the door and bail out “Because,” he said, “you are the first helpful once the child begins to read and with the help of emergency rockets. living being to come back to earth write his own stories. It helps with reading We hope that you are willing and that from a space flight.” And on the because, knowing what to expect, children your friend will permit you to go. medal it said: TO GEORGE, THE form a mental outline of the events and FIRST SPACE MONKEY. remember the details much more easily. It Gratefully yours, helps with writing because, knowing what Then a newspaperman took his pic- the pieces are and where a story should go, Professor Wiseman ture and everybody shouted and 5 the child has a mold to put his words into. Director of the Science Museum cheered, even the farmer and his son, Preschoolers who have been read hun- and the kind woman from next door This passage also demonstrates some dreds of stories begin to understand that fundamentals of good letter composition. (who had worked for hours to get the 6 stories have common characteristics. The first paragraph introduces the topic water out of the room). and tells why the Professor is writing to the In summary, children who have been Benefit: Acquires Familiarity monkey. The remainder of the letter clearly read to have learned that there is a different with the Reading Process explains why a man can’t go in the space- language, or a different way of expressing Children learn about what reading is from ship and why George has been invited to ideas, in books from the way we speak. observing others read to them. For young do this job. In addition the Professor They begin to develop an “ear” for written children, early experiences of having describes what George would be asked to English versus spoken English. As someone read to them gives them an expe- do. The last paragraph politely expresses described by Canadian edu- rience and impression the Professor’s recognition that George will cator M. Spencer: about how people read. need his friend’s permission to go. Children gain an impres- Being read to offers Another example of the descriptive sion about what a person them [children] language appropriate for preschoolers is does when he or longer stretches from the scene where they are waiting for she reads. Since of written lan- George to react to the illuminated light and we cannot see guage than at pull the lever to parachute from the space- inside the mind, any other time, ship. The author’s writing is demonstrated which is where and moreover, in the following passage: the process is this is language occurring, a They waited anxiously...At last put together by child must guess George began to move. someone that isn’t about what the adult is there to be seen. The doing. The child begins Slowly, as if in a daze, he was groping reader, adult or to form hypotheses for the lever. Would he reach it in child, lends the text about the print on time? There—he had grabbed it! a different voice, the page corre- so that “I’ll huff The door opened—hurrah—George sponding to words and I’ll puff and was on his way! that are the same

26 | LITERACY LADDERS as those the child hears in speaking and ing early in life and hopefully begin a life- centuries. listening. This correlation between print long love of reading. Choose a time when you can read for an and spoken words is an important step in Probably the most important thing uninterrupted period. My children are very learning about reading. about reading aloud to a child is to allow vocal about how much they dislike it when A study that was completed by educator the child to experience reading as an I answer a phone call and leave them E.H. Hiebert examined what preschool enjoyable activity. If the child associates “hanging” in the middle of a key passage of children believe an adult is reading on the reading with pleasure, the child will have a a story we are reading. Get involved and be page. Children were shown a book with greater desire to learn to read. As Jim dramatic: Make the story more fun for you pictures and print and asked to point to Trelease wrote in the first chapter of his and your children by accentuating the ani- what a reader should read. In this study it book, The Read-Aloud Handbook: mation of your voice for key lines. was found that three-year-old children It’s important that parents allow their Every time we read to a child, we’re believed that it was the pictures that were children to see them enjoying reading. sending a “pleasure” message to the being read.8 When I was growing up the only thing I child’s brain. You could even call it a There is a set of other things a pre- remember seeing my parents read was the commercial, conditioning the child reading child must learn that educators daily newspaper. In fact I can vividly recall to associate books and print with refer to as “print awareness” or “learning that my father always read the paper in his pleasure.9 about print.” These concepts are learned easy chair each evening after family dinner. Modeling that reading is pleasurable sends strong messages to our children.

Practical Tips about Probably the most important thing about How to Make Reading reading aloud to a child is to allow the child to Aloud Enjoyable experience reading as an enjoyable activity. When Do I Start Reading to My Child? Although Jim Trelease, in his book, The Read-Aloud Handbook, advises that read- from being read to by an adult who shows There are many things parents can do to ing to a child should start as soon as the the child the book and interacts with the make reading pleasurable. Choose a loca- baby is born, my personal experience was child as the story is being read aloud. tion in the home that your children espe- different. Although I occasionally read to cially enjoy. My children love to read on the my infants when they were less than 6 Benefit: Identifies Reading front porch swing during the summer; they months old, I found it awkward to cradle as a Pleasurable Activity have reminded me that we read Charlotte’s my infant and try to turn the pages of a I can vividly remember the first time that I Web one summer while waiting for the picture book. Read to your infant if it pro- realized that reading was a great pleasure. camp bus to pick them up each day. Espe- vides stimulation for you during the some- It was during spring break of my senior cially in the winter my children love to times tedious hours you spend holding and year in high school, which my best friend cuddle up next to me while listening to a rocking your baby. However, don’t feel and I spent in Florida visiting my grandpar- story. At an educators’ conference that I compelled to read at this stage if you find it ents. My friend, whose name was Made- attended, a European speaker showed more rewarding to look into the child’s eyes line, tossed me her copy of Ayn Rand’s slides of historical paintings depicting and talk to him instead. There’s plenty of Atlas Shrugged after she finished it. I scenes about reading. His point in showing time to read later. devoured it during that week, reading late over a hundred slides of paintings was that into the night several nights. Although this the overwhelming majority of the paintings 6–9 Months first “aha” experience came late for me, showed the child sitting on the adult’s lap Beginning to read to a child around 6–9 reading for pleasure has been a part of my while reading a story. The proximity of months of age is ideal. The child is sitting life ever since. As a parent, it is my goal for closeness between parent and child while up and can hold small board books at this my children to experience the joy of read- reading has been captured in art over many stage. It is great to allow a child to begin exploring books by himself during quiet Concepts a Child Must Learn about Print moments in the crib or on the floor. Won- • How the book is turned when it is “right side up” derful vinyl books are available, which are • That the print is read, not the pictures more durable when the child is slobbering • Where the beginning of the book is during the teething stage. Place the more • The order of reading the print on a page— top to bottom—left to right fragile board books with pop-out sections • What to do at the end of a line on the bookshelf to be saved for reading • What to do at the end of a page together. Keep several small books among your child’s toys that are the right size and

LITERACY LADDERS | 27 shape for him to turn the pages and carry for bedtime reading was in a rocking chair our regular reading time. He was a very without help from you. Rotate the books so in his room with the door closed to avoid active child who frequently squirmed to get that he doesn’t grow bored with them. interruption. In our family the routine of a down from my lap because he had a greater bedtime story has continued to this day, interest in gross motor activities than in 12–18 Months and our children are 11 and 8 years old. sitting. If your child isn’t interested in hear- By the age of 12–18 months your goal is to Our pattern is that on nights when both ing a story, abandon the effort and try have your child bring books to you, signal- parents are home at bedtime, one parent again at another time. Do not push the ing he wants you to read him a story. It’s a reads to one child. The pair then is swapped issue, and he will eventually come back to thrill to see your child with book in hand on the following night so that Dad reads to reading. Choose when to offer to read him and arms lifted telling you that he wants to daughter one night and to son the next a story, and select very short stories ini- come up on your lap to hear the story he night, and Mom does vice versa. Bedtime tially, thereby matching the child’s atten- tion span. Select books on topics about which your child is keenly interested. Ease your child into longer and longer stretches of reading time.

The children of parents trained for only one When Do I Stop Reading Aloud? hour in interactive story reading improved Many parents believe that once their child begins to read himself, the days of reading dramatically in verbal expression storybooks aloud are over. However, there and vocabulary. are some very important reasons for con- tinuing to read to your child as he begins to learn to read. Especially in first and second grade while the child is learning to read, his listening level far exceeds his reading level; has chosen. This event signals that he stories will hopefully continue in our house that is, he can understand passages read to enjoys listening to a story. until as long beyond age 10 as possible. him that far exceed what he is capable of It is important to make reading times After that age, the child may prefer to read reading himself. Continue to expose your enjoyable ones; therefore, like so many to himself before bed. child to good literature that mentally chal- other things in parenting, choosing the lenges him and enables his vocabulary and appropriate time and occasionally waiting 6–8 Years of Age knowledge to continue growing. Do this as long as it is fun. Once children prefer to for the child to be ready can be critical. Once the child is able to read himself, read silently, everyone can share a “Drop When my active toddler son squirmed to change the routine by having the child read Everything And Read” (DEAR) time in the get off my lap, I decided not to force it. for 15 minutes, followed by the parent evening. Although I was anxious to begin reading to reading to the child for 15 minutes. A child him, I decided to wait to avoid risking that needs to practice to learn to be a good What Do I Do If My Child Wants his experience of reading would be nega- reader. If your child is a reluctant reader, To Look Ahead at the Pictures tive. If your child wants to turn the pages have him read from a book on his reading Before We Read? faster than the words can be read, abandon level before you read to him from a book As frustrating as looking ahead may be to reading the story as written and make up a that is somewhat above his own reading the parent, most educators would encour- story that corresponds with the pictures. level. When children are first learning to age you to allow looking ahead at the pic- Even with the very simple small board decode the words, there will be a gap tures. This exercise helps the child to books of about a dozen pages with few between what they are able to read them- activate background knowledge about the words, discuss the pictures and talk about selves and what they enjoy hearing read setting and topic of the story. In first-grade all the things your child sees on each page. aloud. Encourage your child to practice reading instruction, teachers usually take Your dialogue about each page should take reading books he can read comfortably. time to introduce a story before they begin longer than the actual time to read the Then, it is important for the parent to con- reading it. Children are taught to think words on the page. tinue reading to the child from books above about the title of the book and anticipate the child’s reading level in order to expand what the story might be about. Typically a 2 Years of Age his background knowledge and enjoyment discussion is initiated about the topic of the of literature. Establish a routine by the time your child book. If the story is about going to the zoo, is two years old that you always read a story the teacher leads a discussion about what at bedtime. This routine is important What If My Child you are likely to see at the zoo. Children will because even if you spend no other time Resists Being Read To? name the animals found at a zoo, as well as reading during the day, at least this 15 min- The intimacy of shared reading is not discussing the activities one might see, utes per day occurs religiously. While our always easy to capture. When my son was such as zookeepers feeding the animals. child still slept in a crib, our favorite spot a toddler it was difficult to feel close during The purpose of this discussion is to activate

28 | LITERACY LADDERS prior knowledge for the children who have The benefits are greatest when the the child’s capability in expressing ideas visited the zoo and to provide information child is an active participant, engag- verbally. These are staggering results for to any child who has no prior information ing in discussions about stories, children who have an average age of 30 about this experience. learning to identify letters and words, months! Think what effect using an interac- and talking about the meanings of tive story reading approach might have What Comes After Picture Books? words. One researcher who observed over several years, versus the one month of Before your child reaches age seven you parents reading books to their chil- this study. will begin reading aloud chapter books that dren discovered differences in the Reading aloud to a child is a critical don’t have pictures. Charlotte’s Web, a story quality and quantity of informal activity in helping a child gain the knowl- written by E.B. White about the friendship instruction that the parents edge and language skill that will enable between a spider and a pig, is a wonderful provided.10 good comprehension later on. Reading example of a chapter book appropriate for aloud increases background knowledge, The importance of engaging the child as this age. The vocabulary is challenging and builds vocabulary, and familiarizes chil- an active listener, rather than the parent interesting, and the story is captivating for dren with the language in books. The reading the story from beginning to end the child. There is plenty of background Commission on Reading has advised that without pause, has been researched by knowledge presented while the child is not only does reading aloud to a child other educators. The most interesting of thoroughly entertained. Other books we make a difference, but the way parents these was a study completed by G. White- enjoyed included Mr. Popper’s Penguins, read aloud matters. A book becomes a hurst and his colleagues in 1988, which The Indian in the Cupboard, and The vehicle for using language—before, dur- demonstrated the impact of active engage- American Girl Collection books. ing, and after reading. In addition to ment. In their study they provided training After your child can read himself, reading aloud, engaging in probing con- to the parents of 15 middle-class preschool continue to look for opportunities to read versations at home can help the child children from two to three years old. The aloud to your child. This can be done acquire the language skills needed to parents received a one hour training ses- through round-robin reading of a classic become a good reader. ☐ sion in interactive story reading in which book in front of the fireplace or through they were shown how to engage in this alternate oral reading—first the parent, Endnotes technique. They were instructed to: then the child, switching every page or 1. R. C. Andersen, E. H. Hiebert, J. A. Scott, and I. A. G. • pause periodically and ask open- Wilkinson, Becoming a Nation of Readers: The Report of the two—to foster better comprehension. It Commission on Reading (Champaign, IL: Illinois University, ended questions. Center for the Study of Reading, 1984), 23. will also enable the family to have active • suggest alternative possibilities. 2. H. A. Rey and M. Rey, Curious George Gets a Medal (New discussions about the characters and the York: Scholastic, 1957), 31. • pose progressively more challenging author’s intended meaning. Your own love 3. H. A. Rey and M. Rey, Curious George Gets a Medal (New questions. York: Scholastic, 1957), 43-44. of literature will continue to be communi- An example of an open-ended question 4. H. A. Rey and M. Rey, Curious George Gets a Medal (New cated through shared reading activities. York: Scholastic, 1957), 39. is “What is Curious George doing?” or Remember and find the books you loved as 5. H. A. Rey and M. Rey, Curious George Gets a Medal (New “Why do you think he is doing that?” The York: Scholastic, 1957). 39. a child. Enjoy them again as you share key is to ask questions that cannot be 6. H. A. Rey and M. Rey, Curious George Gets a Medal (New them with your child. York: Scholastic, 1957), 44-46. answered with a yes/no response. A con- 7. M. M. Clay, Becoming Literate: The Construction of Inner Interactive Story Reading trol group was identified with children of Control (Auckland, New Zealand: Heinemann Education, approximately the same age and language 1991), 28. Have you ever felt frustrated when your 8. E. H. Hiebert, “Developmental Patterns and Interrelation- development. The parents of both groups child wants to stop you to ask questions ships of Preschool Children’s Print Awareness,” Reading tape-recorded their reading sessions for Research Quarterly 16, no. 2 (1981), 236-260. while you are reading a story to him? When one month. 9. J. Trelease, The Read-Aloud Handbook, 4th edition (New my children were preschoolers, I found it York: Penguin, 1995), 9. The tapes confirmed that both groups frustrating to be constantly interrupted by 10. R. C. Andersen, E. H. Hiebert, J. A. Scott, and I. A. G. read equally often (about eight times per Wilkinson, Becoming a Nation of Readers: The Report of the all their comments about the pictures and Commission on Reading (Champaign, IL: Illinois University, week) and that the trained parents fol- Center for the Study of Reading, 1984), 23. questions about the story. I decided that lowed the instructions for interactive story 11. G. J. Whitehurst, F. L. Falco, C. J. Lonigan, J. E. Fischel, B. limiting the interruptions was a good thing, D. DeBaryshe, M. C. Valdez-Menchaca, and M. Caulfield, reading. The children in both groups were because when the child starts school his “Accelerating Language Development Through Picture Book tested before and after the experimental Reading,” Developmental Psychology 24 (1988), 552-559. teacher wouldn’t want to be stopped by month. The results showed that at the end incessant questions from 25 children. It of one month of interactive story reading also seemed that staying “on task” was an the children in this group versus the con- admirable skill to be learned. trol group: However, this dialogue during the story reading is actually very positive and is • improved 8.5 months in verbal something to be encouraged and devel- expression, and oped. As described in Becoming a Nation • were six months ahead on a vocabu- of Readers, active discussion during read- lary test.11 ing is important: The verbal expression measure assessed

LITERACY LADDERS | 29 Building Knowledge The Case for Bringing Content into the Language Arts Block and for a Knowledge-Rich Curriculum Core for all Children

By E. D. Hirsch, Jr.

“I am sure that the power of vested inter- ests is vastly exaggerated compared with the gradual encroachment of ideas.... Soon or late, it is ideas, not vested interests, which are dangerous for good or evil.” –J. M. Keynes, The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money

onsider the following sentence, which is one that most literate Americans can understand, but most literate British people can- Cnot, even when they have a wide vocabu- lary and know the conventions of the standard language: Jones sacrificed and knocked in a run. Typically, a literate British person English person to make this sentence upwards either. Yet, content is not ade- would know all the words in the sentence comprehensible. quately addressed in American schools, yet wouldn’t comprehend it. (In fairness, First, we would have to explain that especially in the early grades. None of our most Americans would be equally baffled Jones was at bat. That would entail an current methods attempt to steadily build by a sentence about the sport of cricket.) explanation of the inning system and the up children’s knowledge; not the empty To understand this sentence about Jones three-outs system. It would entail an expla- state and district language arts standards, and his sacrifice, you need a wealth of rel- nation of the size and shape of the baseball which rarely mention a specific text or evant background knowledge that goes field (necessary to the concept of a sacrifice piece of information; not the reading text- beyond vocabulary and syntax—relevant fly or bunt) and a digression on what a fly books, which jump from one trivial piece knowledge that is far broader than the or a bunt is. The reader would also have to to another; and not the comprehension words of the sentence. Let’s consider what have some vague sense of the layout of the drills conducted in schools in the long we as writers would have to convey to an bases and what a run is. By the time our periods of 90–120 minutes devoted to lan- English reader had begun to assimilate all guage arts. These all promote the view that E. D. Hirsch, Jr., is founder of the Core Knowledge this relevant background knowledge, he or comprehension depends on having formal Foundation and professor emeritus of education and humanities at the University of Virginia. He she may have lost track of the whole point skills rather than broad knowledge. is a fellow of the Academy of Arts and Sciences. of the explanation. What was the original This may sound like an academic point. He has written several acclaimed books, includ- sentence? It will have been submerged in It is, in fact, an important argument about ing the bestseller Cultural Literacy: What Every a flurry of additional sentences branching the science that underlies learning. I American Needs to Know and The Schools We out in different directions. believe inadequate attention to building Need and Why We Don’t Have Them, and served as editor of the eight-volume Core Knowledge The point of this example is that knowl- students’ knowledge is the main reason series for parents, which ranges from What Your edge of content and of the vocabulary why the reading scores of 13- and 17-year- Preschooler Needs to Know to What Your 6th- acquired through learning about content olds on the National Assessment of Educa- Grader Needs to Know. This article is adapted are fundamental to successful reading tional Progress have not budged in years. I with permission from his book, The Knowledge comprehension; without broad knowl- believe this neglect of knowledge is a major Deficit: Closing the Shocking Education Gap for American Children (New York: Houghton Miff- edge, children’s reading comprehension source of inequity, at the heart of the lin, 2006). It appeared, with permission, in the will not improve and their scores on read- achievement gap between America’s poor Spring 2006 issue of American Educator. ing comprehension tests will not budge and non-poor. I also believe that if this idea

30 | LITERACY LADDERS about what is limiting students’ compre- mative years. It is thanks to the Romantics rich curriculum to become proficient read- hension isn’t understood and aggressively (also known as transcendentalists, prag- ers. The word reading, of course, has two addressed, reading scores won’t move up, matists, and, in education, progressives) senses. The first means the process of turn- no matter how hard teachers try. And the that the word “natural” has been a term of ing printed marks into sounds and these public debate will wrongly continue to pil- honor in our country and that the ideas of sounds into words. But the second sense lory teachers and public schools for stag- “nature” and “natural” were elevated to a means the very different process of under- nant achievement scores. status that previously had been occupied standing those words. Learning how to In the pages that follow, I want to make only by divine law. We can hear these read in the first sense, as vital as it is, does the following argument: First, that the romantic beliefs in John Dewey’s writings, not guarantee learning how to read in the implicit model currently used to improve which continually use the terms “develop- second sense, comprehending the mean- reading comprehension is based on faulty, but commonplace, ideas. Second, that a more scientifically accurate picture of reading comprehension exists—and it puts background knowledge and vocabulary, along with fluent decoding ability, at the center of reading comprehension. Third, we can identify the knowledge that is most useful to reading comprehension. Fourth, if we accept these premises, we are obliged to revise the early grades curriculum so that we can impart to all students, in lan- guage arts classes and throughout the day, the knowledge that will enable them to ment” and “growth”—terms that came as ing of what is read. To become a good read with strong comprehension. And, naturally to him as they do to us. comprehender, a child needs a great deal finally, if we do this, we will help all stu- Being trained in the history of ideas, I of knowledge. A Romantically inspired dents become strong comprehenders of had become familiar with the way in which long delay in beginning to teach that high-level texts, and we will disproportion- unnoticed metaphors like “growth” and knowledge is socially and economically ately help our most at-risk students. “development” unconsciously govern our harmful to our students—especially our thought—and continue to do so, even most disadvantaged students. I. The Wrong Ideas That when scientific evidence clearly shows that Disparagement of factual knowledge, as Underlie Our Approach to one of the primary goals of education, found in books, has long been a strong cur- reading, is not a natural development at all. rent in American thought. Henry Ford’s Teaching Reading Let’s ponder “development” for a famous dictum, “History is bunk,” is a suc- Comprehension moment. When a fertilized egg turns into cinct example. Since the 19th century, such When I began college teaching in the an embryo, that development is indeed anti-intellectualism has been as American 1950s, my academic specialty was the his- something that unfolds naturally. Simi- as apple pie, as the great historian Richard tory of ideas. I also specialized in the theory larly, in the first two years of life, when a Hofstadter has pointed out, and it came of textual interpretation, which, reduced to child learns to walk and talk, those are straight out of the Romantic movement its essence, is the theory of reading. So I natural developments. Since the child into our schools.1 became well-versed in the scientific litera- acquires these extremely difficult skills Instead of a respect for the importance ture on language comprehension and in often without conscious adult instruction, of knowledge, Romanticism gave us faith American and British intellectual history we might mistakenly extend trust in natu- in the half-truth that the most important of the 19th century. This double research ral unfolding to the next stage of life— thing for students to learn is “how to learn.” interest prepared my mind for disturbing when a child enters school. And we might It bequeathed to us a tendency to dismiss insights about American schooling. I saw expect that given loving exposure to lots of the acquisition of broad knowledge as that John Maynard Keynes’s remark about books, a child might learn to read with little “rote learning” of “mere facts,” to subtly the power of ideas over vested interests was explicit instruction in reading mechanics. disparage “merely verbal” presentations in profoundly right. Root ideas are much Hence, the whole language movement, books and by teachers, and to criticize more important in practical affairs than we which for so many years led many teach- school knowledge unless it is connected to usually realize, especially when they are so ers, teacher educators, textbook publish- “real life” in a “hands-on” way. These ideas much taken for granted that they are hid- ers, and administrators to neglect decoding are now so commonplace that we don’t den from our view. and other early reading mechanics. think twice about them; we don’t scientifi- In American education, the ideas that A naturalistic approach to teaching cally scrutinize them. Yet, these ideas influence us, though often hidden from decoding is not, however, the most delete- underlie what we as a nation think about view, come to us from the intellectual rious Romantic idea influencing the teach- reading comprehension. movement known as Romanticism, which ing of reading. The most harmful idea is Pick up a typical basal reader and the held great sway during our country’s for- that children do not need a knowledge- clear implication is that comprehension

LITERACY LADDERS | 31 skill depends on formal “comprehension hension ability.4 activities is that learning comprehension strategies,” such as predicting, summariz- Here’s an example of how these ideas strategies will give students a shortcut to ing, questioning, and clarifying.2 Look in and practices affect real children in real gaining greater expertise in reading. Sup- them fruitlessly to find evidence that the classrooms. In May 2004, a front-page story posedly, learning such strategies will publishers believe reading depends on in the Washington Post described the quickly provide the skills they need to imbibing a body of knowledge. I call this activities in a third-grade classroom at a comprehend unfamiliar texts. But as the Romantic idea “formalism”—a belief that public school in Maryland, which the teachers in the school pointed out to the reading comprehension can best be reporter, Linda Perlstein, identified as reporter, the methods did not seem to be improved by acquiring formal comprehen- being typical of activities “across the working. Reading scores were not going up sion strategies, not by building children’s nation.” Perlstein had been sitting in class- significantly. Perlstein reports that “staff knowledge base. rooms at the school, observing what went members said they aren’t sure what they This idea is ruinous to reading instruc- on and talking to students, teachers, and might be doing wrong.” tion. It is sabotaging efforts to raise reading administrators. The piece begins with a The idea that reading skill is largely a set comprehension scores. It is causing citi- zens to question the quality of their schools and is leading policymakers to blame school staff for reading failures. It is time to fault the idea, not the teachers and the It is time to fault the idea, not the teachers students who are doing their best. and students. These Wrong Ideas Underlie Reading Textbooks and Distort the Use of Classroom Time Publishers now spend tens of millions of comment by one of the students: of general-purpose maneuvers that can be dollars to produce—and schools hundreds applied to any and all texts is one of the Here is 9-year-old Zulma Berrios’s of millions to buy—reading programs that main barriers to our students’ achievement take on the school day: “In the morn- are constantly being upgraded and revised. in reading. It is true that students benefit ing we read. Then we go to Mrs. Wit- But the guiding ideas behind these pro- from learning and practicing reading com- thaus and read. Then after lunch we grams are typically formalistic and almost prehension skills, but a key point has got- read. Then we read some more.” indistinguishable from one another. ten lost: More training in these skills is not Although the editors of several of these These reading periods, Perlstein points necessarily better. A meta-analysis has programs have strong credentials in educa- out, come at the expense of classes in his- shown that six classes of comprehension tion or psychology, the programs are far tory, science, and art. The reading materi- skill instruction has the same effect as 25 from up-to-date with regard to the relevant als themselves are quite vapid. In this classes.5 (This is emphatically not to sug- consensus in cognitive science. For particular class, the children were reading gest that some of the methods, such as instance, cognitive scientists agree that a book about a grasshopper storm. But the asking students questions about important reading comprehension requires prior point of the class was not to learn anything content they have read, would be a bad “domain-specific” knowledge about the in depth about grasshoppers; the point was idea. Of course teachers do and should ask things that a text refers to, and that under- to learn how to ferret meaning out of a text students to engage with reading material standing the text consists of integrating this by using formal “strategies.” Perlstein in a variety of ways, including questioning prior knowledge with the words in order to writes: students about the author’s intent, sum- 3 form a “situation model.” Constructing marizing what they’ve read, and so forth. For 50 minutes, Tracey Witthaus this mental situation model is what reading The ineffectiveness of an emphasis on pulls out a small group of third- comprehension is. But, existing reading strategy arises from two sources: first, con- graders—including Zulma—for Soar programs, while they may pay lip service to scious strategizing takes up limited mental to Success, an intensive reading- this finding about the need for relevant space that otherwise could be devoted to comprehension program used at background knowledge, fail to systemati- meaning; second, the skills are being prac- many county schools. Instead of cally exploit this fundamental insight into ticed apart from important content. When studying school desegregation and the nature of reading. (See “How We the questions are asked about trivial con- the anniversary of Brown v. Board of Neglect Knowledge—and Why” in the tent, when learning these strategy skills Education, Zulma’s group finishes a Spring 2006 issue of American Educator.) becomes the end—not the means—for book about a grasshopper storm and Hundreds of pages of basal text offer up engaging content, and when the time practices reading strategies: predict, trivial stories that provide little opportunity devoted to skills training drives needed summarize, question, clarify. “Clar- for children to build their store of knowl- content out of the classroom, then reading ify,” said Zulma, who began the year edge. They persist, unit after unit, in asking comprehension is not effectively reading at the late first-grade level. students to “predict,” “summarize,” “infer,” advanced.) Formal comprehension skills etc.—as if endless use of these strategies The theory behind these deadening can only take students so far; knowledge is will increase students’ reading compre-

32 | LITERACY LADDERS what enables their comprehension to keep language understanding will gain still “situation model” based on domain-spe- increasing. The staff and children at the more language proficiency, while those cific knowledge.10 This situation model school Perlstein visited do not need more who lack initial understanding will fall constitutes the understood meaning of the skills training. They need a revolution in further and further behind.8 text. Take, for example, this passage from the ideas that now drive reading compre- my book What Your Second-Grader Needs hension instruction. “Filling in the Blanks”: Why Reading to Know: Comprehension—and Reading II. Reading Comprehension Comprehension Tests—Require In 1861, the Civil War started. It lasted Broad General Knowledge until 1865. It was American against Depends Mainly on Knowl- American, North against South. The As scientists have probed more deeply into edge and Knowledge-Related Southerners called Northerners Vocabulary Recently, schools have begun to do a much better job of teaching all children to become good first-step readers who can turn printed symbols into sounds and words quickly and accurately, a process called decoding. The importance of sys- tematically and effectively teaching decod- ing cannot be overstated (and the role played by AFT members in making such instruction better understood and more commonplace can hardly be overstated either). But becoming a skilled decoder does not ensure that one will become a skilled reader. There are students who, after mastering decoding, and reading widely can, under the right circumstances, gain greater knowledge and thence better read- ing comprehension. But such gains will occur only if the student already knows enough to comprehend the meaning of what he or she is decoding. Many special- ists estimate that a child (or an adult) needs the nature of language comprehension, “Yankees.” Northerners called South- to understand a minimum of 90 percent of they have discovered that what the text erners “Rebels,” or “Rebs” for short. the words in a passage in order to under- implies but doesn’t say is a necessary part General Robert E. Lee was in charge stand the passage and thus begin to learn of its understood meaning. In fact, what of the Southern army. General the other 10 percent of the words.6 More- the text doesn’t say often far exceeds what Ulysses S. Grant was in charge of the over, it’s not just the words that the student it says. Just as with “Jones sacrificed and Northern army. has to grasp the meaning of—it’s also the knocked in a run,” the reader or listener has kind of reality that the words are referring to fill in the blanks and make the unstated Potentially, this passage is usefully to (think of our baseball example).7 When connections. This is hardly a new observa- informative to a second-grader learning a child doesn’t understand those word tion. The ancient Greeks knew it, and Aris- about the Civil War—but only if he or she meanings and those referred-to realities, totle even gave the phenomenon a already understands much of what’s being good at sounding out words is a dead name—enthymeme—which is technically addressed in it. Take the phrase “North end. Reading becomes a kind of Catch-22: a syllogism with some of the logically nec- against South.” A wealth of preexisting 9 In order to become better at reading with essary steps left out. For instance, if I say, background information is needed to understanding, you already have to be able “All men are mortal, so Socrates is mortal,” understand that simple phrase—going far to read with understanding. everyone will understand what I say. But beyond the root idea of compass direc- Long before Joseph Heller’s Catch-22, that is because their relevant knowledge tions, which is simply the necessary first this idea was implied in the Gospel of Mat- enables them to supply the missing infer- step. The child needs a general idea of the thew, which stated that those who already ence: “Socrates is a man.” geography of the U.S. and needs to infer have shall gain more, while those who have To different extents, all speech has these that the named compass directions stand not shall be taken away even what they blank spaces. Cognitive psychologists have for geographical regions. Then a further have. Alluding to this Biblical passage, determined that when a text is being inference or construction is needed: The cognitive scientists and reading research- understood, the reader (or listener) is fill- child has to understand that the names of ers have spoken of the “Matthew effect” in ing in a lot of the unstated connections geographical regions stand for the popula- reading. Those who already have good between the words to create an imagined tions of those regions and that those popu-

LITERACY LADDERS | 33 lations have been organized into some sort passages that sample a person’s general One critical finding is that word learn- of collectivity so they can raise armies. knowledge of several kinds of subjects. (For ing takes place most efficiently when the That’s just an initial stab at unpacking what more on reading comprehension tests, see reader or listener already understands the the child must infer to understand the “What Do Reading Comprehension Tests context well. For example, researchers phrase “North against South.” A full, Mainly Measure? Knowledge” in the Spring have found that we learn the words of a explicit account of the taken-for-granted 2006 issue of American Educator.) foreign language most effectively when the knowledge that someone would need to subject matter is familiar.13 If you read in construct a situation model for this passage Why Building Vocabulary Is Vital French that “Lyon a battu Lille,” you will would take many pages of analysis. and Why It Is Largely Built through make greater gains in learning what battu To understand language, whether spo- Broad Exposure to Content means if you know something about soc- ken or written, we need to construct a situ- Knowledge cer. This finding appeals to common sense. ation model consisting of meanings Comprehending a text depends on know- You can guess accurately what the word construed from the explicit words in the ing the meanings of most of its words. An ought to mean in the context because you text, as well as meanings inferred from adequate early vocabulary is, therefore, know what is being talked about. This pic- ture of how words are learned in context is supported by recent research, which shows that we infer the meanings of words by grasping the whole meaning of the utter- What the text doesn’t say often far ance in the form of a mental situation model. If we are hearing a story about a exceeds what it says. The reader team of firefighters putting out a fire and has to fill in the blanks. we encounter the word flames for the first time, we can make a good guess about what it means because we understand the situation referred to in the sentence in which flames is used. We must grasp this relevant background knowledge. The spo- fateful for later reading achievement. Other whole situation (precisely or vaguely) ken and the unspoken taken together con- things being equal, the earlier children when we understand what is said or writ- stitute the meaning. Without this relevant, acquire a large vocabulary, the greater ten. This understanding of the whole con- unspoken background knowledge, we their reading comprehension will be in text is the basis for guessing the meanings can’t understand the text. later grades. Vocabulary growth is a slow of new words. This fact explains why we That is why we are able to understand process that gradually accumulates a very learn words up to four times faster in a some texts but not others—no matter how large number of words and, therefore, must familiar context than in an unfamiliar well we can decode the words (imagine be fostered intensively in the earliest one.14 An optimal early reading program trying to understand a technical article on grades if we are to bring all children to pro- will exploit this characteristic of word astrophysics). Since relevant, domain- ficiency in reading as quickly as possible. learning by ensuring that the topics of class specific knowledge is an absolute require- Anne Cunningham and Keith Stanovich read-alouds, independent reading, and ment for reading comprehension, there is have shown that under current conditions discussion are consistent over several class no way around the need for children to of American schooling, vocabulary in sec- periods, so that the topic will become gain broad general knowledge in order to ond grade is a reliable predictor of aca- familiar to the students and thus accelerate 11 gain broad general proficiency in reading. demic performance in 11th grade. They word learning. Among experts on reading, there’s one have also shown that the biggest contribu- group that understands this particularly tion to the size of any person’s vocabulary Why a Knowledge Focus well—the makers of standardized reading must come from the printed page (whether Will Disproportionately Help comprehension tests. Such tests always it is heard or read), because print uses a Disadvantaged Children include a diversity of passages on quite dif- greater number of different words than The Matthew effect in reading, whereby 12 ferent subjects. Why? Through experimen- everyday oral speech does. the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, tation, test makers found that such variety That a person has learned roughly is inevitable in the case of vocabulary and is absolutely critical to the validity and reli- 60,000 to 100,000 words by 12th grade is knowledge. As we’ve seen, experts say ability of the tests. If they sampled just one one of the most remarkable feats of the that we need to know at least 90 percent kind of subject matter, their tests would human mind. Even though how we do it of a text’s words to understand it.15 Chil- prove to be inaccurate as measures of gen- remains something of a psychological mys- dren who already have sufficient word eral reading ability. Because of the inevi- tery, recent work has taught us enough knowledge will understand the text and table influence of background knowledge, about vocabulary growth to formulate begin learning the meanings of the other someone who reads well about the Civil some conclusions about the most produc- 10 percent of the words as well as acquire War may not necessarily read well about tive means of enlarging children’s vocabu- new knowledge through their reading. But molecular interactions. If a test is to mea- laries, especially among students whose those students who know only 70 percent sure general reading ability, it must include initial vocabularies are relatively small. of the words will not understand the text

34 | LITERACY LADDERS (and thus, will neither begin learning the can pick up new words at a faster rate than ment on this begs the next question: other 30 percent of the words, nor acquire the advantaged student who already knows Knowledge of what? What knowledge knowledge from the text). Now, after look- 95 percent of the words heard and read in should the schools be responsible for ing at the text, they are further behind the school. This is because the former child is teaching to all kids? I believe that part of advantaged group than they were before getting more opportunities to learn new the answer is quite straightforward, and I they read the text. If this pattern con- words since she is further from a point of hope uncontroversial—and to teach it tinues, the gap between the two groups diminishing returns. ought to take about 40–60 percent of cur- will grow with each successive language Besides this structural possibility for ricular time. I will return to this question in experience.16 narrowing the vocabulary gap, there is a a moment and explain how I think we Let’s focus for a bit on the subject of speeding up word learning for disadvan- taged children. Between the ages of 2 and 17, an advantaged child learns an average of 10 to 15 new words a day.* But the growth in vocabulary is not linear: No one learns the same number of words every day, week, or year. The number of new words gained per unit of time is rather small at age 2, and it rises with each suc- ceeding year. In later life, when people already know most of the words they hear and read, the number of new words they gain per year slows down again.17 This nonlinear pattern of vocabulary growth allows us to make a hopeful quali- fication of the Matthew effect in reading comprehension. Vocabulary growth in the typical school is similar to the growth of money in an interest-bearing bank account. Suppose the interest on money is compounded at 5 percent a year. Some- body who starts out with just $10 in an account will fall further and further behind somebody who starts out with $100. After further opportunity for catching up, should answer it. 10 years, the initial difference of $90 will depending on the special richness of the But beyond this central core of knowl- become a larger difference of $146. That is vocabulary being studied in school. That is edge that all students should know, how because the growth rates stay the same for because the vocabulary heard in school is should the rest of students’ curricular time both accounts and the supply of money is potentially richer than the vocabulary be spent? Exactly how much emphasis not limited. That pattern, unfortunately, heard outside school. Oral speech tends to should schooling give to a particular event, describes the vocabulary gap between use a smaller vocabulary than written individual, or historical trend? The answers advantaged and disadvantaged students— speech.19 Almost all of the rare words that to these questions will always be some- it widens over time.18 Potentially, though, we know have been gained from print— what subjective. Individuals from different schools could alter this pattern because the print that we read silently or that is read regions and from different religious, eth- rates of vocabulary growth in the two stu- aloud to us.20 If school conditions provide nic, and racial backgrounds may have dents do not have to be identical. If a stu- enough context familiarity to speed up the particular views about what the proper dent who is behind in word knowledge can learning of these rarer words for all groups, emphases should be. In addition, local be brought to know 90 percent of the words then the relative gain by the disadvantaged districts, states, schools, and individual that she hears and reads in school, then she groups will be greater and the gap will be teachers will have particular ideas about narrowed. what should be taught, given their particu- *Of course, the figure of 10 to 15 new words a day is lar histories and their own knowledge of not a description of the actual process of word learning. III. What Knowledge and what is interesting, relevant, and useful to It is an average number, arrived at by taking the number of words that a superior student knows at age 17 and How Much? the students in their schools and classes. dividing that number by the number of days the student Part of the curriculum, perhaps about half, Such is the case for the fundamental, ines- has lived from age 2 to age 17. Children actually gain should be reserved for topics that have vocabulary in fits and starts with advances and retreats capable importance of substantial, broad local resonance. Different locales will and slow progress in small increments along a broad background knowledge for reading com- front. Words aren’t learned through one or even two make different choices and the debates prehension (and for performing well on exposures; knowledge of what words mean and how over those choices will no doubt be lively they can be used gradually accumulates. reading comprehension tests). But agree- and interesting—and hopefully enrich our

LITERACY LADDERS | 35 children’s education in many ways. ined British person or one consisting of from a Confederate line. Segregation But while we pursue these debates and baseball experts. Every person who speaks was a local or perhaps a regional encourage local areas to make different and writes must make an estimate of what story. It was slavery that was tearing choices about how to allocate this portion can be left unexplained and what must be the nation apart. of the curriculum, let’s also move quickly explicitly stated. Proficiency in reading This example shows that the back- to identify what should be in the half of the (and listening, speaking, and writing) ground knowledge required to understand curriculum that all students deserve to be requires possession of the broad knowl- the general sections of the New York Times, taught. The question that we need to edge that the general reader is assumed to such as the City Lore section, is not deep. answer is what must students learn so that have. It is not that of an expert—of course not, for as adolescents and adults they are able to Here are the first three paragraphs of an we cannot all be experts on the diverse comprehend written and spoken material aimed at educated general audiences— newspaper stories of civic interest, political debates, popular books and magazines, entry-level college texts, job-related read- Other things being equal, the earlier children ing, high school exit tests and SATs, direc- tions and commentaries by employers, acquire a large vocabulary, the greater their testimony heard by juries, etc. Students reading comprehension will be in later grades. who possess this knowledge are prepared to participate in civic life, move up career ladders, succeed in college, converse con- fidently with a wide variety of Americans with whom they work or socialize, and article by Katherine Greider, taken at ran- subjects that are treated by newspapers. If generally have the esteem that comes with dom from the City Lore section of the New publishers want their papers to be sold and being regarded as an educated person. York Times on November 13, 2005. It is an read widely, they must not assume that So, again the question: What knowledge? example of writing addressed to a general their readers are experts. They may take for reader that a literate American high school granted only the relevant background Students Need the Knowledge That graduate would be expected to understand. knowledge that a literate audience can be Allows Them to Read Material expected to possess. As the civil rights figure Rosa Parks Aimed at a “General Audience” What do readers need to know in order lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda to comprehend this passage? First and To sketch an answer to the question of two weeks ago, her 19th-century foremost, we need to know who Rosa Parks what knowledge, we need a good under- Northern forerunner, a young black was—indeed, the author suggests that standing of the notion of the “general audi- schoolteacher who helped integrate those who do not know of Rosa Parks are ence.” When we say we want to educate New York’s transit system by refusing less knowledgeable than the typical kin- good readers, we don’t mean that we to get off a streetcar in downtown dergartner. We need to have at least a vague expect them to read a treatise aimed at Manhattan, rested in near-perfect semantic grasp of key words like integrate, physicists or constitutional scholars; we obscurity. mean that we expect them to be good “gen- streetcar, obscurity, parable, disparity, and eral readers.” But what does that mean? It Mrs. Parks’s resistance on a bus segregation. We must be able to picture “a sounds almost circular, but it means that became a central facet of American burgeoning but still fragmented” press and they possess the shared knowledge that is identity, a parable retold with each grasp how it contrasts with 1955 televi- assumed by individuals who communicate succeeding class of kindergartners. sion’s ability to make Americans a “wit- with an educated general audience. But who has ever heard of Elizabeth ness” to events. We need to know some of Every newspaper and book editor and Jennings? the things mentioned with exactness, but not others. The author clearly does not every producer for radio and TV is con- The disparity is largely an accident of expect us to know who Elizabeth Jennings scious of the need to distinguish what can timing. Thanks to television, Ameri- was—but we are expected to know enough be taken for granted from what must be cans around the country became a about Parks to immediately grasp what explained. Learning the craft of writing is witness to events in 1955 in Mont- Jennings faced when she refused to get off bound up with learning how to gauge what gomery, Ala.; by contrast, Jennings’s a streetcar. The mere mention of Mont- can be assumed versus what must be supporters had to rely on a burgeon- gomery, Ala., is assumed to trigger a flood explained. The general reader that every ing but still fragmented mid-19th- in our minds of facts, film footage, and journalist or TV newscaster must imagine century press. By 1955, when Parks photos from the bus boycotts. Likewise, the is somebody whose relevant knowledge is refused to be unseated, segregation words “rebel yell” and “Confederate line” assumed to lie between the total ignorance was emerging as an issue the nation are assumed to fill our minds with facts and of a complete novice and the detailed could not ignore. When Jennings, 24, photos from the Civil War. Note, however, knowledge of an expert. A newspaper base- made her stand, on July 16, 1854, the that more knowledge is assumed with ball story cannot assume an audience as first eerie rebel yell had yet to rise uninformed about the game as our imag- regard to Montgomery in 1955 than Man-

36 | LITERACY LADDERS hattan in 1854: Greider reminds us that text, what knowledge is taken for granted are of particular interest in some places but segregation was at best a regional issue in in the classroom, in public orations, in not others. But this technical approach is a Jennings’s time. Consider the knowledge serious radio and TV, in books and maga- big start. It is remarkable how much of the domains included in this list. Montgomery zines and newspapers addressed to a gen- early curriculum in America can be built belongs to history and geography; so does eral audience?” We considered and tried by simply asking the question, “Is this the North. The two means of communica- out various scholarly approaches to this information often taken for granted in talk tion and the two means of transportation problem. and writing addressed to a general literate belong not only to history, but also to tech- Ultimately, we determined that the best audience?” As my colleagues at the Core nology. Civil rights and Parks lying in state way to answer this question was by asking Knowledge Foundation have shown, a very belong to history, current events, and poli- professional speakers and writers (includ- rich and interesting early education can be ing, for example, lawyers, who based on this principle. Striking examples must convince juries, and of success from applying this approach can newspaper reporters) what be found—disadvantaged students gaining specific items of knowl- ground, and all students gaining high lit- edge they take for granted eracy. (See “Engaging Kids with Content: when they speak and ‘The Kids Love It’” in the Spring 2006 issue write. We then used a of American Educator.) process that involved regional groups of teach- IV. Maximizing Reading ers, as well as administra- Comprehension, Especially tors, representatives from Among Poor Children education and other groups, a multicultural advi- Time is of the essence. Because of the Mat- sory group, and scholars from thew effect, the greatest opportunities for relevant disciplines to review the enhancing language comprehension come critical material, to add to it, and to early; once wasted, they may be lost per- subtract from it. From people in every manently. What are the best ways to use tics. We may infer from this example that region of the country we found a reassur- school time productively so that we bring only a person with broad general knowl- ing amount of agreement on the substance students from all social backgrounds to edge is capable of reading with under- of this taken-for-granted knowledge. proficiency in reading and writing? How standing the New York Times and other Several years after our compilation of can we impart the most enabling language such newspapers. such knowledge was published, indepen- and knowledge as quickly as possible? Reading achievement will not advance dent researchers investigated whether Most reading activities that teachers and significantly until schools recognize and reading comprehension ability did in fact parents engage in with young children act on the fact that it depends on the pos- depend on knowledge of the topics we had have been shown by research to be benefi- session of a broad but definable range of set forth. The studies showed an unam- cial. But research rarely asks or answers a diverse knowledge. Our sketch of the back- biguous correlation between knowledge of crucial question—what is the opportunity ground knowledge needed to understand these topics and reading comprehension cost of engaging in this reading activity Greider’s short passage offers clues to the scores, school grades, and other indexes of rather than that one? kind of instruction that is needed to reading skill.21 One researcher investigated “Opportunity cost” is an important con- advance general reading comprehension whether the topics we set forth as taken- cept from economics that reflects the fact ability. It will be broad instruction in the for-granted items are in fact taken for that we forgo some benefits whenever we worlds of nature and culture that will build granted in newspaper texts addressed to a engage in one activity rather than another. the necessary platform for gaining deeper general reader. He examined the New York If we read the same story three times to knowledge through listening and Times by computer over a period of 101 a child, we need to ask, how great are the reading. months and found that “any given day’s benefits that the child will accrue by repeti- issue of the New York Times contained tion compared to the benefits of using that What Knowledge Is Necessary to approximately 2,700 occurrences” of these valuable time in more productive activities, Be a Good General Reader? unexplained terms, which “play a part in such as reading other stories on the same The knowledge that exists in the world and the daily commerce of the published topic? If we ask students to repeatedly could, in theory, be targeted toward chil- language.”22 endure lessons and exercises on “main dren is infinite. How can we identify what This technical approach to deciding idea” and “prediction” and “inferencing” portions of that knowledge are best to help what children need to know in order to join instead of using that time to familiarize students become strong general readers? the literate speech community is, of course, them with important content, are we using My colleagues Joseph Kett and James Trefil just one strategy for identifying the content the time as well as we could? The principle and I set out to define an answer that we need to teach in the early grades. It does of opportunity cost in reading instruction would provide useful guidance for schools. not include our ethical, civic, and aesthetic has become even more important now that We asked ourselves, “In the American con- aspirations for education, nor topics that longer periods—as much as two and one-

LITERACY LADDERS | 37 half hours in New York City and California ing the specific knowledge they will need Clearly, then, a good way to induce fast and at least 90 minutes virtually every- to understand newspapers, magazines, vocabulary gain for young children (for where—are being devoted to language arts and serious books directed at the national whom so much is new and unfamiliar) is in the early grades. This means that lan- language community. There is no success- to stay on a subject long enough for the guage arts are getting time that in the past ful shortcut to teaching and learning this general topic to become familiar. may have been allotted to history, science, specific knowledge. Those who develop and the arts. Yet those neglected subjects language arts programs at the school level Oral Language Development/ are ultimately among the most essential or in publishing houses must understand Reading Aloud ones for imparting the general knowledge that the skills they wish to impart are in fact The crucial years for gaining a good start in that underlies reading comprehension. knowledge-drenched and knowledge- language are the early years.26 At the

Bring Content to Reading Instruction A great opportunity is being lost when an efficient and coherent approach to the knowledge required for reading is Part of the curriculum, perhaps about neglected in the very place where it is most needed—namely, in the long hours half, should be reserved for topics of devoted to the subject of reading. Decod- ing experts suggest that for most children, community importance. about 30 minutes per day is necessary to teach decoding in grades 1 and 2 (more and with greater intensity for struggling students).23 Where schools spend 90–120 minutes per day on reading throughout constituted. The happy consequence will youngest ages, 2 through 7, long before the elementary grades, that leaves at least be reading programs that are much more children can comprehend through reading an hour per day that could be devoted to absorbing, enjoyable, and interesting than as well as they can through listening, prog- imparting the language and world knowl- the disjointed, banal programs offered to ress in language occurs chiefly through edge that is most important for compe- students today. listening and talking, not through reading tence in listening, talking, reading, and and writing. This reality has rightly resulted writing. Substantive topics in literature, Topic Immersion in some time being devoted to teacher history, the arts, and the sciences—all We know that proficient reading requires read-alouds in the early grades. But it’s of which literate Americans take for an adequate vocabulary. We know that worth considering how we might treat granted—are deeply interesting and highly children’s vocabularies will get bigger these read-alouds and the conversations engaging to children. when they hear or read rich material, fic- they generate differently if we regarded For many years, the great reading tion or nonfiction. But not everyone knows them as absolutely fundamental to impart- researcher Jeanne Chall complained that how to answer these questions about time ing necessary knowledge to children. For the selections offered in language arts use: What is the most effective way to foster example, we might consider the effects of classes did not provide students with the vocabulary gain? Is it better to read a child topic immersion—reading a sequence of knowledge and language experiences they a short text of a different kind each day, or books on a significant topic (over days or need for general competence in reading. is it better to stay on a topic that stretches weeks) instead of selecting books as stand- In the two decades since Chall entered over several days or weeks? As we have alone texts. We would select books in part this complaint, little has changed. Regret- seen, important research suggests that for the topics and language they brought to tably, most early reading materials and children can learn words much faster if we the classroom and for the challenging programs take such a formalistic view of stick to the same topic for several sessions, classroom conversations they sparked. We reading comprehension that they neglect because word learning occurs much would consider how to use other class- the systematic expansion of children’s faster—up to four times faster—when the room activities to engage children in the general knowledge and accompanying verbal context is familiar.25 content of the books. vocabulary. The systematic phonics in Suppose, for example, you are reading We need to place a great deal of empha- these programs (which, on the whole, to 5-year-old Dmitri a story about kings sis in early grades reading classes on non- are admirable) are not backed up by a and queens. If you extend that topic for the written, oral activities—on adults reading systematic approach to the background next few days by reading more fiction and aloud coherent and challenging material, knowledge that the children will need for nonfiction stories about kings and queens, on discussing it, on having children elabo- later reading comprehension.24 how they lived, and what they did, the rate on these materials. There is every sci- We need to reconceive language arts as chances are that Dmitri will increase his entific reason to predict that an intensive a school subject. In trying to make all stu- general knowledge and vocabulary faster focus on oral language development dur- dents proficient readers and writers, there than if you read about zebras the next day, ing the classroom reading period in early is no avoiding the responsibility of impart- planets the day after that, and so on. grades will not only raise reading achieve-

38 | LITERACY LADDERS ment for all students, it will also help nar- thesis and use a variety of sources” and classrooms is an unknown curriculum, row the gap between social groups. “Read a variety of literature, including his- one that assures incoherence from grade torical fiction, autobiography, and realistic to grade and school to school. V. Beyond the Reading Class— fiction.” Coherence and commonality of cur- Imparting Important Knowl- These are empty admonitions. And they riculum, gained through specifying core constitute the first major shortcoming of content, has decisive educational advan- edge Systematically, from the these process-oriented, formalistic guide- tages over our vague, laissez faire curricu- Earliest Ages lines—they offer no real guidance. In offer- lum arrangements. Of course, by Great strides could be taken with reading ing no guidance, they guarantee an “commonality of content,” I do not mean a comprehension if we simply brought well- incoherent education with huge gaps and considered content into the reading cur- boring repetitions. Elementary school stu- riculum. But there’s no getting around the dents reasonably complain of reading fact that that’s only the beginning. If we Charlotte’s Web three years in a row. really want to impart to students the gen- That’s not too surprising. With guide- eral knowledge that will allow them to be lines like these, why should Mr. Green strong general readers, they, especially if in grade three, Ms. Jones in grade they’re not already from print-rich homes, four, and Ms. Hughes in grade five deserve immersion in well-considered not treat their students to a book content all day long—and from the earliest they are very fond of? Of course, ages. And, as we will see, for practical rea- while students are reading that sons, the specifics of the content—and estimable work three years run- when it will be taught—can’t be decided ning (being bored in two of separately by each school, teacher, or dis- them), they are missing at least trict. Not if we really care about whether two other estimable books they our students actually learn what they need might have been introduced to. to learn in order to be strong readers. This kind of problem is not limited to language arts. I once Why Educational Effectiveness and did an analysis of a district sci- Equity Require Students across ence curriculum which, like most Ameri- 100 percent common curriculum across Schools to Share a Curriculum Core can curricula, had a hands-on, formalistic, the nation under which each child in each I’m now looking at one state’s guidelines process orientation and found that stu- early grade follows exactly the same course for language arts. (I won’t reveal the state, dents did a hands-on study of seeds in four of study. I mean rather a more reasonable since its request for me to review the docu- different grades but were never required to percentage of common content, such as ment indicates its own dissatisfaction with learn about photosynthesis at all.27 Gaps Thomas Jefferson and Horace Mann had in them.) This state curriculum guide is quite and repetitions are the reality of American view—say, between 40 and 60 percent of typical. It is a 103-page document orga- students’ school experience even when the topics that young children are taught. nized into a dozen broad categories, all of they stay in the same school—and the gaps In addition, to reduce the negative which apply to all grades from kindergar- are far greater for those many disadvan- impact of massive student mobility, we ten through grade 12. The general catego- taged students who must change schools. must reach agreement not only about what ries have process rubrics like “Students (See “Why the Absence of a Content-Rich subject matter should be taught in school, shall demonstrate knowledge and under- Curriculum Core Hurts Poor Children but also about the grade level at which that standing of media as a mode of communi- Most” in the Spring 2006 issue of American agreed-upon subject matter should be cation,” “Students shall employ a wide Educator.) These gaps and repetitions taught. Just as we have created a conven- range of strategies as they write, using the occur unwittingly, not through the feck- tion about the standard spelling of Missis- writing process appropriately,” and “Stu- lessness of guideline makers nor the sippi, we need to create a convention about dents shall apply a wide range of strategies incompetence of teachers, but thanks to the grade level at which school topics shall to read and comprehend written materi- the formalistic idea that no particular piece be introduced. If we agree that primary- als.” Then, in the more “detailed” amplifi- of knowledge will boost reading compre- grade children should be taught about the cations of these categories for the early hension more than any other. It is true that lives of George Washington and Martin grades, we find directives like, “Distinguish some of the new state standards can point Luther King, Jr., then we have an obligation the purpose of various types of media pre- to increasingly specific guidance in a few to decide when these topics will be intro- sentations, using informational or enter- areas, but these are the exceptions. In gen- duced. The ravages of mobility on disad- tainment presentations,” “Use a variety of eral, the de facto curriculum in the Ameri- vantaged students ought to exert a planning strategies/organizers,” and “Draft can school is defined by the textbooks that powerful moral claim in favor of such a information collected during reading and/ are used and by the selections within them policy, which deserves to trump local sen- or research into writing.” For later grades, that are made according to the tastes and timents about whether kindergarten is or the detailed amplifications are directives beliefs of individual teachers. In other is not the right place for Washington or like, “Write research reports that include a words, the curriculum in most American King. No one can really answer that ques-

LITERACY LADDERS | 39 tion in absolute terms. In most cases, ques- and astonishingly, at age 2, 30 percent of all not only greater learning, but also nar- tions about proper grade level have no children attend. Analyses of records from rowed the achievement gap between eth- absolute right answer, because, as Jerome tens of thousands of students—records nic groups.30 That such academically Bruner famously observed, almost any that include detailed information about focused schools would raise general topic, if taught appropriately, can be taught race, ethnicity, and social class—show that achievement is obvious since an intense at any school age.28 the earlier the child starts, the greater the focus on academics is self-evidently the But Bruner’s insight emphatically does positive effect on reading will be. By the most likely means to raise academic not argue for laissez faire regarding the end of fifth grade in France, the relative achievement. The finding on narrowing the sequencing of topics. On the contrary, benefit to disadvantaged pupils who start achievement gap is more interesting, and using an automotive analogy, either side of at the amazingly early age of 2 rather than it has positive implications for both advan- the road, appropriately demarcated, is suit- able for driving in either direction—which is precisely why it is necessary to create a convention for determining whether the right side or the left side will be used. The early curriculum can be built by asking, Whichever side of the road a state decides on, that same convention needs to hold for “Is this information often taken for granted?” all roads in all the states, because cars cross state lines every day—just as disadvan- taged students move across schools (and districts and even states) every day. The consequence of not creating a convention about the sequencing of agreed-upon top- 4 is over one-half of a standard deviation, taged and disadvantaged students. ics is that some highly mobile students will quite a large effect size. (In terms of per- The theoretical explanation for Cole- never read Charlotte’s Web or Langston centile scores, it’s like moving a student up man’s finding about equity is this: When Hughes, while others will hear about them from the 16th to the 31st percentile or from students learn more in school during the endlessly, in kindergarten, grade one, the 50th to the 69th percentile.) Those who course of a classroom period and during an grade two, and beyond. start at age 3 do better in later reading than entire year, disadvantaged students begin those who start at age 4, and starting school to catch up, even when their advantaged Why Equity Requires Knowledge- at age 4 is better than starting at age 5. peers are learning more or less the same Rich Preschool for Children from These studies show that the long-term gain things they are. That is because disadvan- Low-Income Homes in starting early is greater for disadvan- taged students start out knowing less, so Research from many quarters argues that taged than for advantaged students. each additional bit of learning is propor- the sooner children can be exposed to and Effective use of school time is especially tionally more enabling to them than to engaged with words, knowledge, language, important in all areas of learning con- students who already knew more. If we are and language conventions, the better off nected with the advancement of language reading a story about Johnny Appleseed they’ll be. The reason for this is clear: comprehension, which is inherently a slow and some students know how plants grow because the powerful Matthew effect will process. For children who grow up in while others don’t, the latter group, the be working for them, not against them. highly articulate homes where they hear a botanically challenged students, will be the That this is especially true for children from wealth of language every day, the need to ones who learn most from the story the poorest, least language-rich homes use time effectively to enlarge language (assuming they know at least 90 percent of should be obvious. comprehension is not as critical as it is for the words), although both groups will learn When children are offered coherent, children who grow up in language-barren something new about Johnny Appleseed. cumulative knowledge from preschool on, circumstances. For those growing up in And there is a further reason for the reading proficiency is the result. The fullest such homes, schools themselves should equity effect that Coleman observed. When evidence for the validity of this prediction become highly effective and efficient a lot of learning is going on in school, the comes from large-scale studies conducted imparters of language in all its aspects: proportion of the academic knowledge by French researchers on the effects of very vocabulary, syntax, knowledge, etc. If we gained in school increases and the propor- early knowledge instruction in school on can do that, greater reading comprehen- tion gained outside school decreases. later reading achievement.29 The French sion, higher school achievement, and When students are learning many aca- are in a good position to perform such greater equity will be the result. demic things in the classroom, that will studies. They have been running state- When James Coleman, the great soci- narrow the academic gap because disad- sponsored preschools for more than a ologist of education, analyzed the school vantaged students are more dependent on hundred years. By age 5, almost 100 per- characteristics that had the greatest impact schools for gaining academic information cent of French children, including the on educational achievement and equity, than advantaged students. Advantaged children of immigrants from Africa, Asia, he found that schools with greater aca- students have a chance to learn a lot of and southern Europe, attend preschools. demic intensity—a persistent, goal- academically relevant things from their At age 4, 85 percent of all children attend, directed focus on academics—produced homes and peer groups, whereas disad-

40 | LITERACY LADDERS vantaged students learn academically rel- 6. See, for example: S. A. Stahl, Vocabulary Development Experimental Education 58, no. 4 (1990), 265–272; J. F. (Cambridge, MA: Brookline, 1999). Pentony, “Cultural Literacy,” Adult Basic Education 7, no. 1 evant things mostly from their schools. 7. S. Caillies, G. Denhiere, and W. Kintsch, “The Effect of (1997), 39–45; and C. R. Hofstetter, “Knowledge, Literacy Boosting the in-school proportion thus Prior Knowledge on Understanding from Text: Evidence from and Power,” Communication Research 26 (1999), 58–80. Primed Recognition,” European Journal of Cognitive 22. J. Willinsky, “The Vocabulary of Cultural Literacy in a reduces the impact of the unfair distribution Psychology 14, no. 2 (2002), 267–286. Newspaper of Substance,” (paper presented at the annual of out-of-school learning opportunities. 8. K. E. Stanovich, “Matthew Effects in Reading: Some meeting of the National Reading Conference, Tucson, AZ, Consequences of Individual Differences in the Acquisition of November-December 1988). There is another point to be made here. Literacy,” Reading Research Quarterly 21, no. 4 (1986), 23. Personal communication with Louisa Moats. A school that enrolls a heavily middle-class 360–407. 24. K. Walsh, “Basal readers: The lost opportunity to build population faces a far lower hurdle in get- 9. M. Singer, R. Revlin, and M. Halldorson, “Bridging- the knowledge that propels comprehension,” American Inferences and Enthymemes,” in Inferences and Text Educator 27, no. 1 (2003), 24–27. ting its children to reach high reading lev- Comprehension, ed. A. C. Graesser and G. H. Bower (San 25. T. K. Landauer and S. T. Dumais, “A Solution to Plato’s els than does a counterpart school Diego: Academic, 1990), 35–52. Problem: The Latent Semantic Analysis Theory of Acquisition, 10. A. C. Graesser, M. Singer, and T. Trabasso, “Constructing Induction, and Representation of Knowledge,” Psychological enrolling a heavily low-income population. Inferences During Narrative Text Comprehension,” Review 104, no. 2 (1997), 211–240. The first school enrolls students who typi- Psychological Review 101, no. 3 (1995), 371–395; and A. C. 26. B. Hart and T. R. Risley, Meaningful Differences in the Graesser and R. A. Zwaan, “Inference generation and the Everyday Experience of Young American Children (Baltimore, cally entered school ahead in their back- construction of situation models,” in Discourse Comprehen- MD: Peter Brookes, 1995). sion: Essays in Honor of Walter Kintsch, ed. C. A. Weaver III, ground knowledge and vocabulary and will S. Mannes, and C. R. Fletcher (Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence 27. E. D. Hirsch, Jr., The Schools We Need (New York: have substantial access to knowledge and Erlbaum Associates, 1995), 117-139. Doubleday, 1996), 29. vocabulary in their non-school lives, as 11. A. E. Cunningham and K. E. Stanovich, “Early Reading 28. J. Bruner, The Process of Education (Cambridge, MA: Acquisition and Its Relation to Reading Experience and Harvard University Press, 1960), 33. well (whether from summer camp, vaca- Ability 10 Years Later,” Developmental Psychology 33, no. 6 29. This research is translated and summarized on the Core tion trips, educated parents and relatives, (1997), 934–945. Knowledge Web site: www.coreknowledge.org/CKproto2/ 12. A. E. Cunningham and K. E. Stanovich, “What Reading Preschool/preschool_frenchequity_frames.htm. museum visits, etc.). The counterpart Does for the Mind,” American Educator (Spring/Summer 30. J. S. Coleman, Equality of Educational Opportunity school, with a heavily low-income student 1998), 1-8; D. P. Hayes and M. Ahrens, “Speaking and (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health, Education and Writing: Distinct Patterns of Word Choice,” Journal of Welfare, Office of Education, 1966). population, typically enrolls children who Memory and Language 27 (1988), 572–85; and W. Chafe and J. Danielewicz (1987). “Properties of Spoken and entered kindergarten already behind and Written Language,” in Comprehending Oral and Written have fewer opportunities to gain this Language, ed. R. Horowitz and S. J. Samuels (San Diego: Academic, 1988), 83–113. knowledge and vocabulary outside school. 13. J. P. Gipe and R. D. Arnold, “Teaching Vocabulary In comparison to the first school, the low- Through Familiar Associations and Contexts,” Journal of Reading Behavior 11, no. 3 (1979), 281–285; and D. C. income school’s task of bringing its stu- Pulido, “The Impact of Topic Familiarity, L2 Reading dents to proficient reading comprehension Proficiency, and L2 Passage Sight Vocabulary on Incidental Vocabulary Gain Through Reading for Adult Learners of levels is enormous. Schools that enroll Spanish as a Foreign Language,” Dissertation Abstracts many poor children can’t be merely effec- International, 61(10-A) (2001), p. 3892. 14. T. K. Landauer and S. T. Dumais, “A Solution to Plato’s tive; to bring their students to proficient Problem: The Latent Semantic Analysis Theory of Acquisition, reading levels, they need to be supereffec- Induction, and Representation of Knowledge,” Psychological Review 104, no. 2 (1997), 211–240. tive. They need an extraordinary level of 15. I. S. P. Nation, Teaching and Learning Vocabulary (New help, support, and good ideas to meet the York: Newbury House, 1990); and S. A. Stahl, Vocabulary challenges they face. I believe that the Development (Cambridge, Mass.: Brookline Books, 1999). 16. C. Jencks and M. Phillips (eds), The Black-White Test ideas put forward here can help these Score Gap (Washington, D.C.:Brookings Institute Press, schools be supereffective, as their students, 1998). 17. R. P. Bowles, K. J. Grimm, and J. J. McArdle, “A and the nation, need them to be.  Structural Factor Analysis of Vocabulary Knowledge and Relations to Age,” Journals of Gerontology: Series B: Endnotes Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 60B, no. 5 (2005), P234–P241. 1. R. Hofstadter, Anti-Intellectualism in American Life (New York: Vintage Books, 1963). 18. M. F. Graves, G. J. Brunetti, and W. H. Slater, “The reading vocabularies of primary-grade children of varying 2. K. Walsh, “Basal readers: The lost opportunity to build the geographic and social backgrounds,” in New Inquiries in knowledge that propels comprehension,” American Reading Research and Instruction: Thirty First Yearbook of Educator 27, no. 1 (2003), 24–27. the National Reading Conference, ed. J. A. Niles and L. A. 3. Among the many research reports on this subject, the Harris (Rochester, NY: National Reading Conference, 1982), following are notable: A. Garnham and J. Oakhill, “The 99-104; Also see: M. F. Graves and W. H. Slater, “The mental models theory of language comprehension,” in development of reading vocabularies in rural disadvantaged Models of Understanding Text, ed. B. K. Britton and A. C. students, inner-city disadvantaged and middle-class Graesser (Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, suburban students” (paper presented at the meeting of the 1996), 313-340; A. C. Graesser and R. A. Zwaan, “Inference American Educational Research Association, Washington, generation and the construction of situation models,” in D.C., 1987); and S. K. Baker, D. C. Simmons, and E. J. Discourse Comprehension: Essays in Honor of Walter Kameenui, Vocabulary Acquisition: Synthesis of the Research Kintsch, ed. C. A. Weaver III, S. Mannes, and C. R. Fletcher (Eugene, OR: National Center to Improve the Tools of (Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1995), 117-139; Educators, 1995). W. Kintsch, Comprehension: A Paradigm for Cognition (New 19. D. P. Hayes and M. Ahrens, “Speaking and Writing: York: Cambridge University Press, 1998); H. van Oostendorp Distinct Patterns of Word Choice,” Journal of Memory and and S. R. Goldman (eds.), The Construction of Mental Language 27 (1988), 572–85; and K. E. Stanovich, “Does Representations During Reading (Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum reading make you smarter? Literacy and the development of Associates, 1999); and R. A. Zwaan and G. A. Radvansky, verbal intelligence,” in Advances in Child Development and “Situation models in language comprehension and Behavior 24, ed. H. Reese (San Diego, CA: Academic Press, memory,” Psychological Bulletin 123, no. 2 (1988), 162-185. 1993), 133-180. 4. K. Walsh, “Basal readers: The lost opportunity to build the 20. K. E. Stanovich, “Does reading make you smarter? knowledge that propels comprehension,” American Literacy and the development of verbal intelligence,” in Educator 27, no. 1 (2003), 24–27. Advances in Child Development and Behavior 24, ed. H. 5. B. Rosenshine and C. Meister, “Reciprocal Teaching: A Reese (San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 1993), 133-180. Review of the Research,” Review of Educational Research 21. G. J. Kosmoski, G. Gay, and E. L. Vockell, “Cultural 64, no. 4 (1994), 479-530. Literacy and Academic Achievement,” Journal of

LITERACY LADDERS | 41 How Knowledge Helps It Speeds and Strengthens Reading Comprehension, Learning—and Thinking

By Daniel T. Willingham become. We’ll begin by exploring how knowledge nowledge is Good.” So read the brings more knowledge motto of the mythical Faber Col- and then turn to how lege in the 1978 movie, Animal knowledge improves the House. Those of us who work in quality and speed of Keducation would agree, even if we were thinking. unable to express ourselves so eloquently. But why, exactly, is knowledge good? When I. How Knowledge I’ve discussed this question with teachers, Brings More Knowledge many have used the metaphor “It’s grist for The more you know, the easier it will the mill.” That is, the goal of education is be for you to learn new things. Learning seen not so much as the accumulation of new things is actually a seamless process, knowledge, but as the honing of cognitive but in order to study it and understand it skills such as thinking critically. Knowledge better, cognitive scientists have comes into play mainly because if we want approached it as a three-stage process. our students to learn how to think critically, And they’ve found that knowledge helps they must have something to think about. at every stage: as you first take in new It’s true that knowledge gives students information (either via listening or read- something to think about, but a reading of ing), as you think about this information, the research literature from cognitive sci- and as the material is stored in memory. ence shows that knowledge does much We’ll consider each of these stages in turn. more than just help students hone their reading—but keep in mind that the same thinking skills: It actually makes learning How Knowledge Helps points apply to listening. Suppose you read easier. Knowledge is not only cumulative, You Take in New Information this brief text: “John’s face fell as he looked it grows exponentially. Those with a rich The first stage in which factual knowledge down at his protruding belly. The invitation base of factual knowledge find it easier to gives you a cognitive edge is when you are specified ‘black tie’ and he hadn’t worn his learn more—the rich get richer. In addi- taking in new information, whether by tux since his own wedding, 20 years ear- tion, factual knowledge enhances cognitive listening or reading. There is much more to lier.” You will likely infer that John is con- processes like problem solving and reason- comprehending oral or written language cerned that his tuxedo won’t fit, although ing. The richer the knowledge base, the than knowing vocabulary and syntax. the text says nothing directly about this more smoothly and effectively these cogni- Comprehension demands background potential problem. The writer could add tive processes—the very ones that teachers knowledge because language is full of the specifics (“John had gained weight target—operate. So, the more knowledge semantic breaks in which knowledge is since he last wore his tuxedo, and worried students accumulate, the smarter they assumed and, therefore, comprehension that it would not fit”), but they are not nec- depends on making correct inferences. In essary and the added words would make Daniel T. Willingham is a professor of psychology a casual conversation, the listener can the text dull. Your mind is well able to fill in at the University of Virginia, where he has taught gather missing background knowledge and the gaps because you know that people are since 1992. Until about 2000, his research focused often heavier 20 years after their wedding, solely on the brain basis of learning and memory. check on his inferences by asking ques- Today, his research concerns the application of tions (e.g., Did you mean Bob Smith or Bob and that gaining weight usually means that cognitive psychology to K–16 education. He Jones? What do you mean when you old clothing won’t fit. This background writes the “Ask the Cognitive Scientist” column describe him as an entrepreneur?)—but knowledge about the world is readily avail- for American Educator magazine, and is the this is not the case when watching a movie able and so the writer need not specify it. author of Why Don’t Students Like School?, Thus, an obvious way in which knowl- Cognition: The Thinking Animal, When Can You or reading a book. (And sometimes it isn’t Trust the Experts?, and Raising Kids Who Read the case in class when a student is too edge aids the acquisition of more knowl- (forthcoming). His writing on education has embarrassed to ask a question.) edge lies in the greater power it affords in appeared in thirteen languages. This article To provide some concrete examples making correct inferences. If the writer appeared, with permission, in the Spring 2006 and simplify the discussion, let’s focus on assumes that you have some background issue of American Educator.

42 | LITERACY LADDERS knowledge that you lack, you’ll be con- would search for some relationship between fused. For example, if you read, “He was a carrying fish to a formal event and the other real Benedict Arnold about it” and you elements of the situation (formal wear, don’t know who Benedict Arnold was, stairs, purses, what you’ve been told of you’re lost. This implication of background Jeanine and John). In this search you might knowledge is straightforward and easy to retrieve the popular notion that wearing a grasp. It is no surprise, then, that the ability tuxedo can make one look a little like a pen- to read a text and make sense of it is highly guin, which immediately leads to the asso- correlated with background knowledge.1 ciation that penguins eat fish. Jeanine is If you know more, you’re a better reader. likening John to a penguin and thus she is Most of the time you are unaware of teasing him. Sense is made, and reading can making inferences when you read. For continue. Here, then, is a second and more example, when you read the text above it’s subtle benefit of general knowledge: People unlikely you thought to yourself, “Hmmm with more general knowledge have richer ... let me see now ... why am I being told associations among the concepts in mem- about the last time he wore his tuxedo? ory; and when associations are strong, they edge means that you will rarely need to Why would thinking about that make his become available to the reading process reread a text in an effort to consciously face fall?” Those conscious inferences are automatically. That means the person with search for connections in the text (e.g., you unnecessary because the cognitive pro- rich general knowledge rarely has to inter- will quickly realize that with her fish remark, cesses that interpret what you read auto- rupt reading in order to consciously search Jeanine is likening John to a penguin). matically access not just the literal words for connections. that you read, but also ideas associated This phenomenon has been verified How Knowledge Helps with those words. Thus, when you read experimentally by having subjects read texts You Think about New Information “tux,” the cognitive processes that are mak- on topics with which they are or are not very Comprehending a text so as to take in new ing sense of the text can access not just “a familiar. For example, Johanna Kaakinen information is just the first stage of learning formal suit of clothing,” but all of the and her colleagues had subjects read a text that new information; the second is to related concepts in your memory: Tuxedos about four common diseases (e.g., flu) for think about it. This happens in what cogni- are expensive, they are worn infrequently, which they were likely already familiar with tive scientists call working memory, the they are not comfortable, they can be the symptoms, and a text about four uncom- staging ground for thought. Working rented, they are often worn at weddings, mon diseases (e.g., typhus) for which they memory is often referred to metaphorically and so on. As the text illustrates, the cogni- likely were not.2 For each text, there was as a space to emphasize its limited nature; tive processes that extract meaning also additional information about the diseases one can maintain only a limited amount of have access to concepts represented by the that subjects likely did not know. information in working memory. For intersection of ideas; “tux” makes available The researchers used a sophisticated example, read through this list one time, “clothing,” and “20 years after wedding” technology to unobtrusively measure then look away and see how many of the makes available “gaining weight.” The where subjects fixated their eyes while they letters you can recall. intersection of “clothing” and “gaining read each text. Researchers thus had a pre- CN weight” yields the idea “clothing won’t fit” cise measure of reading speed, and they and we understand why John is not happy. could tell when subjects returned to an NFB All of these associations and inferences earlier portion of the text to reread some- ICB happen outside of awareness. Only the thing. The researchers found that when SCI outcome of this cognitive process—that reading unfamiliar texts, subjects more John is concerned his tux won’t fit any- often reread parts of sentences and they ANC more—enters consciousness. more often looked back to previous sen- AA Sometimes this subconscious inference- tences. Their reading speed was also slower There were 16 letters on the list, and making process fails and the ideas in the text overall compared to when they read famil- most people can recall around seven— cannot be connected. When this happens, iar texts. These measures indicate that there is not sufficient space in working processing stops and a greater effort is made processing is slower when reading about memory to maintain more than that. Now to find some connection among the words something unfamiliar to you. try the same task again with this list. and ideas in the text. This greater effort Thus, background knowledge makes one requires conscious processing. For example, a better reader in two ways. First, it means CNN suppose that later in the same text you read, that there is a greater probability that you FBI “John walked down the steps with care. will have the knowledge to successfully CBS Jeanine looked him up and down while she make the necessary inferences to under- waited. Finally she said, ‘Well, I’m glad I’ve stand a text (e.g., you will know that people CIA got some fish in my purse.’ ” Jeanine’s com- are often heavier 20 years after their wed- NCAA ment might well stop the normal flow of ding and, thus, John is worried that his tux Much easier, right? If you compare the reading. Why would she have fish? You won’t fit). Second, rich background knowl- two lists, you will see that they actually

LITERACY LADDERS | 43 contain the same letters. The second list man resulting in two runners being out, the is typical in such studies.13 First, Hambrick has been reorganized in a way that encour- students with baseball knowledge would tested college students for their knowledge ages you to treat C, N, and N as a single chunk those actions by recognizing them of basketball. This test took place in the unit, rather than as three separate letters. as a double play—but the students without middle of the college basketball season. Putting items together this way is called baseball knowledge would have to try to Two and one-half months later (at the end chunking. It greatly expands how much fits remember the whole series of actions.) of the season), subjects completed ques- in your working memory—and, therefore, Second, because they were able to chunk, tionnaires about their exposure to basket- how much you can think about. The typical the students with baseball knowledge had ball (e.g., game attendance, watching persons’ working memory can hold about free space in their working memory that television, and reading magazines or news- seven letters or almost the same number of they could devote to using the replica to papers) and also took tests that measured multi-letter chunks or pieces of informa- reenact the play as well as providing a their knowledge of specific men’s basket- tion. Note, however, that chunking coherent verbal explanation. Without ball events from the prior two and one-half depends on background knowledge. If you weren’t familiar with the abbreviation for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, you couldn’t treat FBI as a single chunk. All of these associations and inferences hap- The ability to chunk and its reliance on background knowledge has been tested in pen outside of awareness. Only the outcome a number of studies. These studies show of this cognitive process enters consciousness. that this ability makes people better able to briefly remember a list of items, just as you could remember more letters in the second example. This benefit has been observed being able to chunk, the students with little months. The results showed (not surpris- in many domains, including chess,3 baseball knowledge simply didn’t have ingly) that subjects who reported an inter- bridge,4 computer programming,5 dance enough free space in their working memory est in the game also reported that they had steps,6 circuit design,7 maps,8 and music.9 to simultaneously remember all of the had greater exposure to basketball infor- Of course, we seldom want to briefly actions, keep track of their order, do the reen- mation. The more interesting finding was remember a list. The important aspect of actment, and describe the reenactment. that, for a given level of exposure, greater chunking is that it leaves more free space in This study illustrates the importance of prior basketball knowledge was associated working memory, allowing that space to be the working memory advantage that back- with more new basketball knowledge. That devoted to other tasks, such as recognizing ground knowledge confers.11 Most of the is, the people who already knew a lot about patterns in the material. For example, in one time when we are listening or reading, it’s basketball tended to remember more study, the researchers tested junior high not enough to understand each sentence basketball-related news than people with school students who were either good or on its own—we need to understand a the same exposure to this news but less poor readers (as measured by a standard series of sentences or paragraphs and hold prior knowledge.* As I said in the introduc- reading test) and who were also knowledge- them in mind simultaneously so that they tion, the rich get richer. able or not about the game of baseball (as can be integrated or compared. Doing so is What’s behind this effect? A rich network measured by a test created for the study by easier if the material can be chunked of associations makes memory strong: New three semi-professional baseball players).10 because it will occupy less of the limited material is more likely to be remembered if The children read a passage written at an space in working memory. But, chunking it is related to what is already in memory. early 5th-grade reading level that described relies on background knowledge. Remembering information on a brand new a half inning of a baseball game. The pas- topic is difficult because there is no existing sage was divided into five parts, and after How Knowledge Helps network in your memory that the new infor- each part the student was asked to use a You Remember New Information mation can be tied to. But remembering replica of a baseball field and players to Knowledge also helps when you arrive at new information on a familiar topic is rela- reenact and describe what they read. The the final stage of learning new informa- tively easy because developing associations researchers found that baseball knowledge tion—remembering it. Simply put, it is between your existing network and the new had a big impact on performance: Poor easier to fix new material in your memory material is easy. readers with a high knowledge of baseball when you already have some knowledge of * * * displayed better comprehension than good the topic.12 Many studies in this area have Some researchers have suggested that readers with a low knowledge of baseball. subjects with either high or low amounts prior knowledge is so important to memory What’s going on here? First, the students of knowledge on a particular topic read that it can actually make up for or replace with a lot of knowledge of baseball were new material and then take a test on it what we normally think of as aptitude. Some able to read a series of actions and chunk some time later; inevitably those with prior studies have administered the same mem- them. (For example, if some of the text knowledge remember more. ory task to high-aptitude and low-aptitude described the shortstop throwing the ball A study by David Hambrick is notable children, some of whom have prior knowl- to the second baseman and the second because it looked at real-world learning edge of the subject matter and some of baseman throwing the ball to the first base- and did so over a longer period of time than whom do not; the studies found that only

44 | LITERACY LADDERS prior knowledge is important.14 But some most of your working memory, leaving no researchers disagree. They report that, space for you to consider solutions. I can although prior knowledge always helps give you a sense of this impact with a memory, it cannot eliminate the aptitude sample problem called the Tower of Hanoi. differences among people. Since everyone’s The picture shows three pegs with three memory gets better with prior knowledge, rings of increasing size. The goal is to move assuming equal exposure to new knowledge all the rings to the rightmost peg. There are (as in a classroom without extra support for just two rules: You can only move one ring slower students), the student with overall at a time, and you can’t put a larger ring on lower aptitude will still be behind the stu- top of a smaller ring. See if you can solve dent with higher aptitude.15 In the end, the the problem. issue is not settled, but as a practical matter With some diligence, you may well be of schooling, it doesn’t matter much. What able to solve the problem. The solution is matters is the central, undisputed finding: to move the rings as follows: A3, B2, A2, C3, can easily chunk the order of ring size— All students will learn more if they have A1, B3, A3. smallest to largest. greater background knowledge. Now consider this problem: These two problems give you a sense of the advantages of background knowledge In the inns of certain Himalayan vil- II. How Knowledge for problem solving. The problem solver lages is practiced a refined tea cere- with background knowledge in a particular Improves Thinking mony. The ceremony involves a host domain sees problems in her domain like Knowledge enhances thinking in two ways. and exactly two guests, neither more the Tower of Hanoi; everything is simple and First, it helps you solve problems by freeing nor less. When his guests have easy to understand. When she is outside her up space in your working memory. Second, arrived and seated themselves at his domain, however, the same problem solver it helps you circumvent thinking by acting table, the host performs three ser- cannot rely on background knowledge and as a ready supply of things you’ve already vices for them. These services are problems seem more like the confusing tea thought about (e.g., if you’ve memorized listed in the order of the nobility the ceremony. It’s all she can do to simply that 5 + 5 = 10, you don’t have to draw two Himalayans attribute to them: stok- understand the rules and the goal. groups of five lines and count them). To ing the fire, fanning the flames, and These examples put the “grist for the simplify the discussion, I’ll focus mostly on pouring the tea. During the cere- mill” metaphor in a new light: It’s not suffi- research that explores the benefits of mony, any of those present may ask cient for you to have some facts for the ana- knowledge for problem solving, which is another, “Honored Sir, may I perform lytic cognitive processes to operate on. essentially the type of thinking that stu- this onerous task for you?” However, There must be lots of facts and you must dents must do in mathematics and science a person may request of another only know them well. The student must have suf- classes. But keep in mind that in much the the least noble of the tasks that the ficient background knowledge to recognize same way, knowledge also improves the other is performing. Furthermore, if familiar patterns—that is, to chunk—in reasoning and critical thinking that stu- a person is performing any tasks, order to be a good analytical thinker. Con- dents must do in history, literature, and then he may not request a task that is sider, for example, the plight of the algebra other humanities classes. nobler than the least noble task he is student who has not mastered the distribu- already performing. Custom requires tive property. Every time he faces a problem How Knowledge Helps that by the time the tea ceremony is with a(b + c), he must stop and plug in easy You Solve Problems over, all the tasks will have been numbers to figure out whether he should In the last section, I discussed one way that transferred from the host to the most write a(b) + c or a + b(c) or a(b) + a(c). The prior knowledge helps reading: It allows senior of the guests. How can this be best possible outcome is that he will eventu- you to chunk some information, which accomplished? ally finish the problem—but he will have leaves more room in working memory to You would probably have to read the taken much longer than the students who sort through the implications of a text. You problem several times just to feel that you know the distributive property well (and, get much the same benefit if you are trying understand it—but this problem is actually therefore, have chunked it as just one step to solve a problem. If you don’t have suffi- identical to the Tower of Hanoi. Each guest in solving the problem). The more likely cient background knowledge, simply is like a peg, and each task is like a ring. The outcome is that his working memory will understanding the problem can consume goal and the rules of transfer are the same. become overwhelmed and he either won’t *Careful readers may notice that in this study there is The difference is that this version is much finish the problem or he’ll get it wrong. some possibility that the college students’ interest in more demanding of working memory. The basketball (not just their knowledge) could have some first version does not require you to main- How Knowledge Helps effect on their memory of basketball events. A more You Circumvent Thinking complicated study controlled for interest by creating tain the problem in working memory experts. Subjects were brought in to pre-learn some because it is so effectively represented in It’s not just facts that reside in memory; information (which then served as their background the figure. The second version requires that solutions to problems, complex ideas knowledge) and then return two days later to learn additional knowledge. The researchers still found a the solver remember the order of nobility you’ve teased apart, and conclusions memory boost from background knowledge.20 of the tasks, whereas in the first version you you’ve drawn are also part of your store of

LITERACY LADDERS | 45 4. R. W. Engle and L. Bukstel, “Memory processes among bridge knowledge. Let’s go back to the algebra soning process is very slow as the player players of differing expertise,” American Journal of Psychology 91 students for a moment. The student who consciously considers each possible move. (1978), 673–689. 5. K. B. McKeithen, J. S. Reitman, H. H. Rueter, and S. C. Hirtle, does not have the distributive property Interestingly, a recent study indicates that “Knowledge organization and skill differences in computer firmly in memory must think it through the recognition process accounts for most programmers,” Cognitive Psychology 13 (1981), 307–325. 17 6. F. Allard and J. L. Starkes, “Motor-skill experts in sports, dance, every time he encounters a(b + c), but the of the differences among top players. and other domains,” in Toward a General Theory of Expertise: student who does, circumvents this pro- Burns compared the performance of top Prospects and Limits, ed. K. A. Ericsson and J. Smith (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991), 126-152 cess. Your cognitive system would indeed players at normal and blitz tournaments. 7. D. E. Egan and B. J. Schwartz, “Chunking in recall of symbolic be poor if this were not possible; it is much In blitz chess, each player has just five min- drawings,” Memory & Cognition 7 (1979), 149–158. 8. K. J. Gilhooly, M. Wood, P. R. Kinnear, and C. Green, “Skill in faster and less demanding to recall an utes to complete an entire game, whereas map reading and memory for maps,” Quarterly Journal of answer than it is to solve the problem in a normal tournament, players would Experimental Psychology: Human Experimental Psychology 40 (1988), 87–107. again. The challenge, of course, is that you have at least two hours. Even though play 9. J. Sloboda, “Visual perception of musical notation: Registering don’t always see the same problem, and was so sped up that the slow reasoning pitch symbols in memory,” Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 28 (1976), 1–16. you may not recognize that a new problem processes barely had any time to contrib- 10. D. R. Recht and L. Leslie, L, “Effect of prior knowledge on is analogous to one you’ve seen before. For ute to performance, the relative ratings of good and poor readers’ memory of text,” Journal of Educational Psychology 80 (1988), 16–20. example, you may have successfully solved the players were almost unchanged. That 11. See also: D. G. Morrow, V. O. Leirer, and P. A. Altieri, “Aging, the Tower of Hanoi problem and moments indicates that what’s making some players expertise, and narrative processing,” Psychology and Aging 7 (1992), 376–388; and G. J. Spilich, G. T. Vesonder, H. L. Chiesi, later not realized that the tea ceremony better than others is differences in their fast and J. F. Voss, “Text processing of domain-related information for individuals with high- and low-domain knowledge,” Journal of problem is analogous. recognition processes, not differences in Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior 18 (1979), 275–290. Fortunately, knowledge also helps with their slow reasoning processes. This find- 12. T. Y. Arbuckle, V. F. Vanderleck, M. Harsany, and S. Lapidus, “Adult age differences in memory in relation to availability and this: A considerable body of research ing is rather striking. Chess, the prototypi- accessibility of knowledge-based schemas,” Journal of shows that people get better at drawing cal game of thinking and reflection, turns Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 16 (1990), 305–315; M. E. Beier and P. L. Ackerman, “Age, ability analogies as they gain experience in a out to be largely a game of memory among and the role of prior knowledge on the acquisition of new domain knowledge: Promising results in a real-world domain. Whereas novices focus on the those who are very skilled. Some research- environment,” Psychology and Aging 20 (2005), 341–355; W. Schneider, J. Korkel, and F. E. Weinert, “Domain-specific surface features of a problem, those with ers estimate that the best chess players knowledge and memory performance: A comparison of high- and more knowledge focus on the underlying have between 10,000 and 300,000 chess- low-aptitude children,” Journal of Educational Psychology 81 (1989), 306–312; and C. H. Walker, “Relative importance of 18 structure of a problem. For example, in a piece chunks in memory. domain knowledge and overall aptitude on acquisition of domain-related information,” Cognition and Instruction 4 (1988), classic experiment Michelene Chi and her Burns’s study of chess skill meshes well 25–42. colleagues asked physics novices and with studies of science education. A recent 13. D. Z. Hambrick, “Why are some people more knowledgeable than others? A longitudinal study of knowledge acquisition,” experts to sort physics problems into cat- meta-analysis evaluated the results of 40 Memory & Cognition 31 (2003), 902–917. 16 egories. The novices sorted by the surface experiments that studied ways to improve 14. B. K. Britton, M. Stimson, B. Stennett, and S. Gülgöz, “Learning from instructional text: Test of an individual differences features of a problem—whether the prob- students’ scientific problem-solving model,” Journal of Educational Psychology 90 (1998), 476–491; lem described springs, an inclined plane, skills.19 The results showed that the suc- D. R. Recht and L. Leslie, L, “Effect of prior knowledge on good and poor readers’ memory of text,” Journal of Educational and so on. The experts, however, sorted the cessful interventions were those that were Psychology 80 (1988), 16–20; W. Schneider, J. Korkel, and F. E. Weinert, “Domain-specific knowledge and memory performance: problems based on the physical law designed to improve students’ knowledge A comparison of high- and low-aptitude children,” Journal of Educational Psychology 81 (1989), 306–312; and C. H. Walker, needed to solve it (e.g., conservation of base. Especially effective were those in “Relative importance of domain knowledge and overall aptitude energy). Experts don’t just know more than which students were asked to integrate and on acquisition of domain-related information,” Cognition and Instruction 4 (1988), 25–42. novices—they actually see problems dif- relate different concepts by, for example, 15. V. C. Hall and B. Edmondson, B, “Relative importance of ferently. For many problems, the expert drawing a concept map or comparing dif- aptitude and prior domain knowledge on immediate and delayed post-tests,” Journal of Educational Psychology 84 (1992), does not need to reason, but rather, can ferent problems. Interventions designed to 219–223; D. Z. Hambrick and R. W. Engle, R. W, “Effects of domain knowledge, working memory capacity, and age on rely on memory of prior solutions. improve the students’ scientific problem- cognitive performance: An investigation of the knowledge-is- Indeed, in some domains, knowledge is solving strategies had little or no impact, power hypothesis,” Cognitive Psychology 44 (2002), 339–387; D. Z. Hambrick and F. L. Oswald, “Does domain knowledge much more important than reasoning or even though the goal of all the studies was moderate involvement of working memory capacity in higher-level cognition? A test of three models,” Journal of problem-solving abilities. For example, to improve scientific problem solving. Memory and Language 52 (2005), 377–397; and W. Schneider, D. F. Bjorklund, and W. Maier-Brückner, “The effects of expertise most of the differences among top chess We’ve seen how knowledge improves and IQ on children’s memory: When knowledge is, and when it is players appear to be in how many game learning and thinking. But what does this not enough,” International Journal of Behavioral Development 19 (1996), 773–796. positions they know, rather than in how mean for the classroom? My sidebar 16. M. T. H. Chi, P. Feltovich, and R. Glaser, “Categorization and effective they are in searching for a good “Knowledge in the Classroom” in the representation of physics problems by experts and novices,” Cognitive Science 5 (1981), 121–152. move. It seems that there are two processes Spring 2006 issue of American Educator 17. B. B. Burns, “The effects of speed on skilled chess to selecting a move in chess. First, there is offers some strategies for building stu- performance,” Psychological Science 15 (2004), 442–447. 18. F. Gobet and H. A. Simon, “Five seconds or sixty? Presentation  a recognition process by which a player dents’ store of knowledge. time in expert memory,” Cognitive Science 24 (2000), 651–682. sees which part of the board is contested, 19. R. Taconis, M. G. M. Ferguson-Hessler, and H. Broekkamp, “Teaching science problem solving: An overview of experimental which pieces are in a strong or weak posi- Endnotes work,” Journal of Research in Science Teaching 38 (2001), tion, and so forth. The second process is 1. G. J. Kosmoski, G. Gay, and E. L. Vockell, “Cultural Literacy 442–468. and Academic Achievement,” Journal of Experimental Education 20. J. P. Van Overschelde and A. F. Healy, “Learning of nondomain 58, no. 4 (1990), p. 265–272. one of reasoning. The player considers facts in high- and low-knowledge domains,” Journal of possible moves and their likely outcome. 2. J. K. Kaakinen, J. Hyönä, and J. M. Keenan, “How prior Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 27 knowledge, WMC, and relevance of information affect eye (2001), 1160–1171. The recognition process is very fast, and it fixations in expository text,” Journal of Experimental Psychology: identifies which pieces the slower reason- Learning, Memory, and Cognition 29 (2003), 447–457. 3. W. G. Chase and H. A. Simon, “Perception in chess,” Cognitive ing process should focus on. But the rea- Psychology 4 (1973), 55–81.

46 | LITERACY LADDERS Teaching Vocabulary Early, Direct, and Sequential

By Andrew Biemiller

have come to the conclusion that vocabulary growth is inadequately addressed in current educational cur- ricula, especially in the elementary Iand preschool years, and that more teacher-centered and planned curricula are needed, just as had been the case with phonics. My late friend Jeanne Chall came to the same conclusion through her work on the stages of reading development,1 her work on textbook difficulty,2 and especially as summarized in The Reading Crisis.3 In this book, Chall and her colleagues traced the relative reading achievement declines experienced by working-class children who had become competent readers by third grade, but whose vocabulary limita- tions had an increasingly negative effect on reading comprehension as they advanced all the knowledge that is needed for math The consequences of an increased to seventh grade. achievement is taught in school, whereas emphasis on phonics. In recent years, we The importance of vocabulary first came the vocabulary growth needed for success- have seen a tremendous emphasis on the to my attention as a result of Wesley Beck- ful reading comprehension is essentially importance of phonics instruction to er’s famous Harvard Educational Review left to the home. ensure educational progress. We also have article,4 noting that DISTAR’s early success I have also been influenced by the con- seen that while more children learn to with decoding was muted for reading com- sistent finding in the oral reading miscue “read” with increased phonics instruction, prehension in the later elementary grades literature that, when overall error rates there have not been commensurate gains 5 due to vocabulary limitations. Becker reach 5 percent of running words (tokens), in reading comprehension. What is miss- argued that this was a matter of experience “contextual” errors (those that make sense ing for many children who master phonics rather than general intelligence, observing in context) virtually disappear. I infer from but don’t comprehend well is vocabu- that while his DISTAR students’ reading this that when readers (or listeners?) lary—the words they need to know in order comprehension declined relative to more understand less than 95 percent of the to understand what they’re reading. Thus advantaged students by grade 4, their words in a text, they are likely to lose the vocabulary is the “missing link” in reading/ mathematics performance remained high. meaning of that text and are especially language instruction in our school system. He suggested that the difference was that unlikely to infer meanings of unfamiliar Because vocabulary deficits particularly words. affect less advantaged and second-lan- Vocabulary development is both impor- guage children, I will be arguing that such Andrew Biemiller is a professor emeritus with the tant and ignored. Can we—educators—do “deficits” are fundamentally more remedi- Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study, Department of Human Development and better, or are we simply bumping into consti- able than many other school learning Applied Psychology, University of Toronto, tutional limitations that are beyond the problems. Ontario, where he led the teacher education pro- power of schools to affect? In the remainder Schools now do little to promote vocabu- gram for 15 years. His latest book is Words Worth of this article, I am going to summarize a few lary development, particularly in the cru- Teaching. This article is slightly updated and points that support the argument for an cial years before grade 3. The role of reprinted with permission; originally printed in the International Dyslexia Association quarterly increased emphasis on vocabulary and sug- schooling in vocabulary acquisition has newsletter, Perspectives, Fall 2000. It appeared, gest the need for a more teacher-centered been the subject of much debate. Early with permission, in the Spring 2001 issue of and curriculum-structured approach to (pre-literacy) differences in vocabulary American Educator. ensure adequate vocabulary development. growth are associated with social class.6

LITERACY LADDERS | 47 Nagy and Herman7 and Sternberg8 argue end of elementary school.16 (An average difficult, even though once in school chil- that much vocabulary acquisition results total of around 3,000 root-word meanings dren appear to acquire new vocabulary at from literacy and wide reading rather than are learned before kindergarten.) This con- similar rates. To “catch up,” vocabulary- from direct instruction. However, it is obvi- clusion, based on root-word meanings disadvantaged children have to acquire ous that a great deal of vocabulary acquisi- sampled from Dale and O’Rourke’s Living vocabulary at above-average rates. This tion occurs before children become Word Vocabulary,17 is partly based on the rarely happens. literate, and before they are reading books observation that many similar or affixed The sequential nature of vocabulary that introduce unfamiliar vocabulary.9 meanings are acquired at about the same acquisition. Much evidence clearly indi- Cantalini10 and Morrison, Smith, and age and probably do not require separate cates that vocabulary is acquired in largely Dow-Ehrensberger11 report that vocabu- instruction. the same order by most children. The exis- lary acquisition in kindergarten and grade 1 is little influenced by school experience, based on the finding that the youngest first- graders have about the same vocabulary (Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test) as the oldest kindergarten children. Cantalini also reported the same result for second grade. The relatively small number of words that need to be learned. It is sometimes argued that the number of words children need to learn is so great that this can only happen incidentally through wide read- ing.12 This argument is quite reminiscent of the argument that the spelling-to-sound structure of English is so difficult that it can’t be taught, but only learned through experience. In both cases, the complexity of what needs to be learned has been somewhat exaggerated. Many years ago, Lorge and Chall13 argued that traditional dictionary sampling methods for assessing vocabulary had greatly overestimated the volume of vocabulary children needed to Evidence that vocabulary differences tence of empirical vocabulary norms (as in acquire. As Lorge and Chall, Beck and present by grade 2 may account for most the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and McKeown,14 and others have noted, we vocabulary differences in elementary Living Word Vocabulary) indicate that need to focus on root-word growth rather school. There has been relatively little dis- some words are acquired later than others. than the acquisition of all inflected and cussion or examination of individual dif- Slonim and I have found very high correla- derived forms of words. (Another term for ferences in vocabulary growth. Hart and tions (mostly over .90) between how well root words is base words.) Examples of root Risley observed large differences associ- words are known in different grades.21 We words include door, rock (a big stone), rock ated with word learning opportunities in also found that when data are ordered by (move—as with a cradle), bible (an author- the toddler and preschool years.18 I have how many word meanings children know, itative book) or tall. Words with affixes are also found that large vocabulary differ- rather than their grade level, we can clearly not additional root words. Examples ences are present by the end of grade 2— identify a range of word meanings known include doors, rocks, rocking, bibles, taller. amounting to a difference of more than well (above 75 percent), word meanings Jeremy Anglin’s monograph suggests 4,000 root words between the highest and being acquired (74 percent – 25 percent), that children acquire about 1,200 root lowest quartiles in a normative popula- and those that are little known. Further- words a year during the elementary years, tion.19 By grade 4, the lowest quartile had more, these ranges are sequential. At any with perhaps half that many root words only reached the average for grade 2 chil- given point in vocabulary acquisition, a learned per year prior to grade 1.15 (He also dren. Thus, if we could find ways of sup- preliminary conclusion from this work is argues that perhaps twice that many words porting more rapid vocabulary growth in that there are about 2,000–3,000 root words need to be learned, particularly including the early years, more children would be that a child is likely to be learning. This idiomatic forms.) My own research sug- able to comprehend “grade-level” texts in makes the construction of a “vocabulary gests that the average number of root-word the upper elementary grades. Note that the curriculum” plausible. meanings acquired per year may be some- “reading grade level” of texts is in fact Defining an essential vocabulary for what smaller, more like 1,000 root-word almost entirely determined by the vocabu- high school graduates. A corollary of the meanings per year from early infancy to the lary load of those texts.20 Thus early vocab- sequential nature of vocabulary acquisi- ulary limitations make “catching up” tion is the possibility of defining a common

48 | LITERACY LADDERS vocabulary needed by most high school It is possible that environment and “capac- them. (I am referring to new meanings, not graduates. Several studies have shown that ity” interact—that constitutionally more- simply word meanings that are unfamiliar college entrants need 11,000 to 14,000 root advantaged children also may be in print.) Present school practices fall far words if they are to complete a 4-year col- environmentally more advantaged. How- short of this objective in the primary lege degree, while college graduates typi- ever, a number of studies summarized in grades. (Though schools may do better in cally have about 17,000 root words.22 We Biemiller,29 Biemiller and Boote,30 Stahl,31 the upper elementary grades.) Other types need further research on the degree to and elsewhere clearly indicate that chil- of vocabulary instruction (e.g., using which we can identify these words. It is dren can acquire and retain two or three affixes, word-family approaches, and direct clear that all do not know the same exact word meanings per day through instruc- instruction in inferencing) will also be use- words. But it is equally clear that most pos- tion involving contextualized introduction ful, especially in grades 3 and above. sess a substantial common vocabulary plus a further discipline-specific vocabulary. The hypothesis that most root-word and idiomatic vocabulary learned before and There is clear evidence that vocabulary is during elementary school results from direct associated with socio-economic status— explanation of words. We know relatively little about the processes by which children presumably reflecting differences add words to their vocabularies. Some of in opportunities. the data are negative—evidence that chil- dren do not easily acquire words by infer- ence, especially children younger than age 10.23 In Bus, Van Ijzendoom, and Pellegri- ni’s summary of the effects of reading to and explanation of new words. Further- This particular objective raises the pos- children, there is evidence that younger more, while less-verbally-fluent or lower- sibility of returning to a more basal children profit less from simply being “read vocabulary children and adolescents have approach (using controlled and planned t o.” 24 There is also positive evidence that been found to benefit little from inferring vocabulary, especially in the primary 32 children do readily acquire vocabulary word meanings, more-direct approaches grades) as one component of classroom when provided with a little explanation as have been reported to work well with these language and reading instruction. If vocab- novel words are encountered in context.25 children (see Biemiller and Boote, Elley, ulary acquisition is largely sequential in Preliminary evidence from directly inter- Feitelson, and Whitehurst references cited nature, it would appear possible to identify viewing children about word acquisition previously). Overall, I suspect that most that sequence and to ensure that children suggests that as late as grade 5, about 70 children (90 percent plus) can acquire new at a given vocabulary level have an oppor- percent of words that are self-reported to vocabulary at rates necessary to reach what tunity to encounter words they are likely to be learned are acquired as a result of direct are now “grade-level” or near grade-level be learning next, within a context that uses explanation, either as a result of the child’s vocabulary in middle elementary school, the majority of the words that they have request or instruction, usually by a if given adequate opportunity to use new already learned. Some researchers are teacher.26 Overall, I believe that before age words and adequate instruction in word already beginning to work on this objective 10, the evidence supports the conclusion meanings. (e.g., David Francis in Texas, Barbara Foor- that a substantial majority of new root The need for planned introduction and man in Florida, Jan Hulstijn in the Nether- words are acquired through explanation by explanation of vocabulary plus various lands, Margaret McKeown, Isabel Beck, others (including explanations in texts) tools to help children become more inde- and Amy Crosson in Pittsburgh, William rather than by inference while reading, as pendent in dealing with new vocabulary. I Nagy in Seattle, Judith Scott and Elfrieda has often been argued by Anderson, Nagy have suggested above the hypothesis that Hiebert in Santa Cruz, Catherine Snow and and Herman, by Sternberg, and others. For 70 percent or more of the root words Nonie Lesaux in Cambridge, and Esther practical purposes, we should be prepared learned by grade 6 are learned as a result of Geva and myself in Toronto). Many prob- to ensure the availability and use of expla- direct explanation by parents, peers, teach- lems need to be solved. Existing lists of nations of word meanings throughout at ers, and texts. Those who learn more words words (e.g., Living Word Vocabulary) do least the elementary school years. almost undoubtedly encounter more not correspond closely enough to observed Although children differ in their oppor- words and receive more explanations of sequences of word acquisition to be great tunities to learn words and the ease with word meanings. This is especially true of guides (although they are better than noth- which they learn words, evidence suggests symbolic or abstract words that are mostly ing). William Nagy (personal communica- 33 that most can acquire vocabulary at normal acquired after kindergarten. This sug- tion) has proposed combining Dale and rates. There is clear evidence that vocabu- gests that we could do considerably more O’Rourke’s data with expert ratings—a very lary is associated with socioeconomic sta- than we do now to ensure the development reasonable suggestion. tus—presumably reflecting differences in of adequate vocabulary through systematic Given the establishment of plausible opportunities.27 There is also clear evi- exposure to twenty or more new words per vocabulary lists, teachers could relate dence relating vocabulary development to week combined with adequate explanation these lists to vocabulary being introduced various phonological skills or capacities.28 of these words and opportunities to use in books (short stories, novels, texts,

LITERACY LADDERS | 49 poems) being studied, be aware of words teachers should strive to explain 20 or to introduce or explain (or to query chil- more new word meanings per week.36 Sadly, as of this 2014 reprinting, attention to vocabulary in schools has dren about if they don’t ask!), and be aware Children should also be encouraged to ask not improved very much! Since of some important words that aren’t going about word meanings they aren’t sure of, “Teaching Vocabulary: Early, Direct, to be covered in the established curricu- both during read-alouds and at other times and Sequential” was published in lum. These words could be taught directly, in the classroom. Most children are limited American Educator in 2001, vocabu- or other materials (e.g., stories to be read in what they can read at this age level. lary has been recognized as impor- to class) could be introduced that include Teacher read-alouds and vocabulary tant for school children, but that them. (Since this article was first pub- explanations should ensure coverage of as recognition has not resulted in the lished, I have produced Words Worth many as 1,600 high priority root word changes in curricula or classroom Teaching, a book with potential high-pri- meanings between kindergarten and grade practices that could actually enhance ority vocabulary words34). 2.37 vocabulary acquisition for disadvan- Conclusion: A substantially greater In the later elementary years, continued taged or second language students.

If you would like to know more, my 2009 book, Words Worth Teaching, provides a lot of guidance for vocabulary curricula, and lists 1,600 “priority root words” for primary grade children and an additional list of 2,900 “priority root words” for upper elementary children. The book also includes some practical sugges- tions for vocabulary instruction and assessment for primary and upper elementary students.39 –Andrew Biemiller

vocabularies similar to median second- grade children). Is this simply the product of “intelligence”? I believe it is in consider- teacher-centered effort is needed to promote development will include 2,900 priority able part the result of different learning vocabulary development, especially in the root words between grades 3 and 6.38 It opportunities. After grade 2, vocabulary kindergarten and early primary years. In should be possible to have students take growth rates look similar or faster for “low- Jeanne Chall’s last book, The Academic more responsibility for learning needed quartile” children. If we could keep them Achievement Challenge, she presented a word meanings, but teachers should moni- from being so far behind by grade 2, they summary of research supporting the effec- tor acquisition of at least some of these apparently wouldn’t be so far behind in tiveness of “teacher centered” approaches word meanings. In addition, in the upper grade 5! to education.35 The information reviewed elementary grades, instruction is needed I don’t believe we can make all kids here similarly points to the need for a more in deriving word meanings from affixed alike. But I think we could do much more planned (but contextualized) introduction words (e.g., prebuilt, workable), word fami- to give them similar tools to start with. of vocabulary. This is especially true in the lies, and idioms, as well as in ways of infer- Some kids may have to work harder to add pre-literate years (before grades 3 or 4 ring word meanings. If we are serious vocabulary, and educators may have to when children begin to read books that are about “increasing standards” and bringing work harder with some kids. So what’s likely to introduce new vocabulary). Spe- a greater proportion of schoolchildren to new? Now, unfortunately, educators do cifically, increased teacher-centered high levels of academic accomplishment, virtually nothing before grade 3 or 4 to vocabulary work should include the delib- we cannot continue to leave vocabulary facilitate real vocabulary growth. By then, erate introduction of a wider range of development to parents, chance, and it’s too late for many children.  vocabulary in the early primary years highly motivated reading. through oral sources. Thus, I strongly recommend a more Endnotes 1. J. S. Chall, Stages of Reading Development, 2nd edition This means reading books aloud to chil- teacher-directed and curriculum-directed (New York: Harcourt Brace, 1996). dren. These books should have more approach to fostering vocabulary and lan- 2. J. S. Chall and S. S. Conard, Should Textbooks Challenge advanced vocabulary than the books chil- guage growth. If education is going to have Students? (New York: Teachers College Press, 1991). 3. J. S. Chall, V. A. Jacobs, and L. E. Baldwin, The Reading dren in kindergarten and grades 1 or 2 a serious “compensatory” function, we Crisis: Why Poor Children Fall Behind (Cambridge, MA: could read to themselves. There may also must do more to promote vocabulary. Our Harvard University Press, 1990). be videos or other activities that introduce current data show large “environmental” 4. W. C. Becker, “Teaching reading and language to the disadvantaged: What we have learned from field research,” needed vocabulary. One example is PBS’s effects in kindergarten to grade 2. Large Harvard Educational Review 47 (1977), 518-543. program Martha Speaks. In the course of differences remain by grade 5 (e.g., chil- 5. J. S. Chall, V. A. Jacobs, and L. E. Baldwin, The Reading Crisis: Why Poor Children Fall Behind (Cambridge, MA: several teacher re-readings of books, dren in the lowest fifth-grade quartile have

50 | LITERACY LADDERS Harvard University Press, 1990); D. Gregory, L. Earl, and B. 21. A. Biemiller and N. Slonim, “Estimating root word Really Works in the Classroom? (New York: Guilford, 2000). O’Donoghue, A Study of Reading Recovery in Scarborough: vocabulary growth in normative and advantaged 36. A. Biemiller and C. Boote, “An effective method for 1990-1992 (Scarborough, Ontario: Scarborough Board of populations: Evidence for a common sequence of vocabulary building meaning vocabulary in primary grades,” Journal of Education, 1993); N. A. Madden, R. E. Slavin, J. L. Karweit, L. acquisition,” Journal of Educational Psychology 93 (2001), Educational Psychology 98 (2006), 44-62. J. Dolan, and B. A. Wasik, “Success for all: Longitudinal 498-520. effects of a restructuring program for inner-city schools,” 37. A. Biemiller, Words Worth Teaching (Columbus, OH: 22. C. A. D’Anna, E. B. Zechmeister, and J. W. Hall, “Toward SRA/McGraw-Hill, 2009). American Educational Research Journal 30 (1993), 123-148; a meaningful definition of vocabulary size,” Journal of and G. S. Pinnell, C. A. Lyons, D. E. Deford, A. S. Bryk, and Reading Behavior 23, no. 1 (1991), 109-122; R. Goulden, P. 38. A. Biemiller, Words Worth Teaching (Columbus, OH: M. Seltzer, “Comparing instructional models for the literacy Nation, and J. Read, “How large can a receptive vocabulary SRA/McGraw-Hill, 2009). education of high-risk first-graders,” Reading Research be?” Applied Linguistics 11, no. 4 (1990), 341-363; and S. Quarterly 29 (1994), 9-38. 39. A. Biemiller, Words Worth Teaching (Columbus, OH: Hazenberg and J. H. Hulstijn, “Defining a minimal receptive SRA/McGraw-Hill, 2009). 6. G. Duncan, J. Brooks-Gunn, and P. Klebanov, “Economic second-language vocabulary for nonnative university deprivation and early childhood development,” Child students: An empirical investigation,” Applied Linguistics 17, Development 65 (1994), 296-318; B. Hart and T. R. Risley, no. 2 (1996), 145-163. Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young 23. C. Robbins and L. C. Ehri, “Reading storybooks to American Children (Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes kindergartners helps them learn new vocabulary words,” Publishing Co., 1995); and V. C. McLloyd, “Socioeconomic Journal of Educational Psychology 86 (1994), 54-64; and H. disadvantage and child development,” American Werner and B. Kaplan, “The acquisition of word meanings: Psychologist 53 (1988), 185-204. A developmental study,” Monographs of the Society for 7. W. E. Nagy and P. A. Herman, “Breadth and depth of Research in Child Development 15, no. 1 (1952). vocabulary knowledge: Implications for acquisition and 24. Bus, A.G., van Ijzendoorn, M.H. & Pellegrini, A.D. (1995). instruction,” in The Nature of Vocabulary Acquisition, ed. M. “Joint book reading makes for success in learning to read: A G. McKeown and M. E. Curtis (Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum meta-analysis of intergenerational transmission of literacy.” Associates, 1987), 19-36. Review of Educational Research, 65, 1-21. 8. R. J. Sternberg, “Most vocabulary is learned from 25. I. L. Beck, C. Perfetti, and M. G. McKeown, “Effects of context,” in The Nature of Vocabulary Acquisition, ed. M. G. long-term vocabulary instruction on lexical access and McKeown and M. E. Curtis (Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum reading comprehension,” Journal of Educational Psychology Associates, 1987), 89-106. 74 (1982), 506-521; A. Biemiller and C. Boote, “An effective 9. W. C. Becker, “Teaching reading and language to the method for building meaning vocabulary in primary grades,” disadvantaged: What we have learned from field research,” Journal of Educational Psychology 98 (2006), 44-62; W. B. Harvard Educational Review 47 (1977), 518-543; and B. Hart Elley, “Vocabulary acquisition from listening to stories,” and T. R. Risley, Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Reading Research Quarterly 24 (1989), 174-186; D. Experience of Young American Children (Baltimore, MD: Paul Feitelson, B. Kita, and Z. Goldstein, “Effects of listening to H. Brookes Publishing Co., 1995). series stories on first-graders’ comprehension and use of 10. M. Cantalini, The Effects of Age and Gender on School language” Research in the Teaching of English 20 (1986), Readiness and School Success, (unpublished doctoral 339-356; D. Feitelson, Z. Goldstein, J. Iraqi, and D. I. Share, dissertation, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. “Effects of listening to story reading on aspects of literacy Toronto, Ontario, 1987). acquisition in a diglossic situation,” Reading Research Quarterly 28 (1991), 70-79; and G. J. Whitehurst, F. L. Falco, 11. F. J. Morrison, L. Smith, and M. Dow-Ehrensberger, C. Lonigan, J. E. Fischel, B. D. DeBaryshe, M. C. Valdez- “Education and cognitive development: A natural Menchaca, and M. Caulfield, M., “Accelerating language experiment,” Developmental Psychology 31 (1995), development through picture book reading,” Developmental 789-799. Psychology 24 (1988), 552-588. 12. R. C. Anderson, “Research foundations to support wide 26. A. Biemiller, “Size and sequence in vocabulary reading,” in Promoting Reading in Developing Countries, ed. development: Implications for choosing words for primary V. Greanery (New York: International Reading Association, grade vocabulary instruction,” in Teaching and Learning 1996), 55-77; W. E. Nagy and P. A. Herman, “Breadth and Vocabulary: Bringing Research to Practice, ed. A. Hiebert and depth of vocabulary knowledge: Implications for acquisition M. Kamil (Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum Associates, 2005), and instruction,” in The Nature of Vocabulary Acquisition, 223-242. ed. M. G. McKeown and M. E. Curtis (Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum Associates, 1987), 19-36; and R. J. Sternberg, “Most 27. B. Hart and T. R. Risley, Meaningful Differences in the vocabulary is learned from context,” in The Nature of Everyday Experience of Young American Children (Baltimore, Vocabulary Acquisition, ed. M. G. McKeown and M. E. MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 1995); and C. Snow, M. Curtis (Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum Associates, 1987), 89-106. S. Burns, and P. Griffin (Eds.), Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children (Washington, D.C.: National Academy 13. I. Lorge, and J. S. Chall, “Estimating the size of Press, 1998). vocabularies of children and adults: An analysis of methodological issues,” Journal of Experimental Education 28. S. E. Gathercole, G. J. Hitch, E. Service, and A. J. Martin, 32 (1963), 147-157. “Phonological short-term memory and new word learning in children,” Developmental Psychology 33 (1997), 966-979; 14. I. Beck and M. McKeown, “Conditions of vocabulary and J. L. Metsala, “Young children’s phonological awareness acquisition,” in Handbook of Reading Research, Vol. 2, ed. and nonword repetition as a function of vocabulary R. Barr, M. L. Kamil, P. B. Mosenthal, and P. D. Pearson (New development,” Journal of Educational Psychology 91 York: Longman, 1990), 789-814. (1999), 743-751. 15. J. M. Anglin, “Vocabulary development: A morphologi- 29. A. Biemiller, Language and Reading Success (Cambridge, cal analysis,” Monographs of the Society for Research in MA: Brookline Books, 1999). Child Development 58, no. 10 (1993). 30. A. Biemiller and C. Boote, “An effective method for 16. A. Biemiller, “Size and sequence in vocabulary building meaning vocabulary in primary grades,” Journal of development: Implications for choosing words for primary Educational Psychology 98 (2006), 44-62. grade vocabulary instruction,” in Teaching and Learning Vocabulary: Bringing Research to Practice, ed. A. Hiebert and 31. S. A. Stahl, Vocabulary Development (Cambridge, MA: M. Kamil (Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum Associates, 2005), Brookline Press, 1999). 223-242. 32. K. Cain and J. Oakhill, “Reading comprehension 17. E. Dale and J. O’Rourke, The Living Word Vocabulary difficulties,” in Handbook of Children’s Literacy, ed. T. (Chicago: World Book/Childcraft International, 1981). Nunes, and P. Bryant (Dordrecht, Netherlands, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003), 313-338; M. Elshout-Mohr and 18. B. Hart and T. R. Risley, Meaningful Differences in the M. M. van Daalen-Kapteijns, “Cognitive processes in Everyday Experience of Young American Children (Baltimore, learning word meanings,” in The Nature of Vocabulary MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 1995). Acquisition, ed. M. G. McKeown and M. E. Curtis (Hillsdale, 19. A. Biemiller, “Size and sequence in vocabulary NJ: Erlbaum Associates, 1987), 53-72; and C. Robbins and L. development: Implications for choosing words for primary C. Ehri, “Reading storybooks to kindergartners helps them grade vocabulary instruction,” in Teaching and Learning learn new vocabulary words,” Journal of Educational Vocabulary: Bringing Research to Practice, ed. A. Hiebert and Psychology 86 (1994), 54-64. M. Kamil (Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum Associates, 2005), 33. A. Biemiller, M. Rosenstein, R. Sparks, T. K. Landauer, 223-242. and P. Foltz, P., “Models of Vocabulary Acquisition: Direct 20. J. S. Chall and S. S. Conard, Should Textbooks Challenge Tests and Text-Derived Simulations of Vocabulary Growth,” Students? (New York: Teachers College Press, 1991); and J. Scientific Studies of Reading 18 (2014), 130-154. S. Chall and E. Dale, Readability revisited: The New 34. A. Biemiller, Words Worth Teaching (Columbus, OH: Dale-Chall Readability Formula (Cambridge, MA: Brookline SRA/McGraw-Hill, 2009). Books, 1995). 35. J. S. Chall, The Academic Achievement Challenge: What

LITERACY LADDERS | 51 Oral Comprehension Sets the Ceiling on Reading Comprehension

By Andrew Biemiller

o succeed at reading, a child must be able to identify or “read” printed words and to understand the story or text composed of Tthose words. Both identifying words and understanding text are critical to reading success. For many children, increasing reading and school success will involve increasing oral language competence in the elementary years. The main argument is as follows: • During elementary school, a child’s maximum level of reading compre- hension is determined by the child’s level of listening comprehension. • Later, adolescents and adults may comprehend more complex printed narrative or expository text than spoken text. This is because print remains after reading and can be reviewed, while oral language • Children differ markedly in the grade. Thus, at grade 3.9 (end of usually cannot. However, children language and especially the 3rd grade), the 90th percentile must reach the point where they vocabulary they have upon entering children’s reading comprehen- can understand printed text as well kindergarten. Advanced children sion and vocabulary are around as spoken text before their compre- (75th percentile or higher) are grade-equivalent 5.4 while the hension of printed text can exceed about a “year” ahead of average 10th percentile children are at 2.4. their comprehension of spoken children, while delayed children (Norms are for the Canadian Test text. (25th percentile or lower) are about of Basic Skills.2) Some of this a year behind.1 difference is attributable to cumulative vocabulary deficits in • Language continues to develop Andrew Biemiller is a professor emeritus with the less-advanced children. Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study, during the primary years. How- Department of Human Development and ever, the gap between children • Current school reading curricula Applied Psychology, University of Toronto, with advanced language and typically have little effect on oral Ontario, where he led the teacher education pro- children with restricted language language development during the gram for 15 years. His latest book is Words Worth grows wider during the elemen- primary years b ecause the level of Teaching. This article is excerpted from Language and Reading Success, a title in From Reading tary years. In elementary school, language used is often limited to Research to Practice: A Series for Teachers, 90th percentile children differ what the children can read and Brookline Books, 1999, (800-666-BOOK). It from 10th percentile children by write, there are few opportunities appeared, with permission, in the Spring 2003 the grade equivalents of their for language development in issue of American Educator.

52 | LITERACY LADDERS primary classes. (This is true for this point, the child’s level of reading com- to that attained by the 75th percentile 3rd- children whose first language is prehension is obviously far below her lis- grader. The same is true of reading compre- English. Non-English-speaking tening comprehension. There is hension measures. children in English-speaking considerable evidence that for the majority If we could improve the word-identifi- schools do clearly acquire some of children, comprehension of printed cation skills of children at the 25th percen- English. However, as a group, they language continues to lag behind compre- tile in reading comprehension, we would also clearly remain at a disadvan- hension of spoken language well past 3rd get some improvement—up to the child’s tage compared to English-speak- grade.3 When a child can understand lan- listening comprehension level. But in ing children in elementary guage equally well whether presented in many cases, we would still be looking at a schools.) print or speech, the distinction between child with a comprehension level that is far below that of many peers. To bring a child to grade-level language comprehension means, at a minimum, that the child must acquire and use grade-level vocabulary plus The listening comprehension of the average some post-grade-level vocabulary. Obvi- ously, this does not mean simply memoriz- child begins to develop in infancy and ing more words, but rather coming to continues to grow long after grade 6. understand and use the words used by average children at that level. Knowledge of this vocabulary will not guarantee suc- cess, but lack of vocabulary knowledge can ensure failure.  • In the upper elementary grades, listening and reading comprehension those who enter 4th grade with ceases to be important and the child has Endnotes significant vocabulary deficits become “literate.” However, a number of 1. N. W. Bankson, Bankson Language Screening Test (Baltimore, Md.: University Park Press, 1977); and L. M. Dunn show increasing problems with studies suggest that average children don’t and L. M. Dunn, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revisited reading comprehension, even if reach the point of being able to read what (Circle Pines, Minn.: American Guidance Service, 1982). 2. E. King, Canadian Test of Basic Skills (Scarborough, ON: they have good reading (word they could understand if they heard it until Nelson, 1987). identification/decoding) skills. around 7th or 8th grade. Of course, they 3. T. G. Sticht and J. H. James, “Listening and Reading,” in The available evidence does not can understand simpler text sooner. Handbook of Research on Reading, vol. 1, ed. P. D. Pearson, R. Barr, and M. L. Kamil (Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum Associates, suggest a substantial “catching- Listening comprehension continues to 1984), 293-317. up” process, but rather a continu- grow during the elementary years. Thus a 4. W. E. Nagy and P. A. Herman, “Breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge: Implications for acquisition and ing slippage relative to those with typical 3rd-grader can comprehend more instruction,” in The Nature of Vocabulary Acquisition, ed. average and above-average complex oral stories, expositions, etc., than M.G. McKeown & M.E. Curtis (Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum Associates, 1987), 19-36; and R. J. Sternberg, “Most achievement. a typical 1st-grader. Broadly speaking, lan- vocabulary is learned from context, in The Nature of guage can only “grow” through interaction Vocabulary Acquisition, ed. M.G. McKeown & M.E. Curtis • Thus, early delays in oral language (Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum Associates, 1987), 89-106. with people and texts that introduce new come to be reflected in low levels of vocabulary, concepts, and language struc- reading comprehension, leading to tures. In grades 1 and 2, this growth cannot low levels of academic success. If result mainly from reading experiences we are to increase children’s because most children are not reading con- ability to profit from education, tent that is as advanced as their oral lan- we will have to enrich their oral guage. We often assume that children’s language development during the reading experiences contribute much to early years of schooling. Although their increasing ability to comprehend not all differences in language are language.4 However, for many children, due to differences in opportunity most language growth continues to come and learning, schools could do from non-print sources (parents, peers, much more than they do now to teachers, class discussions, television, etc.) foster the language development throughout the elementary years. For of less-advantaged children and many children, the skills necessary for children for whom English is a reading printed English remain too poor second language. for them to read “grade-level” texts that The listening comprehension of the introduce new vocabulary and new con- average child begins to develop in infancy ceptual structures. The problem is even and continues to grow long after grade 6. more severe for struggling students. For Reading comprehension typically begins example, the listening vocabulary level of to develop in kindergarten or 1st grade. At a 25th percentile 6th-grader is equivalent

LITERACY LADDERS | 53 Beyond Comprehension We Have Yet to Adopt a Common Core Curriculum That Builds Knowledge Grade by Grade—But We Need To

By E. D. Hirsch, Jr.

he prevailing view of the Ameri- can educational community is that no specific background knowledge is needed for reading. TAny general background knowledge will do. This innocent-sounding idea, so liber- ating to the teacher and the student, frees schools from any requirement to teach a specific body of knowledge. This purported liberation from “mere” information and rote learning is one of the most precious principles of American educational thought, and lies at its very core. Its propo- nents disparage those who favor a definite, cumulative course of study for children as “traditional,” “hidebound,” and “reaction- ary,” to mention only the more polite terms. Yet the supposedly liberating and humane idea that any general background knowledge will serve to educate children and make them proficient readers is not only incorrect, it is also very old and tired; it has had its day for at least half a century, during which time American reading pro- lyn Jager Adams’s article on page 60 of this the Civil War may not necessarily read well ficiency and verbal SAT scores have volume.) Scapegoats for the decline, such about molecular interactions. declined drastically.1 (For a detailed expla- as television and social forces, have been One particularly elegant experiment nation of the drop in SAT scores, see Mari- invoked to explain it, but they cannot fully was conducted to find out how important E. D. Hirsch, Jr., is founder of the Core Knowledge explain why other nations, equally domain-specific knowledge is in actual 3 Foundation and professor emeritus of education addicted to television but not to American reading tasks. In two of the groups of stu- and humanities at the University of Virginia. He educational theories that disparage “mere” dents studied, one had good decoding is a fellow of the Academy of Arts and Sciences. information, have not suffered a similarly skills but little knowledge of the subject, He has written several acclaimed books, includ- drastic decline in reading proficiency.2 baseball, while another had poor decoding ing the bestseller Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know and The Schools We It is true that given a good start in skills but knew a lot about baseball. As Need and Why We Don’t Have Them, and decoding, a child will develop fluency and predicted, the reading comprehension of served as editor of the eight-volume Core Knowl- accuracy in decoding with practice. And it the low-skills, baseball-knowing group edge series for parents, which ranges from What is also true that decoding is a skill that can proved superior to the reading compre- Your Preschooler Needs to Know to What Your be transferred from one text to another. But hension of the high-skills, baseball-igno- 6th-Grader Needs to Know. This article is adapted with permission from his book, The the progress of a child’s reading compre- rant group. These results have been Knowledge Deficit: Closing the Shocking Educa- hension is different. That progress does not replicated in other situations and knowl- tion Gap for American Children (New York: follow a reliable course of development. edge domains; they show the powerful Houghton Mifflin, 2006). It appeared, with per- Because comprehension is knowledge effect of prior knowledge on actual reading mission, in the Winter 2010–2011 issue of Ameri- dependent, someone who reads well about ability.4 can Educator.

54 | LITERACY LADDERS Faulty Ideas devoted to gaining general knowledge, This example shows that the back- which is the central requisite for high read- ground knowledge required to understand Most current reading programs talk about ing ability. the general sections of the New York Times, “activating” the reader’s background Most current reading programs do not such as the book review section, is not knowledge so she can comprehend a text. prepare students for high school, higher deep. It is not that of an expert—of course But in practice, they are only paying lip education, the workplace, or citizenship not, for we cannot all be experts on the service to the finding that background because they do not make a systematic diverse subjects that are treated by books. knowledge is essential to reading compre- effort to convey coherently, grade by grade, If authors want their books to be sold and hension. Little attempt is made to enlarge the knowledge that books (including high read, they must not assume that their read- children’s background knowledge—and, school textbooks), newspapers, magazines, ers are experts. They may take for granted as a direct result, little is accomplished in terms of expanding children’s ability to comprehend more complex and varied texts. The disjointed topics and stories that one finds in current reading programs, such as “Going to School” and “Jenny at the Most reading programs only pay lip service Supermarket,” seem designed mainly to to the finding that background knowledge appeal to the knowledge that young read- ers probably already have. is essential to reading comprehension. For decades, most professional educa- tors have believed that reading is an all- purpose skill that, once learned, can be applied to all subjects and problems. A and serious radio and TV programs assume only the relevant background knowledge specific, fact-filled, knowledge-building American readers and listeners possess. that a literate audience can be expected to curriculum, they hold, is not needed for (Every newspaper, book, and magazine possess. gaining all-purpose cognitive skills and editor, and every producer for radio and TV What do readers need to know in order strategies. Instead of burdening our minds is conscious of the need to distinguish what to comprehend this passage? We need to with a lot of supposedly dead facts, they can be taken for granted from what must know first that this is a book review, which call for us to become expert in solving be explained. The general reader or listener aims to tell us what the book is about and problems, in thinking critically—in reading that every journalist or TV newscaster must whether it is worth reading. We need to fluently—and then we will be able to learn imagine is somebody whose relevant understand that the reviewer is favorably anything we need. knowledge is assumed to lie between the disposed to the book, calling it “ebullient,” This idea sounds plausible. (If it did not, total ignorance of a complete novice and and that it is a nonfiction work about a it could not have so thoroughly captured the detailed knowledge of an expert.) scientist named Luca Turin. We need to the American mind.) Its surface plausibil- have at least a vague semantic grasp of key ity derives from the fact that a good educa- How Much Knowledge words like ebullient, boring, obsessive, tion can indeed create very able readers Do We Need? pioneering, estimation. We need to know and critical thinkers. The mistake is to some of the things mentioned with exact- Here is the first paragraph of an article by think that these achievements are the ness, but not others. It’s not necessary to Janet Maslin, taken at random from the result of acquiring all-purpose skills rather know how long a cubit is. Indeed, the text books section of the New York Times on than broad factual knowledge. As the study implies that this is an odd bit of informa- February 6, 2003. It is an example of writing of students’ abilities to comprehend a text tion, and we can infer that it is some form addressed to a general reader that a literate about baseball demonstrated, reading and of measurement. We need to know in gen- American high school graduate would be critical thinking are always based on con- eral what Paris is, what the moon is and expected to understand. crete, relevant knowledge and cannot be that it circles the earth, that it is not too far exercised apart from what psychologists When Luca Turin was a boy growing away in celestial terms, and we need to 5 call “domain-specific” knowledge. up in Paris, according to Chandler have some idea what a Nobel Prize is and The idea that reading with comprehen- Burr’s ebullient new book about him, that it is very prestigious. Consider the sion is largely a set of general-purpose “he was famous for boring everyone knowledge domains included in this list. skills and strategies that can be applied to to death with useless, disconnected Paris belongs to history and geography; so any and all texts is one of the main barriers facts, like the distance between the does Egypt. The moon belongs to astron- to our students’ achievement in reading. It earth and the moon in Egyptian omy and natural history. The Nobel Prize leads to activities (like endless drilling in cubits.” Mr. Burr sets out to explain belongs to general history and science. finding the main idea) that are deadening how such obsessive curiosity turned We may infer from this example that for agile and eager minds, and it carries big Mr. Turin into a pioneering scientist only a person with broad knowledge is opportunity costs. These activities actually who, in the author’s estimation, capable of reading with understanding the slow down the acquisition of true reading deserves a Nobel Prize. New York Times and other newspapers. ability: they take up time that could be This fact has momentous implications for

LITERACY LADDERS | 55 education, and for democracy as well. A sidered various scholarly approaches to knowledge was published, independent universal ability of citizens to read news- this problem. One was to look at word researchers investigated whether reading papers or their equivalent with under- frequencies. If a word appeared in print comprehension ability did in fact depend standing is the essence of democracy. quite often, then its meaning was probably on knowledge of the topics we had set Thomas Jefferson put the issue unforget- not going to be explained by the writer. We forth. The studies showed an unambiguous tably: “The basis of our government being looked at a frequency analysis of the Brown correlation between knowledge of these the opinion of the people, the very first Corpus, a collection of passages from very topics and reading comprehension scores, object should be to keep that right; and diverse kinds of publications that was school grades, and other measures of read- were it left to me to decide whether we lodged at Brown University, but we found ing ability. One researcher investigated should have a government without news- that this purely mechanical approach, whether the topics we set forth as taken- papers or newspapers without a govern- while partially valid, did not yield alto- for-granted knowledge are in fact taken for ment, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. But I should mean that every man should receive those papers and be capable of reading them.”6 The last phrase, “be capable of reading them,” is often omitted from the quotation, but it is the crucial one. Reading achievement will not advance significantly until schools recognize and act on the fact that it depends on the possession of a broad but definable range of diverse knowledge. Effectively teaching reading requires schools to systematically teach the diverse, enabling knowledge that reading with comprehension requires.

What Knowledge Do We Need? gether accurate or intelligent results. For granted in newspaper texts addressed to a But what exactly does that enabling knowl- example, because the Brown Corpus was general reader. He examined the New York edge comprise? That is the nuts-and-bolts compiled in the 1950s, “Nikita Khrush- Times by computer over a period of 101 question. The practical problem of helping chev” was a more frequent vocabulary months and found that “any given day’s all students achieve adequate reading item than “George Washington.”7 issue of the Times contained approximately comprehension depends on our schools A much better way of finding out what 2,700 occurrences” of these unexplained being able to narrow down what seems at knowledge speakers and writers take for terms, which “play a part in the daily com- first glance to be vast amounts of heteroge- granted is to ask them whether they merce of the published language.”8 neous information into a teachable reper- assume specific items of knowledge in An inventory of the tacit knowledge tory that will enable students to understand what they read and write. This direct shared by good readers and writers cannot, the diverse texts addressed to the average approach proved to be a sounder way of of course, be fixed at a single point in time. citizen. Our sketch of the background determining the tacit knowledge, because The knowledge that writers and radio and knowledge needed to understand Maslin’s what we must teach students is the knowl- TV personalities take for granted is con- short passage offers clues to the kind of edge that proficient readers and writers stantly changing at the edges, especially on instruction needed to advance general actually use. From people in every region issues of the moment. But inside the edges, reading comprehension ability. It will be of the country we found a reassuring at the core, the body of assumed knowl- broad instruction in the worlds of nature amount of agreement on the substance of edge in American public discourse has and culture as a necessary platform for this taken-for-granted knowledge. remained stable for many decades.9 This gaining deeper knowledge through listen- We had predicted this agreement. The core of knowledge changes very slowly, as ing and reading. But what, exactly, should very nature of communicative compe- sociolinguists have pointed out. If we want that broad general knowledge be? tence, a skill that successful teachers, to bring all students to reading proficiency, My colleagues Joseph Kett and James reporters, doctors, lawyers, book club this stable core is the enabling knowledge Trefil and I set out to answer that question members, and writers have already shown that we must teach. back in the 1980s. We asked ourselves, “In themselves to have, requires that it be That’s more easily said than done. One the American context, what knowledge is widely shared within the speech commu- essential, preliminary question that we taken for granted in the classroom, in pub- nity. Shared, taken-for-granted back- faced was this: how can this necessary lic orations, in serious radio and TV, in ground knowledge is what makes knowledge be sequenced in a practical way books and magazines and newspapers successful communication possible. Sev- for use in schools? We asked teachers how addressed to a general audience?” We con- eral years after our compilation of such to present these topics grade by grade and

56 | LITERACY LADDERS created working groups of experienced broad knowledge of the world. The happy Mobility is a term to denote students’ teachers in every region of the country to consequence is a reading program that is moving from one school to another in the produce a sequence independently of the much more absorbing, enjoyable, and middle of the year. The percentage of eco- others. There proved to be less agreement interesting than the disjointed, pedestrian nomically disadvantaged students who on how to present the material grade by programs offered to students today. migrate during the school year is appall- grade than there had been in identifying Most current programs assume that ingly high, and the effects are dishearten- what the critical topics are. That difficulty language arts is predominantly about “lit- ingly severe. One study has analyzed those too was predicted, since the sequencing of erature,” which is conceived as poems and effects on 9,915 children. With this large many topics is inherently arbitrary. While fictional stories, often trivial ones meant to group, the researchers were able to factor it’s plausible that in math, addition needs be inoffensive vehicles for teaching read- out the influences of poverty, race, single- to come before multiplication, and that in ing skills. Stories are indeed the best vehi- parent status, and lack of parental educa- history, Greece probably ought to come cles for teaching young children—an idea tion in order to isolate just the effects of before Rome, maybe it’s not plausible that Greece should come before George Washington. We collected the accumulated wisdom of these independent groups of teachers, made a provisional draft sequence, and in Long-term memory is not used to 1990 held a conference where 145 people store isolated facts, but to store huge from every region, scholarly discipline, and racial and ethnic group got together to work complexes of integrated information extremely hard for two and a half days to that result in problem-solving skill. agree on an intelligent way to teach this knowledge sequentially. Over time, this Core Knowledge Sequence has been refined and adjusted, based on actual classroom experience. It is now used in several hun- that was ancient when Plato reasserted it changing schools. Even with other adverse dred schools (with positive effects on read- in The Republic. But stories are not neces- influences factored out, children who ing scores), and it is distinguished among sarily the same things as ephemeral fic- changed schools often were much more content standards not only for its interest, tions. Many an excellent story is told about likely than those who did not to exhibit richness, and specificity, but also because real people and events, and even stories behavioral problems and to fail a grade.10 of the carefully thought-out scientific foun- that are fictional take much of their worth The researchers found that the adverse dations that underlie the selection of topics. from the nonfictional truths about the effects of such social and academic inco- (The Core Knowledge Sequence is available world that they convey. herence are greatly intensified when par- online at www.coreknowledge.org.) The new Core Knowledge language arts ents have low educational levels and when Today, in response to requests from program contains not only fiction and compensatory education is not available in educators, the Core Knowledge Founda- poetry, but also narratives about the real the home. But this big fact of student tion offers a range of instructional sup- worlds of nature and history. Since word mobility is generally ignored in discussions ports, including detailed teacher guides, a learning occurs much faster in a familiar of school reform. It is as if that elephant in day-by-day planner, and an anthology of context, the program stays on each selected the middle of the parlor is less relevant or African American literature, music, and subject-matter domain long enough to important than other concerns, such as the art. And, we are now offering a complete make it familiar. Such integration of sub- supposed dangers of encouraging unifor- language arts program for elementary ject-matter content in reading classes mity or of allowing an “outsider” to decide grades. This program, which was pilot enriches background knowledge and what subjects are to be taught at which tested in 17 urban, suburban, and rural enlarges vocabulary in an optimal way. grade level. schools, addresses both the skills and the In a typical American school district, the knowledge that young children need to Constantly Changing average rate at which students transfer in become strong readers and writers. This and out of schools during the academic new program is our attempt to reconceive Schools—A Critical Issue year is about one-third.11 In a typical inner- language arts as a school subject. In trying Thus far, I’ve mostly been explaining the city school, only about half the students to make all students proficient readers and need for a fact-filled, knowledge-building who start in the fall are still there in the writers, there is no avoiding the responsi- curriculum. But the critical issue of student spring—a mobility rate of 50 percent.12 bility of imparting the specific knowledge mobility demands more than just each Given the curricular incoherence in a typi- they will need to understand newspapers, school adopting or adapting such a cur- cal American school (in which two fourth- magazines, and serious books. There is no riculum. If we are really to serve all of our grade classrooms may cover completely successful shortcut to teaching and learn- children to the best of our ability, then different content), the education provided ing this specific knowledge—and there is nothing short of a common curriculum— to frequently moving students is tragically nothing more interesting than acquiring one shared by all schools—will do.

LITERACY LADDERS | 57 fragmented. The high mobility of low- students know about a subject, because Growth, Development, School Function, and Behavior,” Journal of the American Medical Association 270, no. 11 income parents guarantees that disadvan- they have been taught very different topics (September 15, 1993), 1334–1338. taged children will be most severely in prior grades, depending on the different 11. D. Cohen, “Moving Images,” Education Week, August affected by the educational handicaps of preferences of their teachers. Typically, 3, 1994, 32–39; D. Kerbow, “Patterns of Urban Student Mobility and Local School Reform,” Journal of Education for changing schools, and that they will be the therefore, the teacher must spend a great Students Placed at Risk 1, no. 2 (1996), 147-169; S. Pribesh and D. B. Downey, “Why Are Residential and School Moves ones who are most adversely affected by deal of time at the beginning of each year Associated with Poor School Performance?,” Demography lack of commonality across schools. reviewing the preparatory material stu- 36, no. 4 (1999), 521–534; T. Fowler-Finn, “Student Stability vs. Mobility,” School Administrator 58, no. 7 (August 2001), The finding that our mobile students dents need to know in order to learn the 36–40; R. W. Rumberger, K. A. Larson, R. K. Ream, and G. J. (who are preponderantly from low-income next topic—time that would not need to be Palardy, The Educational Consequences of Mobility for California Students and Schools, PACE Policy Brief (Berkeley, families) perform worse than stable ones so extensive (and so very boring to stu- CA: Policy Analysis for California Education, 1999); and D. Stover, “The Mobility Mess of Students Who Move,” does not mean that their lower perfor- dents who already have the knowledge) if Education Digest 66, no. 3 (2000), 61–64. mance is a consequence of poverty. That is the incoming students had all been taught 12. U.S. General Accounting Office, Elementary School to commit the fallacy of social determin- using a common core curriculum and thus Children: Many Change Schools Frequently, Harming Their Education (Washington, DC: GAO, 1994). ism. Where there is greater commonality of had all gained this knowledge already. 13. B. C. Straits, “Residence, Migration, and School the curriculum, the effects of mobility are If states would adopt a common core Progress,” Sociology of Education 60 (1987), 34–43, cited in H. J. Walberg, “Improving Local Control and Learning,” less severe. In a summary of research on curriculum that builds knowledge grade by reprint 1994. student mobility, Herbert Walberg states grade, reading achievement would rise for 14. H. W. Stevenson and J. W. Stigler, The Learning Gap: Why Our Schools Are Failing and What We Can Learn from that “common learning goals, curriculum, all groups of children. So would achieve- Japanese and Chinese Education (New York: Summit, 1992). and assessment within states (or within an ment in math, science, and social studies 15. E. D. Hirsch, Jr., The Schools We Need (New York: entire nation) ... alleviate the grave learning because, as common sense predicts, read- Doubleday, 1996), 38–41; Centre for Educational Research and Innovation, Immigrants’ Children at School (Paris: disabilities faced by children, especially ing is strongly correlated with the ability to Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, poorly achieving children, who move from learn in all subjects. Equally important, the 1987). 16. E. D. Hirsch, Jr., The Schools We Need (New York: one district to another with different cur- achievement gap between social groups Doubleday, 1996), 22–26. ricula, assessment, and goals.”13 The would be greatly narrowed and social jus- adverse effects of student mobility are tice would be served.  much less severe in countries that use a nationwide core curriculum. Endnotes While ignoring important issues like 1. There is a large literature on the decline of verbal SAT scores in the 1960s and 1970s, and on NAEP (National mobility that really do impede learning, Assessment of Educational Progress) scores when these began to be collected in the 1970s. A summary of these some people blame ineffective teachers for issues with full bibliographical references can be found in E. students’ lackluster performance. But so- D. Hirsch, Jr., Cultural Literacy (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1987), 1–10; and E. D. Hirsch, Jr., The Schools We Need called low teacher quality is not an innate (New York: Doubleday, 1996), 39–42, 176–79. characteristic of American teachers; inef- 2. See C. Jencks, “What’s Behind the Drop in Test Scores?,” (working paper, Department of Sociology, Harvard University, fective teaching is the consequence of the Cambridge, MA, July–August 1978). ineffective training they have received and 3. D. R. Recht and L. Leslie, “Effect of Prior Knowledge on of the vague, incoherent curricula they are Good and Poor Readers’ Memory of Text,” Journal of Educational Psychology 80, no. 1 (March 1988), 16–20. given to teach, both of which result from 4. W. Schneider and J. Korkel, “The Knowledge Base and most education schools’ de-emphasis on Text Recall: Evidence from a Short-Term Longitudinal Study,” Contemporary Educational Psychology 14, no. 4 (1989), specific, cumulative content. No teacher, 382–393, “Performance was more a function of soccer however capable, can efficiently cope with knowledge than of aptitude level.” 5. For reviews of the scientific literature on these subjects, the huge differences in academic prepara- see E. D. Hirsch, Jr., Cultural Literacy (Boston: Houghton tion among the students in a typical Ameri- Mifflin, 1987); E. D. Hirsch, Jr., The Schools We Need (New York: Doubleday, 1996); W. Schneider, J. Korkel, and F. E. can classroom—differences that grow with Weinert, “Expert Knowledge, General Abilities, and Text each successive grade.14 In other nations, Processing,” in Interactions among Aptitudes, Strategies, and Knowledge in Cognitive Performance, ed. W. Schneider the differences between groups diminish and F. E. Weinert (New York: Springer-Verlag, 1990), over time, so that they are closer together 235-251. 15 6. Letter to Colonel Edward Carrington, January 16, 1787, by grade 7 than they were in grade 4. Even taken from A. Koch and W. Peden (eds.), The Life and the most brilliant and knowledgeable Selected Writings of Thomas Jefferson, (New York: Random House, 1944), 411–412. American teacher faced with huge varia- 7. N. W. Francis and H. Kucera, Frequency Analysis of English tions in student preparation cannot Usage: Lexicon and Grammar (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1982). achieve as much as an ordinary teacher 8. J. Willinsky, “The Vocabulary of Cultural Literacy in a can within a more coherent curricular sys- Newspaper of Substance,” (paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Reading Conference, Tucson, AZ, tem like those found in the nations that November 29–December 3, 1988). outperform us. 9. E. D. Hirsch, Jr., Cultural Literacy (Boston: Houghton The chief cause of our schools’ ineffi- Mifflin, 1987). 10. D. L. Cohen, “Frequent Moves Said to Boost Risk of ciency is precisely this curricular incoher- School Problems,” Education Week, September 22, 1993, ence.16 At the beginning of the school year, 15. See also: D/ Wood, N. Halfon, D. Scarlata, P. Newacheck, and S. Nessim, “Impact of Family Relocation on Children’s a teacher cannot be sure what the entering

58 | LITERACY LADDERS Advancing our Students’ Language and Literacy The Challenge of Complex Texts

By Marilyn Jager Adams

ew Changes on SAT Posted by Class of 2010.”1 “Scores on SAT College Entrance Test Hold Steady.”2 “Class of 2008 Matches F’07 on the SAT.”3 Year by year, point by point, it is hard to see the real news in these headlines. The real news is not that the SAT scores have held steady. The real news is that the SAT scores haven’t increased. The SAT scores of our college-bound students have been languishing not for one or two years, but for a long time. Several decades ago, scores were much higher. The SAT score decline began in 1962, nearly 50 years ago. From 1962 to 1980, math scores fell 36 points to 492 while ver- bal scores fell 54 points to 502. Since 1980, the math scores have been gradually climbing back and are now at 516. Fluctua- States joined 19 other developed countries Marilyn Jager Adams is a visiting scholar in the tions aside, the verbal scores remain in an international evaluation of adult lit- Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences unchanged, even today stuck at 502. eracy levels.5 As compared with their peers Department at Brown University and former chief scientist for Soliloquy Learning, Inc. She is If I were writing the headline for the in the other countries, the literacy scores the author of numerous scholarly papers and next newspaper story on the SATs, here’s of older U.S. adults (36 years old and up) several books, including two landmark works, what you’d see: “Seniors and Their SAT were quite high, ranking in the top five. In Beginning to Read: Thinking and Learning Scores Sabotaged by Low-Level Text- contrast, the scores for younger U.S. adults about Print and Phonemic Awareness in Young books.” And if the copyeditor would let me, (35 years old or less) ranked in the bottom Children, as well as a number of empirically validated classroom resources, including Scho- I’d add an exclamation point! The literacy half of the distribution by every measure. lastic’s System 44 (2009) and iRead (2013), level of our secondary students is languish- Among young adults with a high school technology-based programs for building literacy ing because the kids are not reading what diploma or less, those from the United foundations. She has served on the advisory they need to be reading. This is a strong States fell at the bottom of the pile, ranking board for several of the Public Broadcasting Sys- claim. Let me lay out the evidence and 19th out of 20. Even among participants tem’s educational programs including Sesame Street and Between the Lions. She also devel- argument so you can judge for yourself. who had completed four or more years of oped a vocabulary assessment for the 2014 postsecondary education, the scores of our National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) Not Just the SAT Scores young adults were below the average for and was on the development team for the Com- To be sure, whether scores on the SAT same-aged and like-educated peers in the mon Core State Standards for English Language other countries. The young adults in this Arts and Literacy. This article is adapted with exams truly reflect relevant or important permission of the Guilford Press from “The Chal- intellectual or academic proficiencies study would have graduated from high lenge of Advanced Texts: The Interdependence of remains a topic of discussion.4 Yet, the school between 1974 and 1998, during the Reading and Learning,” which Adams wrote for SATs are not the only indication that the period when the verbal SAT scores were Reading More, Reading Better, edited by Elfrieda literacy growth of our secondary students bottoming out. H. Hiebert, copyright 2009 by Guilford Press. It In international assessments of school- appeared, with permission, in the Winter 2010– has fallen behind. 2011 issue of American Educator. Between 1994 and 1998, the United children, the performance of our fourth-

LITERACY LADDERS | 59 graders is above average. However, the 21. And among that 51 percent, average and 1975, and using readability analyses performance of our high school students is performance on the complex texts was at to compare their difficulty.15 The data average, at best.6 The results of our own chance levels (i.e., random guessing would indicated that the SAT passages had actu- National Assessment of Educational Prog- produce the same scores). ally become easier over this period—so ress (NAEP) show a similar contrast: while scores should have been going up. Further, the reading of younger students has been SAT Decline between 1963 and 1975, during the years improving over time, that of older students Prompts Investigation of the score decline, the average difficulty has not. NAEP’s analysis of changes in of the test passages lay at the eleventh- Back in 1977, having watched SAT scores reading performance between 1971 and grade level, which should have been fall for 15 years, the College Board, which 2008 shows that average scores of 9-year- solidly in range for twelfth-grade college- developed and administers the SAT, olds increased by 12 points. Those of bound students. Yet scores were going down. engaged a panel to try to identify the 13-year-olds increased by 4 points. But the average scores of 17-year-olds have not changed.7 The lack of progress among 17-year-olds is especially jarring when factoring in our dropout problem. Roughly 25 percent of eighth-graders nationwide drop out of school before completing high school;8 presumably, those who stay in school, and therefore participate in NAEP as 17-year-olds, disproportionately include the more successful and motivated stu- dents. One can’t help but wonder whether they were trying hard when they took the tests, since there is no personal conse- underlying causes of the decline.11 A first Chall thought there had to be some rea- quence for doing well or poorly on the hypothesis to be checked was whether the son why the twelfth-graders were not able international trials or the NAEP. test had somehow become more demand- to read eleventh-grade texts. With this in On the other hand, college entrance ing. But, no, to the contrary, indications mind, she and her colleagues evaluated examinations are voluntary, and perform- were that scoring had become more popular eleventh-grade textbooks in his- ing well on them is the very point of taking lenient.12 A second prominent hypothesis tory, literature, grammar, and composition. them. ACT (known until 1996 as the Ameri- was that the decline was due to changes in The average difficulty of the textbooks lay can College Testing Program) tracked the the demographics of the test takers. Analy- between the ninth- and tenth-grade levels. literacy scores of eighth-, tenth-, and ses showed this hypothesis to be largely Could this discrepancy between the twelfth-graders on ACT college readiness correct, but only for a brief while. Over the reading level of the SAT and that of the and entrance exams.9 For each of the early 1960s, changes in the composition of textbooks explain the score decline? If cohorts examined (and regardless of gen- the tested population accounted for as students had neither practiced nor been der, race/ethnicity, or household income), much as three-quarters of the test score instructed with reading materials as hard the students were collectively on track in decline—and, no wonder, for during this as the SAT passages, then one could hardly the eighth and tenth grades for better period the number of students taking the expect them to read the latter with compe- scores than they ultimately obtained in the SAT tripled. Over the 1970s, however, tence and confidence. twelfth grade. ACT’s report concludes that though the test-taking population stabi- By the early 1990s, SAT scores appeared there is a specific problem at the secondary lized, the scores did not. Instead, the to have plateaued. The College Board school level.* decline continued, even steeper than decided to “recenter” the scale by adding Taking a closer look at the poor perfor- before, while the extent to which it could about 80 points to the verbal scores (and mance of students on its college entrance be ascribed to demographic shifts shrank about 25 points to the math scores) so as to exam, ACT determined that the major to 30 percent at most.13 Furthermore, the return the mean of each test to a value stumbling block for students is complex scores that dropped most were those of the close to 500 points.† Beleaguered, the Col- texts. The maximum score on the reading strongest students, the students in the top lege Board also changed the name of the component of the ACT college entrance 10 percent of their class; the scores of stu- test from the Scholastic Aptitude Test to exam is 36; scores of less than 21 predict dents toward the bottom of the distribution simply the SAT, with the letters standing for reading difficulties in college coursework held steady or even increased.14 nothing. and also in the workplace. Among students Another hypothesis examined by the who took the ACT exam in 2005, the scores College Board’s panel was that the read- A Closer Look at Textbooks of 51 percent—more than half—fell below ing selections on the tests had somehow In the 1980s and 1990s, another team of become too hard for the students. Reading researchers, led by Donald P. Hayes, *The same conclusion was drawn by the College researcher Jeanne Chall and her colleagues returned to Chall’s hypothesis, extending Entrance Examination Board in the mid-1970s and again tested this hypothesis by sampling passages her work with a revealing series of studies. in the mid-1980s.10 from SAT tests administered between 1947

60 | LITERACY LADDERS In one of the most extensive, they analyzed To wit, while the analyses of Hayes and focused on trade publications rather than the difficulty of 800 elementary, middle, his colleagues showed that textbooks had school materials, and the texts they used and high school books published between become progressively easier over the cen- included preschool books, children’s 1919 and 1991.16 Their results indicated tury, they also indicated that the difficulty books, comic books, adult books, maga- that the difficulty of the text in these books of English language newspapers had zines, newspapers, and abstracts from had been significantly reduced and, fur- remained nearly constant.18 Could this scientific magazines. For comparison, they ther, that the years over which this reduc- disparity be a factor in the declining circu- compiled and analyzed a variety of oral tion occurred were temporally aligned with lation of newspapers? Similarly, they found language samples, including language the SAT score decline. the level of the wording of scientific maga- from prime-time adult television shows, As one indication of this trend, the aver- children’s television shows, mothers’ age length of the sentences in books pub- speech to children ranging in age from lished between 1963 and 1991 was shorter infancy to adolescence, conversations than that of books published between 1946 among college-educated adults (including and 1962. In the seventh- and eighth-grade An analysis of from the Oval Office), and adults providing textbooks, for example, the mean length of expert witness testimony for legal cases. sentences decreased from 20 words to 14 800 schoolbooks Regardless of the source or situation and words—“the equivalent of dropping one or without exception, the richness and com- two clauses from every sentence.”17 Mean- published between plexity of the words used in the oral lan- while, the sophistication of the books’ 1919 and 1991 found guage samples paled in comparison with wording also declined. The wording of the written texts. Indeed, of all the oral schoolbooks published for eighth-graders that the difficulty of language samples evaluated, the only one from 1963 forward was as simple as that in the text had been that exceeded even preschool books in books used by fifth-graders before 1963. lexical range was expert witness Worse, among literature texts required in significantly reduced. testimony. English classes, the wording of twelfth- This difference between the wording of grade texts published after 1963 was sim- oral and written language must lie at the pler than the wording of seventh-grade crux of the advanced literacy challenge, as texts published prior to 1963. it points to a profound dilemma. On the Continuing their investigation, the zines, whether aimed at professionals or one hand, the extent of this disparity researchers found that it was especially laypersons, had increased dramatically implies that the great majority of words schoolbooks for students in grades 4 and up from 1930 to 1990.19 If it is a national goal needed for understanding written lan- that were simplified in the years after 1962. to inspire more students to become engi- guage is likely to only be encountered— Moreover, although the wording of school- neers and scientists, then shouldn’t the and thus can only be learned—through books for children generally increased difficulty of our schoolbooks have experience with written text. On the other across grades 1 through 8, the same was not increased alongside? If a goal is to ensure hand, research has taught us that written true of high school books. Across grades 9 that our students will be able to stay suffi- text is accessible—and thus permits learn- through 12 (including texts for Advanced ciently informed about scientific progress ing—only if the reader or listener already Placement courses), the difficulty levels of to conduct business, reflect on policy, and knows the vast majority of words from the literature books were shown to differ manage their family’s health and educa- which it is constructed. Indeed, research little from one another or from the grade 7 tion, then at a minimum, shouldn’t the indicates that reading with comprehension and grade 8 offerings. One bright spot was difficulty of our schoolbooks keep pace depends on understanding at least 95 per- high school students’ science texts, which with the difficulty of scientific publications cent of the words of a text.22 were significantly more difficult than their aimed at the general public? English books. However, even among sci- How Many New Words Do ence texts, only those designated for The Vocabulary of Readers Need to Learn? Advanced Placement coursework evi- Written Language So roughly how many words do kids need denced difficulty levels comparable to that Reading educators have long appreciated to learn in order to be proficient readers? of the average daily newspaper for adults. that there is a very strong relationship This question raises the second key part of Such a disparity between the students’ between vocabulary and reading compre- the vocabulary problem. schoolbooks and the passages on the SAT hension. But what exactly is it about the Suppose you counted the number of might well explain the decline in SAT wording of texts that underlies this rela- times each different word in this article scores. More significantly, failing to pro- tion? Part of the answer is that written texts occurred. What you would find is that there vide instruction or experience with draw upon many more words than nor- are a few words that I have used quite a “grown-up” text levels seems a risky course mally arise in oral language situations.20 number of times, and many, many others toward preparing students for the reading To gain insight into this phenomenon, that I used only once or twice. This distri- demands of college and life. Hayes and colleagues compared spoken bution of word counts or frequencies is an †The scores given in the introduction are all on the new, language with texts.21 For this study, they example of what is known as Zipf’s law.23 recentered scale.

LITERACY LADDERS | 61 According to Zipf’s law, every natural mon words. At the other extreme, more represent/misrepresent. Eliminating all language sample is made up of relatively than half of the words appeared only once. such “closely related” words from the word few words that recur over and over again, Still worse: the team estimated that the count that Carroll and colleagues had done and many, many words that arise very actual number of different words in the for the dictionary, and keeping only base infrequently. The type of natural language children’s reading materials—that is, the words plus affixed or compound words sample does not matter and, provided that number of different words that would have whose meanings are harder to figure out it is not too short, neither does its size. That turned up if they had counted such texts from their base words (such as vice/vicious, is, whether you counted all the words in a exhaustively rather than just working with well/farewell, shift/shiftless, fix/prefix), casual conversation, a lecture, a newspa- Nagy and Anderson estimated that the per article, a whole book, or even a whole actual number of separate words that chil- library’s worth of books, you would find the dren need be taught is closer to 100,000. If same thing: of all the different words in Nagy and Anderson’s elimination rules your sample, a small number would occur were too aggressive given children’s word over and over again, while many, many We must organize sense, then the actual number might be others would occur only once. double or triple their estimate. And, of Zipf’s law may feel intuitively obvious. our readings in course, if we extend concern from grade- Less obvious, however, are its implications school materials to advanced texts, the with respect to the vocabulary challenge. every subject so actual number must be larger still. An example may vivify the issue. Count- each text bootstraps ing words that appear in relevant text is a Developing Students’ common approach to making dictionaries. the language and Vocabulary: Examining the For example, if you wanted to make a dic- knowledge needed Options tionary for geologists, you might begin by gathering a sample of the kind of articles for the next. So, what is the best way to help students about geology that you think your custom- master the many, many words they must ers would like to read and then counting know to understand advanced texts? In the number of occurrences of all the differ- broad terms, there appear to be only two ent words within them. The goal is to make options: (1) to endeavor to teach students sure your dictionary contains all the words the words they will need to know, and (2) that your customers will want to look up excerpts—would have totaled 609,606. Due to expect students to learn new words most. to Zipf’s law, a sample of 5 million words through reading. Similarly, as part of creating The Ameri- was just plain too small even to identify— Is direct vocabulary instruction worth- can Heritage School Dictionary,24 John Car- much less to judge the relative frequency while? Based on a highly regarded meta- roll and his colleagues were asked to figure of—the vast majority of words that might analysis, the answer seems to be a 27 out which words should be included by well have belonged in the dictionary. resounding “yes.” Across studies involv- examining children’s reading materials. To But hold it. We are talking about materi- ing a variety of students, instructional do this, the team gathered texts that had als that are specifically written for and specifics, and outcome measures, the been written especially for children in meant to be understood by schoolchildren meta-analysis showed that direct vocabu- grades 3 through 8, taking care that the col- in grades 3 through 8. How can they pos- lary instruction significantly increases lection as a whole captured the range of sibly be expected to know more than knowledge of words that are taught. Just as different kinds of text and topics that the 600,000 different words? importantly, students who received vocab- children might read in amounts that were In fact, many of these words are cousins ulary instruction were found to perform proportionate to how often they could be of each other. For example, if a child knows significantly better on global nonspecific expected to read them. From across these the word shoe, then she or he is unlikely to vocabulary measures such as standardized materials, the team then extracted 10,000 experience difficulty withshoes . Similarly, tests, indicating that such instruction pro- excerpts, totaling 5 million words of text in a child probably won’t have trouble with motes learning of words beyond those that all, which, after sorting, turned out to word families like walk, walked, and walk- have been explicitly taught (e.g., being include 86,741 different words. Their job ing. Pushing this reasoning further, vocab- taught a word like aquarium helps with was then to figure out which of these 86,741 ulary researchers Bill Nagy and Richard indirectly learning words like aquatic, 26 words arose sufficiently often to warrant Anderson have argued that students aqueduct, and aqueous). inclusion in the dictionary.25 shouldn’t have problems with any sort of However, we must bear in mind that, by Enter Zipf’s law. Just 109 very frequent prefixing, suffixing, or compounding of a its very nature, direct vocabulary instruc- words accounted for fully half of the vast word, provided that the meaning of the tion admits coverage of precious few words sample of children’s reading material that word’s base is preserved. As examples, they relative to the magnitude of the challenge. Carroll and colleagues had put together. suggested that if children know the word Even if, beginning in grade 1 and continu- Indeed, 90 percent of the sample was elf, they should have little problem with ing through grade 12, teachers consistently accounted for by just 5,000 relatively com- elfin or with pairs such as cow/cowhand, taught—and students perfectly know/knowledge, therapy/therapeutic, and retained—20 vocabulary words each and

62 | LITERACY LADDERS every week, the gain in vocabulary would that is, the context—in which the word has In short, the model’s response to any text total only 8,640 words in all (20 words × 36 appeared. Where a word shows up in mul- it “reads” extends well beyond what is weeks of school × 12 years), many times tiple contexts, the strength of the associa- denoted by the specific words of the text. fewer than what is required. tion between the word and each of the Further, the richness of the model’s repre- Such considerations have led some separate contexts is weakened through sentation of any text that it “reads” depends scholars to argue that the only feasible competition. Where a word arises repeat- on how much it already knows. Just as with means by which students might acquire an edly in one particular context, the associa- people,32 the larger its starting vocabulary adequate reading vocabulary is through tion between the two is strengthened. and the more it has read before, the more it the process of inferring the meaning of Importantly, the associations between will learn and understand from the next text. each new word from its context in the words and contexts in the LSA model are In comparing LSA’s word-learning to course of reading.28 Indeed, research shows that of schoolchildren, the researchers that the probability that students under- began by “training” it with a set of texts stand and retain any given new word that judged comparable to the lifelong learning they encounter in print is 0.05.29 of a typical seventh-grader. The researchers So how far will this get them? Research- then gave the model new texts to “read” ers have (generously) estimated that and measured its vocabulary growth. The median, middle-class, fifth-grade students results showed that the likelihood that the read close to 1,000,000 words of text per Inference and computer gained adequate understanding of year, in school and out.30 Based on Carroll comprehension new words it encountered in these new texts and colleagues’ research, we can expect a was 0.05—just exactly the same as research- million words of reading to include roughly strategies seem to do ers have found for schoolchildren.33 17,200 different words. If we suppose that little to compensate But the results showed something else, the students already know one-quarter of too. It turned out that, with each new read- the words in their texts, then the number for weak domain ing, the model effectively increased its of new words they should encounter knowledge. understanding not just of words that were through this reading would equal 12,900 in the text but also of words that were not per year. Yet, if the likelihood that the stu- in the text. Indeed, measured in terms of dents will understand and retain each of total vocabulary gain, the amount the these words is only 0.05, then their vocabu- model learned about words that did not lary can only be expected to grow by 645 appear in a given reading was three times per year, giving them but 5,160 new words as much as what it learned about words by the time they graduate from high school. bidirectional. That is, there are links from that were in the reading. Recalling that even texts that are for each word to each of its contexts and also “What?” we cry, “How can that be? How students in grades 1 through 8 presume from each context to all of its words. As a can reading a text produce increases in knowledge of at least 100,000 different result, the full complex of knowledge that knowledge of words that it does not even words, it is clear that both estimates for is called forth as each word is “read” contain? That is not credible! It makes no learning vocabulary fall way short of the extends through its contexts to other sense!” But wait. If we were talking about need. At the same time, however, both words, and through those words to other knowledge rather than words, then it estimates also seem at odds with the intui- contexts and words. Thus, as the model would make lots of sense. Every concept— tive sense that a high school student need “reads” the next word of the text and the simple or complex, concrete or abstract—is be neither a genius nor a tireless scholar to next and the next, activation spreads to learned in terms of its similarities, differ- read and understand most materials writ- other, related complexes of knowledge, ences, and relationships with other con- ten for grade-school children. which may well include clusters that have cepts with which we are familiar. As a never before been directly represented by simplistic example, when we read about Insights from a any combination of words and contexts the tigers, then, by dint of both similarities and Computer Model of model has ever “read” before. contrasts, we learn more about all sorts of Moreover, because the model’s knowl- cats and, further, about every subtopic Vocabulary Acquisition edge is represented relationally, the addi- mentioned along the way. The more deeply For another way to think about vocabulary tion or modification of any one connection we read about tigers, the more nuanced acquisition, let’s consider an intriguing impacts many others, pulling some closer and complex these concepts and their computer model called Latent Semantic together, pushing some further apart, and interrelations become. Analysis (LSA) that was developed by Tom otherwise altering the strengths and pat- As explained earlier, it was to be 31 Landauer and his colleagues. The core terns of connections among words and expected that LSA’s full response to any mechanism underlying the LSA model is contexts. Through this dynamic, reading new text would spread beyond the content “associative learning.” When a text is input causes the connections that collectively of the text itself. The unexpected discovery into the LSA model, the computer builds capture LSA’s knowledge of words to grow, was that this dynamic would impact the an association between each individual shrink, and shift continuously, continually, model’s understanding of individual word of the text and the total set of words— and always in relation to one another. words. Given that words are really nothing

LITERACY LADDERS | 63 more than labels for interrelated bundles are to construct, interpret, and reflect on models such as LSA statistically emulate. of knowledge, perhaps this should not have the meaning of the text. A core implication The second mode of reasoning is con- been surprising. of the LSA model is that students’ knowl- scious and rule-based. Such logical, ana- In the study that modeled a seventh- edge of words grows less through any pro- lytic thought also warrants instructional grader, the researchers were able to gauge cess of inferring their meanings, one by attention in our schools, as it is our means LSA’s overall vocabulary growth by compu- one, based on the sentences in which they of deliberately evaluating and vetting our tationally examining changes in the repre- arise, than as a product of learning more thoughts for bias, happenstance, and sentation of every word to which it had ever generally about the contexts in which they inconsistencies. However, no reasoning been exposed. Yet here is a mull-worthy arise and of understanding the concepts strategy, however well-structured, can rival correlate: unavoidably, the bundles of con- and relationships to which they refer. the speed, power, or clarity of knowledge- cepts and relations that emerged or were driven understanding;43 nor can it com- strengthened through LSA’s reading expe- pensate for an absence of sufficient rience included many that pertained to information. words that the model had never seen There may one day be modes and meth- before. An analogous effect might explain ods of information delivery that are as why researchers have found time and again efficient and powerful as text, but for now that the strength of students’ vocabulary there is no contest. To grow, our students predicts the likelihood that they will learn must read lots. More specifically, they must new words from context,34 the probability read lots of “complex” texts—texts that that they will correctly infer a new word’s offer them new language, new knowledge, meaning from context,35 and both the and new modes of thought. Beyond the amount and nature of their reasoning basics, as E. D. Hirsch, Jr., the founder of when they are asked to explain how they Core Knowledge, has so forcefully argued, do so.36 Even when students are told the Knowledge, Cognitive the reading deficit is integrally tied to a meaning of a new word, their prior vocabu- knowledge deficit.44 Strategies, and Inferences lary strength predicts the likelihood that they will retain it.37 (These are known as If reading results in so rich a network of Back to the Classroom: knowledge through nothing more than “Matthew effects,” referring to the notion A Strategy for Developing that the rich get richer and the poor get overlaps and contrasts in associations, Advanced Reading poorer.) As the reader’s linguistic and con- then shouldn’t students learn far more ceptual knowledge grows in richness and efficiently, given active, incisive inference The capacity to understand and learn from complexity, it will increasingly support the and comprehension strategies? Research any text depends on approaching it with meanings of many new words and the rep- indicates that such strategies can be taught the language, knowledge, and modes of resentation of many new spheres of and suggests that doing so may improve thought, as well as the reading skill, that it 38 knowledge. comprehension. However, inference and presumes. It would seem, then, that when Cognitive psychologists broadly agree comprehension strategies seem to do little assigning materials from which students that the meaning of any word consists of to compensate for weak domain knowl- are to learn, there are basically but two 39 bundles of features and associations that edge. Instead, research repeatedly shows choices. Either the materials must be suf- are the cumulative product of the reader’s prior domain knowledge to be a far stron- ficiently accessible in language and con- experience with both the word in context ger predictor of students’ ability to compre- cept for the students to read and 40 and the concepts to which it refers. What is hend or to learn from advanced texts. Of understand on their own, or the students unique about the LSA model is its demon- course, students’ comprehension and must be given help as they read. Some stu- stration that this structure and dynamic learning is also influenced by their reading dents receive such help in their homes, but can so richly and powerfully evolve skills (such as decoding and fluency). But many do not and, as I have argued else- through accrued experience with the vari- even the advantage of strong reading skills where, this is likely the major factor under- 45 ous contexts in which words do and do not turns out to be greatest for students with lying the achievement gap. In any case, 41 occur—that is, sheerly through reading. strong domain knowledge. because opportunities for one-on-one Another way to state the larger point Again, such findings should not be sur- reading assistance are limited in the typical here is that words are not just words. They prising. Cognitive research affirms that school setting, educators often feel that 42 are the nexus—the interface—between there are two modes of reasoning. The their only alternative is to restrict assign- communication and thought. When we first, most common mode is knowledge- ments to materials that are within their read, it is through words that we build, based. This sort of reasoning is rapid, students’ independent reach. There follows refine, and modify our knowledge. What extensive, and automatic. This is the sort of the popularity of so-called high-low texts, makes vocabulary valuable and important reasoning that ensures, for example, that intended to offer high interest or informa- is not the words themselves so much as the we properly understand the meaning of fan tion alongside low demands on vocabulary understandings they afford. The reason we depending on whether the text is about a and reading skill. need to know the meanings of words is that soccer fan, a ceiling fan, or a peacock’s fan. It was in this spirit, through earnest they point to the knowledge from which we This is the sort of reasoning that computer efforts to ensure full curricular access to all,

64 | LITERACY LADDERS that the complexity of schoolbooks came egories are low frequency, both tend to be tional texts about Mars that I picked off the to be relaxed. Sadly, as this strategy pulled excluded by readability formulas that are Internet affirms that, without exception, vortically upon itself, it did not solve the based on large word-frequency counts. Yet, and whether the intended audience was access problem but, instead, made it the “information” in a text is shown to young children or scientists, the nouns worse. In terms of literacy growth, making depend disproportionately on words in Mars and planet are among the five most the textbooks easier is an approach that this second category.48 Because of this, frequent in each. The balance of the domi- ultimately denies students the very lan- when words in this second category are nant nouns in each text depends on the guage, information, and modes of thought removed or substituted so as to “simplify” subtopic in focus—variously, its moons, its they need most in order to move up and on. the text, much of the information in the text geography, our efforts at its exploration, Is there any escape from this dilemma? is removed along with them. etc. The answer is yes, there is, and it follows With this in mind, and combined with directly from Zipf’s law. Again, according what else we know about literacy growth, to Zipf’s law, every coherent text is made Zipf’s law prescribes a self-supporting up of a few words that recur again and strategy for developing the sorts of knowl- again, and many words that occur just once edge structures that complex texts require. or only a few times. And, again, Zipf’s law A benefit of a com- That is, we know that even for young49 and is shown to hold for virtually every natural delayed50 readers, any new word encoun- language domain, regardless of its size, mon core curriculum tered (and identified correctly) in print topic, modality, or sophistication. would be an overhaul becomes a sight word with little more than Let us first consider the implications of a single encounter, provided its meaning is Zipf’s law with respect to word-frequency of the texts we give known. We know that the more that stu- counts such as the one undertaken for The students to read, and dents already know about the topic of a American Heritage School Dictionary.46 text, the greater their understanding and Recall that the goal of such large frequency the kind of learning learning will be as they read.51 We know counts is to capture as broad and represen- that vocabulary strength predicts the speed tative a picture of the language as possible. and thought we and security with which students learn the For this reason, the collective texts from expect their read- meanings of unfamiliar words, whether which they are constructed are chosen to through reading52 or direct instruction.53 represent as broad and representative a ing to support. The challenge, then, lies in organizing range of topics and genres as possible our reading regimens in every subject and while avoiding repetition of any particular every class such that each text bootstraps topic or text. A consequence of this text- the language and knowledge that will be sampling strategy is that the low-frequency needed for the next. Zipf’s law tells us that words within these word counts fall into A more specific statement of Zipf’s law this can be done by carefully sequencing two different categories. In the first cate- is this: which words appear frequently and and scaffolding students’ reading materials gory are words that are rare because they infrequently in any given text depends on within any given topic. Ideally, such scaf- are complex, technical, obsolete, or eso- what the text is about. So, in a text about folding would begin on the very first day of teric (e.g., caprifoliaceous, omphaloskepsis, cooking, the word habitat would be infre- school, with prekindergarten and kinder- and mumpsimus). In the second category, quent, but in a text about ecology, it would garten teachers reading aloud stories and however, are words that are rare because not. The problem with large word-fre- nonfiction texts that build on each others’ their meanings are relatively specific and quency counts—and, by extension, with vocabulary and ideas. are often tied to specific contexts, topics, the readability formulas that are based on Teachers in any grade (and parents) and genres.47 For example, a high-fre- them—is that, by design, the texts from would do well to follow this relatively quency word such as home may be which they are generated are collectively straightforward strategy: expected in texts of many different types topic-neutral. Similarly, if your students 1. Select a topic about which your stu- and topics of which only a small subset were to read a little of this and a little of dents need to learn. (There will be plenty would accept such low-frequency syn- that, without rereading anything or dwell- of time for other topics once you’ve started onyms as condominium, wigwam, hospice, ing on any topic, then the likelihood of this process.) If the students are below habitat, birthplace, burrow, or warren. The their encountering any given information- grade level, begin with shorter, simpler same holds for the high-frequency word bearing word would be quite small. texts. strong versus the more specific alternatives In contrast, if your students read several 2. Teach the key words and concepts valid, virile, tensile, pungent, dominant, texts on a single topic, they would encoun- directly, engaging students in using and vibrant, durable, lethal, tyrannical, and ter a number of domain-specific, informa- discussing them to be sure they are well undiluted. More generally, the greater the tion-bearing words. In such texts, the anchored. information that a word carries, the fewer words that rise to the top are those most 3. As the students learn the core vocab- the topics and contexts in which it will useful for describing the concepts and ulary, basic concepts, and overarching arise. relationships that are central to that topic. schemata of the domain, they will become Because words in both of these two cat- For example, a quick sampling of informa- ready to explore its subtopics, reading (or

LITERACY LADDERS | 65 having read aloud to them) as many texts ity for our children’s religious education From my perspective, a great benefit of as needed or appropriate on each subtopic has been reassigned from the school to a common core curriculum is that it would in turn. families and churches. However, the edu- drive a thorough overhaul of the texts we Gradually and seamlessly, students will cational and literacy levels required by the give students to read, and the kinds of find themselves ready for texts of increas- other dimensions of life, liberty, and the learning and thought we expect their read- ingly greater depth and complexity. Better pursuit of happiness have exploded. In our ing to support. Amid the relatively few SAT yet, as their expertise on, say, Mars, times, written language has become the headlines this fall, the one written by the expands, they will find themselves in a far major medium not just for education but College Board, which administers the SAT, better position to read about Venus, Jupiter, for information in every aspect of life. Fur- stood out: “2010 College-Bound Seniors earth sciences, space exploration, and on ther, as priest, professor, and historian Results Underscore Importance of Aca- and on. Walter Ong has pointed out, the ubiquity demic Rigor.”55 As the College Board went Can advanced texts really be made of audio support hardly matters: written on to explain, “students in the class of 2010 accessible to less proficient readers in this language is the underlying medium for who reported completing a core curricu- way? Yes. As a concrete example, no text on educated communication regardless of lum—defined as four or more years of dinosaurs would get through a readability modality.54 English, three or more years of mathemat- formula for second-graders. However, hav- The arguments for a common core cur- ics, three or more years of natural science, ing built up their vocabulary and domain riculum are partly that it would be readily and three or more years of social science knowledge, many second-graders are able accessible to every teacher and school, and history—scored, on average, 151 to read and understand remarkably partly that it would provide continuity and points higher on the SAT than those who sophisticated texts about dinosaurs with coherence for the millions of students who did not complete a core curriculum.” We’ve great satisfaction. Similarly, I have rarely frequently change schools (an issue E. D. known at least since Socrates that chal- met a Boston cabby—no matter how much Hirsch, Jr., explores beginning on page 55 lenging, well-sequenced coursework leads he decried reading—who wasn’t quick to of this volume), and partly that a vocabu- to more learning. It is time for us, as a pick up and read a news article about the lary-building curriculum is too big and too nation, to act on that knowledge and give Red Sox. Knowledge truly is the most pow- hard a job for any teacher or school to put all students the common core curriculum erful determinant of reading comprehen- together alone. Creating each unit, for each they need to be prepared for advanced sion. The greatest benefits of literacy grow grade K–12, will depend on judicious selec- reading and learning.  through reading deeply in multiple tion not just of topics but of the reading domains and about multiple topics. We materials comprising each unit. From the Endnotes 1. C. Gewertz, “Few Changes on SAT Posted by Class of can and must do a better job of leading— billions of pages of print that are available, 2010,” Education Week, September 22, 2010. and enabling—our students to do so. If finding those that are both well written and 2. E. Gorski, “Scores on SAT College Entrance Test Hold education is the key to opportunity, then appropriate will take work. The task of Steady,” Associated Press, September 13, 2010. 3. S. Rimer, “Class of 2008 Matches ’07 on the SAT,” New their options, in school and beyond, building a good core curriculum will York Times, August 26, 2008. depend on it. require intense effort by teams of educa- 4. See, for example, W. Wirtz and H. Howe II, On Further tors and scholars, including the best minds Examination: Report of the Advisory Panel on the Scholastic Aptitude Test Score Decline (New York: College Entrance The Role of a Common and sensibilities available. Examination Board, 1977); T. Lewin, “Students’ Paths to Small Colleges Can Bypass SAT,” New York Times, August Core Curriculum In creating a common core curriculum, 31, 2006; J. M. Rothstein, “College Performance Predictions the goal is neither to dictate nor to limit and the SAT,” Journal of Econometrics 121, no. 1–2 (2004), There are some who object reflexively to 297–317; and L. C. Stedman, “Respecting the Evidence: The what all students should be able to know the notion of a common core curriculum. Achievement Crisis Remains Real,” Education Policy Analysis and do. As detailed within the Winter Archives 4, no. 7 (1996), 1–31. Yet, if you think about it, the very concept 2010–2011 issue of American Educator, the 5. A. Sum, I. Kirsch, and R. Taggart, The Twin Challenges of of publicly supported schooling is predi- Mediocrity and Inequality: Literacy in the U.S. from an core curriculum might fill only two-thirds International Perspective (Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing cated on the belief that there is a certain Service, 2002). of students’ instructional time. Perhaps, body of knowledge and abilities that is 6. S. Provasnik, P. Gonzales, and D. Miller, U.S. Performance too, the units would be populated with across International Assessments of Student Achievement: needed by every citizen for a safe, respon- alternate sets of readings. After all, as Special Supplement to the Condition of Education 2009 sible, and productive life. (Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, reviewed in this article, the greatest benefit 2009). Under the Massachusetts School Law of of a well-structured program of reading 7. B. D. Rampey, G. S. Dion, and P. L. Donahue, NAEP 2008 1642, every town was made responsible for Trends in Academic Progress (Washington, DC: National and learning is that it prepares the student Center for Education Statistics, 2009). teaching every child “to read perfectly the to read other materials with competence 8. M. Seastrom, L. Hoffman, C. Chapman, and R. Stillwell, English tongue,” and to understand the The Averaged Freshman Graduation Rate for Public High and thoughtful comprehension. If educa- capital laws of the commonwealth and the Schools from the Common Core of Data: School Years tion is to nurture interest and support rel- 2001–02 and 2002–03 (Washington, DC: National Center principles of religion, as well as for ensur- for Education Statistics, 2005). evance, it must also leave room for some ing every child was provided an appren- 9. ACT, Reading between the Lines: What the ACT Reveals choice. The purpose of a core curriculum about College Readiness in Reading (Iowa City, IA: ACT, ticeship in “some lawful calling, labour, or 2006). is to build the foundations that will put employment.” In effect, these requirements 10. W. Wirtz and H. Howe II, On Further Examination: Report students in good stead to choose and pur- of the Advisory Panel on the Scholastic Aptitude Test Score constituted the colony’s common core sue what they wish to learn and do—which, Decline (New York: College Entrance Examination Board, curriculum. 1977); and W. W. Turnbull, Student Change, Program of course, depends integrally on their being Change: Why the SAT Scores Kept Falling (New York: In the centuries since then, responsibil- College Entrance Examination Board, 1985). able to learn and do it.

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