Word Knowledge and Comprehension Effects of an Academic Vocabulary Intervention for Middle School Students

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Stanley

Word Knowledge and Comprehension Effects of an Academic Vocabulary Intervention for Middle School Students reports results from an academic vocabulary teaching intervention conducted across sixth and seventh grades. The study examines a sequence of outcomes from word knowledge to reading comprehension and also analyzes the processes students use to build meaning for unfamiliar words. In Year 1 (two sixth-grade reading teachers; 105 students) and Year 2 (one seventh-grade reading teacher; 87 students), instructed students outperformed peers on word knowledge, lexical access, and morphological awareness, with additional gains in comprehension in Year 2.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages45

Reading Time1 h 53 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Attention to Vocabulary Instruction and Research

American Educational Research Journal June 2018, Vol. 55, No. 3, pp. 572–616 DOI: 10.3102/0002831217744181 􀀂 2018 AERA. [http://aerj](http://aerj).[aera.net](aera.net) Word Knowledge and Comprehension Effects of an Academic Vocabulary Intervention for Middle School Students Margaret G. McKeown University of Pittsburgh Amy C. Crosson Pennsylvania State University Debra W. Moore Isabel L. Beck University of Pittsburgh This article presents findings from an intervention across sixth and seventh grades to teach academic words to middle school students. The goals included investigating a progression of outcomes from word knowledge to comprehension and investigating the processes students use in establishing word meaning. Participants in Year 1 were two sixth-grade reading teachers and 105 students (treatment n = 62; control n = 43) and in Year 2, one seventh-grade reading teacher and 87 students (treatment n = 44; control n = 43) from the same public school. In both years, results favored instructed students in word knowledge, lexical access, and morphological awareness MARGARET G. MCKEOWN is a senior scientist at the Learning Research and Development Center and Clinical Professor at the School of Education, University of Pittsburgh, 3939 O’Hara St. , Pittsburgh, PA 15260; e-mail: [mckeown@pitt.edu](mckeown@pitt.edu. Dr. McKeown)[. Dr. McKeown](mckeown@pitt.edu. Dr. McKeown)’s work involves applying theory and cognitive research to practical, current problems of classroom teachers and their students. The focus of her work is reading comprehension and vocabulary. AMY C. CROSSON is assistant professor at the Pennsylvania State University, University Park. Her research focuses on literacy interventions to improve word knowledge, comprehension, and argumentation of students in underresourced schools, including language minority students. DEBRA W. MOORE is research assistant professor and co-director of the Pennsylvania Alternate System of Assessment (PASA) at the School of Education, University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Moore’s research interests include applied issues in educational measurement, testing, and accountability systems, especially as applied to alternative assessments. ISABEL L. BECK is professor emerita in the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh. She has conducted research and published widely in the areas of decoding, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. Effects of an Academic Vocabulary Intervention for Middle School Students on researcher-designed measures. In Year 2, small advances were also found for comprehension. Transcripts of lessons shed light on processes of developing representations of unfamiliar words. KEYWORDS: vocabulary, reading comprehension, classroom interventions Introduction A preponderance of evidence suggests that too few middle school students read at levels needed to learn from required school texts (American Institutes for Research, 2006; Heller & Greenleaf, 2007; National Center for Education Statistics, 2014) . The most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results show that only 36% of eighth graders read proficiently. Vocabulary demands of school texts are cited as a major contributor to reading problems. Harmon, Hedrick, and Wood (2005) assert that in the face of such demands, ‘‘students need to have a well-developed word knowledge base’’ to handle reading across content areas (p. 262) . While comprehension is complex, involving the coordination of multiple cognitive processes and knowledge, the lynchpin of deep comprehension is word knowledge (Perfetti & Stafura, 2014) . Word knowledge and reading comprehension are intimately linked (e.g., Adlof, Catts, & Little, 2006; Cromley & Azevedo, 2007; Tannenbaum, Torgesen, & Wagner, 2006) as abundant high-quality lexical representations characterize skilled readers relative to less skilled readers (Perfetti, 2007) . Attention to Vocabulary Instruction and Research Despite the

FAQs

What instructional approach differences are discussed regarding vocabulary instruction in schools?

The text notes that when vocabulary instruction occurs, it is often limited to practicing definitions or synonyms, such as teachers giving brief rote information and then prompting students for definitions or synonyms.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Stanley