The Effects of Explicit Instruction on Head Start Students’ Vocabulary Knowledge

• In Event: Supporting Young Children’s Literacy and Language Development

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of explicit vocabulary instruction during storybook reading on young children’s vocabulary knowledge. Sixteen Head Start classrooms were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: instructional intervention or comparison group. Teachers in the intervention group implemented explicit vocabulary instruction twice a week during their whole-class read aloud. Teachers in the comparison group read the same storybooks twice a week but did not include explicit vocabulary instruction. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) indicated that the treatment group scored significantly higher than the control group on receptive and expressive subtests of the Test of Oral Language Development (TOLD-4). These findings suggest the explicit vocabulary instructional sequence used in this study was effective in fostering Head Start students’ vocabulary development.

Authors

• Katrin Blamey, DeSales University

• Priti Haria, The Richard Stockton College of NJ

• Heidi M. Sweetman, University of Delaware

• Katherine Beauchat