Kindergarten Teachers’ Explicit Vocabulary Instruction During Informational Text Read-Alouds and Variation by Classroom Characteristics

• In Event: Word Learning for All Students: Metalinguistic Awareness and Vocabulary Instruction With Multilingual and Multidialectal Students

Abstract

Purpose and Theoretical Framework

Informational text read-alouds represent a key access point for young learners in building conceptual and vocabulary knowledge (Neuman & Kaefer, 2018; Pentimonti et al., 2010). Teachers can facilitate vocabulary learning during informational text read-alouds both by explaining new words and by highlighting conceptual relationships among words, as vocabulary in informational text is often semantically interrelated (Authors, 2019; Cervetti et al., 2016). However, the nature of teachers’ vocabulary instruction during informational text read-alouds is largely unknown, with prior research focusing mainly on narrative texts (e.g., Silverman & Crandell, 2010). Also unknown is whether there are disparities in vocabulary instruction based on classroom characteristics. This study aims to 1) investigate the frequency and features of explicit vocabulary instruction during informational text read-alouds in kindergarten; 2) explore relations between classroom-level characteristics and the frequency of vocabulary instruction.

Method

Data were drawn from two randomized control trials of a content-rich English Language Arts program (Authors, 2020). The present study uses data from the control condition only (n = 51 teachers, 626 children). All sample schools were high-poverty. Children were racially and ethnically diverse, with the largest percentages of children identifying as Black (60.4%), White (23.3%), and Hispanic/Latine (9.1%).

Teachers were video-recorded while conducting a read-aloud session as they normally would. Read-aloud videos using informational texts were selected for analysis. Videos were coded for Vocabulary Teaching Episodes (VTEs), capturing instances where a teacher provided explicit extratextual information about a word’s meaning. Coding also captured specific features of VTEs (e.g., the use of domain-specific vocabulary words). Classroom-level variables included the proportion of racially and ethnically marginalized learners (RMLs; Curenton et al., 2022; M = 0.74, SD = 0.32) and average classroom standardized language skills, calculated with baseline syntax and vocabulary scores (CELF-SS, PPVT).

Results

On average, teachers provided 4.92 explicit explanations of vocabulary words during a single read-aloud of informational text. An average VTE was 24 seconds; the average total length of VTEs was 2.27 minutes. Analysis of VTE features showed that teachers took advantage of some, but not all, of the affordances of vocabulary in informational text. For example, 38% of taught words were conceptually related to other taught words, but teachers only made explicit connections to other taught words or concepts in 6% of VTEs.

Using multilevel regression models, we investigated relationships between classroom-level characteristics and the frequency and total length of VTEs. Classroom language skills were not a significant predictor of VTE frequency or length. The proportion of RMLs was significantly and negatively related to both the frequency (b = -9.39, p = 0.05) and total length (b = -350.20, p < 0.05) of VTEs. See Table 1.

Significance

This paper provides a window into kindergarten teachers’ vocabulary instruction during informational text read-alouds, highlighting future leverage points for professional development and systemic disparities in learning opportunities. In particular, results point to the urgent need for additional support and professional learning for teachers in high-poverty classrooms with larger proportions of racially- and ethnically-marginalized learners.

Authors

• Elizabeth Burke Hadley, University of South Florida - Tampa

• Sen Wang, Boston University

• Sonia Cabell, Florida State University