Academic Vocabulary Volume in Elementary Grades Disciplinary Textbooks

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 13
  In Roundtable Session: Academic Vocabulary, Textbooks, and Vocabulary Instruction

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to assess the volume of academic vocabulary in elementary grades disciplinary textbooks. Academic vocabulary was examined in a corpus of best-selling elementary grades textbooks in three disciplinary areas—science, mathematics, and social studies. Academic words in textbooks were identified through automated procedures. Main conclusions were: (a) The estimated overall elementary grades volume of academic vocabulary in disciplinary textbooks was relatively high. Summed across all grades and disciplines, 31% of all of the estimated unique words in the textbooks were academic words. (b) Moreover, approximately one or two of every four or five academic words was estimated to be a word that would present challenges to typically developing and struggling students.

Authors

• Jackie Eunjung Relyea, North Carolina State University

• Jill Fitzgerald, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

• Jeff Elmore, MetaMetrics