Running Head: PRESCHOOL VOCABULARY

A Critique of Expanding a preschoolers vocabulary: The role of professional development Danielle Cornelia EDU 230-02 February 27, 2012

PRESCHOOL VOCABULARY Summary In Expanding a Preschoolers Vocabulary: the Role of Professional Development, authors Dail and McGee evaluate the factors, statistics, and development of the language and vocabulary of preschoolers across the nations. Dail and McGee are advocating the need to implement better reading programs, incorporate more vocabulary words, and administer yearly

tests to enhance the language skills of children before they reach elementary school. The authors begin the article by going in depth of how influential external factors are in developing the childrens vocabulary. Next Dail and McGee continue by explaining that in order to improve the current standing, States have done several different projects and tests to steadily increase the nations average vocabulary levels. Then the authors conclude by giving a positive overview on the progress preschools have made by equipping their teachers with the proper instructions and materials, then having the teachers directly apply their instruction to the students. Professional Response The beginning of this article immediately takes the reader by surprise with the opening statistics. Both school and home settings greatly impact a childs moldable mind in the sense of developing language. It has been proven that a toddlers vocabulary is correlated by the family income and exposure to different words (among the culture). Dail and McGee cited Hart and Risely (1995) for the statistic that the average child in the middle-class knows approximately 3,000 words by the age of three and will learn 2,000 additional words before they enter kindergarten. In shocking comparison, young children labeled in the working-class typically know about 1,500 words by age three and will only learn 1,000 additional words before

PRESCHOOL VOCABULARY

kindergarten. From the middle class to working-class, the childs vocabulary is cut in half! What a lot of it comes down to is difference in opportunity rather than ability. I agree with the main key points of this article. Dail and McGee give great examples of how families (no matter their financial or racial standing) can make small lifestyle changes and how teachers can quickly begin to alter their lesson plans in the classroom that directly affect and increase a childs vocabulary capacity. Children enhance their language skills at home by observing and hearing conversations between older family members. In addition, children often learn by fast-mapping, which occurs when a direct physical action or a manipulation of an object accompanies the word. Children can learn approximately eight to ten words a day this way. Teachers can help accelerate the childs learning through read-alouds from high-quality picture books and engaging students in decontextualized language. This article explains the process of the projects that States designed to better childrens oral language acquisition. In 2002, the same year the No Child Left Behind Act was signed, an organization called Early Reading First specified that all ERF projects had to assess early literacy skills and oral language two times a year by standardized tests. Then ERF projects were to submit annual performance reports to show whether the program was working or not. Within the first couple years, there was very little progress, and there was no explanation as to why. However, then they began to compare and contrast the project rooms with controlled rooms. The professional development began focusing more on transforming classroom environments, incorporating the read-aloud methods, and applying the teachers instruction directly and effectively to the children. Then the scores began to improve. Project classrooms were achieving perfect or nearly perfect scores, completely bypassing the control classroom scores. With the effectiveness of the project, the professional development began to spread by having preschool

PRESCHOOL VOCABULARY teachers undergo training, practice the methods, and attend the workshop to equip them with the new-found knowledge of how to effectively enhance young childrens vocabulary. One of the disadvantages of this project goes hand-in-hand with the cons of No Child Left Behind; can standardized tests really prove if the child is learning enough? Could one child be a better test taker than the other? Also, are such assessments too difficult for the feeble mind of a preschooler? However, despite the argument of standardized testing, the methods implemented by the professionals have been proven to work. If the test scores are increasing overall, it is a good indicator that the methods are working substantially well enough to improve controversial test scores. The information in this article has been very beneficial for me in regards to growing as a teacher. Once I graduate, I plan to teach either early elementary or preschool. That is the time of

laying the crucial foundations of learning. The information presented by Dail and McGee on how to make small but effective changes in the lesson plan are very notable for beginning teachers like me. I will be sure to implement read-alouds with high-quality picture books, integrated discussions, and consistent assessments to ensure the growth of my students rapidly increasing vocabulary. Not only will this be implemented into my own classroom if I become a preschool teacher, but it will be implemented into my school. I believe that with the progress that has been made, these projects, methods, and test will soon reach all public preschools. But just like No Child Left Behind, we will strive to continually improve.

PRESCHOOL VOCABULARY References Dail, A. R., and McGee, L.M. (2011) "Expanding preschoolers' vocabulary: The role of professional development." Childhood Education 87(3). Academic OneFile. Web. 27 Feb. 2012.