02/03/2020
Our teenagers only know about 3000 vocabulary words in this generation, which lowers reading comprehension and abilities to understand written instructions in the work place and ability to succeed in ACT/SAT exams. Our focus needs to be on tier 2 words in our secondary schools:
In 1985, Beck and McKeown suggested that every literate person has a vocabulary consisting of three levels (Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2002). Tier 1 words consist of basic words. These words usually do not have multiple meanings and do not require explicit instruction. Sight words, nouns, verbs, adjectives, and early reading words occur at this level. Examples of Tier 1 words are book, girl, sad, clock, baby, dog, and orange. There are about 8,000 word families in English included in Tier 1. TEIR 2 contains high-frequency words that occur across a variety of domains. These words play a large role in the vocabulary of mature language users. As a result, Tier 2 words may have a large impact in the everyday functioning of language. Because of their lack of redundancy in oral language, Tier 2 words present challenges to students who primarily meet them in print. Tier 2 words consist of such words as coincidence, masterpiece, absurd, industrious, and benevolent. Because Tier 2 words play an important role in direct instruction, there are certain characteristics that these words have:
Usually have multiple meanings
Used in a variety of subject areas
Necessary for reading comprehension
Characteristic of a mature language user
Descriptive words that add detail
