Background Knowledge

A student's background knowledge, which includes facts, generalizations, and principles, is a strong determiner of academic achievement, which special education evaluations need to assess and IEPs need to address. This knowledge base consists of a student's remembered experiences and the corresponding labels. According to Allan Pavio's dual coding theory, information is stored linguistically and non linguistically in our memories. Consequently, IEPs and the corresponding special education programs and services can assist in addressing these difficulties with direct means, such as field trips & adult mentoring and indirect means, such as educational television, reading, and vocabulary instruction. Memories have associated tags, labels, or words.¹ In fact, research indicates that teaching vocabulary also teaches background knowledge.²

Therefore, IEPs and the corresponding special education programs and services should utilize effective vocabulary instruction, such as:

1. Descriptions as opposed to definitions

2. Linguistic and non linguistic representations of the words - writing descriptions, creating graphic organizers, and pictorial representations

3. Gradual shaping of word meanings through multiple exposures, using:

    a. linguistic and non linguistic representations; and

    b. similarities and differences - comparing, classifying, creating metaphors, and creating analogies

4. Teaching & using word parts - suffixes, prefixes, and roots

5. Discussion of words helps students describe the terms in their own words and view the terms from different perspectives

6. Playing games with words (e.g., pictionary, pantomime for assigned words, scrabble, etc.). These games tend to attract the student's interest and connects the words to the student's imagination and fantasies. 

7. Focusing on critical words and terms related to the subject causing difficulty ¹

Additional resources & examples of activities, which can IEPs and corresponding special education programs and services can utilize to improve vocabulary development:

1. The New Jersey Department of Education has developed an array of resources, which are aligned with the Core Curriculum Content Standards (CCCS), which can be accessed to assist in vocabulary development:

    a.  Under Language Arts Literacy - Reading - Standard 3.1, there are two skills, which contain cumulative progress indicators (CPIs) from Kindergarten through the 12th grade, with corresponding framework activities and vignettes, which can be utilized to improve vocabulary development:

        i. Vocabulary & Concept Development

        ii. Decoding & Word Recognition

    b. Also, under speaking - Standard 3.3 - Word Choice - the CPIs and corresponding framework activities and vignettes, which can be utilized to improve vocabulary development:.

    c. There are also a significant number of instructional vignettes, which were developed by the NJDOE and are aligned with the CCCS that can be utilized to improve vocabulary development, such as:

        i. Using Word Origins to Develop Vocabulary

        ii. Vocabulary In Context

        iii. A to Z Word List

        iv. Word Wall and Word Log

        v. Glossary of Words

2. Non linguistic representations, including graphic organizers can be utilized in vocabulary development activities. The following hyperlinked templates, which were developed by Inspiration Software can serve as guidance for stakeholders to develop vocabulary:

    a. Vocabulary template from Inspiration

    b. New word template from Kidspiration

    c. Concept map from Kidspiration   

    d. Definition from Inspiration