2.1 illustrates the difference between descriptions found in the COBUILD dictionary and definitions from the DK children’s dictionary (2008).
Table 2.1: Descriptions vs. Definitions
| Definition in DK Merriam-Webster Children’s Dictionary (2008) | Description in Collins COBUILD Illustrated Basic Dictionary (Roehr & Carroll, 2010) | |
| abrupt | Happening without warning | An abrupt change or action is very sudden, often in a way that is unpleasant. |
| dignity | The quality or state of being worthy of honor and respect | If someone behaves or moves with dignity, they are serious, calm, and controlled. |
| inclined | Having a desire | If you say that you are inclined to have a particular opinion, you mean that you have this opinion, but you do not feel strongly about it. |
| overlook | To fail to see | If you overlook a fact or a problem, you do not notice it. |
| threat | The act of showing an intention to do harm | If you make a threat against someone, you say that something bad will happen to them if they do not do what you want. |
Descriptions, such as those shown in the right column of table 2.1, help students gain a clear understanding of what a word means and how it is generally used. Definitions, on the other hand, can often be confusing or lead students to infer incorrect meanings for words. For example, based solely on the dictionary definition for abrupt (from table 2.1) a student might compose sentences such as the following:
• Ben’s surprise party was abrupt.
• The clown jumped out of the cake abruptly.
• Ben’s abrupt gift of an Xbox 360 made all the children crowd around excitedly.
Technically, these sentences use the word abrupt to mean “happening without warning,” but they also show that this student has failed to capture the usually negative connotations associated with the word. The description in table 2.1 highlights that aspect of the word, explaining that abrupt actions or events can often be unpleasant.
Explaining Features of Words
Effective description and explanation of a term involve helping students understand the important features of a word. For example, a word’s part of speech (noun, verb, adverb, adjective, and so on) is one of its important features. Other important features may depend on who or what the word refers to. For example, words that refer to people have different key features than words that refer to events. Table 2.2 shows seven types of words with accompanying questions that teachers can ask students to draw out key features for each word type; these types are not meant to be definitive but rather to help teachers and students think about words in various ways. This list is a simplified version of Marzano’s (2004) synthesis of vocabulary research (Marzano & Marzano, 1988; Stahl, 1999) and artificial intelligence research (Fellbaum, 1998; Miller, 1995) on various types of words.
Table 2.2: Features of Different Types of Words
| Types | Questions About Key Features |
| People(for example, author, character, villain, narrator, guest speaker, host, hostess, film director, political cartoonist) | 1. What actions does this kind of person perform?2. What is required to become this kind of person?3. What physical or psychological characteristics does this kind of person have? |
| Events(for example, play, interview, simulation, chance event) | 1. What people are associated with this kind of event?2. What process or actions are associated with this kind of event?3. What equipment, materials, resources, or contexts are associated with this kind of event?4. What setting is associated with this kind of event?5. What causes and consequences are associated with this kind of event? |
| Intellectual, artistic, or cognitive products(for example, essay, argument, tessellation, proof, model) | 1. What process is associated with this kind of product?2. What purpose is associated with this kind of product?3. What people are associated with this kind of product?4. What equipment is associated with this kind of product? |
| Mental actions(for example, revise, edit, reflect, problem solve, prove) | 1. What process is associated with this kind of mental action?2. What people are associated with this kind of mental action?3. What location is associated with this kind of mental action?4. What causes or consequences are associated with this kind of mental action? |
| Social/societal groups, institutions, or organizations(for example, audience, Modern Language Association, American Psychological Association, control group, representative sample, population) | 1. What purpose is associated with this kind of group, institution, or organization?2. What people are associated with this kind of group, institution, or organization?3. What setting is associated with this kind of group, institution, or organization? |
| Shapes/direction/position(for example, order of events, introduction, conclusion, polygon, coordinate plane, circumference, data distribution) | 1. What physical features are associated with this kind of shape, direction, or position?2. What uses are associated with this kind of shape, direction, or position?3. What reference points are associated with this kind of shape, direction, or position? |
| Quantities/amounts/measurements(for example, time frame, pacing, Roman numeral, cardinal number, greater than [>], function) | 1. What relationships are associated with this kind of quantity, amount, or measurement?2. What referents are associated with this kind of quantity, amount, or measurement? |
Source: Adapted from Marzano, 2004, pp. 81–84.
If a teacher was trying to explain the term function to her students, she might decide that the term fits best in the type quantities/amounts/measurements. In table 2.2, there are two questions for quantities/amounts/measurements:
1. What relationships are associated with this kind of quantity, amount, or measurement?
2. What referents are associated with this kind of quantity, amount, or measurement?
A teacher could use these questions to frame the class discussion of the term function. The teacher begins by explaining that a function expresses a relationship between two measurements. As one measurement changes, it affects the other measurement. The teacher then explains that different functions express different types of relationships: for example, linear functions refer to different kinds of relationships than quadratic functions.
Providing Examples
Description and explanation of a term must be accompanied by examples, such as the following:
• Experiences (field trips or guest speakers)
• Stories (personal experiences
