Themed Therapy: An Evidence-Based Vocabulary Strategy

The Research

To learn a new vocabulary word, our students have to make a connection between the word and the concept, and build meaning around it. Learning a new word is a lot easier when they can fit it into a system or category that they already know.

Hadley et al. (2018) identified four factors that help our students to build and deepen their vocabulary:

- multiple exposures to the new concept,

- explicit instruction of the vocabulary,

- support to build categories using perceptual features, and

- opportunities to connect words to themes.

Themes, such as Community Helpers or Zoo, help children to build their understanding of words and make connections with these new concepts. For example, a Farm theme can help support students to fast-map:

- core words, such as "open, close",

- tier 1 and 2 nouns, such as "goat, fence, produce",

- and/or verbs, such as "hop, harvest".

Hadley et al. (2018) stated in their research, "When children learn about concepts in thematic groups, they gain an understanding of semantic relations between words, such as causal or spatial relations."

So... how can SLPs integrate themed therapy into our sessions in an evidence-based way?

Research supports a combination of read aloud and play to incorporate themed targets and words into instruction, "Pairing book reading and guided play show promise for fostering depth of knowledge, as combining these activity settings builds in repeated encounters with words and explicit semantic information about words." (Hadley et al., 2018)

Combining read aloud and play targets those factors - multiple exposures, explicit instruction, building categories,and connecting to themes - that help students cultivate a deeper vocabulary.

Yorke et al. (2018) noted, "Reading aloud isn't enough: we know that kids learn best when direct teaching elements (i.e., introducing the task, providing modeling, supported practice, and independent practice) are part of the process."

SLPs can help students by combining illustrations within the story to picture cards depicting the illustration to support conceptual knowledge and solidify perceptual features. We can also incorporate child-friendly definitions, such as taxonomy membership (e.g. "Radishes are vegetables") or perceptual features (e.g. "Radishes are red on the outside and white on the inside. They taste a little spicy.").

Following the read aloud, research supports child-led play opportunities as a way of continuing to build semantic information. These opportunities might include play props (e.g. using a small chair to learn 'throne'; Glenberg et al., 2004) and/or learning through characters actions/feelings.

To summarize:

✨ Themed therapy is an evidence-based approach for vocabulary instruction, and can be supported by combined read aloud and play. ✨

Wondering how to pick a theme for themed therapy?

Check out my blog post - How to Choose a Theme for Themed Therapy

Sources

Glenberg, A.M., Gutierrez, T., Levin, J.R., Japuntich, S., & Kaschak, M.P. (2004). Activity and Imagined Activity Can Enhance Young Children's Reading Comprehension. Journal of Educational Psychology, 96(3), 424-436. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.96.3.424

Hadley, E.B., Dickinson, D.K., Hirsch-Pasek, K., & Golinkoff, R.M. (2018). Building semantic networks: The impact of a vocabulary intervention on preschoolers' depth of word knowledge. Reading Research Quarterly. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1002/rrq.225

Yorke, A.M., Light, J.C., Gosnell Caron, J., McNaughton, D.B., & Drager, K.D.R. (2018). The effects of explicit instruction in academic vocabulary during shared book reading on the receptive vocabulary of children with complex communication needs. Augmentative and Alternative Communication. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/07434619.2018.1506823