RICA Competency 10, Vocabulary, Academic Language, and Background Knowledge:

Role in Reading Development and Factors that Affect Development. This covers the five
different vocabularies a person holds. Listening (the words you understand while listening to
others speak), speaking (the words you use when you talk), writing (the words you use when you
write), sight (the words you can recognize and correctly pronounce), and meaning (the words
you understand when reading silently). RICA Competency 11, Vocabulary, Academic Language
and Background Knowledge: Instruction and Assessment. This covers how teachers should teach
specific words, word-learning strategies, how to develop word consciousness, how to use a wide
range of vocabulary to build academic language and background knowledge, and how to support
and assess what students have learned in terms of vocabulary.
Three experiences I have had with this competency include encounters with my tutees,
observations in the classroom, and witnessing it being modeled. How I have incorporated
vocabulary into my lesson plans week in and week out include a variety of text that use academic
languages, I then build on that by tapping into my tutees prior knowledge during our word
studies. If my tutees comprehend what we have just read they will be able to digest and discuss
the text. In my classroom I have been able to observe this being modeled when my master
teacher assigns vocabulary words for the week. She carefully plans the activities to promote
knowledge of the set vocabulary words for the week (Zarrillo, 2011, pg. 77). The words are
assigned for homework, defined in the classroom, and pointed out if they appear in other areas of
instruction. This allows the students to build on their background knowledge, which will help
them when hearing the words and having to spell them during the spelling test at the end of each
week, building their vocabulary.
This relates to TPE 4.4, To meet student academic learning needs, candidates explain
content clearly and reinforce content in multiple ways, such as the use of written and oral
presentation, manipulatives, physical models, visual and performing arts, diagrams, non-verbal
communication, and use of media and other technology (California Teaching Performance
Expectations, 2013). The teacher uses multiple means of representation when providing the
students with new vocabulary. One of the most effective ways that helps the students gain
knowledge of vocabulary in each of the five different categories is how she uses it across
subjects. If they come across a new word and notices that the students do not have prior
knowledge, she defines it and uses it in a sentence, Defining a word and using the word in a
sentence or a context is a common and useful practice (Vacca, et al., 2015, pp. 260). She also
checks for comprehension to access their progress in gaining the five vocabulary foundations.
I can apply RICA Competency 10 and RICA Competency 11 by pairing them together. It
is one thing to touch base on each one of the five foundations of vocabulary, but its another to
teach it appropriately and assess if effectively.

Works Cited
Commission on Teacher Credentialing. (2013). California teaching performance
Expectations. Retrieved from http://www.ctc.ca.gov/educatorprep/TPA-files/TPEs-Full Version.pdf
Vacca, J. A., Vacca, R. T., Gove, M. K., Burkey, L. C., Lenhart, L. A., & McKeon, C. A.
(2015). Reading & Learning to Read. Upper Saddle River : Pearson .
Zarrillo, J. J. (2011). Third Edition Ready for Revised RICA. Boston : Pearson .