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By: Reading Rockets (2012)
By: Katherine A. Dougherty Stahl and Marco A. Bravo (2011)
What are some ways that we can gauge vocabulary development in the content areas? In this article, the authors explain how the intricacies of word knowledge make assessment difficult, particularly with content area vocabulary. They suggest ways to improve assessments that more precisely track students' vocabulary growth across the curriculum, including English language learners.
By: Reading Rockets (2011)
Browse our resources about how to build academic language, the value of quality children's books, effective classroom strategies like word maps and semantic feature analysis, how parents can nurture vocabulary development at home, and more.
By: Elaine K. McEwan (2011)
Reading in the "comfort zone" means that students read well enough to understand the text. Here's a simple technique that students can use to determine if a book is right for them.
By: Elaine K. McEwan (2011)
Familiarity with Greek and Latin roots, as well as prefixes and suffixes, can help students understand the meaning of new words. This article includes many of the most common examples.
By: Sheryl Honig (2010)
The framework provided in this article for viewing students' science writing offers teachers the opportunity to assess and support scientific language acquisition.
By: Isabel Beck, Margaret McKeown, and Linda Kucan (2010)
Teaching vocabulary is complex. What words are important for a child to know and in what context? In this excerpt from Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction, the authors consider what principles might be used for selecting which words to explicitly teach.
By: National Center for Technology Innovation (2010)
To be scientifically literate, students must be able to express themselves appropriately. Learn how to help struggling students master specific vocabulary and be able to use it in their science writing activities.
By: Carol McDonald Connor, Sibel Kaya, and Melissa Luck (2010)
This study describes a second-grade science curriculum designed to individualize student instruction so that students, regardless of initial science and literacy skills, gain science knowledge and reading skills. The instruction incorporates flexible, homogeneous, literacy skills-based grouping, use of leveled science text, and explicit use of discussion and comprehension strategies.
By: Reading Rockets (2010)
Students who comprehend the most from their reading are those who know a lot about words. These students know about word prefixes, suffixes, word roots, and multiple meanings of words. Families can help develop word knowledge through simple conversations focused on words.
By: Holly Lane and Stephanie Allen (2010)
The teacher's use of language provides an important model for children's vocabulary development. By modeling the use of sophisticated words, teachers can promote students' vocabulary growth and word consciousness. In this article, the research support for this approach is explained, suggestions are provided for how teachers might accomplish this goal, and examples are shared from teachers who have done it successfully.
By: Center for American Progress, Claire E. White, and James S. Kim (2009)
The powerful combination of systematic vocabulary instruction and expanded learning time has the potential to address the large and long-standing literacy gaps in U.S. public schools, particularly with low-income students and English language learners.
By: Mariam Jean Dreher and Jennifer Letcher Gray (2009)
This article explains (a) how to teach students to identify the compare-contrast text structure, and to use this structure to support their comprehension, (b) how to use compare-contrast texts to activate and extend students' background knowledge, and (c) how to use compare-contrast texts to help students expand and enrich their vocabulary. Although these strategies can benefit all young learners, the compare-contrast text structure is particularly helpful to ELL students.
By: Karen J. Kindle (2009)
Reading aloud is a common practice in primary classrooms and is viewed as an important vehicle for vocabulary development. Read-alouds are complex instructional interactions in which teachers choose texts, identify words for instruction, and select the appropriate strategies to facilitate word learning. This study explored the complexities by examining the read-aloud practices of four primary teachers through observations and interviews.
By: Reading Rockets (2009)
Talking to and reading with your child are two terrific ways to help them hear and read new words. Conversations and questions about interesting words are easy, non-threatening ways to get new words into everyday talk. Here are some ideas to get you started.
By: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) (2009)
Young children are naturally curious. Early childhood educators and parents can build on children's questions, eagerness, and enthusiasm to help them learn science.
By: Rebecca Silverman (2009)
The principles of a multidimensional vocabulary program hold promise for supporting the vocabulary development of all students, especially English language learners. Eight characteristics of a multidimensional approach are described. The first is the introduction of new words through engaging children's literature.
By: Rebecca Silverman and Sara Hines (2009)
A recent research study shows that using multimedia video in conjunction with traditional read aloud methods may improve the vocabulary growth of English language learners. An example of how to implement multimedia during classroom read-alouds is described.
By: Susan M. Ebbers (2008)
Rather than introducing a new word in isolation, teachers should introduce students to a rich variety of words that share the same root. This approach should help diverse learners including English language learners, make important connections among vocabulary words within the same family, and transfer core ideas across content areas.
By: E. Sutton Flynt and William G. Brozo (2008)
Concerns about how to build academic vocabulary and weave its instruction into curricula are common among classroom teachers. This article reviews the research and offers some practical suggestions for teachers.
By: Regina Boulware-Gooden, Suzanne Carreker, Ann Thornhill, and R. Malatesha Joshi (2007)
The use of metacognitive strategies helps students to "think about their thinking" before, during, and after they read.
By: U.S. Department of Education (2007)
One way to create effective literacy instruction for English learners in the elementary grades is to provide extensive and varied vocabulary instruction.
By: U.S. Department of Education (2007)
Most scholars believe that instruction in academic English — done early, consistently, and simultaneously across content areas — can make a difference in English learners’ ability to understand the core curriculum.
By: Newspaper Association of America Foundation (2007)
Newspapers expand the curriculum with an unlimited amount of information to use as background for learning activities. Discover new ways to use the newspaper in your language arts studies, with these activities from the Newspaper Association of America.
By: Colorín Colorado (2007)
Cognates are words in two languages that share a similar meaning, spelling, and pronunciation. For Spanish-speaking ELLs, cognates are an obvious bridge to the English language.
By: Colorín Colorado (2007)
Social English, or the language of conversation, may develop very quickly, but mastering academic English, the language of school, can take years. Use these tips to lead students toward full language proficiency.
By: Colorín Colorado (2007)
Knowing vocabulary words is key to reading comprehension. The more words a child knows, the better he or she will understand the text. Using a variety of effective teaching methods will increase the student's ability to learn new words.
By: Reading Rockets (2007)
You don't need to have a book in hand to help your child become a better reader. Interesting experiences give kids a broader framework for new information they might encounter in books, and when kids have lots of experiences to draw on, they have a better chance of making a connection with what they read! Help your child build background knowledge this summer with these activities.
By: Reading Rockets (2007)
Most words in a child's vocabulary come from everyday encounters with language. Children pick up language from books, media, and conversations with the people in their lives. Here are some ways you can increase your child's vocabulary and background knowledge, and strengthen the foundation for their reading success.
By: Louise Spear-Swerling (2006)
One of the most misunderstood topics in reading instruction involves the extent to which children should be encouraged to rely on context cues in reading.
By: Louise Spear-Swerling (2006)
Children with vocabulary weaknesses are especially vulnerable to difficulties with reading comprehension from the middle elementary grades onward. Vocabulary weaknesses may affect school achievement in many areas beyond reading, including written expression, mathematics, and performance in content subjects such as social studies and science.
By: Linda Diamond and Linda Gutlohn (2006)
Consider some excellent lesson models for teaching vocabulary, explaining idioms, fostering word consciousness, instruction for English Language Learners, and mnemonic strategies.
By: Louisa Moats (2006)
Many young readers are puzzled by the rules and exceptions of spelling. Research has shown, however, that learning to spell and learning to read rely on much of the same underlying knowledge. Read this article to learn more about the relationships between letters and sounds and how a proper understanding of spelling mechanics can lead to improved reading.
By: Beth Antunez (2002)
Find out how teachers can play to the strengths and shore up the weaknesses of English Language Learners in each of the Reading First content areas.
By: Isabel Beck, Margaret McKeown, and Linda Kucan (2002)
This article explains some of the ways that pre-kindergarten through elementary school teachers can enhance the vocabulary development of young children. It focuses on teaching words from texts that are read aloud to children rather than read by children, and it presents activities that take into account the kind of support that young children need to make sense of those words.
By: Judith Gold and Akimi Gibson (2001)
This article discusses the power of reading aloud and goes a step further to discuss the power of thinking out loud while reading to children as a way to highlight the strategies used by thoughtful readers.
By: Partnership for Reading (2001)
This article provides examples of classroom instructional techniques as well as specific activities for helping students build their vocabularies.
By: Partnership for Reading (2001)
The scientific research on vocabulary instruction reveals that 1) most vocabulary is learned indirectly, and 2) some vocabulary must be taught directly.
By: Partnership for Reading (2001)
This article answers four common questions teachers have about vocabulary instruction, including what words to teach and how well students should know vocabulary words.
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