Vocabulary knowledge is important because it encompasses all the words we must know to access our background knowledge, express our ideas and communicate effectively, and learn about new concepts. “Vocabulary is the glue that holds stories, ideas and content together… making comprehension accessible for children.” (Rupley, Logan & Nichols, 1998/99). Students’ word knowledge is linked strongly to academic success because students who have large vocabularies can understand new ideas and concepts more quickly than students with limited vocabularies. The high correlation in the research literature of word knowledge with reading comprehension indicates that if students do not adequately and steadily grow their vocabulary knowledge, reading comprehension will be affected (Chall & Jacobs, 2003).
The recommended practices outlined in the K-3 Essential Instructional Practices are:
The teacher:
Selects Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary words to teach from read alouds of literature and informational texts and from content area curricula
Introduces word meanings to children during reading and content area instruction using child-friendly explanations and by providing opportunities for children to pronounce the new words and to see the spelling of the new words
Provides repeated opportunities for children to review and use new vocabulary over time, including discussing ways that new vocabulary relate to one another and to children’s existing knowledge, addressing multiple meanings or nuanced meanings of a word across different contexts, and encouraging children to use new words in meaningful contexts (e.g., discussion of texts, discussions of content area learning, semantic maps)
Encourages talk among children, particularly during content area learning and during discussions of print or digital texts
Teaches morphology (i.e., meaning of word parts), including common word roots, inflections, prefixes, and affixes