![]() ![]() However, sadly, many teachers don’t know how to teach vocabulary effectively. The last thing we want to do is widen that gap by putting off vocabulary instruction or not giving it the attention it deserves. So many of our students already have a vocabulary gap when they come to us as kindergarteners, first-graders, and second-graders. My students deserved strategic vocabulary lessons and engaging opportunities to interact with robust Tier 2 vocabulary words that they could connect to their everyday lives. I found out quickly that my read aloud time was not enough. They listened to the words and meanings, but they didn’t use, play, explain, connect, or own the words. My students were passive word learners-not active word learners. The new words we learned in our reading of Owl Moon usually didn’t make their way back to my students again. I rarely-if ever-revisited the word with my students. My students would occasionally chime in with a thought or two about the word, but that was it. But after I shared a new word? I often just moved on and kept reading. I felt like I was being proactive in the area of vocabulary when I shared a new word and its’ meaning. The “bulk” of my vocabulary instruction happened during my read aloud. Besides directly teaching science and social studies words from our units, I really didn’t know WHAT words to teach or how to teach them effectively. I did the same during my small groups, with the exception of an occasional vocabulary activity. I would quickly share the meaning of the words and move on. In my own classroom, my vocabulary instruction often consisted of reading picture books and pointing out interesting words while I read. Yet many teachers do not have a dedicated “vocabulary” time built into their day. <– As primary teachers, that’s not a statement we can take lightly. Our students’ vocabulary skills are directly related to their comprehension abilities. Many classroom teachers are in need of more effective vocabulary instruction (Broomley 2007).Vocabulary standards are shown as early as kindergarten within the Common Core State Standards (RL.K.4: “Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.”).Three years later, we learned that this gap in vocabulary was directly related to reading and comprehension success (Snow, 1998).A study by Hart & Risley in 1995 found that by the age of 3, many low SES children already displayed a large gap in vocabulary compared to peers of higher SES.In a study by Cunningham and Stanovich (1997), the vocabulary skills of first-grade students predicted their reading achievement in their junior year of high school.But what about vocabulary? Is it okay to wait or put vocabulary instruction off until your students know their letters and sounds, or, until they are independent readers? To put it simply, doing so can result in some scary results: Perhaps you have a whole toolkit of fun and engaging activities to teach blending, CVC words, and phonemic awareness skills. If you’re a primary teacher, you’ve most likely given careful thought to how you will teach phonics this year. ![]()
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