Teach the Meaning of Critical,

Unknown Vocabulary Words

Children’s vocabulary in the early grades related to reading

comprehension in the upper grades.

Preschool – Children’s vocabulary correlated with reading

comprehension in upper elementary school. (Tabors, 2001)

Kindergarten – Vocabulary size was an effective predictor of

reading comprehension in middle elementary years.

(Scarborough, 1998)

First Grade – Orally tested vocabulary was a proficient

predictor of reading comprehension ten years later.

(Cunnningham and Stanovich, 1997)

Third Grade – Children with restricted vocabulary have

declining comprehension scores in later elementary years.

(Chall, Jacobs, & Baldwin, 1990)

 

Primary Conclusions fromNational Reading Panel (2000)

1. Vocabulary should be taught both directly and indirectly.

2. Repetition and multiple exposures to vocabulary items are

important.

3. Learning in rich contexts is valuable for vocabulary

learning.

4. Vocabulary learning should entail active engagement in

learning tasks.

5. Dependency on a single vocabulary instructional method

will not result in optimal learning.

 

How does vocabulary contribute to the acquisition of reading

comprehension?

The obvious way – knowing the meanings of the

words in text is necessary to understand the

message being conveyed.

Other probable, less obvious ways –

-Vocabulary contributes to the development

of phonemic awareness (Metsala, 1998;

Lonegan, 2004)

-Vocabulary contributes to more accurate

decoding of words whose printed form is

unfamiliar (Ehri, 2002)

-Vocabulary contributes to reading fluency

because it reads to more accurate reading

practice.