Vocabulary is the knowledge of words and word meanings and is critical for understanding what is read.  Teacher instruction and student learning in vocabulary are critical to develop strong reading comprehension, as it is challenging for students to comprehend a word that they do not process in their oral vocabulary.  Effective approaches to teaching vocabulary often foster students’ oral vocabulary development through explicit instruction, wide reading, multiple exposure to words and looking at the semantic features of words.

Vocabulary Skills:

Vocabulary Assessment:

  • CORE Vocabulary Screening Test from CORE Assessing Reading Multiple Measures

Vocabulary Sample Activities:

  • Segment and build with morphemes
  • Use affix and root meanings
  • Segment and put together compound words
  • Semantic mapping
  • Examples and non-examples using pictures
  • Gestures and definitions
  • Exposure to rich vocabulary through reading aloud text from content across curriculum.

Vocabulary Resources:

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