The Vocabulary-Rich Classroom

By modeling the use of sophisticated words, educators 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. Don’t miss the helpful list of sophisticated…

Morphology for Meaning

Melinda Hinch, Speech-Language Pathologist at Greater Essex County DSB, has adapted morphology lessons from The Morphology Project, an open-source series of lessons developed by a group of teachers and school leaders in Australia. This is a series of slides to teach grades 1 – 3 students the affixes listed in the Language Foundations Continuum.

Academic Word Finder

Tier 2 words appear in many different contexts and are often subtle or precise ways to say relatively simple things. Since these aren’t words that will typically be used in a student’s conversations and they aren’t domain-specific, they should be given more focus than Tier 1 and Tier 3 vocabulary. The Academic Word Finder produces…

The Power of Content-Rich Vocabulary Instruction

In this International Dyslexia Association Perspectives article, authors Tanya S. Wright and Susan B. Neuman explore the topic of content-rich vocabulary instruction. The article explains why vocabulary instruction is essential and what it is. It provides five meaningful ways to increase vocabulary instruction in the classroom, including how to create a vocabulary-rich environment, ways to…

The Fundamentals of Academic Vocabulary: Essential Concepts for Middle School Students and Their Teachers

In this International Dyslexia Association Perspectives article, author Jennifer Wells Greene defines academic vocabulary and discusses what makes it different from other types of vocabulary. The article outlines key priorities for word learning and provides several activities to promote vocabulary acquisition in the classroom.

The Arc of Vocabulary: Oral Language Links to Comprehension for the Classroom Teacher

In this PaTTAN Literacy Symposium learning module, Judi Dodson explains oral language’s role in reading comprehension. She examines language development and its impact on reading comprehension and provides meaningful and practical activities that can be easily implemented in the classroom. A printout of the slides is included for future reference.