What Makes a Text Complex?
Dr Timothy Shanahan discusses the features that make a text complex, including background knowledge, organization, and text cohesion.
Phonemic Inventories and Cultural and Linguistic Information Across Languages
It is of critical importance that educators learn as much as they can about students’ home language in order to provide both effective and culturally relevant and responsive instruction. ASHA maintains a list of phonemic inventories that support educators in learning more about the structure of languages student speak.
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…
Unlocking the Power of Reading to Learn
This infographic highlights how students unlock the power of reading to learn. In the early years, children gain vocabulary, knowledge, and understanding of their home language through listening. This can be boosted by engaging in meaningful conversations, listening to stories read aloud, and exposure to knowledge and vocabulary-building media. While this is a powerful and…
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.
10 Maxims What We’ve Learned So Far About How Children Learn to Read
In this Reading Universe document, Reid Lyon summarizes, in plain language, what research has learned about reading development in the last 50 years. This resource will support Educators in professional development with a concise list that includes selective of studies that underlie each maxim.
Evidence-Based Vocabulary Instruction for English Learners
In this International Dyslexia Association Perspectives article, author Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan highlights considerations for multi-lingual learners around vocabulary instruction and provides evidence-based instructional practices to support their progress. The article explains the need for morphological instruction and support for middle school students and outlines special considerations for language development for multi-lingual learners.
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.
Teaching Spelling: An Opportunity to Unveil the Logic of Language
Moats emphasizes the importance of spelling knowledge and language understanding in literacy development in this article. It highlights that spelling is not just about memorizing letters but involves various language aspects like pronunciation, spelling, meaning, and grammatical structure. Good spellers possess comprehensive mental images of words, while poor spellers may lack accuracy and completeness. Moats…
Comprehension: Helping English Language Learners Grasp the Full Picture
In this 45-minute webcast from Reading Rockets, Cynthia Lundgren & Kristina Robertson explore the role of vocabulary in reading comprehension and provide practical strategies for improving reading comprehension for Multilingual Learners.
