About This Course
This module starts by taking a look at the research on how students develop vocabulary. Through the lens of development, we look at vocabulary, its language components, and how it contributes to reading comprehension. We explore the language demands inherent in learning vocabulary and the challenges it poses for English Learners.
We then explore the meaning of academic language and see how it differs from social language. Next, we turn our attention to the types of vocabulary instruction and explore direct and indirect ways of teaching vocabulary.
Our dive into direct vocabulary instruction begins with how words are chosen for instruction in Selecting Words for Explicit Instruction. In this subsection, we also review the three tiers of words and three criteria for selecting words for explicit vocabulary instruction and practice selecting words to teach.
The subsection Explicit and Direct Vocabulary Instruction provides an introduction to the importance of direct vocabulary instruction and presents a six-step instructional routine for explicitly teaching vocabulary. We study the types of morphemes and how they help students unlock the meaning of words in the subsection Supporting Vocabulary Development.
We then review what teachers can do every day from bell to bell to increase vocabulary. We examine strategies such as how sentence stems and semantic gradients can be used to clarify word meanings to make learning permanent. Additionally, we turn our attention to what it really means to know a word, as deep and multifaceted understanding of a word is a crucial facet of vocabulary knowledge.
Finally, we look at independent strategies for acquiring vocabulary through morphemic analysis, context clues, and independent reading.
School Leaders will be able to do the following.
- Leaders will use data collected from interim/benchmark assessments and literacy walk-throughs for effective instruction of vocabulary to guide decisions around coaching and professional development.
- Leaders will consider a process of conducting observations using a walk-through guide of elements to look for to help make coaching and professional-development decisions.
