Vocabulary is something that children begin to learn as early as they can speak or even hear. If you are not familiar with the knowledge of what a word means, it can seriously complicate your life in many ways. In order to communicate, for example, you must learn vocabulary skills. Many students learn vocabulary at a different pace. Some learn quicker or slower that others. In addition to vocabulary instruction, it is important to recognize that students acquire word knowledge from the wide reading students do and from teacher read alouds. I've always thought that vocabulary came natural to me, but through my experiences in the elementary education program i have realized that it takes more than just hearing a word and knowing what it means.
Vocabulary can determine your success, not only in reading, but also in any other field. Vocabulary knowledge can predict your success of content area performance, including comprehension. In order to comprehend a word, you must know the vocabulary. A quote in chapter three that caught my attention said, "They examined the achievement of struggling first-year college students and discovered that vocabulary knowledge was a stronger predictor of reading comprehension than cognitive ability. In addition to vocabulary, comprehension is also influenced by prior knowledge, fluency, text difficulty, and interest." Another thing that caught my attention in the text stated that teachers usually focus on certain vocabulary words each week given to the students to memorize, learn how to spell them, and look up the definition. However, these vocabulary words are rarely in the reading sections that are read in the classroom. Students benefit from instruction on the differences between concept and label words (concept words=can be inferred through context clues whereas label word=allows students to think deeply about the complexities represented by one word.) This can prevent them from getting bogged down in minute ideas at the expense of big ideas.
Self-assessment of current knowledge is another area of vocabulary that teachers should focus on. Teaching individual students vocabulary can be complicated based on their varying word knowledge levels. Each student brings his or her own word understanding to the text. Instead of applying a "one size fits all" approach to vocabulary instruction, assess students before the reading. Find out what the student knows and become aware. This will also benefit the student so he or she can also better their understanding of what each of them knows and needs to know.
Current practices in vocabulary instruction seek to integrate varied methods. For content area language growth, word selection is essential. A growing number of teachers are identifying grade-level words for explicit instruction. However, it is critical to reinforce understanding through meaning, which is also seen as critical to student learning. Chapter 3 advises students to: be actively involved in word learning, make personal connections, be emersed in vocabulary, and consolidate meaning through multiple information sources. The authors also note that these principles apply to all learning, however their experience has shown that these conditions are vital for vocabulary acquisition and retention.
