There is a famous phrase - the 30 million word gap - which is supposed to be the word gap students develop when they do not have the support in their formative years that is necessary to develop a quality vocabulary. The study that spawned that term has since been debunked as no longer valid, but my research indicates that what is still true today is that many students simply do not develop the depth of vocabulary they need in order to succeed. Recent studies, such as those by the National Reading Technical Assistance Center, have shown that students retain vocabulary better when they are immersed in it (eg, when reading a text out loud several times there was a 12% increase in retention) vs working with words separately. What do you think? What is the best way to teach vocabulary?
I agree that students retain vocabulary better when they are immersed in it, and that this word gap may very well still exist. It obviously may depend on the child, as a child that doesn't get as much help with reading may be gifted and can remember those few words. I do not know many ways to teach vocabulary, however, teaching unfamiliar words and reinforcing them by using them during lessons or outside of school is an idea. It is always difficult to teach vocabulary, especially when at home the words are not used or reinforced.
ReplyDelete- Julie White
DeleteImmersing a student in words at school helps, too. Using the words we expect them to learn in context, during classes, in comments, etc, can help them own these words.
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