Students in elementary school need to continually expand their vocabulary knowledge for successful comprehension of texts at each grade level. A student whose vocabulary knowledge is not growing will face increasing difficulty with comprehension of grade-level texts as they move through elementary school.

Most of the words children learn come from oral vocabulary knowledge. Students also learn new words from extensive reading. The key to vocabulary acquisition is repetition. Parents and teachers need to plan ways to expand a child's vocabulary, and provide multiple exposures to new words.

1. Make or purchase word games such as Scrabble, Jr. or Scattegories.

2. Children need exposure to more challenging words. Read literature aloud that is slightly above a child's independent reading level.

3. Children need to hear good speech. Talk about daily activities, using specific words when possible.

4. Reinforce the Clarify comprehension strategy.

5. Demonstrate how to use vocabulary resources:

a. Model how to use a glossary for content-specific

words in a non-fiction book .

b. Provide an age appropriate dictionary.

6. Encourage children to read many kinds of literature -

daily, extensively, and independently.

7. Involve the entire family in word study.

Additional Resources for Parents:

http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/learning/vocabulary.shtml