Why is addressing vocabulary so important?
- Vocabulary is the largest determinant of comprehension of language.
- By Kindergarten, the number of words known orally is the strongest predictor of children’s reading comprehension when they reach the upper elementary grades (Scarborough, 2001).
- “Vocabulary knowledge is necessary for effective listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills, and a student’s ability to acquire new vocabulary is an important contributor to academic success" (Sweeny & Mason, 2011).
- After grade 2, most children can and should acquire new vocabulary from the books they read.
- Heart and Risley (1995) vocabulary and social economic status (SES)/language input: by 5 years of age, there is the potential for a 30 million word gap to develop between children from the wealthiest and poorest families.
- English language learners
- Student who do not read at grade level
- Students with Disabilities: Receptive & Expressive Language Disorder, ADD/ADHD, Intellectual Disability, Processing Disorder
- Children with multiple Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES)
- Students with frequent absences
- Augment with Images
- Allows for understanding with eyes and ears (redundant)
- Images are less fleeting then words presented auditory
- Images may be easier to "decode" or access then written words initially
- Images may assist students in connecting new words/concepts to background knowledge
- Symbolstix
- News to You
- Unique Learning System
- Boardmaker
- Google Images FREE
- Camera/digital photos FREE
- Websites/wikipedia FREE
- Teacher/Student drawings FREE
- Educreations APP FREE (iOS)
- Paper, blackboard, whiteboard, Interactive White Board, Projector, Boogie Board
- Word Studies
- Visuwords FREE
- Analogies
- Word games
- Free Rice FREE
- Word Clouds/Banks
- Digital Text
- Add images
- Hyperlink (dictionaries/visuals/additional text/videos, etc.)
- Highlight (main idea, supporting details, important look fors, new vocabulary, etc.)
- Bold
- Italicize
- Increase/decrease font
- Embed metacognitive hints (Example: "How does this relate to the viseo we watched in class?")
- Embed chapter summary/readingcomprehension questions closer to the sourse of the information
- Cognitive rescaling
- Text Compactor FREE
- News ELA FREE
- READ! (Read more! This is one of the best ways to improve vocabulary!)
We read with our eyes
We read with our fingers
We can read with our ears
*Only changes the standard if the standard is related to decoding or fluency
- Audio & Text-to-Speech
- Bookshare.org Free (Qualified print disability)
- Read2Go APP $19.99 (iOS)
- VoiceOver built in accessibility feature FREE (iOS)
- Read Outloud (Free download on Bookshare.org Mac/Win)
- SOLO by Don Johnston
- Learning Ally (Audio books/ natural voice)
- Tumble Books
- Digital Pen Example
- Built in TTS Mac
- Built in TTS Win
- Talking Books and Braille Library
- Audible
- Audio Memo
- Optical Character Recognition
- Make Your Own Accessible Book
- 30 Hands APP FREE (iOS)
- Adobe Voice APP FREE
- Book Creator APP $4.99 (iOS)
- Tellagami APP
- ExplainEverything APP
- SlideIdea FREE
- Aurasma FREE
- Dictionary/Thesaurus
- Wordflex Touch Dictionary APP (iOS) FREE