Vocabulary instruction: A vital necessity in the classroom
Reading and vocabulary go hand in hand. Learning vocabulary supports reading and reading supports vocabulary learning. Current research shows that vocabulary plays a fundamental role when in learning to read. Sousa (2014) states, “The ultimate goal of reading is for children to become sufficiently fluent to understand what they read.” In order for children to understand what they read, they have to be able to comprehend the text and that involves several different factors.
“To develop reading comprehension skills, children need to develop their vocabulary and linguistic knowledge; and thoughtfully interact with the text to derive meaning.” (Sousa, 2014, p.95).
With the English language being such a complicated one, it is important for students to have strategies that will enable them to decode unfamiliar words and their meaning, so they do not get frustrated with text and can add more words to their mental lexicon.
“In English, there is not a one-to-one correspondence for all words. So, while phonetic strategies work for about 50 percent of our words, the skillful word solver needs to use a wider range of strategies for words that do not have exact letter-sound correspondence.” (Pinnell, G., & Fountas, I., 1998, p. 81).
Teaching vocabulary is therefore essential in any classroom, as we want our students to be able to express themselves in intricate ways and be able to relate to text. If students cannot read or understand words that they encounter, how are they to do this?
References
Pinnell, G., & Fountas, I. (1998). Word matters: Teaching phonics and spelling in the reading/writing classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Sousa, D. (2014). How the brain learns to read (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Sage Publications.
“To develop reading comprehension skills, children need to develop their vocabulary and linguistic knowledge; and thoughtfully interact with the text to derive meaning.” (Sousa, 2014, p.95).
With the English language being such a complicated one, it is important for students to have strategies that will enable them to decode unfamiliar words and their meaning, so they do not get frustrated with text and can add more words to their mental lexicon.
“In English, there is not a one-to-one correspondence for all words. So, while phonetic strategies work for about 50 percent of our words, the skillful word solver needs to use a wider range of strategies for words that do not have exact letter-sound correspondence.” (Pinnell, G., & Fountas, I., 1998, p. 81).
Teaching vocabulary is therefore essential in any classroom, as we want our students to be able to express themselves in intricate ways and be able to relate to text. If students cannot read or understand words that they encounter, how are they to do this?
References
Pinnell, G., & Fountas, I. (1998). Word matters: Teaching phonics and spelling in the reading/writing classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Sousa, D. (2014). How the brain learns to read (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Sage Publications.