Vocabulary: A Key to Success

VOCABULARY:  A KEY TO SUCCESS

Research tells us that knowing a great number of words can take us a great distance toward success, in learning and in life!                                                                                                                                         The number of words a child knows is an indicator of reading ability and high grades across the curriculum.  The number of words an adult knows is an indicator of employability and salary.          Language specialists classify the words we know into 3 tiers:                                                                          Tier I words are the basic words that we use in everyday speech--dog, flower, in, out, run, grow.              Tier III words are specific to a particular subject area or field of study--carburetor, legislature, algorithm, interplanetary, hypotenuse.                                                                                                                           Tier II words are academic words used across a number of topics and disciplines--formulate, abstraction, converge, magnitude, technique.

Tier II words are powerful, because they appear in a wide variety of types of reading.  I call these Power Words.  I teach these Power Words explicitly to my students, because each Tier II word learned will take them farther in the world than any other kind of word!  To highlight the importance of knowing their Power Words, I show my students this Google slide presentation:        https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1doRL9H2NOD3uldng7RzCzTNJqZaZlXTlrK9DN0ZRrSk/edit?usp=sharing                                                                                                                                                View the slides, and enjoy the Twelve Words Song on the last slide--learning these dozen words is an excellent starting point for you and your child!

 

  • Posted By May Louise
  • #esl #languageartsgrades7-9 #mathgrades3-6 #readingcomprehension #readingwritinggrades1-6 #spellingandreadinggrades1-6