 We think with words. Therefore, to improve thinking, teach vocabulary.  A. Draper and G. Moeller  Because each new word has to be studied and learned on its own, the larger your vocabulary becomes, the easier it will be to connect a new word with words you already know, and thus remember its meaning. So your learning speed, or pace, should increase as your vocabulary grows.  --Johnson O’Connor

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Language, Grades K-5 Vocabulary Acquisition and Use  4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate.  5. Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Language, Grades K-5 Vocabulary Acquisition and Use 6. Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Language, Grades 6-12 Vocabulary Acquisition and Use  4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate.  5. Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Language, Grades 6-12 Vocabulary Acquisition and Use 6. Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.

 Tier One: Basic words that rarely require instructional focus (door, house, book).  Tier Two: Words that appear with high frequency, across a variety of domains, and are crucial when using mature, academic language (coincidence, reluctant, analysis).  Tier Three: Frequency of these words is quite low and often limited to specific fields of study (isotope, Reconstruction, Buddhism).

 ing-student-vocabulary ing-student-vocabulary

 1. Teacher explains the new word.  2. Students restate the new word or explain in their own words.  3. Students create a non-linguistic representation of the word.  4. Students engage in activities to deepen their knowledge of the new word.  5. Students discuss the new word. (think-pair-share, snowball)  6. Students periodically play games to review the new vocabulary. (Jeopardy, etc.)

Vocabulary in Smarter Balanced Assessment