Strategies for Special Populations
Supporting English Learners
Supporting Students With Disabilities
Making Instruction More Dramatic
Making Instruction More Visual
Making Instruction More Tactile and Kinesthetic
Building Oral Fluency and Competence
Recap
Next Steps
Appendix A: Digital Tools That Support Vocabulary and Word Learning
Reference Tools
Word Clouds
Games and Review
Concept Maps
Word Walls
SAT and ACT Preparation
Classroom Assessment
Appendix B: Suggested Books Containing Tier Two Vocabulary Words for Primary and Intermediate Grades
Primary
Intermediate
Appendix C: Annotated Bibliography of Vocabulary Books to Integrate Into Word Learning
About the Authors
Kimberly A. Tyson, PhD, “Dr. Kimberly,” as she is known by many, has served as a classroom teacher, college administrator and instructor, and literacy consultant across the United States in classrooms ranging from preschool to twelfth grade. Kimberly contributes literacy insights regularly at Dr. Kimberly’s Literacy Blog (www.kimberlytyson.com). She has written classroom curriculum and language arts sections of standardized assessments, and recently chaired the Elementary Reading National Evaluation Preparation Committee for Pearson Education. Kimberly is past president of several professional organizations and actively participates in contributing to the profession.
Over the years, Kimberly has joined with teachers, principals, and administrators to improve literacy in readers of all ages. Through The Literacy Lens Audit®, a research-based literacy audit she developed, Kimberly guided literacy leaders in assessing and improving curriculum, instruction, environment, and student achievement across schools and districts. In addition, Kimberly has worked with educational organizations, such as the I-READ Department of Education literacy improvement program, and educational service centers. She has also supported statewide initiatives.
Kimberly earned her doctorate from the University of Missouri–Kansas City. She discovered her love of word learning and vocabulary when working with middle and high school students in several initiatives within Kansas City Public Schools. Since then, vocabulary improvement has been the focus of much of her work alongside educators in schools and districts across the United States.
Kimberly’s family includes two children, Taylor-Ruth and Corbin, and one rescue dog, Sally Girl. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, bicycling, knitting, and reading. To learn more about Kimberly’s work, visit www.kimberlytyson.com or follow @tysonkimberly on Twitter.
Angela B. Peery, EdD, is a consultant and author with three decades of experience as an educator. Since 2004, she has made more than one thousand presentations and has authored or co-authored eleven books. Angela has consulted with educators to improve teacher collaboration, formative assessment, effective instruction, and literacy across the curriculum. In addition to her consulting work, she is a former instructional coach, high school administrator, graduate-level education professor, and English teacher at the middle school, high school, and college levels. Her wide range of experiences allows her to work shoulder to shoulder with colleagues in any setting to improve educational outcomes.
Angela has been a Courage to Teach fellow and an instructor for the National Writing Project. She maintains memberships in several national and international education organizations and is a frequent presenter at their conferences. Her book The Data Teams Experience: A Guide for Effective Meetings (2011) supports the work of professional learning communities, and her most recent publications and consulting work highlight the importance of teaching academic vocabulary.
A Virginia native, Angela earned her bachelor’s degree in English at Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, her master’s degree in liberal arts at Hollins College, and her doctorate at the University of South Carolina. Her professional licensures include secondary English, secondary administration, and gifted and talented education. She has also studied presentation design and delivery with expert Rick Altman. In 2015, she engaged in graduate study in brain-based learning.
To learn more about Angela’s work, visit www.drangelapeery.com or follow @drangelapeery on Twitter.
To book Kimberly A. Tyson or Angela B. Peery for professional development, contact [email protected].
Introduction
Today’s world seems to move at the speed of light, and schools are no exception. The academic expectations for students zoom higher, high-stakes and low-stakes testing consume precious instructional hours, and teachers are increasingly conflicted about exactly what to teach and how best to do so. Educational policies will continue to shift and change the K–12 landscape; however, the importance of vocabulary will remain constant. Vocabulary and word knowledge are essential, serving as the basic building blocks of language and impacting fluency, comprehension, and achievement.
Vocabulary and Achievement in School and Beyond
First, to be clear, let’s begin with a working definition of vocabulary. Vocabulary, in its simplest form, refers to the words we use to communicate effectively when we listen, speak, read, and write. Going a layer deeper, vocabulary is often divided into two broad categories that are useful for discussing words and word usage: receptive and expressive vocabulary. Receptive vocabulary refers to those words we understand when we listen and read, and expressive vocabulary refers to the words we use when speaking and writing. One’s receptive vocabulary is much broader than one’s expressive vocabulary. For example,
