Dear Colleague:

With all the challenges we face in teaching children to read in the primary grades, it's easy to lose sight of the importance of vocabulary in comprehending text. But we ignore it to our peril. The frequently cited drop in scores on fourth grade reading tests is attributable to many factors, but none may be more important than a child's vocabulary.

In this month's newsletter, we examine what the Common Core State Standards has to say about vocabulary development and what that means for teachers at the primary grades. We offer strategies for building word knowledge and we spotlight Primary Concepts products that specifically address this challenge.

With the first days of the school year looming just around the corner, there's no better time to evaluate whether we are meeting this critical standard. And with our Back-to-School Sale (see Breaking News), there's no better time to stock up on resources to help you achieve your goals.

All the best for a great kick-off to the new school year...

Joan Westley, Newsletter Editor

In the primary grades, the standards for  Vocabulary Acquisition and Use place an emphasis on active engagement in word learning through acting out word meanings and sorting words into categories. The standards also call for students as early as Kindergarten to begin to use word parts such as re- and -less as clues to meaning. Throughout the primary grades, teachers are encouraged to develop word knowledge through purposeful classroom discussions that draw attention to the complexities of word meanings in context.

Also noteworthy, the standards (see Appendix A for more information) make the case that we need to pay more attention to academic vocabulary (also called Tier Two words) to adequately prepare students to read challenging text. Academic vocabulary includes words such as "layer" or "determined" that can be key to understanding a text passage but are hard to define. The challenge for teachers is to recognize these types of words and guide students in understanding their many shades of meaning.  

Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use, Common Core State Standards Initiative, page 27.

Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects: Appendix A: Vocabulary, Common Core State Standards Initiative, pages 32-35.

Here are six tried-and-true strategies for helping students at the primary grades develop a strong vocabulary. Primary Concepts products designed to support each strategy are listed in parentheses.

• Make it personal.  Tie vocabulary words to the experiences and interests of your students. (Word of the Day series)

• Engage children actively.  Give students opportunities to show what words mean by acting them out, drawing pictures, sorting, and so on. (Word of the Day series, Vocabulary Development Center)

• Use realia.  Realia are lifelike miniatures you can use to tie word learning to real things. (Vocabulary Development Center)

• Focus on common word parts.  Starting in the primary grades, students should have opportunities to make connections between the meaning of a word and the meaning of a word part within the word. (Word of the Day: Bit by Bit)

• Play word games.  Word games are a fun way for students to acquire word knowledge. (In, On, Under, and More)

• Make word learning a daily routine.  To make a difference, students need to be adding new words to their vocabularies every single day. (Word of the Day series)

These Primary Concepts products are excellent resources for meeting the Common Core standards for Vocabulary Acquisition and Use:

Word of the Day series

Word of the Day: Synonyms

Our Back to School Sale is teeming with items you won't want to pass up. Included in the sale are all the vocabulary development products discussed in this newsletter.  

The sale will be in effect Thursday Aug. 16 thru Monday Aug. 20.  It will include more than 600 products and discounts will range from 20-70% off regular prices.  Don't miss out!!  

"Words are not just words. They are the nexus--the interface--between communication and thought."

--Marilyn Jager Adams

The challenge of advanced texts: The interdependence of reading and learning. In E. H. Hiebert (Ed.) Reading more, reading better: Are American students reading enough of the right stuff?, Guilford, page 180.