Teaching Words and How They Work: Small Changes for Big Vocabulary Results

by Elfrieda H. Hiebert

Research shows that vocabulary is the best support for students' comprehension of narrative and information texts. Often, vocabulary instruction focuses on a few target words in specific texts. However, to understand the many new words in complex texts students need to know how words work. This book, written by an award-winning authority on reading instruction, shows teachers how to make small changes to teach more words and also how words work. Many of these small changes involve enrichments to existing vocabulary practices, such as word walls and conversations with students. Each chapter includes descriptions of teachers' implementation of small changes to support big gains in students' vocabulary. This book, which has sufficient depth in research and theory for graduate and undergraduate courses in vocabulary instruction, also offers practical steps that K-8 teachers can use in any reading program to help all students grow their vocabulary.

Teaching Words and How They Work shows teachers how to:

Identify the most important word families to teach. Teach students to use opening text as background knowledge for comprehending the rest of the text. Use word walls with more purpose and greater student engagement. Select the right words to teach from new information texts. Better understand limitations of leveled texts and how to adjust. Use assets and address challenges to support English learners. Access free mentor and teacher resources online at textproject.org.

Genres: Education

168 pages, Hardcover

Published December 6, 2019

Reviews

[Jen S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some helpful information and interesting ideas, but parts got really repetitive.

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for every elementary teacher, administrator, and curriculum developer.

[Kerrin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grounded in research, actionable steps to take to help build student vocabulary.

[Angela Rollins · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Current text complexity systems are not helpful in assessing or providing information about vocabulary-the variable that most influences students' perceptions and comprehension of texts." And, with that sentence, Hiebert takes down both Guided Reading Levels and the Lexile measure of text complexity while making the case for a very different type of vocabulary instruction.

This book was an interesting and well-researched. There is fascinating information about word origins and, most importantly to the point of the book, word frequency in texts which helps teachers understand how they can ramp up student vocabulary development by ridding themselves of the weekly word list. As the title suggests, throughout the book, Hiebert sprinkles, small changes teachers can make in lieu of the list. My only compliant with the book is that the changes she suggests are so small, and in some cases so nuanced, that they appear almost too easy. Additionally, when reading any book on teaching, I always appreciate a summary of strategies or a clear up how-to which I did not find here.