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Reading PK-3 > Strategies > Direct Instruction: Vocabulary

Direct Instruction: Vocabulary

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Overview

Seeing and using new words repeatedly and in many contexts is critical for Vocabulary acquisition. In discussions and reading, teachers can provide students multiple opportunities to see, understand, and apply new Vocabulary words, as well as chances to use strategies for identifying unfamiliar words.

Use It in the Classroom

Watch how this kindergarten teacher explicitly teaches academic Vocabulary using multiple multisensory ways to explore the words, such as images and gestures.

  • Teachers should explicitly teach the meaning of new words, especially academic Vocabulary, and then provide repeated opportunities to hear and practice using these words in reading and speaking. Direct instruction in narrative and inferential Vocabulary is also critical for helping students learn new words and strengthen their Narrative Skills and Verbal Reasoning skills.

    • Design It into Your Product

    Videos are chosen as examples of strategies in action. These choices are not endorsements of the products or evidence of use of research to develop the feature.

    Learn how SpeakAgent's Vocab Lab supports direct academic language instruction with multimodal activities. Students learn new words by building on known words and using context clues.

  • Developers can expose learners to new Vocabulary through direct instruction by teaching them the meanings of words, showing the words in multiple contexts, and lastly providing repeated practice and opportunities to use those words in different contexts.
    • View References

    Resources

    Below are additional examples, research, and professional development. These resources are possible representations of this strategy, not endorsements.
    Examples

    Narrowing the Language Gap

    Making the case for explicit vocabulary instruction including strategies

    Examples

    Six-Step Routine for Vocabulary Instruction

    Sample plan for vocabulary instruction

    Examples

    Vocabulary: Explicit vs. Implicit

    Reading Rockets strategies for vocabulary instruction

    Professional Development

    Teaching Academic Language

    Free CE-credit webinar discussing the use of multimodal strategies to teach academic language

    Research

    Cognition & Memory

    Topic that includes cognitive science theories about how the brain processes information on Digital Promise's Research Map

    Factors Supported by this Strategy

    Language and Literacy
    Background Knowledge
    Decoding
    Morphological Awareness
    Narrative Skills
    Sight Recognition
    Verbal Reasoning
    Vocabulary
    Cognition
    Attention
    Inhibition
    Long-term Memory
    Short-term Memory
    Speed of Processing
    Working Memory
    Social and Emotional Learning
    Self-Regulation
    Student Background
    Adverse Experiences
    Hearing
    Home Literacy Environment
    Physical Fitness
    Primary Language
    Safety
    Sleep
    Socioeconomic Status

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