Vocabulary Instruction
Vocabulary knowledge is the strongest predictor of reading comprehension. Four kinds of vocabularies contribute to reading comprehension: core vocabulary, academic words, content vocabulary, and literary words. TextProject provides free resources for all four types of vocabulary instruction.
Research A focus on vocabulary
The Core Vocabulary
Automaticity in reading the core vocabulary is the foundation of proficient reading. TextProject provides free vocabulary instruction resources to support students in automaticity in recognizing and understanding the 4000 simple word families that make up 90% of the words in most texts students will encounter.
Research The Core Vocabulary: The Foundation of Proficient Comprehension
Core Vocabulary: Word Zones
The core vocabulary consists of 5,586 words. When root words that share endings (-ed, -ing, -s, -es) are grouped together, the number falls to 4,000. When words that share prefixes and suffixes (e.g., un-, -ful) are included, the number is even smaller: 2,500. The core vocabulary can be grouped into five word zones of frequency. (Remember that this list is intended for use by teachers to guide vocabulary instruction, not for students to memorize.)
Core Vocabulary Word Maps
A word map is a graphic organizer that supports connections among vocabulary and ideas. TextProject provides Word Maps for the Core Vocabulary—the most important words in written English. Three types of words maps are available for the core vocabulary: synonyms, morphology, and multiple meaning of words.
Resources Core Vocabulary Word Maps by grade level and subject
Core Vocabulary Word Pictures
The core vocabulary consists of the 4,000 simple word families which account for 90% of the words in written English. Function words (e.g., the, of) and general academic words (e.g., compare, relate) are prominent in the core vocabulary but there are also many concept words which can be pictured.
Resources Core Vocabulary Word Pictures by concept group.
Academic Vocabulary
Academic vocabulary words are important in school and scholarly texts. Words such as connection, composition, and system are unique to school texts and are not used frequently in common conversations or simple text. Academic words are used to describe and explain ideas in content-area texts but are not the words that communicate the substance of a content area. For example, system might be used to describe weather but is not a word specific to the topic of weather.
The Academic Word List (AWL) has been used in numerous studies of vocabulary instruction. Of the 570 words on the AWL, 343 are in the Core Vocabulary Word Zones.
Content Vocabulary: Resources for vocabulary instruction & knowledge building
The Content-Area Word Pictures depict imageable concepts that are essential to specific content areas.
Literary Vocabulary: Vocabulary Instruction resources for Tier 2 words
Literary words are the verbs, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs that authors use to make their stories come alive. High-quality stories are distinguished in their authors’ use of expressive words—gambol rather than run or cavort rather than jump. TextProject has two programs of free, comprehensive lessons that help students use knowledge of familiar words (e.g., stop) to learn the Tier 2 words of texts (e.g., flee, abscond).
Research Growing Capacity with the Vocabulary of English Language Arts Programs: Vocabulary Megaclusters
E4: Exceptional Expressions for Everyday Events
Word maps of Tier 2 words are provided for familiar and frequent words in students’ lives: quiet, think, and want. In all, E4 provides 32 free lessons that include English-Spanish cognates, morphological family members of root words, and synonyms.
Resources Complete Exceptional Expressions Edition or individual lessons
S4: Super Synonym Sets for Stories
Tier 2 words are used by authors to create the details and mood that engage readers in a story. Free lessons are provided for 20 of the most important ideas in stories—Tier 2 words representing emotions, traits, movement, and communication.
Resources Complete Super Synonym Sets Edition or indivdual lessons