Vocabulary Knowledge and Concepts
There is a strong connection between vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension. Readers cannot understand what they are reading without knowing what most of the words mean. As children learn to read more advanced texts, they must learn the meaning of new words that are not part of their oral vocabulary. The more experience students have with unfamiliar words and the more exposure they have to them, the more meaningful the words will become.
Every content area has vocabulary that distinguishes and is unique to that subject. Without an understanding of the content vocabulary, students cannot understand the content iteself. The richer students' vocabulary, the richer their comprehension. Some researchers even believe that vocabulary knowledge is the single most important factor in reading comprehension (Laflamme, 1997).
Content area teachers must do something to help students understand the language of their content area; however, many teachers reduce vocabulary instruction to routines that direct students to look up, define, memorize, and use content-specific words in sentences. In these practices, learning vocabulary words become separate activities from learning about the content itself. Content area vocabulary must be taught well enough that it removes barriers that would impede students' understanding of content area texts. Teaching these words well means giving students multiple opportunities to learn how words are conceptually related to one another in texts they are studying. It also means helping students make connections between vocabulary being studied and their prior knowledge.
Researchers have found four principles which should guide vocabulary instruction (Blachowicz & Fisher, 2000). First, students must be actively engaged in vocabulary study.
Every content area has vocabulary that distinguishes and is unique to that subject. Without an understanding of the content vocabulary, students cannot understand the content iteself. The richer students' vocabulary, the richer their comprehension. Some researchers even believe that vocabulary knowledge is the single most important factor in reading comprehension (Laflamme, 1997).
Content area teachers must do something to help students understand the language of their content area; however, many teachers reduce vocabulary instruction to routines that direct students to look up, define, memorize, and use content-specific words in sentences. In these practices, learning vocabulary words become separate activities from learning about the content itself. Content area vocabulary must be taught well enough that it removes barriers that would impede students' understanding of content area texts. Teaching these words well means giving students multiple opportunities to learn how words are conceptually related to one another in texts they are studying. It also means helping students make connections between vocabulary being studied and their prior knowledge.
Researchers have found four principles which should guide vocabulary instruction (Blachowicz & Fisher, 2000). First, students must be actively engaged in vocabulary study.