
We've gotten into the habit of teaching a vocabulary with a "one and done" practice. Teach a set of words and then move on to the next list the following week. In fact, we should really be re-teaching vocabulary words, because frequency matters. When studying third graders, researchers found that "semantic and lexical knowledge accrues over time" (McGregor, Shane & Ball, 2007).
In order to improve the depth of vocabulary knowledge, repeated exposure to Tier 2 words is a must. Multiple exposures, allows a child to add more features and contexts to the words they are learning. It helps them to store words neurologically and continually refine that storage to include synonyms, word parts and other semantic features. Continually building on the knowledge of a word helps a child internalize the meaning and own it.
We need to change our vocabulary instruction model from a "one and done" to a continual learning cycle. Robust vocabulary instruction should be a continually evolving process that keeps students engaged while reinforcing their word knowledge.
Divya Bhakta is a certified and licensed speech-language pathologist. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders and Master of Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Long Island University in 2010. She’s worked in schools, skilled nursing facilities, and now private practice, evaluating and treating children and adults with a wide variety of communication and swallowing disorders. Her special interests include pediatric language disorders.
Betsy Gerding is a nationally board certified speech-language pathologist in the Baltimore. She graduated with her Masters degree from Towson University and has worked in a number of private schools in the Baltimore-Washington area. She specializes in working with students who have language-based learning differences, and is particularly interested in how language impacts reading, writing, and executive functioning skills. In addition, Betsy’s experience includes working with preschool-age children through high school students with needs related to articulation and motor speech, social pragmatics, language of math, and non-verbal learning disability.
Ashley Clayman is a nationally board certified speech-language pathologist in the Columbia, MD area. She graduated with her Masters degree with a Deafness Specialty from Nazareth College of Rochester. She specializes in aural habilitation for cochlear implant and hearing aid users, articulation disorders, phonological disorders, and expressive/receptive language disorders. She has prior experience working in auditory only, Cued Speech, and Total Communication programs. In addition, she has experience working with a variety of articulation disorders and language disorders as a school-based speech pathologist.
Beth Lawrence is CEO and Co-Founder of Communication Apptitude Inc. A certified speech language pathologist, Beth has worked in this field for more than 24 years. She specializes in pediatric speech language therapy. Beth has led workshops in vocabulary instruction, written language, technology and language strategies. Deena Seifert and Beth are co-creators of Infercabulary, WordQuations and the Test of Semantic Reasoning.