Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction

Front Cover
Hundreds of thousands of teachers have used this highly practical guide to help K–12 students enlarge their vocabulary and get involved in noticing, understanding, and using new words. Grounded in research, the book explains how to select words for instruction, introduce their meanings, and create engaging learning activities that promote both word knowledge and reading comprehension. The authors are trusted experts who draw on extensive experience in diverse classrooms and schools. Sample lessons and vignettes, children's literature suggestions, "Your Turn" learning activities, and a Study Guide for teachers enhance the book's utility as a classroom resource, professional development tool, or course text. The Study Guide can also be downloaded and printed for ease of use (www.guilford.com/beck-studyguide).

New to This Edition
*Reflects over a decade of advances in research-based vocabulary instruction.
*Chapters on vocabulary and writing; assessment; and differentiating instruction for struggling readers and English language learners, including coverage of response to intervention (RTI).
*Expanded discussions of content-area vocabulary and multiple-meaning words.
*Many additional examples showing what robust instruction looks like in action.
*Appendix with a useful menu of instructional activities.

See also the authors' Creating Robust Vocabulary: Frequently Asked Questions and Extended Examples, which includes specific instructional sequences for different grade ranges, as well as Making Sense of Phonics, Second Edition: The Hows and Whys, by Isabel L. Beck and Mark E. Beck, an invaluable resource for K–3.
 

Contents

1 Rationale for Robust Vocabulary Instruction
1
2 Choosing Words to Teach
19
3 Introducing Word Meanings
40
4 Bringing Vocabulary into the Earliest Grades
55
5 Instructional Sequences for Later Grades
82
6 Assessing and Maintaining New Vocabulary
103
7 Working with Instructional and Natural Contexts
117
8 Vocabulary and Writing
139
9 Differentiating Vocabulary Instruction
153
10 Energizing the Verbal Environment
172
Appendix Menu of Instructional Activities
183
Study Guide
195
References
209
Index
219
Copyright

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About the author (2013)

Isabel L. Beck, PhD, is Professor Emerita of Education in the School of Education and Senior Scientist at the Learning Research and Development Center, both at the University of Pittsburgh.

Margaret G. McKeown, PhD, is Clinical Professor of Education in the School of Education and Senior Scientist at the Learning Research and Development Center at the University of Pittsburgh.

Linda Kucan, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Department of Instruction and Learning at the University of Pittsburgh School of Education.

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