Boost vital vocabulary knowledge, vocabulary breadth and depth, and a learner’s ability to connect words James was usually a confident student, bristling with energy - a joker, even - but when I sat next to him and asked him to read, he became quiet and subdued.

This short blog series is targeted at literacy leaders – either Literacy Coordinators, Reading Leads, or Curriculum Deputies – with a key role in leading literacy to ensure that pupils access the curriculum and succeed in meeting the academic demands of school. Few school leaders get trained in communications. Yet, in almost all facets of … With this in mind, it is important for teachers to generate Tier II word lists to study and also identify Tier II words that are encountered in reading assignments. One criterion for identifying a Tier II word is determining that the word has multiple uses or applications. A word like precious is a perfect example. A precious gem might be studied in geology, while the concept of something precious could be found in a poem or novel. The goal is to isolate these difficult Tier II words and take time to explicitly teach them using a variety of strategies. This helps to ease concerns some staff members had that they were shoehorning in something that didn’t suit their subject naturally.

While music and rhyme are excellent, there are other strategies that can be used to teach a new word. Three simple and effective options are pronunciation (saying the word aloud), charades (acting the word out), and writing (using the word in context). This book brings together research evidence and teaching experience to provide practical knowledge and resources for primary and secondary teachers. Quigley draws on research to distinguish academic from everyday words; and cross-curricular words (for example, “analyse”) from subject-specific words (for example, “photosynthesis”). Vocabulary knowledge involves information about spoken words and their meanings. Word consciousness’ is an “awareness and interest in words and their meanings” (put a little more interestingly, it is pupils “bumping into spicy, tasty words that catch your tongue”). This love of language and continual curiosity about what words mean, where they are from, and their legion of connections, feels like the end-game of great vocabulary teaching. With careful cultivation, this curiosity can be fostered and it can help fuel our pupils’ school success.

We, as teachers, should start with promoting ‘word consciousness’ – a deep understanding of vocabulary: how it grows, connects, and comprises a vital aspect of the language of school. It offers a great platform to consider curriculum, reading, exam craft, and much more. In doing so, we will be conscious that something like 50,000 words will never be learnt in lists, but that if we encourage a deep, explicit awareness of words, phrases, reading and writing, we may go some way to mitigating those summer exam worries. Even better, by attending to vocabulary and language, we can offer our pupils exactly the tools they need to flourish in the wider world. Pronunciation may seem trivial, but it has a positive physical implication; saying a word actually imprints it on the muscles of the ear and jaw. This is known as kinesthetic learning and should not be overlooked. Beyond muscle memory, saying a word in your own voice can be a first step toward making it your own. For busy teachers, digging into the research on vocabulary development and language gaps can prove daunting. It is helpful to distil that wealth into consistent pillars of practice that are ‘best bets’ for supporting, and super-charging, vocabulary development: The Three Pillars of Vocabulary Teaching CTVG – 7 Strategies for Exploring Unfamiliar Vocabulary’– this is a companion resource to the SEEC model, offering accessible strategies to Explore an unfamiliar word. Sarah Eggleton: Alex Quigley’s book Closing the Vocabulary Gap had a big impact on me, reinforcing that it is the moral imperative of every teacher to improve students’ vocabulary to ensure they have the best possible life chances.It is the core business of every teacher not just to understand how children learn to read, but also how they read to learn. a set of classes or a plan of study on a particular subject, usually leading to an exam or qualification. The key to effective vocabulary instruction is to get creative and find ways to bring words to life. The use of interactive mini-games can be used with word lists to do so.

All words are not valued equally. Instead, what we want children to learn is the language of school. For many children, this is a foreign language.” (p. 68). Stahl and Stahl (2004) This book is well-researched and thoroughly ‘thought through’ – I particularly value the demonstration of how a limited vocabulary prevents people from accessing a text.

If we know what words are in daily use, we can help our students improve their speech with the academic vocabulary that sets them apart for success beyond the school gates. One Word at a Time – Teach Secondary article– this article is an accessible way in to the ideas and strategies developed in my book.