Developing Vocabulary and Oral Language in Young Children

This book presents the most effective instructional strategies for promoting vocabulary growth in the early grades, when the interdependence of word learning and oral language development is especially strong. The authors guide teachers in choosing the best materials and in fostering home-school connections, and share six key principles for building vocabulary.

Included are guiding questions; text boxes connecting vocabulary to the Common Core State Standards; examples from real teachers; reproducible checklists, rubrics, and other tools; and an appendix of additional vocabulary resources.

Purchasers get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials in a convenient 8½" x 11" size.

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Table of Contents

1. The Importance of Vocabulary Breadth and Depth
2. Principles of Effective Vocabulary Instruction
3. Explicit and Extended Vocabulary Instruction
4. Word Learning and Word Use in a Language Rich Environment
5. Word Awareness and Independent Word Learning
6. Assessing Vocabulary Knowledge
7. Differentiating Vocabulary Instruction
8. Using Multimedia to Support Word Learning in the Digital Age
9. Home–School Connections to Support Word Learning
10. Implementing Vocabulary Instruction in Prekindergarten through Second-Grade Classrooms

Appendix. Resources for Vocabulary Instruction

"This book provides everything you want to know about vocabulary for young children—as well as everything you didn’t know you wanted to know. I can’t think of anything about vocabulary acquisition, instruction, and assessment that is not included. A hallmark of the book is the suggestions the authors offer about how teachers can incorporate vocabulary development in typical primary-grades reading and writing instruction."
- Isabel L. Beck, PhD, University of Pittsburgh (Emerita)

"I love this book—it is the right book at the right time! The centrality of language to literacy success is now widely recognized, but this is the first book for aspiring early childhood teachers that discusses language and reading in a way that builds conceptual understanding while providing research-based guidance for practice."
- David K. Dickinson, EdD, Department of Teaching and Learning, Vanderbilt University

"The best time to help children bolster their vocabularies—particularly children who enter school with vocabularies weaker than those of their peers—is as soon as possible. In this solidly researched and well-crafted book, Silverman and Hartranft focus their considerable expertise on vocabulary instruction for children in PreK-2. Among the many strengths of the book are its focus on both breadth and depth, its myriad classroom examples, and its strong research base."
- Michael F. Graves, PhD, University of Minnesota (Emeritus)