This article suggests using drama activities to teach target vocabulary words to students with limited vocabulary development. It presents specific drama activities to implement when introducing new vocabulary, conducting guided practice, facilitating cooperative learning groups, and assigning independent practice. Suggestions are also offered for…

Determines the effect of computer-assisted instruction on first grade students' vocabulary development. Notes that students in two groups were involved in DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) as a part of their instruction in a balanced literacy program. Shows a significant difference for both groups on pre and posttests, however the mean difference…

Observations for 2 years of 34 grade 1 classrooms, in which at least three-fourths of the students were English learners, link specific instructional strategies to reading growth among English learners. Six facets of instruction predicted student growth in reading--in both reading comprehension and reading fluency and accuracy. (Contains 24…

Examined the effect of multiple choice glosses and periodic second language text reconstruction on lexical acquisition. Second language readers of German engaged in a think-aloud procedure while reading a short test and retelling its content in German. Target words were embedded. Half of the participants' passages contained multiple-choice glosses…

Examines ways that word search puzzles can be created and modified for use in the foreign language classroom. Examples show how word search puzzles can focus on a wide variety of vocabulary, grammar topics, and skills. (Author/VWL)

Attempts to capture the lively and passionate nature of RTEACHER listserv conversations in which participants shared concerns and visions about how to use classroom practices and environments to promote vocabulary growth for all students. Considers how students' curiosity about words results from contacts with teachers who are fascinated with…

Outlines two theoretical positions regarding the developmental origins of the phoneme as a unit for lexical representation and processing--the accessibility and emergent positions. Employs a Lexical Restructuring Model, which focuses on the role of vocabulary growth. Notes that this restructuring is viewed as an important precursor to the explicit…

Describes how the author uses three properties of vocabulary instruction that increase comprehension: integration, repetition, and meaningful use. Notes that these three properties can be a natural part of the teaching and learning that occur each day in the classroom. (SG)

Describes a game using synonyms designed to build students' vocabulary by developing concepts for new words and by repeating exposure to the new words. (RS)

Discusses vocabulary development in content area reading and the use of a vocabulary matrix of related concepts and a t-bar chart of words related to new vocabulary. (MG)

The evolution of young children's categories, as measured by category name production, was studied. Results indicated that four sequences of category evolution were found, formed by the intersection of two factors: overlap vs. mutual exclusivity and first re-assignment separate vs. first re-assignment joint. (26 references) (Author/CB)

Examination of three- to six-year-olds' (N=60) distinctions between the mental terms know, think, and sure showed a significant age-related improvement for the know-think and sure-think contrasts. No change was shown for the know-sure contrast, suggesting that, by four or five years of age, children recognize the function of mental terms to…

Assessment of two-year-olds' (N=22) acquisition of words for referents of previously learned words indicated that young children found it easier to learn a new word when they were able to contrast its referent with that of a word they already knew. (Author/CB)

The definition of the suffix "-ard" as giving a negative or pejorative meaning to a word is disputed, and it is proposed that the suffix is simply a particular, socially marked form of expression. (MSE)

Three experiments explored young children's metalinguistic awareness. Results showed that children between the ages of 4.5 and 6.5 demonstrate vigorous development of word segmentation skills, using increasingly complex strategies--first phrasal, then syllabic, and finally a full word strategy, and a growing knowledge of function and content…