Childrens Literature and Literacy

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===== Definition =====
Varied reading helps vocabulary, and a variety in vocabulary helps reading.

A focus on vocabulary knowledge improves reading in several ways, including (a) comprehension of words children decode, (b) rapid recognition of words, (c) build phonological awareness  (d) connect to other content areas (National Early Literacy Panel, 2008). 

The National Reading Panel also concluded that vocabulary supports reading, rich instruction, which include storybook time, improves vocabulary knowledge. Measures of vocabulary predict later success of reading comprehension.

In fact, background knowledge, often measured with a vocabulary assessment, is the strongest predictor of reading comprehension after accounting for decoding skills. 

Background knowledge and vocabulary gets built in classrooms that create a culture of reader and writers. 

===== In the Classroom =====

While the majority of vocabulary picked up through varied reading will happen incidentally, if are to learn words in active production based way me must make them aware of their responsibility for vocabulary growth, how they remember, words and the way they require new words.

When assigning a text always focus on vocabulary. You can pre-teach vocabulary for ELL students or as a tool for differentiation. In content areas think about the semantic connections you make between topics, model the use of the words, have activities that explicitly scaffold the use of the words.

We need to expand the amount of informational text in the classroom but not all informational text is good. Looking for academic language can provide key indicators of text quality and complexity. Good writers use signal word and other common tier II vocabulary, the language that cuts acrosss reading and writing in academic spaces. 

Remember students need to know the vocabulary of the concepts within a topic but also the organization of the text within the genre of a specific discipline. In Language arts we would words such as "stanza" for example.