The development of vocabulary, remains as important as ever when considering ways to widen access to the curriculum. It’s no surprise that educational research suggests that vocabulary knowledge is a strong predictor of later reading success. Furthermore, a broad and deep vocabulary helps students gain wider access to all areas of the curriculum.
Most of student’s vocabulary growth and language development will come organically rather than through direct teaching. But how can we accelerate this growth to better aid curriculum access? Here are some of the ways the Lexia programs can help broaden vocabulary:
Vocabulary Strategies
Core5 and PowerUp explicitly teach and encourage students to use context clues to unlock the meaning of unfamiliar words. By providing students with cognitive strategies and supporting students to put these strategies into use while reading, Lexia simultaneously promotes vocabulary development, comprehension and independent learning.
Morphology
Focusing on the understanding of meaningful word parts ensures that students have all the tools they need to infer meaning from unfamiliar words. By recognising common Latin Roots and Greek Combining Forms, students can employ prior knowledge to help them find out the meanings of words across various curriculum areas.
Vocabulary Checks
Vocabulary support for students is also folded into Comprehension exercises to ensure understanding. Before accessing a new texts, students are encouraged to explore any academic language or subject-specific vocabulary in a ‘preview’ of the passage. Providing students with this prior opportunity promotes curiosity when accessing a new text with unfamiliar words while solidifying success in fully understanding the passage.
Remember, you can preview any of the students activities in Core5 and PowerUp using Educator Mode. Simply log into the student program with your myLexia staff log in to browse every level freely.
