Vocabulary and Read Alouds

"Just as a house needs a strong foundation, so reading comprehension depends on a strong base of oral language and concept development." This statement made by Camille L.Z. Blachowicz and Peter Fisher triggers the truth of why vocabulary is so important to reading.

How do we assist in helping build up our students vocabulary base? Bridget Dalton and Dana L. Grisham discuss possible techniques to help students. Recommendations such as encouraging wide reading, teaching words and word learning strategies, and promoting active learning and interest in words in a new way by integrating technology. These processes can be manifested with the help of digital tools, media, and the internet. Five strategies were discussed to encourage students in a better vocabulary base. These included:

1. Learn from visual displays of word relationships within text.
2. Take a digital vocabulary field trip.
3. Connect fun and learning with online vocabulary games.
4.  Have students express media to express vocabulary knowledge.
5. Take advantage of online word reference tools that are also teaching tools

In the current age we live in, it is increasingly becoming more necessary that teachers incorporate technology into the classroom. I found some great websites in relation to vocabulary on a post by the Educational Technology and Mobile Learning Site on 16 websites that can be used as vocab tools.This is a great source for students in the upper elementary grade levels, all the way up to college!