Vocabulary Connections: A Structured Approach to Deepening Students' Academic and Expressive Language

In this lively, student-centered work, Dr. Mary Ehrenworth presents a complete curriculum for vocabulary acquisition, one that can be embedded as a separate component or taught inside of any reading curriculum in grades 3–6.

Your students will learn to collect and apply literary vocabulary. They will learn a repertoire of writing about reading strategies for deepening literary vocabulary, close reading, and literary conversations. They will dive into a study of etymology, cognates, and compound words, as well as a deep study of morphology. These word conscious learners—budding linguists—will become flexible word solvers and creators as they learn to collect and apply domain vocabulary and develop expertise in attending to varied and subtle context clues not only to acquire domain vocabulary, but to comprehend more complex nonfiction texts.

Teachers will appreciate the student-centered, affirming, and inclusive pedagogy, the attention to multilingualism, the focus on transfer and independence, the solid core of undergirding research, the room for immersion and inquiry, and the tremendous impact on reading comprehension and criticality as well as vocabulary.

With a thoughtful progression across Literary Vocabulary, Word Consciousness, and Domain Vocabulary, Ehrenworth offers dozens of use-tomorrow lessons designed to be easily replicated with multiple texts, in a variety of learning experiences. Specifically, Vocabulary Connections presents practical structures to help teachers develop replicable protocols for:

• collecting literary and domain vocabulary
• writing about reading as a way to deepen vocabulary and interpretation
• investigating word choice as a way of thinking about point of view
• exploring context clues in complex nonfiction
• building word consciousness - morphology, compound words, cognates

Grounded in both inquiry and direct instruction and supported with a variety of engaging visuals and instructional tips, Vocabulary Connections will quickly become a trusted resource you’ll want to return to for planning and instruction year after year.