[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-408643-105":59,"doc-detail-408643-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","which-words-are-worth-teaching-by-andrew-biemiller","Which Words Are Worth Teaching? - by Andrew Biemiller","","The article explains why vocabulary instruction is essential for reading comprehension across preschool through upper elementary and middle school. It argues that comprehension depends on knowing most word meanings in a text, and that by grade 3 limited vocabulary becomes a primary barrier compared with other reading skills. It estimates developmental milestones for root word meanings, describes how students gain new meanings from reading, and emphasizes ongoing, years-long support. It also proposes strategies for selecting priority word meanings that follow predictable learning order.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":35,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/which-words-are-worth-teaching-by-andrew-biemiller/408643/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/which-words-are-worth-teaching-by-andrew-biemiller/408643.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"aboduw","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-03","2026-09-28",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":44},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"Why is teaching vocabulary important for reading comprehension?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"Vocabulary is the largest determinant of language comprehension. Knowing most word meanings in a text is required for readers to understand it.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How does vocabulary growth relate to reading difficulties in the primary grades?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"By grade 3, lack of vocabulary is a far greater obstacle for comprehension than phonics or word recognition. Learning disabilities can further limit vocabulary development.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What strategy does the article suggest for choosing which word meanings to teach?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Select priority words that children with larger vocabularies already know and introduce them to children with smaller vocabularies, since word learning follows a predictable order.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},408643,1791203891,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":34,"category_name":35,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":44,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":24,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144,"preview_page_count":4},3985747862266,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_085a072bc5b1113ac321206ff7593b45","Which Words Are Worth Teaching?  \nby Andrew Biemiller  \nWhy teach vocabulary?  \nVocabulary is the largest determinant of comprehension of language. Teachers often ask,“Which words make up that vocabulary for preschool, primary, and upper elementary school students?”“Which words are likely to be needed?”This article is about ways of teaching and fostering needed vocabulary at the preschool, primary, and upper elementary and middle school grades.  \nThe vocabulary needed to comprehend a specific text consists of knowledge of most of the words in that text. Some word meanings are learned earlier than others. Thus, if most of the words in a text are known by most children by age 5, that text would be considered appropriate to read to kindergartnersor to be read by beginning readers. Conversely, a text with many words not understood by the majority of children in grade 2 is not appropriate for primary grade children to read independently.  \nBy kindergarten, the number of words known orally (i.e., vocabulary) is the strongest predictor of children’s reading comprehension when they reach the upper elementary grades (Scarborough, 2001) . Cunningham and Stanovich (1997) extended those findings to high school. While there are variations in how quickly children acquire reading skills in the primary grades, by grade 3 for most students, lack of vocabulary is a far greater obstacle for comprehension than a lack of other reading skills such as phonics and word recognition. However, if a student’s reading is restricted by learning disabilities such as dyslexia, it can further limit vocabulary development.  \nHow many word meanings are needed before and during the primary grades?  \nI refer to word meanings rather than words. Especially at the preschool and primary levels, specific word forms (e.g., lean, place) access a number of meanings; some meanings that are related and some that are not. Meanings that really differ (e.g., lean meat versus lean the rake on the wall) simply are different root words that have to be learned. On the other hand, words with different grammatical variations (e.g., lean versus leaned) are not different root word meanings.  \nI estimate that at the beginning of kindergarten, average children probably know around 3,000 (+/- 1000) root word meanings. In homes where many words are used and explained, children add vocabulary rapidly compared to children in homes where fewer words are used or explained (Hart & Risley, 1995; Hart & Risley, 1999; Hoff, 2003) . It is also the case that younger students within a grade have smaller average vocabularies (Cantalini, 1987; Christian, Morrison, Frazier, & Massetti, 2000) . By the end of grade 2, English-speaking children with the lowest (25%) vocabularies know on average around 4,000 root word meanings. Children with the largest vocabularies (highest 25%) know on average 8,000 root word meanings—twice as many! The average at the end of grade 2 is around  \n6,000 root words. Children add an average of 1,000 root words per year during the primary grades.  \nSustaining Vocabulary Growth in the Upper Elementary and Middle School Grades  \nAfter grade 2, most children can and should acquire much of their new vocabulary from books they read. However, because children’s vocabulary already varies widely by third grade, the books they can benefit from also vary (Chall, Jacobs,& Baldwin, 1990) . Teachers should encourage students in the upper elementary and middle school grades to attend to unfamiliar word meanings encountered while reading. Many students tend to skip over these, even when new meanings are explained in text (Baumann et al., 2003) . Students continue to add an average of 1,000 new root word meanings during the upper elementary and middle school grades (Biemiller, 2005) and also come to understand four or five times more derived meanings using affixes (Anglin, 1993; Nagy & Scott, 2001) .  \nAcquiring Vocabulary Is Different than Acquiring Skills  \nOnce learned, many different ski","cbCaiv0sYDt1puw9","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiv0sYDt1puw9","pdf",271428,"English","# Why Teach Vocabulary?\n## Vocabulary as a Determinant of Comprehension\n## Word Meanings Needed in Primary Grades\n# Sustaining Vocabulary Growth in Upper Elementary and Middle School\n# Acquiring Vocabulary Is Different than Acquiring Skills\n# How to Determine Which Word Meanings to Teach","[{\"question\":\"Why is teaching vocabulary important for reading comprehension?\",\"answer\":\"Vocabulary is the largest determinant of language comprehension. Knowing most word meanings in a text is required for readers to understand it.\"},{\"question\":\"How does vocabulary growth relate to reading difficulties in the primary grades?\",\"answer\":\"By grade 3, lack of vocabulary is a far greater obstacle for comprehension than phonics or word recognition. Learning disabilities can further limit vocabulary development.\"},{\"question\":\"What strategy does the article suggest for choosing which word meanings to teach?\",\"answer\":\"Select priority words that children with larger vocabularies already know and introduce them to children with smaller vocabularies, since word learning follows a predictable order.\"}]","Which Words Are Worth Teaching? - by Andrew Biemiller | PDF",1790580096,13]