Vocabulary refers to

     *  the words we must know to communicate effectively.

     *  Oral vocabulary refers to words that we use in speaking or recognize in listening.

     *  Reading vocabulary refers to words we recognize or use in print.

 

Vocabulary is important because

     *  beginning readers use their oral vocabulary to make sense of the words they see in print.

     *  readers must know what most words mean before they can understand what they are reading.

 

Vocabulary can be developed

     *  indirectly, when students engage daily in oral language, listen to adults read to them, and read extensively on their own.

     * directly, when students are explicitly taught both individual words and word learning strategies.