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Why is Vocabulary important?
Research says:
- The importance of vocabulary knowledge to school success, in general, and
reading comprehension, in particular, is widely documented. (Becker, 1977;
Anderson & Nagy, 1991; see References)
- The National Research Council (1998; see References)
recently concluded that vocabulary development is a fundamental goal for students in the
early grades.
Children enter school with "meaningful differences" in
vocabulary knowledge (Hart & Risley, 1995; see
References).
What doesn't matter: race/ethnicity, gender, birth order.
What does matter: relative economic advantage.
Emergence of the Problem
Actual Differences
in Quantity of Words Heard |
| In a typical hour, the average child would hear: |
| Welfare: | 616 words |
| Working Class: | 1,251 words |
| Professional: | 2,153 words |
Actual Differences in Quality
of Words Heard |
| Professional: | 32 affirmations, 5 prohibitions |
| Working Class: | 12 affirmations, 7 prohibitions |
| Welfare: | 5 affirmations, 11 prohibitions |
| (Hart & Risley, 1995; see
References) |
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