Vocabulary Their Way: Word Study with Middle and Secondary Students - Couverture souple

Vocabulary knowledge is the single best indicator of students’ reading ability and comprehension, and therefore, one of the best predictors of their success in school. This much-awaited book will help you build a solid content area vocabulary foundation with students as it gives you the tools to assess your students’ knowledge to determine where instruction should begin. Shane Templeton, Donald Bear, Marcia Invernizzi and Francine Johnston  provide you with the hands-on activities that will keep students’ interest as they develop their vocabulary knowledge.

Written for preservice and experienced teachers at the intermediate, middle, and secondary levels, Vocabulary Their Way is a resource that presents the essential knowledge and strategies needed for developing students’ vocabulary through the exploration of the meanings and the structure of words. 

How is the book organized?

·    Part I gives you the foundational understanding of learning and teaching vocabulary.

·    Part II covers instruction and assessment, providing strategies and activities, and the tools to examine content area vocabulary development.

·    The Appendixes feature word sorts, sample lessons for middle and secondary grades, and games and activities to take directly to the classroom.

Responses from the field…

I love this book. Write some more!

Joseph W. Guenther, University of Wisconsin, Platteville

Each strategy is described in detail, weaving research with examples from classrooms. I believe teachers can easily find new ideas for teaching content vocabulary, and understand when each strategy is most effective. I am especially impressed with the examples. 

Cathy Blanchfield, California State University Fresno

The text is well organized, theoretically sound, and the strategies are practical and effective. Excellent strategies for addressing the word-specific challenges for English learners. Excellent ideas and activities.

 Jackie Glasgow, Ohio University

Meet the Authors

Shane Templeton is Foundation Professor of Literacy Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno.  A former classroom teacher at the primary and secondary levels, he researches the development of orthographic and vocabulary knowledge.

Donald R. Bear is Director of the E.L. Cord Foundation Center for Learning and Literacy at the University of Nevada, Reno, assessing and teaching students who experience difficulties learning to read and write. 

Marcia Invernizzi is Director of the McGuffey Reading Center at the University of Virginia, exploring developmental universals in non-English orthographies.  Marcia works with children experiencing difficulties learning to read and write in intervention programs such as Virginia’s Early Intervention Reading Initiative and Book Buddies.

Francine Johnston is Associate Professor in the School of Education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she teaches reading, language arts, and children’s literature. 

Shane Templeton is Foundation Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Nevada, Reno, where he is Program Coordinator for Literacy Studies. A former elementary and secondary teacher, his research focuses on the development of orthographic knowledge. He has written several books on the teaching and learning of reading and language arts and is a member of the Usage Panel of the American Heritage Dictionary. He is author of the "Spelling Logics" column in Voices from the Middle, the middle school journal of the National Council of Teachers of English.

Francine Johnston is a former first grade teacher and reading specialist who learned about word study during her graduate work at the University of Virginia. She is now an associate professor in the School of Education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she teaches courses in reading, language arts, and children's literature. Francine frequently works with regional school systems as a consultant and researcher. Her research interests include current spelling practices and materials as well as the relationship between spelling and reading achievement.

Donald R. Bear is director of the E. L. Cord Foundation Center for Learning and Literacy where he and preservice, Master’s and doctoral students teach and assess children who struggle to learn to read and write. Donald is a professor in the Department of Educational Specialties in the College of Education at the University of Nevada, Reno. Donald has been a classroom teacher and he researches and writes about literacy development and instruction. He is an author of numerous articles, book chapters, and books, including Words Their Way, Words Their Way with English Learners, and Vocabulary Their Way.

Marcia Invernizzi is a professor of reading education at the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia. Marcia is also the director of the McGuffey Reading Center, where she teaches the clinical practica in reading diagnosis and remedial reading. Formerly an English and reading teacher, she works with Book Buddies, Virginia's Early Intervention Reading Initiative (EIRI), and Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS).