Dear Parents

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Dear Parents or Guardians,

Vocabulary is all the words of a language. Truly understanding a word encircles the broad range of language: listening, speaking, reading and writing. I assess students' vocabulary through their writing, or speaking using a variety of informal assessments. Learning vocabulary words are vital in reading comprehension so it is extremely important that our young readers begin to create a word bank and some effective teaching strategies.

In the classroom this year, I will be emphasizing on vocabulary words! I will be implementing many effective strategies with learning vocabulary and I am asking that these same strategies be used at home to help in furthering your child's reading comprehension and to help aid in their development with vocabulary words.

Effective Vocabulary Learning Strategies:

Pre-teaching Vocabulary Word –Before reading a specific text, go over any unfamiliar word with the child which enhances their reading experience. The adult should determine the unfamiliar words by reviewing the reading material first. Then define the unfamiliar word with the child and have a discussion about the word. This promotes comprehension for the child and as well as letting the adult know the child does understand the vocabulary word.

Repeated Exposure to Words – The more we hear a word and how it is used the more we have understanding of that word. So before a word becomes part of the child's vocabulary, they must use it and hear it many times. The adult should give the child every chance to use the new vocabulary word in each the written and the spoken form.

Keyword Method –A creative way to help a child understand the meaning of the word, the adult needs to give the child a word clue or a keyword. Using this strategy truly helps the child remember the definition of the word. By using the keyword method strategy, a reader can access a cognitive link to the meaning of the word which...