According to research, one of the factors that separates students who become good readers from students who will struggle when learning to read is the amount of vocabulary that the child brings to school when s/he enters school. For this reason, classrooms that serve high poverty students or a large amount of English-language learners, must be intense centers of oral language development. Here are some suggestions to build and enhance oral language development on a daily basis:

1. Be sure that your classroom “buzzes” with conversations of all types. Teach students to work in groups so that children have opportunities to talk and share their ideas and opinions with one another on a frequent basis.

2. Ask open ended questions and be willing to take the time to truly listen to what children have to say on the topics you present to them.

3. Tell stories, sing songs, read books and talk about what is going on in the class, in your own life and in the world. For very young children, read nursery rhymes, do fingerplays, have and use puppets and ask children to act out stories they have listened to in the classroom. For older primary children, encourage the use of daily journals, letters and shared writings.

4. Use a rich vocabulary and help children expand their own use of new words. Put up pictures in the room and label them with new words so children can associate the word with a visual cue. Have and use a word wall on a regular basis. Children love “doing” the word wall and can greatly expand their active vocabulary when the word wall is used for more than just decoration.

5. Bring in lots of examples of “real print” such as brochures, newspapers, magazines and build extensive libraries of classroom books both fiction as well as non-fiction. Ask children to talk about the things that happen to them, the things they like and the stories they enjoy. Take time to listen, to reflect and to share ideas, events, hopes and dreams.

A fun way to reinforce new vocabulary is to list 30 words that students have learned on the white board and ask students to place 24 of the words randomly on their own “Bingo”card. The center space is the “free” space just as in traditional Bingo. You then read the definition only of the words and students must attempt to get a “Bingo” either vertically, horizotally or diagonally. For a longer game, play “cover all” to extend the learning.

For an even higher level game, let middle or high school students look through a textbook unit or chapter on their own or with a partner and identify 24 words that they think you might choose as important words from the unit or chapter. They then write their chosen words on the Bingo card. Kids love to play and will even do “extra” studying at home to ensure that they can match the definitions to the words on their cards.

A good strategy for helping primary students understand sequence is to provide a “sequence frame” to get them started. You can use a simple one such as this to help students identify the key events of the story:

1. The name of the story is:

2. The author is:

3. A problem happened in the story when:

4. First,

5. Then,

6. The problem was finally solved when:

Once students understand the concept and are able to identify the sequential elements, discontinuethe frame and have students summarize the story in a cohesive paragraph.

Help struggling readers and English-language learners develop a better sense of the “lilt” of the English language by having students read catchy poems orally as a group with your guidance. Consider the poetry of wonderful poets such as Jack Prelutsky or Shel Silverstein to name just a few. Find poems that have a good sense of rhythm and that are fun to recite orally.

For readers who are still reading in a “word by word” halting manner, demonstrate taking appropriate phrasing patterns by a modeling an appropriate “chunk” to read as a group. Students should then “echo” your reading also emphasizing how the words fit together as a group. Practice the poem several times until students can read along with you chorally with the same expression and phrasing. For interest and fun, vary having different groups read sections or stanzas. Introduce new poems daily but allow students to also “bring back” favorites to read again and again that they especially enjoy.

Help students keep track of new words that they are learning by having them record new words they encounter in a vocabulary journal. Students can use three-ring binders or spiral notebooks depending on teacher choice. In each notebook, divide the page into columns and have students record the word along with other noteworthy characteristics about the word. For example, some things you might have students record about each word are: the sentence where the word was found, the page and text source where they found the word, a prediction about what they think the word means from the context, a definition put into their own words and even a picture to help them remember the new word. Students can review their words with peers periodically and even feature them on a “new words” board in the classroom.