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Vocabulary is one of the five essential components of reading (along with phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and comprehension). It refers to the words we must know to communicate effectively. Building vocabulary is critical because it directly impacts reading comprehension—if readers don’t know what words mean, they cannot fully understand a text.

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The body of words a person knows and uses in speaking, reading, and writing.

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Words we use and understand in speaking and listening.

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Words we recognize and understand when reading text.

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Words we use when writing.

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Words that readers can recognize instantly without needing to sound them out.

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Hints found in surrounding words or sentences that help determine the meaning of an unfamiliar word.

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Directly teaching the meaning of specific words.

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Awareness and interest in words, their meanings, and how they are used.

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The study of word parts (prefixes, suffixes, roots) to understand meaning.

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Words that are commonly found in school texts and necessary for learning across subjects (e.g., analyze, compare, summarize).

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A strong vocabulary helps students decode words, understand texts, and express ideas clearly.

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Through daily conversations.

By reading widely and often.

Through direct instruction of new words.

By analyzing word parts (prefixes, suffixes, roots).

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Use context clues to figure out unknown words.

Break words into meaningful parts (morphology).

Keep a personal word journal.

Engage in discussions and word games to build word consciousness.

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The more words students know, the better they can understand, interpret, and learn from what they read.