1. Overview of Building Word Knowledge

One of the most powerful tools a reader has to express their thoughts, ideas, and emotions — as well as to interpret meaning from a text or in conversation — is their vocabulary. 

The simplest definition of vocabulary is the body of words a person knows. Some teachers tell students to think of vocabulary as their “word bank.”

The quality and quantity of the words we know are derived from many language experiences. These experiences include conversation, reading or being read to, social experiences, places you visit, observations, and areas of interest or familiarity.  Our vocabulary is connected to our background knowledge, and both are critical for comprehension and for writing.

The goal of vocabulary instruction is to build both breadth and depth of word knowledge.  Breadth is knowing a lot of words, but depth of word knowledge enables students to use words effectively in speaking, listening, reading, and writing. For this reason, vocabulary instruction includes more than just the definition of a word and its multiple meanings. 

Consider these seven of features of a word: 

7 Features of a Word

• Pronunciation
• Spelling
• Definitions
• Function
• Syntax 
• Semantic network 
• Morphological structure

Thinking about these features can help a child develop a deep understanding of what a word might mean in their reading — and how to use a word in their own writing.

Let’s look at the word skip. 

1. Pronunciation
The word skip has one syllable — /skip/.   

The individual sounds in skip are /s/, /k/, /ĭ/, and /p/.   

The vowel sound is short ‘i’. 

2. Spelling

• The sound /s/ is spelled with the letter ‘s’.
• The sound /k/ is spelled with the letter ‘k’.
• The sound /ĭ/ is spelled with the letter ‘i’.
• The sound /p/ is spelled with the letter ‘p’.

3. Definition
The word skip has multiple meanings. 

1. To move forward by lightly stepping from one foot to the other with a hop or bounce.
2. To omit or move past a step in a series of actions

4. Function (part of speech)
Skip is a verb. It usually comes after the subject of the sentence and before the object.

5. Syntax (position in sentence)
When the word skip is used as an action, it typically follows the subject of the sentence.

6. Semantic network (a structure for how words are connected in meaning)
Skip’s semantic network would include synonyms such as hop, leap, dance, tiptoe, and step, along with associated concepts such as jump rope, playground, and counting. 

7. Morphological structure

The base word skip can have suffixes added that change the word’s meaning, such as skips, skipped, skipping, and skipper. 

Your understanding of word features can make vocabulary instruction richer and more explicit. Equipping your students with an understanding of word features beyond the definition gives them a tool for figuring out the meaning of unknown words in context.  

Vocabulary is fun to learn and teach! With discussion, hands-on, and expressive engagement with new words and their meanings — and plenty of connections to self — students will deepen their understanding of the words and eventually begin to use them. You’ll be helping students widen their vocabulary bank, allowing them to access more and more knowledge about their world through reading.