Vocabulary

I thought it was a very interesting point from the textbook that, "Children learn the meanings of most words indirectly though everyday experiences with oral and written language." (Reutzel & Cooter, 2011, p. 237) Ways that children can learn new words is by having a story read to them, reading themselves, and being directly taught words. (Reutzel & Cooter, 2011, p. 237-238) I really want to increase the amount of stories I read in class to my students because of all of the great benefits that it brings. My favorite that the book lists is “ word consciousness” which is defined as, “an awareness and interest in words.” (Reutzel & Cooter, 2011, p. 238) I have a huge interest in words, anytime I hear one and do not know the meaning, I look it up. I want my students to have the same interest in words and their meanings.