How Vocabulary Shapes Learning and Comprehension

Meg Silva, M.S., Ed., M.A. and Susan Halvarson, M.Ed.

Vocabulary is more than just knowing big words. It’s the foundation for how we understand the world, express thoughts, and make sense of what we read and hear each day. Vocabulary includes all the words in a language that are used to understand and communicate thoughts. It includes Oral Productive Language (Speaking), Oral Receptive Language (Listening), Print Productive Language (Writing), and Print Receptive Language (Reading). According to Scarborough’s Rope, vocabulary is important in order to execute and coordinate word recognition, fluent, skilled reading, and language comprehension.  

Three Tier Word Instruction

To better understand how vocabulary develops and how to teach it effectively, educators often organize words into three tiers based on how frequently they are used and how essential they are for learning.

• Tier 1 words are common, everyday words that students know.  These words don’t need explicit instruction.  
• Tier 2 words are high utility words that appear frequently across content areas. These words need direct instruction with multiple exposures. The ability to understand and use these types of words is essential for students’ academic success.  Not only are many of them explicitly required by the curriculum, but they are also an important component of verbal reasoning. Sadowski. M., & Lawrence, B. (2023) 
• Tier 3 words are low-frequency words that pertain to specific domains and are learned in content areas. 

When choosing words for instruction, make sure that they have relevance so students can embed them in their discussion. Focus on better ways to state basic ideas and Tier 1 words. For example, instead of “said”, use “declared,” “uttered,” or “proclaimed.”

When choosing Tier 2 words, the goal is to first get them into semantic long-term memory, then into automatic memory.  We need to create new pathways in the brain to build strong word memories between abstract words and familiar concrete concepts. 

Building Longer-Term Memory

Learning new vocabulary is not just about exposure—it’s about making words stick. For students to truly understand and use new words independently, those words must move beyond short-term recognition into long-term memory. This process happens over time through meaningful interactions, repeated use, and intentional practice. There are 3 stages to build longer-term memory for learning new vocabulary. 

Encoding: A new word is introduced

Storage: The student is able to define the term in his/her own words by creating sentences, giving synonyms, and finding related words.  As an extra tip, try to provide multisensory activities to help get words to be permanently stored in the brain.  

Retrieval or Carryover: When students use words in normal conversation, daily writing, and understand what words mean when read.

Vocabulary Instruction In The Classroom: 

1. Vocabulary instruction: explicitly teach words and their meanings including morphemes.
2. Include a CLOZE activity where a word is omitted, and students have to use context to fill in the blank.
3. Play Word Harvest. Brainstorm words that are structurally related. For example, the morpheme prefix “tri”, meaning “three” in the words tricycle, tripod, triangle, triceratops. 
4. Vocabulary ladders: Start at the bottom and use clues to find words that match the clue. When completed, ask how the bottom and top words are related. 
5. Play vocabulary charades and act out compound words such as sunfish, whiplash, batman, sunset, bathtub. 
6. Draw vocabulary cartoons and include a caption that describes the picture and includes the vocabulary word. 

Vocabulary Instruction At Home: 

Some of the most powerful strategies happen naturally at home. Here are some simple and effective strategies to use at home.

1. Read Together and Talk about the Words: Reading aloud is one of the best ways to build vocabulary. Pause to explain unfamiliar words. Ask questions like, “What do you think that word means?” Revisiting favorite books-repetition strengthens word learning. 

2. Connect New Words to Real Life: We learn best when words are meaningful. Cooking? Talk about ingredients, measurements, texture, temperature. Going outside? Use words like observe, predict, investigate, and compare. Watching a show? Explain unfamiliar words that may come up. 

3. Play with Language: Play word games like riddles, categories, or describe it without saying it. Sing songs and explore rhymes. Encourage storytelling. 

Vocabulary development is a long-term journey. By talking, reading, and exploring words together, we are giving students tools that support learning, confidence, and communication.