Vocabulary Instruction to Support Reading: A Clinician's Guide to Evidence-Based Practice

Purpose: The purposes of this tutorial are to (a) summarize the relationships between vocabulary and reading, in order to provide a justification for including vocabulary as part of literacy instruction and intervention; (b) outline ways to identify children with vocabulary deficits; (c) provide an overview of treatment for vocabulary intervention, which address the goals of developing word-specific knowledge, increasing awareness of the effect of context on word meaning, and developing the ability to infer the meaning of new words; and (d) outline evidence for a range of service delivery models for vocabulary intervention. Method: This tutorial includes a review of research related to vocabulary and reading development, strategies for identifying students who struggle with vocabulary learning, and intervention strategies that support vocabulary growth and reading development and role of the speech-language pathologist in vocabulary instruction and intervention. Conclusions: Vocabulary knowledge is critical to reading at all developmental phases. This tutorial outlines key information about vocabulary that speech-language pathologists can use to plan assessment and effective intervention for this foundational skill in written language.