A study of 180 seventh grade students was conducted to discover the relative value of teaching vocabulary by teaching whole words contrasted with teaching prefixes. Two experimental groups and a control group were formed of equal numbers of high, middle, and low ability students based on their scores on the Nelson Reading Test. One experimental…

Elaborates on the conjecture that the words used in speech and writing have a powerful effect on perceptions of what is said and written. Reviews three distinct goals of instruction that are designed to promote students' expressive vocabularies. Suggests approaches for promoting students' active use of words. (ML)

Specifies some of the different word learning tasks students face, describes different levels of word knowledge, notes three types of costs involved in instruction, and discusses the costs and benefits of some specific methods of vocabulary instruction. (HOD)

A study was conducted to investigate children's ability to deal with multiple meaning words in isolation and in context. Four low-ability students and four high-ability students from grades two, four, and six were shown nouns rated at the prefourth, presixth, and pretenth grade levels, and asked to give the meaning of the words. Students received…