We evaluated the long-term effects of a supplemental, small-group kindergarten vocabulary intervention in fall and spring of first grade and winter of second grade. Participants included students from two studies, an initial efficacy study and a subsequent replication study, identified as at risk for language and learning difficulties, who were…

The purpose of the current study was to examine the influence of L1 (i.e. Spanish) receptive vocabulary on both expressive and receptive knowledge of target vocabulary words taught through L2 (i.e. English) instruction and intervention. Participants were Bilingual US kindergarten students determined to be at-risk based on English receptive…

We evaluated the impact of a supplemental, small-group kindergarten vocabulary intervention designed to reinforce content taught in core classroom instruction implemented within a multitiered system of support (MTSS) framework. Kindergarten teachers implemented a published vocabulary program with all their students during whole-class instruction…

We investigated whether individual differences in overall receptive vocabulary knowledge measured at the beginning of the year moderated the effects of a kindergarten vocabulary intervention that supplemented classroom vocabulary instruction. We also examined whether moderation would offset the benefits of providing Tier-2 vocabulary intervention…

There is a growing need for the inclusion of direct, explicit vocabulary instruction in the early elementary grades. Young children are entering school with a wide range of early literacy experiences, including vocabulary knowledge. Those students who are limited in their vocabulary knowledge are at a greater risk for later language and reading…

Teachers may feel uncertain about how to ensure that all students, including students with identified disabilities, those at risk for learning disabilities, and English learners, achieve the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in vocabulary. At the same time, they are also searching for practical, concrete ideas for incorporating the CCSS in the…

This article provides suggestions for teachers and practitioners on vocabulary activities that can help kindergarteners attain the vocabulary standards proposed by the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The activities and examples included in the paper stem from an efficacy study I recently conducted with Dr. Michael Coyne and colleagues with…

We examined data from an 18-week kindergarten vocabulary intervention study to determine whether treatment outcomes had differential effects that favored English language learners (ELLs) or English-only learners (EOLs) and whether the relationship between initial English general receptive vocabulary knowledge and response to vocabulary…

Two approaches to systematic word review were integrated into an 18-week program of extended vocabulary instruction with kindergarten students from three high-need urban schools. Words in the embedded and semantically related review conditions received systematic and distributed review. In the embedded review condition, brief word definitions were…

The purpose of this article was twofold: (1) to explore the feasibility of the regression discontinuity design (RDD) in response-to-intervention implementation research and (2) to expand upon the limited research on vocabulary instruction for kindergarten students who are at risk for reading failure due to limited vocabularies. This pilot study…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of an 18-week program of direct and extended vocabulary instruction with kindergarten students on both proximal measures of target word knowledge and transfer measures of generalized language and literacy. A second purpose was to examine whether treatment effects would be moderated by…

The purpose of this study was to compare 2 methods for directly teaching word meanings to kindergarten students within storybook read-alouds that varied in instructional time and depth of instruction along with a control condition that provided students with incidental exposure to target words. Embedded instruction introduces target word meanings…

The purpose of the two studies reported in this article was to evaluate the effectiveness of extended vocabulary instruction during storybook reading with kindergarten students within a small-group intervention setting. Extended vocabulary instruction is characterized by explicit teaching that includes both contextual and definitional information,…

A storybook intervention for kindergarten children that integrates principles of explicit vocabulary instruction within the shared storybook reading experience is described with findings from an experimental study demonstrating the effects of this intervention on the vocabulary development of kindergarten students at risk of reading difficulty.…