Block, Cathy Collins & Mangieri, John N. (2006) The Vocabulary Enriched Classroom: Practices for Improving the Reading Performance of All Students in Grades 3 and up. New York: Scholastic.

Pages: 224     Price: $24.99     ISBN: 0-439-73093-7

In The Vocabulary Enriched Classroom, Cathy Collins Block and John Mangieri bring together a number of prominent researchers and authors to "examine vocabulary development from in-depth and wide-ranging perspectives" (p. 6). The authors explain the dual purposes of the book as providing classroom teachers with a resource for both learning about current research-based best practices for developing vocabulary, as well as for learning more about the challenges children face in acquiring and retaining vocabulary.

As a foundation for the strategies presented in this book, Block and Mangieri begin with a brief overview of current research on vocabulary development and discuss what their own research has found to be effective vocabulary instructional practices in the classrooms of exemplary teachers. This research is summarized into five "Word-Learning Beliefs" (pp. 16-17) about vocabulary instruction that form the basis for the classroom practices and lessons highlighted in the book.

• Belief 1 - all words are not of equal importance - alerts teachers to the fact that words selected for instruction should be those students will encounter most often in their reading.
• Belief 2 - students retain words they truly understand and can use when they speak, listen, read, and write - challenges teachers to provide rich instruction through a series of structured learning opportunities rather than the more common superficial instruction centered on pronouncing words and writing definitions.
• Belief 3 - students increase their vocabulary more rapidly when they learn how to use one word-meaning clue with one vocabulary-building strategy each week – reminds teachers that student need to learn to use multiple strategies to unlock the meanings of unknown words when they are reading silently.
• Belief 4 – when students understand words frequently used in texts, they develop a positive attitude toward reading – makes clear the connection between comprehension and vocabulary and the ever increasing motivation students feel when they are successful at reading tasks.
• Belief 5 – expert readers know a large number of important words that encompass all parts of speech – sums up the critical importance of a strong vocabulary:

As our research demonstrates, students taught by teachers who hold this belief were able to determine significantly greater numbers of words in a text with a readability ranking that was one grade level above their own (Block & Mangieri, 2005, as quoted on p. 17).

In the remaining chapters contributors present specific instructional practices and guides for planning and assessing vocabulary instruction. Each chapter begins with a brief classroom vignette and a discussion of how the strategies support the 5 Word Learning Beliefs, followed by clear examples of how to teach the strategy including the teacher’s role in the lesson, models for worksheets to support the lesson, and some examples of student work. Many chapters include print and web-based resources that teachers will find valuable.

Discussion Questions, Teaching Activities, and the You Try It sections at the end of each chapter are thought provoking and challenge teachers to work with their colleagues to think about vocabulary instruction and implement strategies in their classrooms. This book is highly readable and a valuable resource for classroom teachers interested in strengthening the vocabulary instruction and assessment practices typically found in current basal reading programs.

References

Block, C. C., & Mangieri, J. N. (2005). A research study to investigate the effect of the powerful vocabulary for reading success program on student vocabulary and comprehension achievement (Research Report 2963-005). Charlotte, NC: Institute for Literacy Enhancement.

Reviewed by Whitney B. Donnelly, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Teacher Education, California State University, Stanislaus. Whitney Donnelly teaches reading methods courses, MA level courses in reading, and qualitative research classes. Her interests include the nature of collaboration between university-based educators and school-based practitioners in Professional Development Schools and preparing pre-service teachers to teach in urban schools. wdonnelly@csustan.edu