Building a Better Vocabulary

Bibliography

resource that leverages the power of high-utility roots to increase vocabulary

knowledge. Part IV, “How English Words Are Created: A Short Course,” is

worth the price of the book for those interested in how Latin and Greek roots

combine to form English words.

Stahl, Steven A., and William E. Nagy. Teaching Word Meanings. Mawhah,

NJ: Erlbaum, 2006. An essential book in any vocabulary educator’s library

and one I’m constantly referencing. Does a masterful job explaining the

complex nature of vocabulary knowledge, how we learn vocabulary, and

how to best teach vocabulary. Top-notch synthesis of vocabulary research

and its implications for teaching and learning.

Templeton, Shane, Donald R. Bear, Marcia Invernizzi, Francine Johnston,

Kevin Flanigan, Dianna R. Townsend, Lori Helman, and Latisha Hayes.

Vocabulary Their Way: Word Study with Middle and Secondary Students. 2nd

ed. Boston: Pearson, 2015. Targeted for middle and high school teachers,

this book focuses on three major aspects of vocabulary instruction: context

EDVHGZRUGVSHFL¿FDQGJHQHUDWLYHPRUSKRORJ\7KLVZDVDPDMRUVRXUFH

for many of the central concepts and teaching ideas in this course, including

the spelling-meaning connection, the related words strategy, and the

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Willingham, Daniel T. :K\ 'RQ¶W 6WXGHQWV /LNH 6FKRRO" A Cognitive

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for the Classroom. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2009. The best text I’ve

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them into implications for all levels of instruction. If you’re interested in

exploring the research base underlying many of the leaning principles in

this course, such as making knew-to-known connections and the power of

stories, this is the book.

Dictionaries

$PHULFDQ +HULWDJH 'LFWLRQDU\ RI WKH (QJOLVK /DQJXDJH. 5th ed. Boston:

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etymological information. Includes appendices of Indo-European and

Semitic roots for those interested in delving deeply into word histories.