ABOUT THIS REPORT This report reviews critical research that identifies the core vocabulary essential to student achievement and the key characteristics of effective vocabulary instruction, including related word-learning skills and strategies. It then describes how this research is integrated into W.O.R.D.’s learning program. OVERVIEW OF SCHOLASTIC W.O.R.D. Scholastic W.O.R.D. (Words Open Reading Doors) is an innovative personalized digital learning program that helps students in Grades K–5 master the 2,500 morphological word families that make up 90 percent of all texts they will encounter in school. Grounded in research, the interactive program uses thematic reading passages and related digital activities to expose students to high-utility words and their meanings in multiple contexts, encouraging deep comprehension rather than rote recall. Students progress independently, practicing new vocabulary—by, for example, experiencing the power of words through context, antonyms, synonyms, affixes, and inflected endings—in fun, engaging activities with the encouragement of Freddy the Squirrel, a character who cheers them along on their word adventure. W.O.R.D. has an intuitive design where even the youngest learners can self-guide through the program. As a supplemental program the recommended usage is three 20-minute sessions per week, which can be completed at any time throughout the school day—small group, center-time, independent learning time—whenever a teacher feels is appropriate. Additionally, W.O.R.D. can be accessed at home for students who require or desire additional time with the program.
Scholastic W.O.R.D. Learning Cycle
The world of W.O.R.D. consists of 10 cross-curriculum themes that are repeated in each grade, enabling students to build rich content knowledge and word-learning skills and strategies over time as they learn new vocabulary within the context of the themes. For every theme, students follow a similar learning path of instruction, reading, and activity through five distinct components: 1. What Do You Know? Each theme in W.O.R.D. begins with a placement activity to determine a student’s existing knowledge about the vocabulary that they will encounter in that theme; students are asked to match the correct image(s) related to a word from the theme. Instructional feedback is provided throughout the activity. A student’s performance in the activity places them at one of two reading levels with the W.O.R.D. fiction and nonfiction passages: grade level or simplified.
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SCHOLASTIC W.O.R.D. FOUNDATION PAPER
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