Word Aware (Spiral Bind): Teaching vocabulary across the day, across the curriculum

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We were encouraged to identify the key vocabulary involved in a particular topic being taught and then divide this into 3 different levels. They take the content off the page and show participants how to use these approaches in their school or workplace. We can place a therapist trained in Word Aware in your school, to set up whole class approaches, small group and 1;1 Word Aware work. It is of particular value for children with special education needs and for those learning English as an additional language. Anna Branagan, Clinical Lead Specialist Speech and Language Therapist at City and Hackney Teaching PCT.

I think the Word Wall would be a great way to keep the new vocabulary in the minds of both staff and pupils so that it is used often and in as many contexts as possible. With over 30 years’ experience in the field, he is co-author of bestselling Speechmark resources Language for Thinking (second edition,2017), Word Aware (first edition, 2013), Word Aware 2 (2017) and Language for Behaviour and Emotions (2020). The words chosen are ‘Goldilocks Words’ – words that are not too easy, not too difficult but just right!

Step-on words – these are words that are very specific to the topic but are not so important for understanding the topic and are less likely to come up frequently. This sounds time-consuming, but it doesn’t actually require a lot of additional activities, but more highlighting the word regularly in the activities already planned as part of the topic. It has a good mix of theory and practical activities which can be put into practice immediately with education staff and parents. This rigorously tried and tested approach is an outstanding resource that will be an essential addition to any early years' setting or preschool classroom. I like the fact that the approach is designed for the whole class, so it’s inclusive and that there is a strong emphasis on the importance of Adult Child Interaction.

Word Aware 1 is an invaluable tool for teachers and other professionals looking to support children as they broaden their vocabulary. It includes the fun and engaging ‘Concept Cat’ method to teach children early verbal concepts such as ‘both, corner, smooth and after’. Now in a fully updated second edition, this comprehensive and practical book outlines the theoretical underpinnings for vocabulary and acts as a ‘how to’ guide to developing word learning across the school and curriculum. Generally 2 to 4 copies per school for ‘Word Aware 1’ an one copy per school for ‘Word Aware 2’ and ‘Word Aware 3’ is adequate.We also used our Goldilocks symbols in the children’s lesson targets so that they could assess their own use of the new words. It is taken from Word Aware 2: Teaching Vocabulary in the Early Years by Stephen Parsons and Anna Brannigan and provides you with a chance to take a look inside this much loved resource. We now have children who have a growing bank of vocabulary that they understand, can explain and can use effectively in their own writing. It’s clearly been tried-and-tested in a range of schools, with helpful, detailed examples included of the impact this approach has had for vocabulary learners.

The approach is about making words a priority and there are some lovely ideas throughout of how to do this in school without it taking loads of extra time and planning.Word Aware is a structured whole school approach to promote the vocabulary development of all children. Word Aware is a comprehensive and structured approach to use throughout the school to promote vocabularydevelopment in all children. It obviously isn’t realistic to sum up the whole of the approach in one blog post, but I thought I would talk today about each of these 4 aspects a little bit. The sequence involves sound-related aspects (talking about the number of syllables, rhymes, initial sound etc.

Language for Thinking, Word Aware and Language for Behaviour and Emotions’ courses bring the content of the books to life in a highly practical way. The end product is an effective and time efficient method for developing the spoken and written vocabulary of all children. The training will support EY settings to promote effective vocabulary development in preschool children of all abilities. It adopts a whole school approach but is equally effective for specific classes and groups or individual learners. In summary, Word Aware is a great resource for anyone working with Early Years children and I would highly recommend it.

The Word Aware approach provides a structured framework to promote vocabulary development in all children and has been rigorously tried and tested.