Vocabulary

The vocabulary of a student is the range of words they know and use. Throughout the students’ time with us they are introduced to many new words.

Some of these words are subject specific, what we call ‘Tier 3’ vocabulary. Low frequency words that are generally only used in one or two areas of the curriculum, for example: photosynthesis in science or omnibenevolent in Religious Education. To support the development of Tier 3 vocabulary we use BedrockLearning.org. This website embeds keywords from all subjects into weekly homework that is monitored by our English team.

In lessons we use etymology and morphology to break down Tier 3 words - explicitly as we introduce them, followed by ongoing implicit instruction when necessary.

Here are some examples of how different subjects are using etymology and morphology to introduce new words:

Tier 2 words are high frequency words used in many subjects and more commonly in everyday speech. To ensure students are confident with Tier 2 words teachers use both ‘explicit instruction’, as described above, as well as ‘implicit instruction’. Implicit instruction is a technique that quickly reminds students what a word means by following its use, with a short definition.

Year 7-9 students have access to a United Learning Glossary booklet (electronic copy available below). The glossary has a selection of subject-specific (Tier 3) words and definitions we expect all students to be able to use by the end of Year 9.

List of vocab resources for parents and students:

How Parents can Help a Child's Vocabulary Development - Language Skills (greatspeech.com)