Elementary Teachers - do you teach vocab?

We do word study as our spelling program, so students learn words based on where they are spelling developmentally. Needless to say, I have 6 spelling groups in my classroom.

But, I digress. I had a parent e-mail me about assigning vocabulary words, which is something I'd never done. I mean, they get content vocabulary and we do a 'word masters' program which focuses on building vocabulary (they only get 4 lists a year though), but I don't assign specific vocab separate from the content.

Is this something you do? Or do you feel vocabulary development is incidental and learned through reading and conversation?

Re: Elementary Teachers - do you teach vocab?

I teach middle school but in a K-8 School, so we are still considered an elementary school by standards- anyway, I teach content based vocabulary in addition to regular vocab lists- sometimes if we are reading a novel and there are a lot of vocab words to know then I will forget about the vocab list for that week. Every 4 weeks they have a unit test on the 4 sets of words. IN ADDITION, every homeroom has a vocab list and we give them words each week and they have a quiz in homeroom.

The BIG kick this year is with vocabulary...and I guess wherever they can get it from we are trying-it obviously helps with their reading-for cloze tests, in their writing...

Re: Elementary Teachers - do you teach vocab?

unfortunately no... there is no time!!!

i do address in terms of content area vocabulary that is related to the curriculum, but unfortunately, there is no extra time for word of the day or what have you.... we have enough to cover as it is... i feel a little better because my kids are speech impaired so they get a lot of vocab. games with the SPL.

Re: Elementary Teachers - do you teach vocab?

I have them take their spelling words and put the definitions into their own words and then use them in sentences. We also go over vocab. words from our reading program every week.