Vocabulary is an important and integral part of reading achievement. In fact, vocabulary knowledge is directly related to reading and comprehension success (National Reading Panel, 2000). The teacher will teach each word explicitly, lead student discussions, and correct misconceptions. By increasing vocabulary, students will be better able to comprehend what they are reading and build background knowledge for building comprehension skills. Each class will focus on 3 vocabulary words.

1. Class will start with a brief review of the previous week's words.
2. Next, the teacher will read a brief passage that includes the week's vocabulary words so students have context with which to build understanding.
3. After this, the teacher will explicitly teach each vocabulary word including interactive questions with question stems to encourage students to use the new vocabulary words. After each word, students will add it to their vocabulary journal.
4. The class will review the passage and check for meaning with the newly defined vocabulary words.
5. If time permits, the class will end with a short game using the newly acquired vocabulary. 

9/13 Week 1: sly, balance, climate
9/20 Week 2: restart, repeat, remove
9/27 Week 3: symbol, represent, map
10/4 Week 4: appetite, pack, habitat
BREAK
10/18 Week 6: shelter, track, survive
11/1 Week 7: domesticate, herd, communicate
11/8 Week 8: notice, blend, knob
11/15 Week 9: discard, reduce, reuse
BREAK (Thanksgiving)
11/29 Week 10: imitate, fancy, resemble
12/6 Week 11: signal, remarkable, soothe
12/13 Week 12: sprout, bloom, assist
BREAK (Christmas)
1/3 Week 13: classify, distinguish, startle
1/10 Week 14: vast, certain, observe
1/17 Week 15: unusual, complicated, device
1/24 Week 16: distract, scramble, nervous