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What are the most effective ways to teach words and word learning? This Edutopia article offers 11 strategies for teaching vocabulary effectively and in accordance with the Common Core State Standards. We were pleased to see that many of the suggestions in the article are incorporated into our popular Take Aim at Vocabulary program. Years of extensive research, carefully developed content, and thorough field-testing went into making Take Aim the highly successful tool it is. We believe Take Aim is the best product on the market for developing vocabulary in the critical middle grades, and Take Aim users agree. Here’s why:

• Take Aim presents word-learning strategies, such as using context clues, analyzing word parts, and connecting words to personal experience, in a focused lesson design. These concepts are taught in engaging ways and are continually reinforced, allowing students to internalize the skills and strategies necessary for independently learning unknown words.
• Each level of Take Aim teaches hundreds of carefully researched target words. These high-quality words are academic words as well as words students will encounter with frequency as texts increase in difficulty.
• Each target word is explicitly taught in the context of a high-interest, nonfiction story. Students are eager to learn the words as they engage with the content. To provide reinforcement and additional context, target words also appear in stories in which they’re not explicitly taught.
• Research-based activities provide repeated exposure to target words and develop students’ ability to independently determine word meanings.
• Take Aim develops word consciousness: the awareness of and interest in words and their meanings. Developing word consciousness helps students gain greater awareness of vocabulary and language (so they begin to “own” the words) and increases their motivation, interest, and enjoyment of reading.
• Take Aim is easily adapted for use with different populations: students meeting grade-level standards, students struggling with reading comprehension, and students who are below benchmark in vocabulary.
• Take Aim is available for use with individual students (students work mostly independently) as well as in a group format in which the teacher offers instruction to a small group of students before they complete tasks independently.
• Words and strategies taught in Take Aim align with the Common Core State Standards’ recommendations for teaching vocabulary.
• And much more!

A robust vocabulary and strong vocabulary-building skills are critical to reading achievement and academic success. Give your students the greatest chance to succeed by using a research-based program that’s proven to deliver remarkable results. Learn more about Take Aim here, or contact our office at 800-788-4085 to discuss your needs.