District leadership should ensure that all educators can access high-quality professional development focusing on vocabulary acquisition and comprehension strategies. This professional development shall be ongoing, and it should include practical and evidence-based methods for teaching vocabulary in context, enhancing critical reading skills, and promoting deeper understanding across subject areas. Examples of content that sessions might cover could be:

• Strategies for teaching vocabulary through discipline-specific texts. Like using subject-specific academic language in biology.
• Scaffolding reading strategies to aid comprehension, such as annotating texts and providing space for students to summarize, question, and make connections.
• Differentiated instruction strategies and resources for reaching students at various reading levels.

District leaders can create a sustainable model for continuous learning and improvement among secondary teachers by prioritizing professional learning.

Learn how Really Great Reading’s professional development can provide your educators with high-quality learning opportunities.

Instructional tools, like visual aids, digital resources, and graphic organizers, can significantly aid vocabulary acquisition and comprehension. Word learning research suggests effective vocabulary acquisition requires repeated exposure to words, reinforced with visual aids, presented across various contexts, and encompassing concrete and abstract meanings. District leadership should ensure that funding is allocated for these resources.

Additionally, providing funding for educators to access various reading materials at differentiated levels and from diverse perspectives enables teachers to differentiate instruction and increase students’ exposure to complex vocabulary.

When used together, Really Great Reading’s HD Word and InferCabulary are robust supplemental solutions that enhance vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension for every adolescent learner. These programs equip educators with practical strategies and resources to support literacy growth, transforming your district’s approach to literacy instruction. Discover how Really Great Reading can elevate literacy outcomes in your schools!

Vocabulary and comprehension skills are essential in all subjects. District leaders can support secondary teachers by encouraging and facilitating cross-curricular literacy initiatives that foster department collaboration.

Cross-curricular collaboration reinforces vocabulary and comprehension skills in different contexts, allowing students to see the relevance and importance of all areas of their education.

By providing tools for data analysis and offering training on how to interpret and act on data, district leaders enable teachers to identify specific areas where students struggle. This might involve:

• Using formative assessments to track vocabulary growth and literacy improvements.

RGR’s complimentary Diagnostic Decoding Surveys, backed by research, provide an unmatched tool for accurately assessing students’ decoding skills. Our complimentary Grouping Matrix groups students for targeted instruction. Take advantage of these free resources today and see how they can help your educators identify and support struggling readers more effectively!

When educators can base their instruction on real-time data, they are better positioned to meet their students' individual needs, making teaching more effective and targeted.

Developing a culture where educators feel supported and heard by district leadership is invaluable. Transparent and honest communication allows educators to express what resources or training have been impactful and what needs remain. Open and respectful communication can foster a collaborative relationship between teachers and district leadership. When district leadership actively responds to the needs of educators, and educators align with and work toward the district's vision, both parties provide strong support for classroom instruction.

Enhancing vocabulary and comprehension in adolescent classrooms is a district-wide initiative that requires thoughtful and consistent support. District leaders can impact educators and students by investing in high-quality professional development, providing instructional resources, fostering cross-curricular collaboration, utilizing data, and establishing open communication channels as teachers increase vocabulary usage and comprehension. Through this support, districts can ensure that all students leave secondary school equipped with the vocabulary and comprehension skills essential for lifelong success.