Voracious Reading to Build Vocabulary–Parent Pipeline

When I first learned the vocabulary strategy of voracious reading I smiled. Why? Because teaching students the terminology of voracious reading is the perfect start to increasing their vocabulary. Children are thirsty for learning "big" words, so when we teach children reading strategies, why not teach them the full terminology? This was most evident to me when I introduced Daily Five for the first time in my kindergarten classroom. It was exciting to hear my students use the words: independence, stamina, and transition. Better yet, they understood what they were talking about!

If you haven't introduced the vocabulary strategy of voracious reading to your students yet, try it. Use the word voracious with them, having them repeat the word after you. Clap out the syllables in the word voracious, write voracious on the board and have the children practice using it in a sentence. Share the secret to success from the ready reference guide provided in your CAFE book, and celebrate the small successes the children have with learning new words. Then, use the Parent Pipeline to encourage support from home. What better way to enhance a reader's vocabulary than through reading, reading, and more reading?