Building Vocabulary

At Baysgarth we know how important vocabulary is for our learners. The bredth of their vocabulary will dictate how well they can access their subjects, comprehend texts that they read, understand concepts and ideas as well as express themselves within the classroom and outside of it too with peers and friends.

In an average day at secondary school, pupils are exposed to three or four times as much language as at primary school, purely in terms of quantity and for any given text, students need to understand 95% of the language used in it.

Therefore, teaching subject-specific language and academic language is an important focus for us here at Baysgarth school. By developing our students' vocabulary we build their receptive language (language which they hear) and their expressive language (the language which they speak).

The way in which we do this is by providing a rich curriculum which identifies the key vocabulary needed for students to thrive in each subject and then teaching it to students in a deliberate and consistent way. We do this through the use of Frayer models which are adapted to the different subjects and utilising Vocabulary Knowledge Organisers which students can refer to in lessons. Vocabulary is also habitually reinforced in lessons with all staff modelling appropriate use of language and register, revisiting key vocabulary all the time to embed it.