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[EDITOR'S NOTE: Janet's column on vocabulary always, always, hit the mark. She pushed our thinking about words and about connecting kids to words by presenting big ideas, and then she always grounded those ideas within the context of the classroom. Though I could have asked Janet to write a column on just about any topic around adolescent literacy, I wanted her writing about vocabulary and was so very pleased when she agreed. Janet and I shared an hour of downtime at the 2005 NCTE Convention-just the two of us sitting in a hotel lobby talking with no interruptions-and when we both stood to leave, I thought that what I'd most remember of that convention was that hour with Janet. What a thrill to ask her questions, to listen to her think through issues. That's what her column was for me each issue-a time to read her thinking about vocabulary. I must offer many thanks to Janet for being a part of this incredible team.]
After several years of writing "The Word Market" column for this journal, I wondered what I could possibly say in the final issue of this editorship that would frame vocabulary instruction in some new, insightful way. I reread my columns and revisited the research that had informed my practice during this past decade. I talked with teachers in schools where I was doing staff development. I looked back at my own teaching journals.
Finally, it occurred to me that we probably don't need something new in research or in practice; rather, we need to put into place the research and instructional strategies that have been highlighted in professional literature during the past two decades and we need to document those practices that are successful with our students. As Baumann, Kame'enui, and Ash cite in the Handbook of Research on the Teaching of English Language Arts, "We know too much to say we know too little, and we know too little to say that we know enough. Indeed, language is difficult to put into words" (2003, p. 752).
What Do We Know?
In examining what we know about teaching vocabulary, we already know many things:
* Those who know more words are better readers.
* Increasing the volume of reading helps readers...