Charlottesville, Va. (May 5, 2008) – The students in today’s classrooms are a diverse group, representing a variety of ethnicities, cultures and backgrounds. Consequently, students have vastly different vocabulary skills, as research shows that vocabulary development is correlated to socioeconomic status, level of parental support, and exposure to literacy-related activities. Given the important role vocabulary plays in reading comprehension, educators are looking for ways to tailor instruction for students. To meet this need, Dynamic Literacy, a developer of vocabulary instructional materials, announces the availability of differentiated content for its WordBuild Elements series.

Designed for grades 5-9, Elements teaches students how English words are constructed by focusing on the meanings of prefixes, roots and suffixes. Lessons found in the student activity books are at the Mastery level. However, if students are struggling or excelling, teachers now can access a set of online activities at the Novice and Expert levels. The fact that all three levels center on the same root set enables novice, mastery and expert students to participate in the same classroom activities. This allows teachers to introduce a vocabulary activity to the entire class, yet offer students differentiated instruction based on their individual skill levels.

“I use Elements every day with my remedial students to help them improve their vocabulary and reading comprehension skills,” said Melanie Blakeney, Reading Specialist at Fauquier County Public School’s Warrenton Middle School. “Unlike word lists, which promote memorization, Elements teaches my students the meanings of words in context, with activities that are tailored to help them grow from their individual instruction level.”

A component of the WordBuild Vocabulary Development System, Elements is designed to improve a student’s vocabulary, language and reading comprehension skills. The program is based on morphology, or the study of the units of meaning in words. Just as phonics helps students “sound out” unfamiliar words, a mastery of Morphics™ helps students “mean out” unfamiliar words. Once students learn the definitions of common prefixes, roots and suffixes, they gain the skills to decipher unfamiliar words and their vocabularies increase exponentially.

More Information

Dynamic Literacy has published a supplemental guide for educators entitled “Providing Differentiated Instruction with WordBuild&trade Elements.” Visit www.dynamicliteracy.com/resources.php to download a free copy.

For more information on the WordBuild Vocabulary Development System, or to speak with a sales representative, visit www.dynamicliteracy.com, write to info at dynamicliteracy dot com, or phone 888-696-8597.

About WordBuild

The WordBuild Vocabulary Development System consists of two series, Foundations and Elements. Foundations contains two years of morphics-based instruction intended for grades 3-5, and is available for vocabulary instruction intervention for grades 6 and up. Elements is intended for grades 5-9, but is available for vocabulary instruction intervention for grades 10 and up, and contains three years of morphics-based instruction. Prices start at $9.95, with volume discounts to $5.95 for individual student activity books, plus $99 per teacher for software and instructional materials.

About Dynamic Literacy

Dynamic Literacy, LLC is committed to improving vocabulary, language and reading comprehension for students through the WordBuild™ Vocabulary Development System. Based on frequently used Latin and Greek roots, the program is a collection of educational materials designed to communicate the structure of the English language to students of all ages. Gaining the skills necessary to decipher unfamiliar words helps improve students’ performance in the classroom and on high-stakes assessments. The company was established in 2002 and is headquartered in Charlottesville, Va.

Contacts

Dynamic Literacy
Eric A. Schmitz
888-696-8597
eschmitz at dynamicliteracy dot com
www.dynamicliteracy.com

C. Blohm & Associates, Inc.
Emily Embury
608-839-9800
emily at cblohm dot com
www.cblohm.com

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