Valuable Words About Vocabulary, with Special Guest Dr. Elfrieda Hiebert

Season 5 of Literacy Talks begins with a visit from special guest Dr. Elfrieda “Freddie” Hiebert, noted researcher, educator, author, and president and CEO of TextProject, Inc., a nonprofit organization focused on bringing beginning and struggling readers to high levels of literacy using a variety of strategies and tools, particularly the texts used for reading instruction.

In this episode, our hosts explore how small changes in teaching vocabulary and text complexity can lead to big differences in students’ literacy growth. From helping students unlock the treasure box of vocabulary to remembering that language and literacy are always about meaning, this episode invites educators to the world of words and enriching literacy instruction.

Show Notes

Literacy Leaders

• Dr. Elfrieda Hiebert
• Dr. Hugh Catts
• David Share
• William S. Gray
• Edward Fry
• Paul Hanna

Resources

• Text Project website
• Teaching Words and How They Work (book)
• Eight Days a Week (The Beatles)

Build Your Literacy Lexicon

• polysemous: having multiple meanings.