The most effective way for students to learn words they need for adult life is through reading a variety of materials. Indeed, it is estimated that “the average child enters school with a reading vocabulary of only a handful of words but learns reading vocabulary at a rate of 3,000 to 4,000 words a year, accumulating a reading vocabulary of something like 25,000 words by the time he or she is in eighth grade and one that may be well over 50,000 words by the end of high school.” 4 A well planned vocabulary program will also contribute to vocabulary.
