Vocabulary for Reading: the power of words

This project will test the scalability of the Vocabulary for Reading (VfR) intervention through a randomised controlled trial (RCT).  

Why is this important? 

In England, 27% of pupils overall and 49% of disadvantaged pupils fail to reach expected reading standards at age 11. 

Poor reading attainment may result from a lack of literacy experiences from an early age. This leads to a gap between more and less advantaged children when they enter school.  

The VfR programme is targeted for struggling readers with poor vocabulary aged 7-9. The intervention offers evidence-informed vocabulary instruction for pupils who require the most support. 

The aim of the programme is to develop children’s proximal vocabulary to improve their awareness of vocabulary in context, resulting in improved general comprehension and overall reading ability.  

What does it involve?

The project will use a RCT to test the following research questions: 

1. Is VfR implementable and scalable in primary schools? 

2. What is the impact of the VfR intervention on children’s taught vocabulary, generalised vocabulary, reading comprehension, and overall reading? 

3. Are there mediating effects of vocabulary on reading comprehension? 

The project team will recruit 50 primary schools in England located in areas of socio-economic disadvantage, each with eight struggling readers from Year 3-4. 

The VfR intervention will be delivered by trained teaching assistants and teacher leads to groups of four pupils in each year group in three 15-20 minute sessions per week. The sessions will involve a revise/teach/practice/apply structure using games and role play. 

The primary outcome measure will be reading ability. The research team will also use a staff assessment to collect a measure of proximal vocabulary, and whether the impact of the programme differed significantly according to variations in implementation fidelity and quality. 

How will it make a difference? 

A summary booklet will be provided to UK schools. The booklet will translate evidence into practice, enabling schools to implement systematic approaches to teaching vocabulary to struggling students.

The booklet and report will also be shared with Latin American governments and higher education institutions, and the International Development Bank.