Word Knowledge Instruction (WKI): Enhancing the Word Knowledge of Grade 5 Students to Improve Reading Achievement
Intervention Details
Subject
English Language ArtsAcademic Program
General EducationDuration
15 minutes a day, 4 days a week, for 20 weeksGrade
5Personnel
General Education Teacher
Intervention Summary
Word Knowledge Instruction (WKI) is a curriculum that aims to enhance the word knowledge of grade 5 students to improve reading achievement. WKI consists of 15-minute lessons, 4 days a week, for 20 weeks, and covers 20 prefixes and suffixes. The lessons address state standards and are designed to teach students about the minimal units of meaning in multisyllabic words (base word, root word, and affixes) as a strategy to build word knowledge.
Grade
5Personnel
General Education TeacherStatistical Finding Summary
Positive effect on students' ability to extract and spell a base word from a derived word
No effect on students' ability to select a nonword that best fits the grammatical context of a sentence
No effect on students' ability to use knowledge of word parts to infer meaning of new words
No effect on students' vocabulary
No effect on students' reading scores.
Source
Barbara R., F., Carla, W., Jennifer L., D., Linda, G., Lynn, D. & Sarah, H. (2021). The Impact of Word Knowledge Instruction on Literacy Outcomes in Grade 5. REL 2021-083 (ED611683). ERIC. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED611683.pdf.
Data Sample by Population
These charts show the characteristics of the student populations studied. When assessing programs, you may want to prioritize interventions that yielded success in a similar demographic environment as your school or district.