Tier-2 Early Vocabulary Intervention (EVI): Supplemental Vocabulary Instruction to Support Kindergarteners at Risk for Language and Learning Difficulties

Early Vocabulary Intervention (EVI) is a supplemental intervention that targets vocabulary learning in kindergarten students at risk for language and learning difficulties. EVI is designed to reteach and reinforce vocabulary taught in Tier-1 classroom instruction through highly engaging activities that promote depth of understanding and extended language use. The intervention is implemented in small groups of three or four students outside of the classroom for 30 minutes per day, 4 days per week, over the course of approximately 22 weeks. EVI includes interactive activities that provide students with opportunities to discriminate between examples and nonexamples of pictures representing target words, use target words to describe pictures and discuss personal experiences, discuss connections between target vocabulary and other words and concepts, and participate in meaningful conversations with peers about target words.