Early Vocabulary Intervention (EVI)

Early Vocabulary Intervention (EVI) is a Tier-2 supplemental vocabulary intervention for kindergarten students at risk for language and learning difficulties (PPVT score below 92/30th percentile). EVI is delivered in small groups of 3-4 students outside the classroom for 30 minutes per day, 4 days per week, over approximately 22 weeks. The intervention reteaches and reinforces vocabulary taught in Tier-1 classroom instruction through highly engaging activities designed to promote depth of understanding and extended language use. Activities include discriminating between examples and nonexamples of pictures representing target words, using target words to describe pictures and personal experiences, discussing connections between target vocabulary and other words/concepts, and participating in meaningful conversations about target words. Interventionists provide explicit instruction with extensive teacher modeling, multiple opportunities for student practice, scaffolding for sentence elaboration, and specific feedback targeted to individual student learning needs. Interventionists (paraprofessionals, certified teachers, reading teachers, and other professionals) receive a full day of professional development focused on implementing EVI and are provided with additional coaching during the intervention.