A comparison of vocabulary generated by grade 1 students in whole language classrooms and basal reader vocabulary

AbstractThe writing of 52 Grade 1 children in two whole language classrooms was collected for the entire school year. The children's writing was transcribed into computer files and the vocabulary was organized into a rank order list. This list was compared to the vocabulary contained in the basal reader program used in the school district. The comparison of vocabulary generated by the students with that of the basal readers indicated that high frequency vocabulary was nearly identical. Low frequency words used by the students were judged to be more current than those of the basal readers. Misspellings demonstrated an overgeneralization of phonic principles. It is concluded that whole language instruction does not limit children's exposure to systematic repetition of important vocabulary.