Vocabulary Builder - Word Web
 
The Word Web is a strategy that can be used with pupils with SEND to work on and expand their vocabulary and language.
 
When listening to others speak, pupils encounter words that they:
• have not heard before,
• do not know what they mean and
• do not know how to use them themselves, in context, when speaking.
 
When reading, pupils encounter words that they:
• have not seen before but can decode, the resulting word being one that they have not heard of before,
• do not know what they mean and
• cannot use their knowledge of them to understand the text they are reading.
 
Supporting pupils to expand their vocabulary impacts on their spoken language, their listening comprehension, their reading comprehension and their writing.
 
Word Web looks at multiple aspects of a word with a focus on meaning. A graphic organiser is used to scaffold the pupil’s discussion about the word, led by the teacher / TA. Symbols, relating to the aspects of the word being discussed, are used to prompt the pupil to think about each attribute.
 
The work is primarily oral, but discussion can be recorded by the teacher / TA acting as scribe for words and pictures.