ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the research literature the best practices through which teachers and parents can support early vocabulary and, by extension, conceptual development among young children, especially those in poverty. It highlights particular strategies through which teachers and parents can provide environment and support children's early vocabulary learning, and in doing so, support ongoing language and literacy learning and achievement. The chapter also highlights some of the myriad ways in which families can support vocabulary learning during the critical early years, both in collaboration with educators and independently in their homes and communities. It provides guidance to teachers and parents on how to actually support the development of language and vocabulary both in school and at home in this new era of standards-oriented, conceptually rich curricula. Teachers need to understand how children come to know words in order to optimally support children's learning.
