ABSTRACT
The purposes of this chapter are: to underline that a good vocabulary is indispensable for good reading comprehension. Yet, good reading comprehension is the most important source of vocabulary knowledge, to focus on the importance of vocabulary depth and inference making rather than just the number of words that children know, to suggest ways in which teaching may simultaneously further both growth in vocabulary and reading comprehension. It is clear that effective reading comprehension depends on good knowledge of the meanings of words. The examples illustrate two points, one for each of the ways in which vocabulary is related to comprehension: The first point is that vocabulary knowledge is crucial for comprehension. The second point is that it is possible to glean at least some knowledge of words from their context. Even though the meaning of a word may not be explained but taken for granted, the reader can often infer at least something about it.
