1. Students have weak vocabularies.
2. Students even struggle with the simpliest words.
3. There is a big difference in the amount of words that kids hear in the the first 4 years of their lives.
4. Race can have an influence on how good a childs vocabulary is.
5. The problem is in all grades
6. Students only ask questions when its important to them.
7. This problem shows up in all schools
8. Students who read have a better vocabulary
9. Students cant understan what their reading, so they dont read. They have a bad vocabulary then
10. Problem comes from the 2 forces that shape our schools: larger culture and individual families
11. Students are on facebook, twitter,and watching tv instead of working on their vocab.
12. Its the parents fault
13. Richer families can raise their kids to have a better vocab.
14. Students cant understand what they are being taught.
15. Easier to read about something you already kow about.
16. Teachers can tell if a student comes from a family with more reading oppurtunities.
17. They can also tell if they come from a family with less reading.
18. Read with your kids at an early age
19. Its not too late to start building your childs vocab

John T. Tierney, author of " Vocabulary and Reading: Give Your Kids a Fighting Chance," argues the fact that their is a problem in our students' vocabulary at all ages; and if you read you can greatly improve your vocabulary. Students have weak vocabularies, and they struggle even  with the simpliest words. The race of a kid and the wealthiness of their family can also have a huge impact. He writes that kids that read have a stronger vocabulary than those who don't. They need to understand what they are reading. If a child doesn't know what they are reading about, they won't read. This all boils down to the parents. The parents need to provide the oppurtuntities to read and expand their vocabulary at a young age. Students cant understand what they are being taught, because they dont understand the words the lessons are using. Teachers can tell whether there has been reading and writing skills early in the students lives. If they haven't, they tend to not pay attention, don't do homework, and don't contribute to the class. The point of this article is that kids need to read and work on their vocabularies at a young age. John encourages you, as a parent, to read with your son or daughter. It's not too late to start now.