Janis M. Harmon, Elizabeth Buckelew-Martin, and Karen D. Wood
The Cognitive
Vocabulary Approach
to Word Learning
E
nglish teachers face myriad demands every day that include not
only helping students read literature in interesting and engaging
ways but also attending to the needs of students
challenged by the demands of more complex and
sophisticated texts. Vocabulary learning is at the
heart of this struggle for many students, especially
for English language learners and students who
have difficulty with literacy skill development. Obviously, a lack of vocabulary knowledge limits students’ understanding of a passage and also hinders
their ability to engage in the deeper reading we aim
for in our teaching. Yet, sometimes teaching word
meanings before students read, while a widely accepted practice, may not be enough to ensure that
comprehension will be enhanced for these learners
who are burdened with language issues, learning
problems, and other constraints that can lead to
disengagement.
In this article we describe a cognitive strategies approach to vocabulary teaching and learning
that can serve as a starting point for effective vocabulary instruction. This approach highlights the
merging of important facets of vocabulary instruction with cognitive strategies used to comprehend
texts. We begin by drawing attention to what we
currently know about connections between vocabulary learning and reading comprehension and we
describe a cognitive strategies vocabulary approach
to instruction. Then Elizabeth Buckelew-Martin
(Liz), a high school reading teacher, recounts her
experience using this approach with her students.
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The authors provide an
overview of research in
vocabulary instruction
and then explain a
pedagogical approach that
highlights metacognition
and visual thinking. Many
classroom examples are
described.
Current Understandings of
Vocabulary and Comprehension
Comprehension and vocabulary share a complex,
reciprocal relationship: knowing more words enhances comprehension, just as reading and understanding texts builds vocabulary knowledge.
Effective vocabulary instruction involves the orchestration of several instructional tasks promoted
by many researchers (e.g., Beck, McKeown, and
Kucan; Graves). We understand that instruction
must include clear and easily understood definitions
and a variety of experiences with word meanings in
different contexts where students apply and transfer
words in meaningful ways. Good instruction also
includes helping students learn independent word
learning strategies and developing word consciousness about the structure, order, and use of words.
Comprehension also involves a number of
processes, including word identification and meaning, prior knowledge of a topic, and a host of strategic moves used by proficient readers to construct
meaning (Pressley). These cognitive moves include
making connections between existing knowledge
and new text information, asking questions while
reading, inferring ideas authors may not directly
state, determining the importance of information,
summarizing information, and monitoring understanding especially when ideas are unclear (Harvey
and Goudvis). In addition, students must also be
aware of their own thinking as they read. This
metacognitive ability is a critical aspect of comprehension and is particularly evident in the behaviors
English Journal 100.1 (2010): 100–107
Copyright © 2010 by the National Council of Teachers of English. All rights reserved.
Janis M. Harmon, Elizabeth Buckelew-Martin, and Karen D. Wood
of proficient readers as they read challenging texts
(Garner 727). Unfortunately, these same metacognitive behaviors are not as pronounced in the reading engagements of struggling readers, who appear
to be constrained by their ability to identify and
problem solve the meanings of unfamiliar words in
natural contexts (Lubliner and Smetana).
The Cognitive Vocabulary Strategies
Approach to Word Learning
The Cognitive Vocabulary Approach (CVA) is
grounded in what we know about vocabulary and
comprehension and focuses on explicit instruction
of not only new word meanings but also on a metacognitive direction intended to help students develop independent word learning strategies that
will serve them well in subsequent encounters with
unfamiliar words. Students, especially challenged
readers, need to develop stronger awareness of the
thinking processes that contribute to effective understanding. CVA is flexible in terms of use and delivery in that the instruction can highlight a
particular facet of the approach or each facet can be
implemented sequentially. We can tailor the approach to fit students’ needs and the purposes of
word learning for a particular text.
There are three facets of the Cognitive Vocabulary Approach: identifying unfamiliar words, examining word meanings, and relating word
meanings. As described below, within each of these
facets we list questions for students to ask themselves to develop a greater sense of word awareness.
Identifying Unfamiliar Words
Important aspects of word learning include the
ability to recognize unfamiliar words as well as to
determine how important the words are for comprehension. Accomplishing this seemingly simple
and straightforward task of identifying unknown
words actually involves a level of metacognitive
awareness that many struggling adolescent readers
lack. Therefore, we need to help students consider
these questions as they read material:
• What does it mean to acknowledge unfamiliar words?
• Why is it important to identify unfamiliar
words that may be important?
• When do unfamiliar words need to be
identified?
• What makes an unfamiliar word important?
Furthermore, students can develop metacognitive awareness by asking questions such as the ones
listed next. Since metacognitive awareness involves
thinking aloud to oneself, we provide examples of
student thinking after the questions (in italics).
• Am I paying attention to what I am reading?
I am paying more attention to words I normally
just skip over.
• Do I see words I do not recognize or know
what they mean? In this paragraph, I see the
word extravagant referring to spending by the
king and queen in France during the 1780s.
• Are these unfamiliar words getting in the
way of what I am trying to read? This seems to
be a word I will need to be certain about because it
is used again later in the selection.
Examining Word Meanings
Also important for word learning is the ability to
actively examine the meanings of unfamiliar words
and the meanings of familiar words used in unfamiliar ways. In closely examining word meanings, students use several cognitive
There are three facets of
strategies that are the bedrock of comprehension. The
the Cognitive Vocabulary
strategies—which include
Approach: identifying
activating prior knowledge,
unfamiliar words,
predicting, inferring, quesexamining word
tioning, and drawing conmeanings, and relating
clusions—enable students
word meanings.
to grapple with the plausible meanings of the targeted
words. To engage students in such examination, we
list questions we would like students to ask and answer for themselves, such as the following:
• What do I know about the topic we are
studying? We are talking about France owing a
lot of money.
• What do I know about this word? It has the
word part extra, which means a lot.
• What are some other ways you think the
author could use this word in reference to the
topic? The king and queen of France were extravagant and lived beyond their means.
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The Cognitive Vocabulary Approach to Word Learning
• What might the word mean? I think it means
a lot of spending.
• How can I verify the meaning of the word?
I read ahead in the passage and think I am right,
but I am going to check the online dictionary.
• What does this meaning tell me about the
topic of the passage? It tells me that the former
king and queen lived the high life and spent a
great deal of France’s money. They overdid the
luxuries and were extravagant spenders.
make connections, classify and categorize information, and visualize—all higher-level cognitive strategies that aid in comprehension.
Metacognitive questions for this facet of word
learning include the following:
• What does this word meaning make me
think of? It makes me think of Hollywood or Las
Vegas and lifestyles of the rich and famous.
• What other words do I know that are similar
in meaning? I know an expression “over the top”
that is similar. The word luxurious is also like
extravagant.
• Under what broad category would this word
belong? It’s a word that describes.
Relating Word Meanings
Once students have a general sense of a word’s
meaning, we must next help them internalize the
meaning by deepening their understanding of the
word. This is accomplished through activities that
require students to associate word meanings to particular contexts and to relate the words to other
words. In other words, we must help students learn
how the words work: in what situations, by whom,
and in relation to what concepts. From a cognitive
perspective, these activities require students to
There are many effective instructional approaches to help students with each aspect of the
Cognitive Vocabulary Approach. We provide an activity chart in Figure 1 that illustrates the cognitive and metacognitive learning strategies along
with explicit instructional support related to each
of the three facets described previously.
Figure 1. ​Activity Chart for Cognitive Vocabulary Approach
Cognitive
Vocabulary
Approach
Cognitive
Strategies
Metacognitive Strategies
Explicit Instructional Support
Identifying
Unfamiliar
Words
Identify unfamiliar
words
Determine
importance
What does it mean to acknowledge
unfamiliar words?
Why do I need to identify unfamiliar
words that may be important?
When do I flag these words?
How do I know if the word is
important?
Provide opportunities for students to
self-select unfamiliar words.
Focus on constructing overall meaning of a passage and the contribution
of unfamiliar words.
Examining
Unfamiliar
Words
Activate prior
knowledge
Predict
Infer
Draw conclusions
What do I know about the topic we
are studying?
What do I know about this word?
In what ways might the author use
this word in reference to the topic?
What might the word mean?
Verify the meaning of the word by
checking the glossary or dictionary or
by asking someone.
What does this tell me about the topic
of the passage?
Teach word-level strategies such as
prefixes and roots.
Teach context clues in relation to the
overall meaning of the passage.
Highlight connections between word
meaning predictions from context and
the meaning of the passage.
This word reminds me of . . .
This word belongs with other words
and terms such as . . .
This word fits under the category
of . . .
Use visual representations such as
word maps and graphic organizers to
illustrate relationships among words.
Have students create symbols and
select colors to help them remember
word meanings.
Relating Word Connect
Meanings
Classify
Categorize
Visualize
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September 2010
Janis M. Harmon, Elizabeth Buckelew-Martin, and Karen D. Wood
Developing cognitive and metacognitive strategies is highly challenging for students and teachers
and requires taking small steps toward building a
strong vocabulary base and comprehension. While
we have outlined and charted this cognitive approach
to learning using three facets, we do not intend that
this approach be construed as formulaic. Instead, we
hope that teachers will make the modifications
needed to address the specific learning needs of their
students, as Liz demonstrates in the next section.
Using the Cognitive Vocabulary
Approach in the Classroom
Liz teaches reading classes in a Title I high school
that serves a high number of Hispanic students and
where her classes contain English language learners,
special education students, and other students who
struggle with reading. In her own voice, she describes several scenarios in which she used the Cognitive Vocabulary Approach with her students at
different times and with different texts.
Identifying Unfamiliar Words
I (Liz) began this facet of word learning from a metacognitive perspective by asking my students to write
a journal entry addressing this question: When you
are reading and you come across a word that you do
not know, how do you react and respond? Student
responses served as a springboard to a class discussion
on vocabulary strategies and the importance of understanding word meanings. From a total of 45 students in several different classes, only five indicated
that they even paid attention to unfamiliar words.
The remaining students stated that, when they came
across a word they did not know, they simply skipped
over it. Comments included the following:
• I think that if I don’t know the word, it might
not be important and I can still figure out
what I am reading even without that word.
• Sometimes I think if I just keep reading I
will figure out what it means by the rest of
the story.
• I just skip it, because if I don’t know it, then
it doesn’t matter.
Students also indicated that they were used to
having teachers provide them with a list of vocabulary words that they needed to know for reading.
They had rarely been asked to select their own
words for vocabulary. From their perspective, if the
teacher did not provide them with the word and
definition, then that word was not important
enough to understand.
This was an eye-opening moment for me. I
realized that we are not teaching our students the
much-needed skill of being able to identify and determine the importance of understanding new
words in reading. I also realized that we must create
strategies that lead students, struggling readers in
particular, to become metacognitive in their approach to understanding the meaning and importance of new words.
To help my students attend to unfamiliar
words in more productive ways, I created a Vocabulary Identification and Rating Scale assignment (see
fig. 2). To practice using the scale, I provided each
Figure 2. ​Vocabulary Identification
and Rating Scale
Take a few minutes to read through the work we are
going to read in class, looking for any words that you
do not know. Highlight these words and write them
down in the chart below. Next, rate how important you
think each word may be to understanding the story by
circling a number between 1 and 5. The importance
scale is the following:
1—not important at all; I could read and understand
the reading without knowing this word and it
wouldn’t matter
2—not really important; this word might be one I
need to know but I can still understand the reading
without it
3—may or may not be important; I can’t decide
whether or not I think knowing this word will be
important
4—kind of important; I think this word may be
pretty important to know, to help me understand
the reading
5—VERY important; I can tell understanding this
word is going to be a big part of me understanding
the reading
Finally, give your best idea of what you think this word
may mean in the third column. Include definitions,
words that you have seen before that look similar to
this one, and any other information that you have
related to the meaning of the words.
Words I don’t
know:
How important
I think this
word may be:
What I think
this word may
mean:
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
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The Cognitive Vocabulary Approach to Word Learning
student with a copy of a short, expository text: a
biography of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As they
scanned the text for unfamiliar words, they used a
highlighter to mark them and then completed the
rating scale. I moved around the room, observing
and answering questions.
Twenty-six words were identified as unknown
by at least four students each. These words represented both content specific words, such as Gandhi,
boycott, coalition, and manifesto, as well as high-frequency words used across disciplines, including inspiring, residence, assassinated, predominantly, segregation,
intellectual, and burgeoning. We then discussed the selected words, attending to how the students picked
the words and to how important they thought each
word was to understanding the biography.
Examining Word Meanings
This facet of word meanings coincided with our
work on identifying new words as evidenced by the
third column of the Vocabulary Identification and
Rating Scale, “What I think this word may mean.”
Cognitively, students had to activate their prior
knowledge about the word or parts of the word to
predict the word meaning based on the context. By
thinking about what they may already know, students had to draw conclusions regarding their overall level of understanding of what the word means
and how it might apply to the text. Given the nature of some of the selected words, this close examination of word meanings allowed for discussions
about word parts.
For example, students made connections with
chunks of words that they recognized, such as intell
in the word intellectual—they thought it “might
have something to do with intelligence, being
smart”—and segregated/segregation, which they decided had something to do with sections and segments, parts of a whole. Some students recalled
having heard about Gandhi but could not remember what he was known for. Others recognized residence (“where you live”), inspiring (“like music that
makes you want to do something”), and assassinated
(“being shot”). As a class, we took on the word predominantly and broke it into pieces that students
could recognize and understand: the pre-, which
they understood meant “before.” They also understood that to dominate means to “overpower or be
strong.” Putting it all together with a minimum of
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September 2010
input from the teacher, the students were able to
conclude that predominantly meant “something that
was done before anything else.”
Relating Word Meanings
I incorporated activities for relating word meaning
into our readings of several fictional texts that are required in our curriculum. After reading Alana Morris’s Vocabulary Unplugged: 30 Lessons That Will
Revolutionize How You Will Teach Vocabulary K–12, I
developed my own activity that I call It’s in the Bag
and used it with our reading of O. Henry’s short
story “The Ransom of Red Chief.” For the activity,
each class was divided into groups and each group
skimmed a particular section of the short story for
unfamiliar words. The groups then selected the top
three words they thought everyone would need to
know and understand to fully comprehend the story.
Next, the groups created a working definition
for each selected word and found five to seven synonyms for each word. The original word and the
synonyms were typed into a chart I provided, and
students searched the Internet to find at least four
pictures or pieces of clip art that represented their
word. To find synonyms and pictures, students employed several cognitive strategies, including activating and using prior knowledge of particular
synonyms to make a match with the targeted word,
making connections to related words, and visualizing situations, objects, and other symbols to represent the word.
Students printed their pages of words, synonyms, and pictures and then cut the pages apart so
that each word or picture was a separate piece. Once
each of the groups had completed this task, I took
all of the words and pictures from the entire class,
mixed them together, and then randomly separated
them to place an equal number of words and/or pictures into stations, with one station for each group
in the class. At each station, I placed plain brown
paper bags, glue, and the words/pictures that the
students had created. Each group was assigned a
station, where its task was to pick up three bags,
find the three original vocabulary words (which had
been printed in a larger, distinct font), and glue one
vocabulary word near the top of each bag. To keep
the focus on metacognitive thinking, I made sure
that none of the groups were working with their
original vocabulary words. Once each group had
Janis M. Harmon, Elizabeth Buckelew-Martin, and Karen D. Wood
identified and attached to the bag the vocabulary
words they would be working with, their task was
to determine the meaning of each word, and then
find all synonyms and pictures at that same station
that matched any of their words, placing those into
the corresponding bag. Working together, students
had to decide how to find the meanings of their
newly selected words by asking each other or using
the dictionary; these decisions required metacognitive awareness to complete the task. Furthermore,
students had to develop their own idea of what each
word meant and what some synonyms might be,
which required cognitive efforts to infer appropriate meanings and make connections.
When the groups of students had been given
ample time to select the words and pictures from
the first station, I asked them to rotate to the next
station, where their task was to search for the five to
seven synonyms as well as the four or more pictures
that illustrated the meanings of each of their words.
When the groups found a synonym or picture that
they believed matched one of their words, they
picked it up and placed it in the corresponding bag.
Cognitively, students were engaged in categorizing
as well as connecting and drawing conclusions
about word meanings.
I was concerned that students from different
groups might tell each other which words and pictures to select, based on having been in the group
that had selected the word originally, but as it
turned out, their competitive nature kept the students from doing this. Even with no real prize being
offered, each group was quite serious about “winning.” Once they had been through each station,
they returned to their original seats and began sharing the words that they had, the synonyms they had
found, and the pictures they thought best illustrated their words’ meanings.
I gave students some time to go through their
bags, placing all of the components on the bags together (but not yet gluing them down!) and discussing whether or not they thought they had
everything correct. We then took turns sharing,
discussing each bag and figuring out if they did,
indeed, have all of the correct pieces. As we worked
through this process, students from other groups
would say “Oh, I think this word belongs to them”
or “Hey, we have a picture that fits that word better
than it fits ours.” Only after we had completely and
Figure 3. ​Vocabulary Bags from “It’s in the Bag”
accurately finished matching up all of the words
with their correct synonyms and pictures were the
groups able to glue everything to the bags. The finished products were stapled onto the wall and we
had a final “gallery walk,” allowing everyone to see
each of the finished word bags. For examples of the
students’ work, see Figure 3.
While time-consuming, this activity was a
raging success with the students due to the high
level of engagement with the interactive, hands-on,
kinesthetic aspects of the project. They were also
entirely serious about finding the correct matching
synonyms and pictures for each of their words, illustrating that they took ownership of the words. I
discovered that the students naturally referred back
to the vocabulary bags when those words came up
again in our readings. It was clear that students had
a solid understanding of what the “bag words”
meant and how each fit into the text. I have also
noticed some of the words appearing in student
writings since we completed this activity.
We also used another activity for relating
word meanings, entitled Vocabulary Cubes, with
sections of Jerry Spinelli’s Stargirl. This activity is
an adaptation of the Frayer model of concept mapping (see fig. 4). We began this activity by targeting important words and then creating an ongoing
list of the words on the board. Whether we were
reading aloud as a whole group, silently, or in small
groups, anytime students encountered an unfamiliar word, they could add it to the list. If the word
was already on the board, students placed a mark
next to it to indicate agreement that the word was
necessary for comprehending the reading material.
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The Cognitive Vocabulary Approach to Word Learning
Figure 4. ​Vocabulary Cubes
Next, we determined which words had been
selected most frequently as being unfamiliar and important to understanding the text. We discussed possible meanings before students
Students were creative
selected a word to research in
depth. I provided students with
and enjoyed the hands-on
a template for a three-dimennature of making the
sional cube that called for the
cube, but they also
following information: word
developed an
(written on two sides), definiunderstanding of how to
tion, example, picture, and
create relationships
non-example. Once these elements were in place, students
between words and their
decorated the template, cut it
meanings, particularly
out, shaped it into a cube, and
with regard to the
then glued it onto a large Popexamples and nonsicle stick. To develop their unexamples.
derstanding of the word,
students used the dictionary,
talked to peers, and looked for ideas on the Internet.
I was also moving around the room, spending time
with each student, discussing his or her word.
Again, this project was successful. Students
were creative and enjoyed the hands-on nature of
making the cube, but they also developed an understanding of how to create relationships between
words and their meanings, particularly with regard
to the examples and non-examples. The picturerepresentation side of the cube was especially beneficial with the English language learners, as they
were able to depict a deeper understanding of the
word’s meaning. I extended this activity by having
students hold on to their cubes as we read through
the text. Anytime someone’s word came up in the
reading, that student was asked to hold up the cube.
If a peer had a question about what the word meant,
we stopped the reading and had a discussion based
on the cube. Following the reading, all the cubes
were placed on the wall for review.
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September 2010
While progress in vocabulary learning is slow
and sometimes not apparent, my students have made
some progress in becoming more metacognitive as
evidenced by such comments as “some of the words, I
kind of already knew them, but I didn’t know that I
knew them,” and “you have to slow down and think
about it. If you don’t know a word and you think it’s
important, take the time to find out what it means
and that helps you reading a lot.” Furthermore, I noticed students becoming more engaged in the reading of the text, even getting excited when the words
that their group had worked with appeared. I could
also see that the students were able to focus more on
comprehension as they had already become “experts”
with the words that I had chosen specifically as most
likely to be unfamiliar to the students. Possibly even
more exciting is that a year later, with many of the
same students returning to my classroom (as an ESL
teacher, I am able to “cycle” with my students, often
from grades 9 through 12), I am able to see them
continue to employ the metacognitive strategies that
I had hoped they would take away from these lessons.
My students have become more thoughtful with regard to how they identify and approach words that
are unfamiliar to them. As we have continued to
work on building these metacognitive skills, I have
heard from other teachers who work with my students that they are seeing improved reading comprehension and engagement. I have also noted that my
students are performing better on benchmark assessments, leading me to believe that these strategies are
helping them to be better comprehenders of what
they read.
Final Note
We realize that it takes many meaningful encounters with word meanings in a variety of contexts for
students to internalize word knowledge. It is important to build on students’ growing understanding of word meanings and to move students toward
applying the word meanings in generative ways.
Cognitively, students can use these newly acquired
word meanings to summarize and synthesize information. Metacognitively, students can begin to ask
themselves questions such as, “Is this the appropriate word to use in this context?” or, “Can I use this
word in summarizing information about this
topic?” Developing students’ awareness of how to
Janis M. Harmon, Elizabeth Buckelew-Martin, and Karen D. Wood
think about word meanings will ultimately make
them better readers, better word users, and therefore better comprehenders.
Works Cited
Beck, Isabel, Margaret McKeown, and Linda Kucan. Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction. New
York: Guilford, 2002. Print.
Garner, Ruth. “Metacognition and Executive Control.” Theoretical Models and Processes of Reading. Ed. Robert B.
Ruddell. 4th ed. Newark: IRA, 1994. 715–32. Print.
Graves, Michael F. The Vocabulary Book: Learning and Instruction. New York: Teachers College, 2005. Print.
Harvey, Stephanie, and Anne Goudvis. Strategies That Work:
Teaching Comprehension to Enhance Understanding. 2nd
ed. York: Stenhouse, 2007. Print.
Lubliner, Shira, and Linda Smetana. “The Effects of Comprehensive Vocabulary Instruction on Title I Students’ Metacognitive Word-Learning Skills and
Reading Comprehension.” Journal of Literacy Research
37.2 (2005): 163–200. Print.
Morris, Alana. Vocabulary Unplugged: 30 Lessons That Will
Revolutionize How You Will Teach Vocabulary K–12.
Shoreham: Discover Writing, 2005. Print.
Pressley, Michael. “Metacognition and Self-Regulated Comprehension.” What Research Has to Say about Reading
Instruction. Ed. Alan E. Farstrup and S. Jay Samuels.
3rd ed. Newark: IRA, 2002. 291–309. Print.
Janis M. Harmon teaches graduate and undergraduate reading courses at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She can be
reached at [email protected]. Elizabeth Buckelew-Martin teaches ESL classes at Lanier High School in San Antonio,
Texas. Email her at [email protected]. Karen D. Wood teaches graduate courses in literacy at the University of North
Carolina at Charlotte. She can be reached at [email protected].
R E A DW R I TE T H IN K C O N N E CT IO N Lisa Storm Fink, RWT
“Building Vocabulary: Making Multigenre Glossaries Based on Student Inquiry” builds vocabulary and encourages
active reading by allowing students to choose vocabulary words from a text that the class reads. To help students
absorb and comprehend these new words, they create multigenre glossaries that can then be used as a classroom resource. http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/building-vocabulary-makingmultigenre-1143.html
Joan Kaywell Receives 2010 CEL Exemplary Leader Award
Joan F. Kaywell is professor of English education at the University of South Florida, where she has won several teaching awards. She is passionate about assisting preservice and practicing teachers in discovering ways
to improve literacy. She donates her time extensively to the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
and its Florida affiliate (FCTE): she is past president of NCTE’s Assembly on Literature for Adolescents
(ALAN) and is currently serving as its membership secretary; she is a past president of FCTE twice and is still
on its board of directors. Dr. Kaywell is published in several journals; regularly reviews young adult novels
for The ALAN Review, the Journal of Adult and Adolescent Literacy, and Signal; and has edited two series of
textbooks—five volumes of Adolescent Literature as a Complement to the Classics (1993, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2010)
and six volumes of Using Literature to Help Troubled Teenagers Cope with [Various] Issues (Family, 1999; Societal,
1999; Identity, 1999; Health, 2000; End-of-Life, 2000; Abuse, 2004). She is the author of Adolescents at Risk:
A Guide to Fiction and Nonfiction for Young Adults, Parents, and Professionals (1993). Her first trade book, Dear
Author: Letters of Hope (Philomel, 2007), is intended to get students to choose reading as a healthy escape from
their lives’ negative circumstances. Kaywell fervently believes that teachers and authors are often the unsung
heroes of children on the brink of self-destruction. By offering books to children to help them momentarily
escape the pain of growing up, teachers offer teenagers a constructive way to survive the crisis, find hope, and
know that they are not alone.
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