Daily Oral Vocabulary Exercises (DOVE)
A Program to Expand Academic Language in Grades 4-12
Written by Susan Ebbers & Jill Carroll
Order from Sopris West (Cambium)
Daily Oral Vocabulary Exercises (DOVE) is a vocalized vocabulary program designed to promote the fluent articulation and understanding of academic words such as supply, purpose, and familiar, and enable deeper comprehension. Ebbers and Carroll have crafted brief daily exercises that present 72 academic words, and about 450 related words, over 8 units in 165 lessons. DOVE provides students with varied, interesting context for each target word and its related morphological forms (e.g., familiar, unfamiliar, familiarize), along with related phrases in common usage, such as familiar refrain, supply and demand, and defeat the purpose.
DOVE takes 10 minutes a day. Each two-day lesson consists of an oral passage page and a partner practice page. The passage page, which teacher and students read aloud together, introduces a new vocabulary word, its simple definition, a Spanish cognate or translation, and several different passages, using the word in varied context. Students discuss word meanings and highlight related words in each passage. The partner practice page, which students complete together, provides opportunities for learners to generate their own context for each word, and to engage in vocabulary-specific discussion and debate.
Target words appear in successive passages, unit reviews, cloze unit tests, and cumulative assessments so that learning is retained. Key words are contextualized a total of 52 times throughout the entire program, on average. To further reinforce learning, DOVE includes blackline masters of assessments and answer-key transparencies, vocabulary knowledge rating scales for each unit, and word posters for each unit.
DOVE’s interactive, engaging, and adaptable approach appeals to students and teachers alike, and is user-ready for tutors and paraprofessionals.
DOVE Overview and Sample Worksheets
What do teachers have to say about DOVE?
"After observing an effective
pilot lesson with Daily Oral
Vocabulary Exercises, I am
eager to try it in my own
classroom, because students
need a thorough understanding
of academic vocabulary to
realize success in all academic
areas."
-Tina Brown, 6th
grade teacher
"This interactive academic
vocabulary program will
make a huge difference to
comprehension. I am so glad to
see that it is teacher-friendly
and ready-to-go."
-Karen
Romney, BTSA support provider
to district teachers
"Adolescents learn by talking
together about concepts, and
they know when they are
discussing something useful
and worthwhile. These high
frequency academic words are
extremely useful! I have been
referencing the Academic Word
List for several years, but now, I
have cognates and rich context,
too. Thank you!"
-Mary
Grove, 8th grade teacher
