Primary 6 vocabulary load is the amount of lexical difficulty a learner meets in a text: how many running words are known, how important the unknown words are, how densely they cluster, how abstract they are and how much effort is required to keep meaning together. Searches for Grade 6 text difficulty, 6th grade vocabulary level, lexical coverage, reading vocabulary load, why a passage is too hard and how many unknown words are too many are all versions of the same reading-design problem.
A Grade 6 vocabulary list can tell us what words might be worth learning, but it cannot by itself tell us whether a particular passage is readable for a particular child. Lexical coverage refers to the proportion of running words in a text that a reader knows. Research with older and second-language readers often discusses high coverage figures such as 95% or 98% as useful indicators for comprehension, while also warning that vocabulary coverage is not a guarantee: background knowledge, syntax, inference and purpose still matter.
This guide translates lexical coverage and text complexity into a practical Primary 6 framework. It explains why ten unfamiliar words spread across a long passage can feel easier than five unknown words packed into one crucial paragraph; why a familiar-looking multiple-meaning word can be more dangerous than an obviously difficult term; how to select “stretch” texts; when to preteach essential vocabulary; and how to decide whether a comprehension failure comes from word load, background knowledge, sentence complexity or reading strategy.
The 50-second text-difficulty check
- Count roughly: are unknown words occasional or constant?
- Locate them: are they spread out or clustered?
- Rank them: do they carry the main idea or only detail?
- Check familiarity: are some “known” words being used in unfamiliar senses?
- Check syntax and knowledge: vocabulary may not be the only load.
- Choose the response: preteach essential words, support strategy use, shorten the text, or keep the challenge if comprehension is still productive.
Lexical coverage is a percentage, not a verdict
A text with high known-word coverage is generally easier to process, but identical percentages can feel different depending on which words are unknown. One unknown word in the thesis sentence can matter more than several unknown descriptive details.
For technical text profiling, use Lexical Profiling — How to Measure the Vocabulary Demands of a Text. This Primary 6 owner translates that concept into teaching decisions for real learners and real passages.
Clustering changes cognitive load
Unknown words that arrive together can overwhelm working memory because the learner must solve several lexical problems while still holding the sentence or paragraph structure. Distributed difficulty is usually more manageable.
For technical text profiling, use Lexical Profiling — How to Measure the Vocabulary Demands of a Text. This Primary 6 owner translates that concept into teaching decisions for real learners and real passages.
Known-looking words can hide difficulty
Polysemous words such as issue, current, charge, factor or address may be counted as familiar yet carry an unfamiliar sense. Text-difficulty diagnosis should therefore include depth, not only yes/no recognition.
For technical text profiling, use Lexical Profiling — How to Measure the Vocabulary Demands of a Text. This Primary 6 owner translates that concept into teaching decisions for real learners and real passages.
Academic verbs can make instructions hard
A learner may know all topic nouns yet misunderstand evaluate, justify, infer or compare. Command vocabulary changes the task itself, so these words have high leverage.
For technical text profiling, use Lexical Profiling — How to Measure the Vocabulary Demands of a Text. This Primary 6 owner translates that concept into teaching decisions for real learners and real passages.
Background knowledge can mimic a vocabulary problem
A passage about an unfamiliar domain can feel lexically difficult because the words are not connected to known concepts. Building topic knowledge may reduce apparent vocabulary load even before many new words are taught.
For technical text profiling, use Lexical Profiling — How to Measure the Vocabulary Demands of a Text. This Primary 6 owner translates that concept into teaching decisions for real learners and real passages.
Syntax can mimic a vocabulary problem
Long embedded clauses, passive constructions and dense noun phrases can disrupt comprehension even when individual words are familiar. Teachers should not respond to every hard passage with another word list.
For technical text profiling, use Lexical Profiling — How to Measure the Vocabulary Demands of a Text. This Primary 6 owner translates that concept into teaching decisions for real learners and real passages.
Preteach only what unlocks the text
Essential words are those whose absence would block understanding or whose meanings cannot be inferred efficiently. Over-preteaching removes the opportunity to practise independent word solving and consumes time.
For technical text profiling, use Lexical Profiling — How to Measure the Vocabulary Demands of a Text. This Primary 6 owner translates that concept into teaching decisions for real learners and real passages.
Stretch texts need productive difficulty
A useful stretch text contains enough known language for the learner to maintain the main idea while meeting some challenging vocabulary. A text that requires constant rescue becomes a decoding exercise rather than rich reading.
For technical text profiling, use Lexical Profiling — How to Measure the Vocabulary Demands of a Text. This Primary 6 owner translates that concept into teaching decisions for real learners and real passages.
Difficulty should vary by purpose
A passage for independent reading should usually be more accessible than a teacher-supported lesson designed to build new language. The correct vocabulary load depends on what the reading is supposed to accomplish.
For technical text profiling, use Lexical Profiling — How to Measure the Vocabulary Demands of a Text. This Primary 6 owner translates that concept into teaching decisions for real learners and real passages.
Coverage and comprehension are related but not identical
Recent lexical-coverage research continues to show that more known words generally support comprehension while also emphasising that full vocabulary coverage does not guarantee full understanding. Use coverage as one diagnostic signal among several.
For technical text profiling, use Lexical Profiling — How to Measure the Vocabulary Demands of a Text. This Primary 6 owner translates that concept into teaching decisions for real learners and real passages.
Audiovisual support can change the load
Images, diagrams and video can provide semantic support that written text alone does not. The same vocabulary percentage may therefore create a different comprehension experience across modes.
For technical text profiling, use Lexical Profiling — How to Measure the Vocabulary Demands of a Text. This Primary 6 owner translates that concept into teaching decisions for real learners and real passages.
Reader confidence changes behaviour
A learner who believes every unknown word is catastrophic may stop too often. Teaching selective tolerance—knowing when to continue and when to solve—can make a moderately challenging text more readable without changing a single word.
For technical text profiling, use Lexical Profiling — How to Measure the Vocabulary Demands of a Text. This Primary 6 owner translates that concept into teaching decisions for real learners and real passages.
A text-load diagnostic grid
1. unknown-word percentage
Rate this dimension as low, moderate or high. Do not total the ratings mechanically; look for the dominant bottleneck. A high lexical load with strong visual support may still be manageable, while one crucial unknown academic verb can invalidate an otherwise easy task.
2. clustering of unknown words
Rate this dimension as low, moderate or high. Do not total the ratings mechanically; look for the dominant bottleneck. A high lexical load with strong visual support may still be manageable, while one crucial unknown academic verb can invalidate an otherwise easy task.
3. importance to main idea
Rate this dimension as low, moderate or high. Do not total the ratings mechanically; look for the dominant bottleneck. A high lexical load with strong visual support may still be manageable, while one crucial unknown academic verb can invalidate an otherwise easy task.
4. multiple-meaning risk
Rate this dimension as low, moderate or high. Do not total the ratings mechanically; look for the dominant bottleneck. A high lexical load with strong visual support may still be manageable, while one crucial unknown academic verb can invalidate an otherwise easy task.
5. morphological transparency
Rate this dimension as low, moderate or high. Do not total the ratings mechanically; look for the dominant bottleneck. A high lexical load with strong visual support may still be manageable, while one crucial unknown academic verb can invalidate an otherwise easy task.
6. availability of context clues
Rate this dimension as low, moderate or high. Do not total the ratings mechanically; look for the dominant bottleneck. A high lexical load with strong visual support may still be manageable, while one crucial unknown academic verb can invalidate an otherwise easy task.
7. sentence complexity
Rate this dimension as low, moderate or high. Do not total the ratings mechanically; look for the dominant bottleneck. A high lexical load with strong visual support may still be manageable, while one crucial unknown academic verb can invalidate an otherwise easy task.
8. background knowledge
Rate this dimension as low, moderate or high. Do not total the ratings mechanically; look for the dominant bottleneck. A high lexical load with strong visual support may still be manageable, while one crucial unknown academic verb can invalidate an otherwise easy task.
9. visual support
Rate this dimension as low, moderate or high. Do not total the ratings mechanically; look for the dominant bottleneck. A high lexical load with strong visual support may still be manageable, while one crucial unknown academic verb can invalidate an otherwise easy task.
10. reading purpose
Rate this dimension as low, moderate or high. Do not total the ratings mechanically; look for the dominant bottleneck. A high lexical load with strong visual support may still be manageable, while one crucial unknown academic verb can invalidate an otherwise easy task.
11. time pressure
Rate this dimension as low, moderate or high. Do not total the ratings mechanically; look for the dominant bottleneck. A high lexical load with strong visual support may still be manageable, while one crucial unknown academic verb can invalidate an otherwise easy task.
12. learner confidence
Rate this dimension as low, moderate or high. Do not total the ratings mechanically; look for the dominant bottleneck. A high lexical load with strong visual support may still be manageable, while one crucial unknown academic verb can invalidate an otherwise easy task.
One hundred text-difficulty cases
Text Case 1: 2 unfamiliar items clustered in one paragraph
A Primary 6 learner who recognises the word but cannot explain it reads a narrative comprehension passage. About 2 lexical items are uncertain, clustered in one paragraph, and one of them is analyse. Before simplifying the material, decide whether analyse is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 2: 3 unfamiliar items spread across the whole text
A Primary 6 learner who depends on a word bank reads a listening-comprehension extract. About 3 lexical items are uncertain, spread across the whole text, and one of them is contrast. Before simplifying the material, decide whether contrast is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 3: 4 unfamiliar items concentrated in the question stem
A Primary 6 learner who remembers one memorised example only reads a debate. About 4 lexical items are uncertain, concentrated in the question stem, and one of them is coherent. Before simplifying the material, decide whether coherent is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 4: 5 unfamiliar items mostly in examples
A Primary 6 learner who stops reading whenever one word is unknown reads an informational article. About 5 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in examples, and one of them is estimate. Before simplifying the material, decide whether estimate is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 5: 6 unfamiliar items mostly in technical labels
A Primary 6 learner who recognises the word but cannot explain it reads a news report. About 6 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in technical labels, and one of them is predict. Before simplifying the material, decide whether predict is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 6: 7 unfamiliar items clustered in one paragraph
A Primary 6 learner who depends on a word bank reads a peer explanation. About 7 lexical items are uncertain, clustered in one paragraph, and one of them is strategy. Before simplifying the material, decide whether strategy is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 7: 8 unfamiliar items spread across the whole text
A Primary 6 learner who remembers one memorised example only reads a Science experiment explanation. About 8 lexical items are uncertain, spread across the whole text, and one of them is capacity. Before simplifying the material, decide whether capacity is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 8: 2 unfamiliar items concentrated in the question stem
A Primary 6 learner who stops reading whenever one word is unknown reads a school announcement. About 2 lexical items are uncertain, concentrated in the question stem, and one of them is method. Before simplifying the material, decide whether method is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 9: 3 unfamiliar items mostly in examples
A Primary 6 learner who recognises the word but cannot explain it reads a Secondary 1 preview text. About 3 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in examples, and one of them is theory. Before simplifying the material, decide whether theory is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 10: 4 unfamiliar items mostly in technical labels
A Primary 6 learner who depends on a word bank reads a Mathematics word problem. About 4 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in technical labels, and one of them is benefit. Before simplifying the material, decide whether benefit is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 11: 5 unfamiliar items clustered in one paragraph
A Primary 6 learner who remembers one memorised example only reads a graph explanation. About 5 lexical items are uncertain, clustered in one paragraph, and one of them is compare. Before simplifying the material, decide whether compare is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 12: 6 unfamiliar items spread across the whole text
A Primary 6 learner who stops reading whenever one word is unknown reads a revision quiz. About 6 lexical items are uncertain, spread across the whole text, and one of them is explain. Before simplifying the material, decide whether explain is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 13: 7 unfamiliar items concentrated in the question stem
A Primary 6 learner who recognises the word but cannot explain it reads an oral discussion. About 7 lexical items are uncertain, concentrated in the question stem, and one of them is interpret. Before simplifying the material, decide whether interpret is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 14: 8 unfamiliar items mostly in examples
A Primary 6 learner who depends on a word bank reads a project reflection. About 8 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in examples, and one of them is classify. Before simplifying the material, decide whether classify is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 15: 2 unfamiliar items mostly in technical labels
A Primary 6 learner who remembers one memorised example only reads a documentary transcript. About 2 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in technical labels, and one of them is elaborate. Before simplifying the material, decide whether elaborate is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 16: 3 unfamiliar items clustered in one paragraph
A Primary 6 learner who stops reading whenever one word is unknown reads a situational-writing prompt. About 3 lexical items are uncertain, clustered in one paragraph, and one of them is outcome. Before simplifying the material, decide whether outcome is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 17: 4 unfamiliar items spread across the whole text
A Primary 6 learner who recognises the word but cannot explain it reads a textbook paragraph. About 4 lexical items are uncertain, spread across the whole text, and one of them is sequence. Before simplifying the material, decide whether sequence is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 18: 5 unfamiliar items concentrated in the question stem
A Primary 6 learner who depends on a word bank reads a class discussion. About 5 lexical items are uncertain, concentrated in the question stem, and one of them is alternative. Before simplifying the material, decide whether alternative is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 19: 6 unfamiliar items mostly in examples
A Primary 6 learner who remembers one memorised example only reads a continuous-writing paragraph. About 6 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in examples, and one of them is indicate. Before simplifying the material, decide whether indicate is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 20: 7 unfamiliar items mostly in technical labels
A Primary 6 learner who stops reading whenever one word is unknown reads a digital article. About 7 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in technical labels, and one of them is source. Before simplifying the material, decide whether source is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 21: 8 unfamiliar items clustered in one paragraph
A Primary 6 learner who recognises the word but cannot explain it reads a narrative comprehension passage. About 8 lexical items are uncertain, clustered in one paragraph, and one of them is accurate. Before simplifying the material, decide whether accurate is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 22: 2 unfamiliar items spread across the whole text
A Primary 6 learner who depends on a word bank reads a listening-comprehension extract. About 2 lexical items are uncertain, spread across the whole text, and one of them is respond. Before simplifying the material, decide whether respond is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 23: 3 unfamiliar items concentrated in the question stem
A Primary 6 learner who remembers one memorised example only reads a debate. About 3 lexical items are uncertain, concentrated in the question stem, and one of them is summary. Before simplifying the material, decide whether summary is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 24: 4 unfamiliar items mostly in examples
A Primary 6 learner who stops reading whenever one word is unknown reads an informational article. About 4 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in examples, and one of them is consequence. Before simplifying the material, decide whether consequence is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 25: 5 unfamiliar items mostly in technical labels
A Primary 6 learner who recognises the word but cannot explain it reads a news report. About 5 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in technical labels, and one of them is derive. Before simplifying the material, decide whether derive is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 26: 6 unfamiliar items clustered in one paragraph
A Primary 6 learner who depends on a word bank reads a peer explanation. About 6 lexical items are uncertain, clustered in one paragraph, and one of them is demonstrate. Before simplifying the material, decide whether demonstrate is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 27: 7 unfamiliar items spread across the whole text
A Primary 6 learner who remembers one memorised example only reads a Science experiment explanation. About 7 lexical items are uncertain, spread across the whole text, and one of them is modify. Before simplifying the material, decide whether modify is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 28: 8 unfamiliar items concentrated in the question stem
A Primary 6 learner who stops reading whenever one word is unknown reads a school announcement. About 8 lexical items are uncertain, concentrated in the question stem, and one of them is retain. Before simplifying the material, decide whether retain is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 29: 2 unfamiliar items mostly in examples
A Primary 6 learner who recognises the word but cannot explain it reads a Secondary 1 preview text. About 2 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in examples, and one of them is verify. Before simplifying the material, decide whether verify is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 30: 3 unfamiliar items mostly in technical labels
A Primary 6 learner who depends on a word bank reads a Mathematics word problem. About 3 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in technical labels, and one of them is function. Before simplifying the material, decide whether function is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 31: 4 unfamiliar items clustered in one paragraph
A Primary 6 learner who remembers one memorised example only reads a graph explanation. About 4 lexical items are uncertain, clustered in one paragraph, and one of them is resource. Before simplifying the material, decide whether resource is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 32: 5 unfamiliar items spread across the whole text
A Primary 6 learner who stops reading whenever one word is unknown reads a revision quiz. About 5 lexical items are uncertain, spread across the whole text, and one of them is register. Before simplifying the material, decide whether register is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 33: 6 unfamiliar items concentrated in the question stem
A Primary 6 learner who recognises the word but cannot explain it reads an oral discussion. About 6 lexical items are uncertain, concentrated in the question stem, and one of them is illustrate. Before simplifying the material, decide whether illustrate is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 34: 7 unfamiliar items mostly in examples
A Primary 6 learner who depends on a word bank reads a project reflection. About 7 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in examples, and one of them is argument. Before simplifying the material, decide whether argument is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 35: 8 unfamiliar items mostly in technical labels
A Primary 6 learner who remembers one memorised example only reads a documentary transcript. About 8 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in technical labels, and one of them is infer. Before simplifying the material, decide whether infer is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 36: 2 unfamiliar items clustered in one paragraph
A Primary 6 learner who stops reading whenever one word is unknown reads a situational-writing prompt. About 2 lexical items are uncertain, clustered in one paragraph, and one of them is factor. Before simplifying the material, decide whether factor is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 37: 3 unfamiliar items spread across the whole text
A Primary 6 learner who recognises the word but cannot explain it reads a textbook paragraph. About 3 lexical items are uncertain, spread across the whole text, and one of them is criterion. Before simplifying the material, decide whether criterion is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 38: 4 unfamiliar items concentrated in the question stem
A Primary 6 learner who depends on a word bank reads a class discussion. About 4 lexical items are uncertain, concentrated in the question stem, and one of them is influence. Before simplifying the material, decide whether influence is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 39: 5 unfamiliar items mostly in examples
A Primary 6 learner who remembers one memorised example only reads a continuous-writing paragraph. About 5 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in examples, and one of them is proportion. Before simplifying the material, decide whether proportion is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 40: 6 unfamiliar items mostly in technical labels
A Primary 6 learner who stops reading whenever one word is unknown reads a digital article. About 6 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in technical labels, and one of them is transfer. Before simplifying the material, decide whether transfer is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 41: 7 unfamiliar items clustered in one paragraph
A Primary 6 learner who recognises the word but cannot explain it reads a narrative comprehension passage. About 7 lexical items are uncertain, clustered in one paragraph, and one of them is connection. Before simplifying the material, decide whether connection is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 42: 8 unfamiliar items spread across the whole text
A Primary 6 learner who depends on a word bank reads a listening-comprehension extract. About 8 lexical items are uncertain, spread across the whole text, and one of them is relationship. Before simplifying the material, decide whether relationship is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 43: 2 unfamiliar items concentrated in the question stem
A Primary 6 learner who remembers one memorised example only reads a debate. About 2 lexical items are uncertain, concentrated in the question stem, and one of them is purpose. Before simplifying the material, decide whether purpose is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 44: 3 unfamiliar items mostly in examples
A Primary 6 learner who stops reading whenever one word is unknown reads an informational article. About 3 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in examples, and one of them is formulate. Before simplifying the material, decide whether formulate is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 45: 4 unfamiliar items mostly in technical labels
A Primary 6 learner who recognises the word but cannot explain it reads a news report. About 4 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in technical labels, and one of them is result. Before simplifying the material, decide whether result is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 46: 5 unfamiliar items clustered in one paragraph
A Primary 6 learner who depends on a word bank reads a peer explanation. About 5 lexical items are uncertain, clustered in one paragraph, and one of them is relevant. Before simplifying the material, decide whether relevant is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 47: 6 unfamiliar items spread across the whole text
A Primary 6 learner who remembers one memorised example only reads a Science experiment explanation. About 6 lexical items are uncertain, spread across the whole text, and one of them is precise. Before simplifying the material, decide whether precise is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 48: 7 unfamiliar items concentrated in the question stem
A Primary 6 learner who stops reading whenever one word is unknown reads a school announcement. About 7 lexical items are uncertain, concentrated in the question stem, and one of them is consistent. Before simplifying the material, decide whether consistent is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 49: 8 unfamiliar items mostly in examples
A Primary 6 learner who recognises the word but cannot explain it reads a Secondary 1 preview text. About 8 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in examples, and one of them is explicit. Before simplifying the material, decide whether explicit is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 50: 2 unfamiliar items mostly in technical labels
A Primary 6 learner who depends on a word bank reads a Mathematics word problem. About 2 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in technical labels, and one of them is priority. Before simplifying the material, decide whether priority is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 51: 3 unfamiliar items clustered in one paragraph
A Primary 6 learner who remembers one memorised example only reads a graph explanation. About 3 lexical items are uncertain, clustered in one paragraph, and one of them is structure. Before simplifying the material, decide whether structure is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 52: 4 unfamiliar items spread across the whole text
A Primary 6 learner who stops reading whenever one word is unknown reads a revision quiz. About 4 lexical items are uncertain, spread across the whole text, and one of them is category. Before simplifying the material, decide whether category is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 53: 5 unfamiliar items concentrated in the question stem
A Primary 6 learner who recognises the word but cannot explain it reads an oral discussion. About 5 lexical items are uncertain, concentrated in the question stem, and one of them is pattern. Before simplifying the material, decide whether pattern is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 54: 6 unfamiliar items mostly in examples
A Primary 6 learner who depends on a word bank reads a project reflection. About 6 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in examples, and one of them is topic. Before simplifying the material, decide whether topic is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 55: 7 unfamiliar items mostly in technical labels
A Primary 6 learner who remembers one memorised example only reads a documentary transcript. About 7 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in technical labels, and one of them is construct. Before simplifying the material, decide whether construct is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 56: 8 unfamiliar items clustered in one paragraph
A Primary 6 learner who stops reading whenever one word is unknown reads a situational-writing prompt. About 8 lexical items are uncertain, clustered in one paragraph, and one of them is conclude. Before simplifying the material, decide whether conclude is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 57: 2 unfamiliar items spread across the whole text
A Primary 6 learner who recognises the word but cannot explain it reads a textbook paragraph. About 2 lexical items are uncertain, spread across the whole text, and one of them is generalise. Before simplifying the material, decide whether generalise is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 58: 3 unfamiliar items concentrated in the question stem
A Primary 6 learner who depends on a word bank reads a class discussion. About 3 lexical items are uncertain, concentrated in the question stem, and one of them is significant. Before simplifying the material, decide whether significant is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 59: 4 unfamiliar items mostly in examples
A Primary 6 learner who remembers one memorised example only reads a continuous-writing paragraph. About 4 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in examples, and one of them is clarify. Before simplifying the material, decide whether clarify is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 60: 5 unfamiliar items mostly in technical labels
A Primary 6 learner who stops reading whenever one word is unknown reads a digital article. About 5 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in technical labels, and one of them is equivalent. Before simplifying the material, decide whether equivalent is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 61: 6 unfamiliar items clustered in one paragraph
A Primary 6 learner who recognises the word but cannot explain it reads a narrative comprehension passage. About 6 lexical items are uncertain, clustered in one paragraph, and one of them is perspective. Before simplifying the material, decide whether perspective is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 62: 7 unfamiliar items spread across the whole text
A Primary 6 learner who depends on a word bank reads a listening-comprehension extract. About 7 lexical items are uncertain, spread across the whole text, and one of them is specific. Before simplifying the material, decide whether specific is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 63: 8 unfamiliar items concentrated in the question stem
A Primary 6 learner who remembers one memorised example only reads a debate. About 8 lexical items are uncertain, concentrated in the question stem, and one of them is approach. Before simplifying the material, decide whether approach is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 64: 2 unfamiliar items mostly in examples
A Primary 6 learner who stops reading whenever one word is unknown reads an informational article. About 2 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in examples, and one of them is maintain. Before simplifying the material, decide whether maintain is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 65: 3 unfamiliar items mostly in technical labels
A Primary 6 learner who recognises the word but cannot explain it reads a news report. About 3 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in technical labels, and one of them is sufficient. Before simplifying the material, decide whether sufficient is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 66: 4 unfamiliar items clustered in one paragraph
A Primary 6 learner who depends on a word bank reads a peer explanation. About 4 lexical items are uncertain, clustered in one paragraph, and one of them is appropriate. Before simplifying the material, decide whether appropriate is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 67: 5 unfamiliar items spread across the whole text
A Primary 6 learner who remembers one memorised example only reads a Science experiment explanation. About 5 lexical items are uncertain, spread across the whole text, and one of them is variable. Before simplifying the material, decide whether variable is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 68: 6 unfamiliar items concentrated in the question stem
A Primary 6 learner who stops reading whenever one word is unknown reads a school announcement. About 6 lexical items are uncertain, concentrated in the question stem, and one of them is paraphrase. Before simplifying the material, decide whether paraphrase is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 69: 7 unfamiliar items mostly in examples
A Primary 6 learner who recognises the word but cannot explain it reads a Secondary 1 preview text. About 7 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in examples, and one of them is evaluate. Before simplifying the material, decide whether evaluate is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 70: 8 unfamiliar items mostly in technical labels
A Primary 6 learner who depends on a word bank reads a Mathematics word problem. About 8 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in technical labels, and one of them is determine. Before simplifying the material, decide whether determine is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 71: 2 unfamiliar items clustered in one paragraph
A Primary 6 learner who remembers one memorised example only reads a graph explanation. About 2 lexical items are uncertain, clustered in one paragraph, and one of them is differentiate. Before simplifying the material, decide whether differentiate is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 72: 3 unfamiliar items spread across the whole text
A Primary 6 learner who stops reading whenever one word is unknown reads a revision quiz. About 3 lexical items are uncertain, spread across the whole text, and one of them is observe. Before simplifying the material, decide whether observe is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 73: 4 unfamiliar items concentrated in the question stem
A Primary 6 learner who recognises the word but cannot explain it reads an oral discussion. About 4 lexical items are uncertain, concentrated in the question stem, and one of them is retrieve. Before simplifying the material, decide whether retrieve is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 74: 5 unfamiliar items mostly in examples
A Primary 6 learner who depends on a word bank reads a project reflection. About 5 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in examples, and one of them is adapt. Before simplifying the material, decide whether adapt is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 75: 6 unfamiliar items mostly in technical labels
A Primary 6 learner who remembers one memorised example only reads a documentary transcript. About 6 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in technical labels, and one of them is identify. Before simplifying the material, decide whether identify is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 76: 7 unfamiliar items clustered in one paragraph
A Primary 6 learner who stops reading whenever one word is unknown reads a situational-writing prompt. About 7 lexical items are uncertain, clustered in one paragraph, and one of them is similar. Before simplifying the material, decide whether similar is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 77: 8 unfamiliar items spread across the whole text
A Primary 6 learner who recognises the word but cannot explain it reads a textbook paragraph. About 8 lexical items are uncertain, spread across the whole text, and one of them is nuance. Before simplifying the material, decide whether nuance is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 78: 2 unfamiliar items concentrated in the question stem
A Primary 6 learner who depends on a word bank reads a class discussion. About 2 lexical items are uncertain, concentrated in the question stem, and one of them is process. Before simplifying the material, decide whether process is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 79: 3 unfamiliar items mostly in examples
A Primary 6 learner who remembers one memorised example only reads a continuous-writing paragraph. About 3 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in examples, and one of them is claim. Before simplifying the material, decide whether claim is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 80: 4 unfamiliar items mostly in technical labels
A Primary 6 learner who stops reading whenever one word is unknown reads a digital article. About 4 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in technical labels, and one of them is justify. Before simplifying the material, decide whether justify is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 81: 5 unfamiliar items clustered in one paragraph
A Primary 6 learner who recognises the word but cannot explain it reads a narrative comprehension passage. About 5 lexical items are uncertain, clustered in one paragraph, and one of them is assume. Before simplifying the material, decide whether assume is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 82: 6 unfamiliar items spread across the whole text
A Primary 6 learner who depends on a word bank reads a listening-comprehension extract. About 6 lexical items are uncertain, spread across the whole text, and one of them is deduce. Before simplifying the material, decide whether deduce is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 83: 7 unfamiliar items concentrated in the question stem
A Primary 6 learner who remembers one memorised example only reads a debate. About 7 lexical items are uncertain, concentrated in the question stem, and one of them is logical. Before simplifying the material, decide whether logical is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 84: 8 unfamiliar items mostly in examples
A Primary 6 learner who stops reading whenever one word is unknown reads an informational article. About 8 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in examples, and one of them is resolve. Before simplifying the material, decide whether resolve is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 85: 2 unfamiliar items mostly in technical labels
A Primary 6 learner who recognises the word but cannot explain it reads a news report. About 2 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in technical labels, and one of them is valid. Before simplifying the material, decide whether valid is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 86: 3 unfamiliar items clustered in one paragraph
A Primary 6 learner who depends on a word bank reads a peer explanation. About 3 lexical items are uncertain, clustered in one paragraph, and one of them is effect. Before simplifying the material, decide whether effect is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 87: 4 unfamiliar items spread across the whole text
A Primary 6 learner who remembers one memorised example only reads a Science experiment explanation. About 4 lexical items are uncertain, spread across the whole text, and one of them is require. Before simplifying the material, decide whether require is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 88: 5 unfamiliar items concentrated in the question stem
A Primary 6 learner who stops reading whenever one word is unknown reads a school announcement. About 5 lexical items are uncertain, concentrated in the question stem, and one of them is audience. Before simplifying the material, decide whether audience is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 89: 6 unfamiliar items mostly in examples
A Primary 6 learner who recognises the word but cannot explain it reads a Secondary 1 preview text. About 6 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in examples, and one of them is generate. Before simplifying the material, decide whether generate is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 90: 7 unfamiliar items mostly in technical labels
A Primary 6 learner who depends on a word bank reads a Mathematics word problem. About 7 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in technical labels, and one of them is cause. Before simplifying the material, decide whether cause is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 91: 8 unfamiliar items clustered in one paragraph
A Primary 6 learner who remembers one memorised example only reads a graph explanation. About 8 lexical items are uncertain, clustered in one paragraph, and one of them is evidence. Before simplifying the material, decide whether evidence is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 92: 2 unfamiliar items spread across the whole text
A Primary 6 learner who stops reading whenever one word is unknown reads a revision quiz. About 2 lexical items are uncertain, spread across the whole text, and one of them is credible. Before simplifying the material, decide whether credible is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 93: 3 unfamiliar items concentrated in the question stem
A Primary 6 learner who recognises the word but cannot explain it reads an oral discussion. About 3 lexical items are uncertain, concentrated in the question stem, and one of them is context. Before simplifying the material, decide whether context is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 94: 4 unfamiliar items mostly in examples
A Primary 6 learner who depends on a word bank reads a project reflection. About 4 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in examples, and one of them is implicit. Before simplifying the material, decide whether implicit is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 95: 5 unfamiliar items mostly in technical labels
A Primary 6 learner who remembers one memorised example only reads a documentary transcript. About 5 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in technical labels, and one of them is procedure. Before simplifying the material, decide whether procedure is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 96: 6 unfamiliar items clustered in one paragraph
A Primary 6 learner who stops reading whenever one word is unknown reads a situational-writing prompt. About 6 lexical items are uncertain, clustered in one paragraph, and one of them is support. Before simplifying the material, decide whether support is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 97: 7 unfamiliar items spread across the whole text
A Primary 6 learner who recognises the word but cannot explain it reads a textbook paragraph. About 7 lexical items are uncertain, spread across the whole text, and one of them is condition. Before simplifying the material, decide whether condition is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 98: 8 unfamiliar items concentrated in the question stem
A Primary 6 learner who depends on a word bank reads a class discussion. About 8 lexical items are uncertain, concentrated in the question stem, and one of them is principle. Before simplifying the material, decide whether principle is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 99: 2 unfamiliar items mostly in examples
A Primary 6 learner who remembers one memorised example only reads a continuous-writing paragraph. About 2 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in examples, and one of them is trend. Before simplifying the material, decide whether trend is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
Text Case 100: 3 unfamiliar items mostly in technical labels
A Primary 6 learner who stops reading whenever one word is unknown reads a digital article. About 3 lexical items are uncertain, mostly in technical labels, and one of them is contribute. Before simplifying the material, decide whether contribute is essential to the main idea, inferable from context, morphologically transparent, or safe to leave partially understood. Check whether the surrounding sentences are syntactically dense and whether missing background knowledge is amplifying the difficulty. If the learner can preserve the gist and solve selected high-value words, keep the text as productive stretch. If unknown vocabulary repeatedly breaks the meaning chain, preteach the smallest set of essential words or choose a more accessible text. After reading, ask the learner which unknown words actually mattered. This reflection prevents vocabulary-load decisions from becoming crude word counts.
How to choose texts for independent, guided and challenge reading
For independent reading, prioritise sustained comprehension and reading volume. For guided reading, allow a higher vocabulary load because teacher questioning, discussion and strategy modelling provide support. For deliberate challenge reading, make the goal explicit and keep the text short enough that lexical problem solving does not exhaust attention. The same learner can therefore work successfully at different text difficulties in the same week when the purpose changes.
Where this fits in the eduKate vocabulary ecosystem
This specialist article sits below the Primary 6 vocabulary apex. It does not replace the Top 100 Primary 6 high-utility vocabulary owner or the Primary 6 vocabulary practice owner. Use the master Vocabulary router and Vocabulary Learning Hub to move between levels and learning problems.
The separation protects search intent. A learner who needs a word bank should reach a word bank; a learner who needs a strategy should reach a strategy owner; a learner who needs retrieval or text-difficulty diagnosis should not be sent to another list. Internal links are therefore bridges between distinct jobs rather than attempts to make one page own every query.
Sources and further reading
- Reading Rockets — Teaching Vocabulary.
- Reading Rockets — The Vocabulary-Rich Classroom.
- IES — Word-Learning Strategies for Upper Elementary Readers.
- IES PRISMS — Vocabulary, Context and Morphology in Grades 6–8.
- IES REL Southeast — Steps for Using Context Clues to Determine Word Meanings (2026).
- Oxford Academic — Lexical Coverage and Text Processing.
- Cambridge Core — Lexical Coverage and Viewing Comprehension.
- IES — Word Learning and Comprehension: Repeated Exposure in Different Contexts.
- MOE Singapore — English Language Syllabus 2020 Primary.
- SEAB — 2026 PSLE English Language syllabus.
Extended Primary 6 application fieldbook
Fieldbook 1: analyse in a narrative comprehension passage
A learner who recognises the word but cannot explain it reads a narrative comprehension passage, where analyse is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach analyse, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 2: demonstrate in a digital article
A learner who can write the word but cannot retrieve it orally reads a digital article, where demonstrate is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach demonstrate, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 3: structure in a continuous-writing paragraph
A learner who reads fluently until several unfamiliar words cluster reads a continuous-writing paragraph, where structure is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach structure, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 4: similar in a class discussion
A learner who forgets after several days reads a class discussion, where similar is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach similar, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 5: reason in a textbook paragraph
A learner who is overconfident after one correct answer reads a textbook paragraph, where reason is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach reason, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 6: derive in a situational-writing prompt
A learner who depends on a word bank reads a situational-writing prompt, where derive is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach derive, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 7: priority in a documentary transcript
A learner who retrieves it slowly reads a documentary transcript, where priority is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach priority, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 8: identify in a project reflection
A learner who knows the meaning but misses the writer’s tone reads a project reflection, where identify is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach identify, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 9: contribute in an oral discussion
A learner who uses a dictionary but selects the first definition reads an oral discussion, where contribute is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach contribute, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 10: consequence in a revision quiz
A learner who knows the family but not the required form reads a revision quiz, where consequence is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach consequence, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 11: explicit in a graph explanation
A learner who remembers one memorised example only reads a graph explanation, where explicit is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach explicit, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 12: adapt in a Mathematics word problem
A learner who knows the word in English but not other subjects reads a Mathematics word problem, where adapt is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach adapt, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 13: trend in a Secondary 1 preview text
A learner who guesses too quickly from one clue reads a Secondary 1 preview text, where trend is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach trend, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 14: summary in a school announcement
A learner who can explain it but chooses the wrong sense reads a school announcement, where summary is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach summary, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 15: consistent in a Science experiment explanation
A learner who can say the word but misspells it in writing reads a Science experiment explanation, where consistent is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach consistent, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 16: retrieve in a peer explanation
A learner who stops reading whenever one word is unknown reads a peer explanation, where retrieve is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach retrieve, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 17: principle in a news report
A learner who confuses a near-synonym reads a news report, where principle is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach principle, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 18: respond in an informational article
A learner who is underconfident despite accurate knowledge reads an informational article, where respond is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach respond, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 19: precise in a debate
A learner who avoids checking uncertain meanings reads a debate, where precise is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach precise, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 20: observe in a listening-comprehension extract
A learner who uses it with an unnatural collocation reads a listening-comprehension extract, where observe is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach observe, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 21: condition in a narrative comprehension passage
A learner who recognises the word but cannot explain it reads a narrative comprehension passage, where condition is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach condition, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 22: accurate in a digital article
A learner who can write the word but cannot retrieve it orally reads a digital article, where accurate is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach accurate, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 23: relevant in a continuous-writing paragraph
A learner who reads fluently until several unfamiliar words cluster reads a continuous-writing paragraph, where relevant is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach relevant, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 24: differentiate in a class discussion
A learner who forgets after several days reads a class discussion, where differentiate is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach differentiate, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 25: support in a textbook paragraph
A learner who is overconfident after one correct answer reads a textbook paragraph, where support is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach support, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 26: source in a situational-writing prompt
A learner who depends on a word bank reads a situational-writing prompt, where source is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach source, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 27: result in a documentary transcript
A learner who retrieves it slowly reads a documentary transcript, where result is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach result, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 28: determine in a project reflection
A learner who knows the meaning but misses the writer’s tone reads a project reflection, where determine is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach determine, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 29: procedure in an oral discussion
A learner who uses a dictionary but selects the first definition reads an oral discussion, where procedure is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach procedure, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 30: indicate in a revision quiz
A learner who knows the family but not the required form reads a revision quiz, where indicate is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach indicate, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 31: formulate in a graph explanation
A learner who remembers one memorised example only reads a graph explanation, where formulate is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach formulate, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 32: evaluate in a Mathematics word problem
A learner who knows the word in English but not other subjects reads a Mathematics word problem, where evaluate is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach evaluate, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 33: implicit in a Secondary 1 preview text
A learner who guesses too quickly from one clue reads a Secondary 1 preview text, where implicit is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach implicit, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 34: alternative in a school announcement
A learner who can explain it but chooses the wrong sense reads a school announcement, where alternative is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach alternative, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 35: purpose in a Science experiment explanation
A learner who can say the word but misspells it in writing reads a Science experiment explanation, where purpose is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach purpose, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 36: paraphrase in a peer explanation
A learner who stops reading whenever one word is unknown reads a peer explanation, where paraphrase is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach paraphrase, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 37: context in a news report
A learner who confuses a near-synonym reads a news report, where context is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach context, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 38: sequence in an informational article
A learner who is underconfident despite accurate knowledge reads an informational article, where sequence is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach sequence, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 39: relationship in a debate
A learner who avoids checking uncertain meanings reads a debate, where relationship is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach relationship, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 40: variable in a listening-comprehension extract
A learner who uses it with an unnatural collocation reads a listening-comprehension extract, where variable is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach variable, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 41: credible in a narrative comprehension passage
A learner who recognises the word but cannot explain it reads a narrative comprehension passage, where credible is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach credible, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 42: outcome in a digital article
A learner who can write the word but cannot retrieve it orally reads a digital article, where outcome is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach outcome, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 43: connection in a continuous-writing paragraph
A learner who reads fluently until several unfamiliar words cluster reads a continuous-writing paragraph, where connection is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach connection, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 44: appropriate in a class discussion
A learner who forgets after several days reads a class discussion, where appropriate is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach appropriate, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 45: evidence in a textbook paragraph
A learner who is overconfident after one correct answer reads a textbook paragraph, where evidence is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach evidence, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 46: elaborate in a situational-writing prompt
A learner who depends on a word bank reads a situational-writing prompt, where elaborate is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach elaborate, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 47: transfer in a documentary transcript
A learner who retrieves it slowly reads a documentary transcript, where transfer is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach transfer, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 48: sufficient in a project reflection
A learner who knows the meaning but misses the writer’s tone reads a project reflection, where sufficient is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach sufficient, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 49: cause in an oral discussion
A learner who uses a dictionary but selects the first definition reads an oral discussion, where cause is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach cause, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 50: classify in a revision quiz
A learner who knows the family but not the required form reads a revision quiz, where classify is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach classify, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 51: proportion in a graph explanation
A learner who remembers one memorised example only reads a graph explanation, where proportion is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach proportion, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 52: maintain in a Mathematics word problem
A learner who knows the word in English but not other subjects reads a Mathematics word problem, where maintain is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach maintain, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 53: generate in a Secondary 1 preview text
A learner who guesses too quickly from one clue reads a Secondary 1 preview text, where generate is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach generate, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 54: interpret in a school announcement
A learner who can explain it but chooses the wrong sense reads a school announcement, where interpret is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach interpret, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 55: influence in a Science experiment explanation
A learner who can say the word but misspells it in writing reads a Science experiment explanation, where influence is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach influence, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 56: approach in a peer explanation
A learner who stops reading whenever one word is unknown reads a peer explanation, where approach is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach approach, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 57: audience in a news report
A learner who confuses a near-synonym reads a news report, where audience is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach audience, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 58: explain in an informational article
A learner who is underconfident despite accurate knowledge reads an informational article, where explain is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach explain, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 59: criterion in a debate
A learner who avoids checking uncertain meanings reads a debate, where criterion is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach criterion, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 60: specific in a listening-comprehension extract
A learner who uses it with an unnatural collocation reads a listening-comprehension extract, where specific is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach specific, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 61: require in a narrative comprehension passage
A learner who recognises the word but cannot explain it reads a narrative comprehension passage, where require is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach require, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 62: compare in a digital article
A learner who can write the word but cannot retrieve it orally reads a digital article, where compare is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach compare, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 63: factor in a continuous-writing paragraph
A learner who reads fluently until several unfamiliar words cluster reads a continuous-writing paragraph, where factor is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach factor, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 64: perspective in a class discussion
A learner who forgets after several days reads a class discussion, where perspective is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach perspective, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 65: effect in a textbook paragraph
A learner who is overconfident after one correct answer reads a textbook paragraph, where effect is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach effect, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 66: benefit in a situational-writing prompt
A learner who depends on a word bank reads a situational-writing prompt, where benefit is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach benefit, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 67: infer in a documentary transcript
A learner who retrieves it slowly reads a documentary transcript, where infer is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach infer, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 68: equivalent in a project reflection
A learner who knows the meaning but misses the writer’s tone reads a project reflection, where equivalent is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach equivalent, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 69: valid in an oral discussion
A learner who uses a dictionary but selects the first definition reads an oral discussion, where valid is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach valid, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 70: theory in a revision quiz
A learner who knows the family but not the required form reads a revision quiz, where theory is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach theory, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 71: argument in a graph explanation
A learner who remembers one memorised example only reads a graph explanation, where argument is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach argument, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 72: clarify in a Mathematics word problem
A learner who knows the word in English but not other subjects reads a Mathematics word problem, where clarify is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach clarify, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 73: resolve in a Secondary 1 preview text
A learner who guesses too quickly from one clue reads a Secondary 1 preview text, where resolve is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach resolve, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 74: method in a school announcement
A learner who can explain it but chooses the wrong sense reads a school announcement, where method is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach method, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 75: illustrate in a Science experiment explanation
A learner who can say the word but misspells it in writing reads a Science experiment explanation, where illustrate is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach illustrate, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 76: significant in a peer explanation
A learner who stops reading whenever one word is unknown reads a peer explanation, where significant is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach significant, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 77: logical in a news report
A learner who confuses a near-synonym reads a news report, where logical is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach logical, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 78: capacity in an informational article
A learner who is underconfident despite accurate knowledge reads an informational article, where capacity is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach capacity, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 79: register in a debate
A learner who avoids checking uncertain meanings reads a debate, where register is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach register, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 80: generalise in a listening-comprehension extract
A learner who uses it with an unnatural collocation reads a listening-comprehension extract, where generalise is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach generalise, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 81: deduce in a narrative comprehension passage
A learner who recognises the word but cannot explain it reads a narrative comprehension passage, where deduce is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach deduce, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 82: strategy in a digital article
A learner who can write the word but cannot retrieve it orally reads a digital article, where strategy is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach strategy, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 83: resource in a continuous-writing paragraph
A learner who reads fluently until several unfamiliar words cluster reads a continuous-writing paragraph, where resource is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach resource, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 84: conclude in a class discussion
A learner who forgets after several days reads a class discussion, where conclude is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach conclude, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 85: assume in a textbook paragraph
A learner who is overconfident after one correct answer reads a textbook paragraph, where assume is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach assume, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 86: predict in a situational-writing prompt
A learner who depends on a word bank reads a situational-writing prompt, where predict is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach predict, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 87: function in a documentary transcript
A learner who retrieves it slowly reads a documentary transcript, where function is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach function, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 88: construct in a project reflection
A learner who knows the meaning but misses the writer’s tone reads a project reflection, where construct is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach construct, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 89: justify in an oral discussion
A learner who uses a dictionary but selects the first definition reads an oral discussion, where justify is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach justify, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.
Fieldbook 90: estimate in a revision quiz
A learner who knows the family but not the required form reads a revision quiz, where estimate is one of several uncertain items. Diagnose whether the difficulty comes from the number of unknown words, their clustering, their importance to the main idea, unfamiliar senses, syntax or missing background knowledge. Decide whether to preteach estimate, allow contextual problem solving, or leave it partially unresolved. Preserve the text as a productive challenge whenever the learner can maintain the meaning chain. Reduce or scaffold the load only when lexical uncertainty repeatedly prevents comprehension from accumulating across sentences.