In recent years there has been growing concern about the “vocabulary gap” widening between children from different socioeconomic groups. By age three, it is believed that children growing up in poor neighborhoods or from lower-income families may hear up to 30 million fewer words than their more privileged counterparts.

There are a broad range of advocates, organizations, and researchers tackling the vocabulary gap between rich and poor children. In this blog post I will discuss the latest research and provide links to some of the various resources parents and caregivers can access if you are interested in expanding your child’s vocabulary and shrinking the ‘word gap.’

Economically disadvantaged students have a very difficult time with succeeding in school. One of the most unfortunate results of their economic struggles is that students who live in poverty often drop out of school, choosing a low-paying job to pay for the luxuries they have been denied instead of an education.

Despite the bleak outlook for many of these students, you can do a great deal to make school a meaningful haven for them. You can help your students who live in poverty by implementing some of the suggestions addressed in this article.