Expanding Word Families: Integrating Linguistic Neighbors to Strengthen Brain City

This session will explore the research behind “word families” in reading instruction, broadening the traditional understanding to include linguistic neighbors—words that are related in phonology, meaning, and orthography, as well as those that share cultural or linguistic ties. Really “knowing” a word is not a single act but a layered process, involving sound, spelling, and meaning networks. The brain’s ability to process words quickly and efficiently relies on forming strong connections across these language regions. By integrating linguistic neighbors into early reading instruction, we can strengthen neural pathways involved in phonological processing, semantic encoding, and orthographic mapping. We will discuss how engaging multiple aspects of language simultaneously, through both code-breaking and meaning-making, helps support lexical quality and the neural circuitry required for fluency. Through a combination of research findings and practical classroom routines, the session will demonstrate how expanding word families to include linguistic neighbors can enhance students' engagement, vocabulary, and depth of word knowledge, particularly in multilingual contexts.