3.2 Breadth

When and Where Did I Find the Word: While completing the readings for week 3 I came across the word in Fisher and Frey's book Word Wise and Content Rich (2008). On page 8 the word is mentioned in a list describing the 5 dimensions of vocabulary knowledge measurement.

Full Citation: Fisher, O., & Frey, N. (2008). Word wise and content rich, grades 7-12, five essential steps to teaching academic vocabulary. Heinemann Educational Books.

What the Word Means: According to dictionary.com breadth has several definitions which include: "1. the measure of the second largest dimension of a plane or solid figure; width. 2. an extent or piece of something of definite or full width or as measured by its width: a breadth of cloth. 3. freedom from narrowness or restraint; liberality: a person with great breadth of view.
4. size in general; extent. 5. A broad or general effect due to subordination of details or nonessentials." The context of the word in our course material stated "breadth through recall of words." In this particular case, considering the context, I would guess that the definition that best fits is number 3.

Level of Familiarity: Though I have heard the word a few times before I have never taken the time to understand its meaning. I assumed that breadth would mean a "vast" or "wealth" of something. I suppose I didn't realize that there were so many meanings. Personally, I had never used this word due to the lack of familiarity of it.

Do I Want to Know this Word Well? I think that it's important to be familiar with the word but I do not think that it is crucial to the vocabulary of an individual.

Do I Think Others Should Know This Word...If So Who and Why? Again, I think that it's a word that is nice to become familiar with in case one comes across it. It would be beneficial to have an idea of its variety of definitions but I do not think that it's a word that is crucial for anyone to know.