This study addresses low literacy achievement in students in kindergarten and first grades. The study was designed to help identify how general education teachers can use specific daily research-based oral vocabulary acquisition strategies to close the literacy gap. This quantitative research helped to determine if the implementation of an oral vocabulary and language program increases student literacy achievement. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether using oral vocabulary strategies in daily whole group instruction would increase student literacy achievement. The researcher used a quantitative method with a quasi-experimental pre-post design. This is the appropriate design for this study because the researcher compared the outcome of a pre and post-test between a control and an experimental group in both kindergarten and first grade classrooms in selected schools. When the intervention was complete, the researcher analyzed the data from the pre and post i-Ready assessments by using a test of two means. This test helped identify if there was a strong correlation between the intervention and the students' success in their overall scale score from the i-Ready assessment. Although the null hypothesis was accepted and there was not a significant difference found between the difference of the two means for the intervention and control groups, 95% of all of the students who participated in all groups showed an increase from their pre to post assessment. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]