Literacy Tip

Comprehension Strategy - “Vocabulary”

What single factor has the greatest impact on the achievement of English Language Learners?

Vocabulary .When teaching students vocabulary, focus on words that are either interesting to the child or will be very useful in daily life.  There are many words that come up in books that will be unfamiliar to your students.  Pick your battles; otherwise, you will spend a lot of time explaining words that the student has little chance of retaining. 

If your student is crazy about dinosaurs, it may make sense to teach her to read "velociraptor."  Otherwise, feel free to skip, or explain very briefly, words that a student will use infrequently in favor of more regularly used words, such as "exclaim" or "coincidence."  Make flash cards to reinforce these new words, keep them in the student's folder, and review them quickly at each session.   Frequent reinforcement and review will greatly increase the likelihood that these words will become active parts of the student's vocabulary.

Good Luck!

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Back to Newsletter, May 2008