Vocabulary Principles & Effective Vocabulary Instruction

Teachers, just a short post to disseminate some good information I came across and to alert you to a great resource. As we continue our concentration on vocabulary, I thought that I would provide you with this brief excerpt from Laura Robb’s text Easy Mini-Lessons for Building Vocabulary: Practical Strategies that Boost Word Knowledge and Reading Comprehension. If ever you get the time, stop by the media center and take a look, and you can also purchase it online. I got my copy from Amazon.

Key Teaching Principles of a Rich Vocabulary Program

1. Make explicit vocabulary instruction at least a three-times-a-week tradition.

2. Give students a voice by allowing them to pick words.

3. Present vocabulary mini-lessons.


Guidelines for Effective Vocabulary Instructions

1. READ! READ! And then READ MORE!

2. Avoid new word overload (four or five new words are plenty).

3. Allow students to choose words too.

4. Reserve class time for vocabulary building.

5. Creatively link words to students’ experiences.

6. Point out the clues that writers leave.

7. Slow Down, new word coming through! Words in English have multiple meanings; repeatedly use target words in reading, writing, speaking and thinking, so students can absorb variations in meaning.

8. Exchange experiences with words.

Adapted from Easy Mini-Lessons for Building Vocabulary by Laura Robb.