Techniques to Integrate “Vocabulary Acquisition and Use” into Lesson Plans – by Julie Lyons

• As you identify challenging vocabulary words in reading passages, stop to ask students what they believe the word means.
• Stress the use of context clues (in the sentence, paragraph, etc.) as a strategy to understanding the meaning of unfamiliar words.

Use common, grade-appropriate Greek/Latin affixes and roots as clues

• When students use context clues and/or knowledge of root words (and prefixes /suffixes) to determine the word’s meaning, teach them how to use the dictionary to check their definitions for accuracy.
• In all subject areas, refer to and use glossaries to familiarize students with this helpful resource that many textbooks include.
• When writing, ask students to highlight boring and/or overused words. Teach them how a thesaurus can be used to locate better word choices. Model the revision process for students. For example: “He was a nice boy who always had a very good time when he played sports” can be rewritten as “He was a friendly boy who always had an incredible time when he played sports.”
   

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