Teaching vocabulary can be one of the most critical skills for readers (especially struggling readers). Many times, students just skip over important vocabulary without using the context clues or word parts to help them. Children really need to be taught how to identify important vocabulary words and examine them to understand why they are used in the text.
Here are some simple ways to teach and highlight important vocabulary:
- After reading a passage, have students identify 1-3 important vocabulary words within the passage. Reflect on the words by considering why the author chose those specific words. This can lead into an important discussion about word choice.
- Have students draw a picture with the vocabulary word in action. This can help engage visualization skills while fully understanding the vocabulary word in context.
- Encourage students to write sentences, paragraphs, or stories with vocabulary words. This type of extension activity allows students to make deeper connections with the vocabulary.
- Use challenging vocabulary as you speak! This one seems silly but kids absolutely love it. Asking students, “Could you please leave the door ajar when you leave the room?” rather than “open” is a great model for how vocabulary can impact the way we speak.
- Teach and practice context clues. Kids need explicit instruction in understanding how the words before and after a word help decipher the vocabulary word’s meaning. This really is a critical academic skill that kids will use all the way up to middle school, high school, college, and beyond. I like to use vocabulary context clues task cards for extended practice in groups.
Graphics Organizers for Vocabulary
- Use graphic organizers when students read passages and stories. The graphic organizers should highlight important vocabulary words, helping students to pull apart those words. Use these free vocabulary graphic organizers to help you teach vocabulary skills in your classroom.
Have fun teaching critical vocabulary skills in your classroom.
Psychologists have researched for years to try and find a perfect ratio of number of positive to negative comments. These researchers have investigated the power of positive comments at work places, in marriages, and at schools. It was interesting to find that many researchers agree on a ratio of around 5 positive comments to every 1 negative comment. With more negative comments, people tend to feel discouraged and undervalued. I find this so interesting because I would say that this ratio needs to be even higher for children and young adults in schools. That means that teachers should be giving at least 5 positive and kind words of encouragement for every 1 negative thing they say. Below are some simple tips for incorporating more positive into your classroom:
For many students, reading is a fun and enjoyable time where they can learn new things and build on their strengths. But for many other students, reading is a dreaded time. This is especially true if the student has a weakness or disability in the area of reading. It’s hard to make reading fun for them. One way to help with that is to incorporate some simple games into reading time.
In my school, we are encouraged not to target any one specific holiday during this time of year so that no students are left out. Sometimes, this is challenging because many great lessons and activities are focused around Christmas. For the many teachers that have to teach in the next couple of days right before holiday break, I thought some ideas for the classroom would be useful.
As teachers move towards a style of “close reading”, it is more and more important to get students involved in their own learning when they read. The goal is that students are independent readers who can think critically about a text. Getting the students themselves to ask questions is one way that allows them to think on a higher level. Here are a few tips to get your students to that point.
