Select words from a text students will engage in reading. Write each word for students to independently attempt to read. Ask for a volunteer to indicate the base word, or root word. Encourage the class to suggest meanings of the vocabulary word. Draw a picture of the word's meaning. Tell students to act out the word's meaning. Study four or five words in this manner. Review the words with the pictures or actions as the text with the words is read.
The National Reading Panel emphasizes that students benefit from opportunities to learn new words while reading independently. Select invigorating text students will engage with independently. Offer students readings with in-text definitions or contextual clues to vocabulary definitions. Discuss the new words upon completion of the reading. Ask students to retell and teach each other how they determined the meaning of the unfamiliar words.
Create a multimedia presentation of vocabulary words for students to review. Many students are raised in an environment surrounded by multimedia input. Exposing vocabulary words in a multimedia setting will help many students commit the words to permanent memory. Select clip art to demonstrate what the word means. Attach a representative sound to the word that will initiate when the image is clicked. Instruct students to design a corresponding chart for the vocabulary word by writing the word and drawing an image representing its definition.
Read an isolated, unfamiliar word to the class. Ask students if any part of the word sounds familiar or reminds them of a word they already know. Write the word on the board or chart paper. Instruct students to look for a base word that will help them deduce the word's definition. Teaching students the skill of association when reading a new, unfamiliar word gives them the skills necessary to independently comprehend text beyond their reading level. Practice the skill of association with isolated words regularly to allow students the scaffolded practice to grow as independent, successful readers.