The context helps me know if it has something to do with X.

I don’t know what it means, but I have heard of it.

If you’re an avid reader, it’s even more likely that you’ve developed a robust vocabulary.Īccording to Steven Stahl’s publication on vocabulary learning, a person’s understanding of various vocabulary words likely fits into four categories: Because while you may have known the meanings of words like fortuitous or incremental, your students might not - consider your level of education and the number of years you’ve had to gain exposure to literature. To teach your students vocabulary (or anything) effectively, you’ll need to see things from their perspective.

Hirsch noted the importance of teaching literacy in schools: “It is now well accepted that the chief cause of the achievement gap between socioeconomic groups is a language gap.” Consider vocabulary instruction as one way to level the playing field for all of your students. You likely understand that merely repeating definitions from a dictionary is not an effective way to teach vocabulary to your students, yet this practice is often the first method that comes to mind in the context of our classrooms. This time we are going to look into strategies to give students a deeper understanding of vocabulary. In a previous blog, we explored ways to teach vocabulary and why explicit instruction is necessary.

Vocabulary word sorts