How to teach vocabulary
Use word lists to fill reading deficits

The problem of how to teach vocabulary to students with severe reading deficits in middle school, high school, and adult education classes can be solved by starting with word lists.

Values of word lists

Word lists:

• Present words students may have heard but never seen.

• Prime students to anticipate the presence of certain words in their reading.

• Prepare a foundation for learning totally unfamiliar vocabulary words.

In order to keep the lessons manageable for you and your students, use lists of no more than 10 words.

How to teach vocabulary via lists

Here is how to teach word lists:

1. Introduce one word and its meaning.

2. Ask students to think of contexts in which the word could be used.

3. Present the word in various contexts. This may include reading aloud passages that include the word and having students do cloze activities.

   Present the other words on the list in the same manner.

4. Give students opportunities to use the words in ways that expand their understanding and develop their thinking abilities, such as:

   • Yes/No/Why in which the teacher pairs two words from the current word list and asks a question about them that requires students to talk about the word meanings.

   • Analogies in which students must find an appropriate word to fill in a missing element in a set of word analogies incorporating the week's word list.

5. Give a writing prompt (formal or informal) and ask students to write a paragraph response incorporating at least half the words on the current list.

Visit the vocabulary lists page for an annotated list of sources of vocabulary lists.