M7L6_step1

Vocabulary Learning Strategy Instruction

Step 1: Give Explicit Instruction about the Strategy

Mr. Barsky knows that an upcoming text features some challenging words for his MLs, so he wants them to feel confident that they have access to tools they can use to comprehend the passage.

Before reading, he shows his students a dictionary, asking them what it does, and if/how they’ve used it before.

His students are eager to tell him that’s the book with all the words they don’t know in it!

We know, we know!

I don't use that old book, I use the internet!

That's right! There are a lot of words you may not know yet, but there are also many words you know, right?

What's a word you know? Can you show me how to find it?

Amelia, one of his adept MLs from Puerto Rico, speaks up.

I know the word fly. I can find it here!

I go to F...then FL...there it is! To move through the air with wings. A small in...insect?

Mr. Barsky summarizes the steps used in the strategy.

Great, thank you Amelia. We use a dictionary to find the meaning of words we don’t know. It can also help us when a word has more than one meaning, like the word you found.

We can use it when we read or anytime we hear a new word. You find the word by looking for the first letter, then the second letter, then the third and so on.

That's my strategy! I'm so smart!!

Mr. Barsky wants to keep his lesson personalized. So he directs students to their dictionaries either printed or online and gives students a small task to practice using the strategy.

Find your favorite word in the dictionary and share it with your group. Ready? Go!

Vocabulary Learning Strategy Instruction

Step 1: Give Explicit Instruction about the Strategy

1. Engage learners
2. Summarize the steps of the strategy
3. Personalize the practice