Expand Vocabulary
Tune in to interesting words
Readers build word awareness and understanding by focusing on words that are interesting and unique in the text.
Readers build word awareness and understanding by focusing on words that are interesting and unique in the text.
If you see readers who . . .
Readers who tune in to new and interesting words begin to recognize and remember them, thus expanding their vocabulary, which enhances comprehension.
Search for and take note of words that you are curious about in your own reading and when someone is reading to you.
We start by tuning in to interesting words as a class and adding them to a whole-group word collector. The word collector is a way to gather new and interesting words and is organized in alphabetical order. We make a grid or boxes on a large piece of paper and write each letter of the alphabet in a different box (see Appendix O). Readers will also have their own word collectors to build their individual vocabularies, and this process serves as a model for that as well. We choose two or three words from our read-aloud that we think the children will encounter in their own reading or writing and that we believe are interesting.
Suggested language:
Possible ways to differentiate instruction:
Reconsider materials, setting, instruction, and cognitive processes.
These strategies may provide support before, during, and after teaching this strategy:
Want to hear about this strategy from a student's perspective? Let Kid Teacher, Miss Hadley, tell you—in her own words—how this strategy helps her grow as a reader. We think it will help your students too!
In this video, Gail introduces the strategy. Share this with your class, and then continue instruction with a text and content that meets the needs of your students and your grade level standards.
Each book below has a coordinating lesson with an explicit example to teach this strategy. Select a book cover below, then download the lesson to see for yourself. At The Daily CAFE these were called Lit Lessons.
At Teach Daily, we provide effective teaching methods and resources so any teacher can learn how to build the skills and confidence to recognize and meet the needs of all their students—daily.
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