Principles to Guide Vocabulary Instruction

1.  Select words that the students will encounter while reading literature and content material:

• Key words convey major ideas and concepts,
• Useful Words are relevant and seen in a variety of contexts,
• Interesting Words tickle the imagination and create enthusiasm,
• Vocabulary-Building Words can be identified using context clues;

2. Teach words in relationship to other words

• Comparing
• Classifying
• Generalizing
• Excluding

3. Teach students to relate words to their background knowledge by discovering what knowledge students already have that can anchor the new knowledge

4. Teach words in pre-reading activities to activate knowledge, and use them in post-reading discussion, response, and retelling;
5.  Teach words systematically and in depth by generating a novel product using the term and by putting the definition into own words or using it in a sentence;
6. Awaken interest and enthusiasm for words, as the teacher’s attitude can be contagious.