Steps for Teaching Reading Vocabulary

When introducing new vocabulary to learners, it is a good idea to do so explicitly. The following steps work well:

WRITE (visual) one word at a time on the board or overhead. (for example "challenge")

TELL (oral) the pronunciation, a simple meaning, and the function of each word (optional) ("Something that is difficult to do:")

TELL (oral) 1-2 synonyms and/or antonyms for each word (optional).   ("hard difficult")

TELL personal contexts from your life for each word. ("It is a challenge for me to not eat chocolate.)

ASK students to share oral sentences for each word. ("It is a challenge for me to __________")

CLARIFY students’ usage and sentence structure as needed. (“Do you mean...?).

Make sure to only introduce 4-5 words per week and provide lots of opportunities for review and practice.

More reading vocabulary resources can be found here: https://atlasabe.org/resources/reading/reading-components/vocabulary/