Remember the days of being told to “look up” random words in the dictionary as your vocabulary work? I remember them quite clearly. Luckily, I was one of those kids that liked doing work like that. I enjoyed the opportunity to discover new words. But, I know many of my classmates struggled with having to complete this busy work. What was the point in copying the definitions of words we were never going to use? That question is answered by teaching new words in context.
As a beginning teacher, part of the literacy program my school used was dedicated to teaching new words. But, it wasn’t just about learning the words. Students were taught strategies to figuring out new words. I remember teaching about word structure and apposition. But, the strategy that was the most challenging to teach (but is ultimately the most useful strategy) was context clues. Context clues is the strategy that takes the most work. Often, students are daunted by having to invest so much time and energy into figuring out a new word. Suddenly, looking up a word in the dictionary doesn’t seem like “busy” work. But, stopping to use the dictionary can be disruptive to the flow of reading. Learning to use the context clues strategy is essential to maintaining reading comprehension.
Using context clues takes a lot of practice. Guiding your students in being a word detective takes a lot of work. But, it absolutely needs to be done. Our own abilities to figure things out is better than any dictionary.
Until next time… Happy Teaching!
PinaRose
PinaRose Education 