Practice Brief-Struggling Readers.pdf

• Actively engage students in vocabulary-learning tasks such as creatingdefinitions and non-definitions, drawing pictures, and playing charades orother games that let them practice defining, using, and recognizing newvocabulary words.• Ensure that students understand the task they are expected to accomplishduring vocabulary instruction. This may require restructuring tasks toaccommodate a student’s weaknesses and build on her strengths, suchas adjusting the size or make-up of instructional groups or modifyinginstructional materials. For example, teachers can clarify the task ofwriting vocabulary definitions by modeling what a good definition includes,defining difficult words, or letting students complete vocabulary tasks inpairs or small groups. Restructuring tasks may be particularly effective forstruggling readers.Generative Vocabulary InstructionGenerative vocabulary instruction capitalizes on the relatedness of words andclasses of words. Students learn to identify the meaning of new or unfamiliarwords by using their existing knowledge of specific words and word parts.Instruction in selected instances of particular words or word parts (roots,prefixes, suffixes, etc.), combined with systematic practice in using morphemicand contextual cues can equip students with powerful tools for identifyingsimilar or related words or classes of words.• Promote opportunities for students to engage in wide reading of texts at avariety of levels (including many at students’ independent reading level, atwhich they can read about 9 out of every 10 words) and for a variety ofpurposes. The more students read, the greater their opportunities forapplying word-learning strategies and learning new vocabulary.• Provide opportunities for students to use target vocabulary wordsverbally in small- and large-group discussions about what they are readingand learning.• Connect new words to oral language or other reading materials by usingthe new words in conversation and explicitly relating them to other usesand occurrences.17