This document provides strategies for teaching vocabulary, including using pictures, guessing meanings from context, word lists, flashcards, and breaking words into prefixes, suffixes, and roots. It also outlines five active reading strategies: 1) Get Ready to Read by looking at pictures, skimming, and activating prior knowledge, 2) Visualize the text, 3) Stop and check for understanding and make predictions, 4) Connect the text to personal experiences, other texts, and the world, and 5) Respond to the text through summarizing, retelling, analyzing, and generalizing. Various graphic organizers are provided to aid in implementing these strategies.

1. Strategies for Vocabulary
Teaching
Ryan Brux
English Language Fellow
Tarapoto, Peru

2. Discussion Questions
• In learning a 2nd
language how
have you BEST learned new
vocabulary?
– Picture Dictionaries
– Guessing meaning through context
– Glossaries/Vocabulary Lists
– Flashcards
– Breaking down words (roots, suffixes, prefixes)
– Other methods?

3. Use pictures to help you
understand
In the Peruvian region of Piura, there is a
famous beach, Mancora.

4. Use context clues
The city is on the banks of
three important rivers.

5. Break down words by looking at
prefixes/suffixes/root words
Populous
Pop (root word) from Latin‘populi’ meaning people
-ous (suffix) = having the quality/relating to (adj.)

6. Word
Chart

7. Active Reading Strategies
Improving ComprehensionImproving Comprehension

8. Do you think about what
you read? As you read
silently, think about these 5
Reading Strategies:

9. 5 Active Reading
Strategies:
2. VisualizeVisualize
3. Stop and checkStop and check
4. ConnectConnect
5. RespondRespond
1.1. Get Ready to ReadGet Ready to Read

10. 1. Get Ready to
Read
•Look at the pictures
•Skim and scan
•Activate schema

11. Look at the pictures

12. Skim and Scan
• Pictures
• Titles
• Subtitles
• Key words
• Bold-faced words
What did skimming make you think about?

13. Activate Schema
• What do you alreadyWhat do you already
know about the subject?know about the subject?
Graphic Organizer: KWL

14. KWL
Chart

15. 2. Visualize
Hmm…what
do I see?

16. Create a picture inCreate a picture in
your mindyour mind
Graphic Organizer:
A Captured Image

17. A
Captured
Image

18. 3. STOP and Check
• Do I understand?Do I understand?
• Do I have any questions?Do I have any questions?
• What are my predictionsWhat are my predictions
moving forward?moving forward?

19. Do I understand?
• What is the main idea?What is the main idea?
• What are the importantWhat are the important
details?details?
If need be, organize your thoughts
using a concept web.

20. Concept
Web

21. Predict
• What do you think willWhat do you think will
happen? Prove it!happen? Prove it!
• Use foreshadowing (clues)Use foreshadowing (clues)

22. 4. Connect
•Text to Self
•Text to Text
•Text to world
Graphic Organizer: Reminds Me Chart

23. Text to Self
Bring yourBring your ownown
experiencesexperiences to the story.to the story.
“This reminds
me of the time I
went fishing
with my dad.”

24. Text to Text
MakeMake
connections toconnections to
other literature,other literature,
movies, etc.movies, etc.
This part
reminds me of
that movie I
watched last
week.

25. Text to World
This remindsThis reminds
me of…me of…
This book
reminds me of
…

26. Reminds
Me Of
Chart

27. 5. Respond
Responding to literature is the way in which one
reacts to something that has been read or listened to
(Cooper, 1993).

28. 5. Respond
• What does the story sayWhat does the story say
to you?to you?

29. 5. Respond
• What is the mood of theWhat is the mood of the
story?story?

30. 5. Respond
• SummarizeSummarize
• RetellRetell
• AnalyzeAnalyze
• GeneralizeGeneralize
Response activities may include: completing a graphic
organizer such as a story map or character web, a book
project (diorama, book report, etc.), a peer discussion, a book
talk, a book review or a reading response journal entry.

31. Review: 5 Active
Reading Strategies
2. VisualizeVisualize
3. Stop and checkStop and check
4. ConnectConnect
5. RespondRespond
1.1. Get Ready to ReadGet Ready to Read