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VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
While the most important thing readers can do to build a strong vocabulary is to do a lot of reading for pleasure, students also need to learn concrete strategies for determining and retaining the meanings of unfamiliar words. They benefit from learning strategies that incorporate thinking about context clues as well as word origins and word structure.
The Institute offers curricula that teach these vocabulary-building strategies as well as specific word instruction.
Word analysis
Curriculum in word analysis teaches students to apply knowledge of word origins and word structure to determine the meaning of unknown words. Instruction focuses on prefixes and suffixes as well as common Greek and Latin word roots and includes multiple encounters with words to ensure retention.
Dictionary skills
Curriculum for dictionary skills focuses not only on the mechanics of dictionary use but also on skills such as choosing the appropriate definition of a word, assessing comprehension of that definition, and integrating dictionary use with active use of context clues.
Context
Curriculum trains students to examine context (the sentence, paragraph or other textual clues surrounding a word) to determine an unfamiliar word's meaning. Actively engaging with words in this way ensures that students not only understand new words but retain them as well.
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