1. Cut your vocabulary lists down to size–make sure the list is short and the words are powerful.
2. Be aware that the “correct word” can sometimes mask misunderstanding and make sure students can explain what the word means in the appropriate context.
3. Don’t pre-load too much vocabulary. Provide the word when students are starting to understand the concept and need to have the term to be more precise and communicate clearly.
4. When students are close reading challenging text, don’t pre-teach vocabulary. Instead, teach the students to identify terms they don’t understand and the strategies they can use to persevere: looking for context cues, breaking the word down, or looking the word up. In the real world nobody gives you a vocabulary list before you read a challenging text.
5. Listen carefully to your students, they may understand more than their words let them explain!
Four main principles that should guide vocabulary instruction:
1. Students should be active in developing their understanding of words and ways to learn them (e.g. semantic mapping, word sorts, concept definition maps, and strategies for word learning).
2. Students should personalize word learning (e.g. through Vocabulary Self Collection Strategy, mnemonic strategies, and personal dictionaries).
3. Students should be immersed in words by rich language environments that focus on words and draw students' attention to the learning of words. (e.g. word walls, personal word study notebooks, comparing morphemic elements, and using the words around them).
4. Students should build on multiple sources of information to learn words through repeated exposures. (e.g. draw on multiple sources of meaning for vocabulary development).