Mod 19 Discussion: Taking the Lead on Literacy

Explicit pre‑teaching of vocabulary is an essential component of effective instruction across all content areas. Each subject has its own terms which may be unfamiliar to students, so introducing key vocabulary and its meaning before engaging with the lesson provides learners better comprehension while reading and not focusing on decoding unfamiliar words. Before reading a unit chapter, for example, previewing and teaching new terms that students are likely to encounter significantly enhances their ability to comprehend complex texts. Also, incorporating instruction on root words, prefixes, and suffixes further strengthens students’ morphological awareness by understanding the meaning of the word. Using cognates can also be helpful in relating some English words with the ELL’s native language words for better vocabulary retention.