The vocabulary instruction described at the beginning of the chapter brought back a lot of memories. I remember we were assigned vocabulary words, and we had to look up the definition of the word in a dictionary. A majority of the time the definition in the dictionary was way over my head, and I had no idea how to use the word in a sentence. With this type of teaching being done, and yes I still see it in every classroom I am in, it is no surprise that there is a deficit in vocabulary knowledge. I do remember some of the richest words I have ever learned were from teachers, people or books using them. I would hear the word and decide, "That's a nice word I need to start using it." I would then go look the word up and from then on the meaning and use of the word was committed to memory. I feel that is one of the best ways students learn. When teachers speak they can use large words followed by a quick synonym for students who do not know the meaning. That is an extra exposure to new vocabulary that is simple for teachers to do.
Some of the strategies discussed in the book I have used in my tutoring sessions at OGLE. I have used strategies that involve personal connections, adding suffixes to words to change meaning, using illustrations to show the meaning, discussing the vocabulary words as they are being used in the books, and writing with the vocabulary words. I feel these strategies are much more authentic than the previous way vocabulary was taught. It allows students to make connections with words and really experience them. I also liked how the book discussed the popularity of the use of the thesaurus. I feel this is an oldie but a goodie. It allows students to get experience with synonyms. I would edit students' writings and highlight words that I would like them to change to more "juicy" words. The students can find alternatives for these words. It not only improves vocabulary, but it also helps students make their writing more rich.
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