Effective with students of all ages
- Form mental images of words and relate descriptors to the words
- Link meaning to new vocabulary
- Links new concepts to already existing schemata
- Use new terms in connected language in various settings
- Write sentences using new word
- Summarize information
Strategy steps:
- Select a key word that is critical to the comprehension of the text the students will be reading.
- Write the word on the board. Students say/sign, fingerspell, and write it.
- Tell the students what the word means and then use it in an analogy.
- For example, if the key word is zebra, tell the students: A zebra is an animal that lives in Africa. A zebra looks like a small horse with black and white stripes.
- Children close their eyes and picture a zebra in their minds. Each child describes her/his mental pictures and teacher and students discuss.
- Students draw their mental pictures (this step will not be appropriate for all concepts).
- After the students have read the text, they can elaborate on the key word/concept.
- Summarize by writing sentences explaining the meaning of the key word.
- The class can write a summary together.
- Each student can write a summary.