Shares three teachers' experiences writing their own computer-assisted instructional materials to improve the vocabulary development portion of a course designed to help at-risk first-year college students develop vocabulary and contextual analysis skills. Discusses theoretical foundation, program design, development and implementation of the…

Suggests that becoming aware of the origins of common words and learning how more sophisticated words relate to historical developments can help students learn vocabulary. (RAE)

Presents a public service advertisement distributed by the International Paper Company to help students improve their vocabulary. (DD)

Describes closed and open word sorts and their use for vocabulary development with adult literacy students. Suggests that the sorts enable them to rehearse new vocabulary, discuss various word classifications, and develop convergent and divergent thinking through deducing the defining characteristics or words. (SR)

Describes a strategy used to teach health-related vocabulary that required students to understand and make value judgments about the words. (MKM)

Encourages the use of dramatization as a way of building vocabulary by showing the meanings of words in the context of experiences associated with them. (DD)

Describes two methods used in a college developmental reading class (which heighten awareness of what lies behind a word and encourage active involvement with language) to foster the skills necessary to become independent word learners. (SR)

Describes a model for reading--ERICA (Effective Reading in Content Areas)--that consists of four stages: preparing, thinking through, extracting and organizing, and translating. (HOD)

Explores problems surrounding direct instruction in vocabulary and describes sources in the ERIC system for other approaches to vocabulary development. (HTH)

Presents three simple exercises (involving analogies, word relationships, and closed sorts) designed to reinforce vocabulary and concepts from content area textbooks. (RS)

Examines the relationship between reading ability and spelling proficiency, assesses the predictability of English spelling, and suggests ways in which the teacher of reading can encourage spelling accuracy. (KS)

Reports that an approach in which college students enacted skits developed around vocabulary words proved more effective than a traditional approach to teaching vocabulary. (MKM)