The vagaries of his jokes until they hit the punch line . . . Eventually, they refine their understanding that vagary refers to aimless and unpredictable wandering or actions. The strategy Previous columns have explored a number of strategies to enhance students' vocabularies. Underlying these strategies is the concept that students need to be consciously aware of their vocabulary growth if they are to gain more personal control of the words they meet in their daily lives in our classrooms. Last month's column introduced the strategy of Word Banks.
Students keep a log of words from their reading which are unknown.
Although Word Bank entries can be integrated into additional vocabulary activities, including consulting a dictionary, the intent of the Word Bank strategy is to cue students into habitually noticing those words which are unknown to them, and making note of the context of these words. Students may misread contextual clues, or the specific context may be open to several varied interpretations of a word's possible meaning. To sensitize students to analyzing contextual clues for learning new vocabulary, provide them with activities that feature nonsense words that are embedded in rich contextual settings. The thick, green mass on her plate did not look or smell appetizing. She was certain that she would find the lumpy, gooey dish distasteful, yet she was determined to try it.