One great reading strategy that I have used with ELD students (students who do not have first language literacy) is called Match, Select and Name. This is based on a method used with special education students from the book Literacy Skill Development for Students with Special Learning Needs
Match: Using picture cards, Word cards and Picture/Word cards the students begin by matching the Picture Cards with the Picture/Word Cards.
The students learn the vocabulary by associating the word with the picture. Next students match the Picture Word Cards with the Word cards. Then the students match the Picture Cards with the Word Cards.
Select: Students can also hear the word then select the Picture Cards, Picture/Word cards or the Word Cards. They can also be shown one of the set of cards and select the match from another set of cards.
Name: Student use their oral language skills to tell others what cards they are using. They can also look at the Picture/Word cards and identify the words that they know. Each time they can try to identify more word cards.
Other Activities: Students can play memory with two sets of the cards against a peer. They can also use the cards to write sentences within a sentence frame.
Assessment: In a regular classroom environment using this strategy with subject specific vocabulary would be a good way to help to integrate these students into your regular classroom programming. Working one on one with these students can occur during your guided reading time or at other times with the rest of your students are working independently. Each activity should only take 5-10 minutes. Assessment can occur during these times as you identify how many of the words the student knows. You can easily assess the student growth by tracking how many words they learn over time.
Here is a school vocabulary kit.
Want to hear more from Patti? Check out her blog or find her on Facebook and Instagram!