UPDATE: I have continued to use a targeted vocabulary approach to support reading comprehension for my Year 7/8 class with ideas adapted from research by Paul Nation. I select 8 words and phrases from the text of the week for a given group and have them attempt to unpack their meaning and find clues to the type of text to be read.
OBSERVATIONS: Using this method, I have seen students who usually need extra support are visibly more engaged when they come to read the text. It seems that having an explicit purpose for reading helps them to focus on working out what the words/phrases mean. There is an (unintended) sense of competition so students are keen 'be the first' to read the text and check if their predictions about a set of words/phrases are correct. Students are quick to let others know they have gotten it right but there is no major fallout if someone's idea misses the mark.
NEXT STEPS: Continue to use this targeted approach but build student's usage of selected words/phrases in to writing activities. Encourage more student-led discussion around the meaning of selected words/phrases.
