A study compared the effects of words in isolation (WI) and words in context (WC) instruction on the word learning and retention of word meanings of 11 average readers from a multi-age classroom (grades 4 and 5). To investigate whether WC instruction improved a child's ability to use context cues to determine the meaning of an unknown word…

A program was designed and implemented to improve vocabulary knowledge and attitudes toward reading by focusing on direct vocabulary instruction. The targeted population consisted of 23 fourth grade students in a middle-class suburb north of Chicago. The community is very multicultural, so many of the students speak English as a second language.…