Which approach helps students to build vocabulary while reading?

Building vocabulary while reading is greatly supported by decoding practice. This approach involves teaching students how to break down words into their parts, including prefixes, suffixes, and root words. As students practice decoding, they become more capable of recognizing and understanding unfamiliar words in context, which directly contributes to vocabulary acquisition.

When students can decode effectively, they are better equipped to tackle challenging texts without getting stalled by difficult vocabulary. This encourages them to engage more fully with the reading material and enhances their overall comprehension. Increased familiarity with word structures allows students to make educated guesses about the meanings of new words, further enriching their vocabulary.

Other methods, while beneficial in their own right, do not specifically focus on the direct interaction with words that decoding provides. Therefore, engaging in decoding practice is particularly effective for building vocabulary through reading.