A teacher notices that a student frequently skips over unfamiliar words while reading. What is the most appropriate strategy to improve the student's vocabulary and reading comprehension?

Introducing context clue strategies to deduce word meanings is effective for enhancing a student's vocabulary and reading comprehension. This approach helps learners develop skills to infer the meanings of unfamiliar words based on the surrounding text, which promotes deeper engagement with the material.

Understanding words in context allows students not only to identify unfamiliar terms but also to grasp their significance within a passage, improving overall comprehension. This strategy enhances critical thinking and encourages independent problem-solving while reading.

Context clues can be derived from several sources, including definitions provided in the text, examples, synonyms, antonyms, or even the logical flow of sentences. By honing this skill, students can approach unfamiliar vocabulary more confidently and are less likely to skip over words, leading to a more enriched reading experience.

In contrast, focusing solely on high-frequency vocabulary may not necessarily address specific unknown words a student encounters in varied texts. Guessing based on the first letter tends to be unreliable and can lead to misunderstandings. While using a dictionary is valuable, it may interrupt the flow of reading and does not foster the kind of contextual understanding that is crucial for comprehension.