A fun way to introduce a new vocabulary word is to turn the word into a mystery. Introduce the word to the students by writing it on the board or overhead, but do not give them the definition. Pronounce the word for the students several times and then direct the students to hunt for the word in a passage that you have selected.

Inform students that they are to give a thumbs up when they find the word. At this point, you can reward the student who finds the word the fastest with treats of your choice. Once a student has found the word, have him read the word clearly, making sure that he pronounces it correctly.

After the word has been found and correctly pronounced, have the student read several of the sentences surrounding the word and give other students a chance to give a thumbs up again when they think that they have figured out the definition of the word from the context clues in the sentence. Give several students an opportunity to guess at the definition and reward the students who come up with the best definition.