A second-grade teacher uses semantic maps to help students brainstorm words related to farming. This activity illustrates which component of effective vocabulary instruction?

Using semantic maps to brainstorm words related to farming is an excellent example of deepening and clarifying students' knowledge of known words. Semantic mapping helps students visually organize and connect concepts, which reinforces their understanding of vocabulary they may already have encountered. Through this activity, students can expand their existing knowledge by generating new associations and categories related to familiar words, enhancing their comprehension of the topic.

It allows students to see the relationships between different words, thus solidifying their understanding and helping them to retrieve this information more easily in the future. Semantic maps encourage active engagement with words, moving students from surface-level recognition to deeper comprehension, which is crucial for effective vocabulary acquisition.