This strategy was directly influenced/stolen from a Kylene Beers' speech at NCTE in 2005. I don't remember the exact structure she used, but my version is the same basic idea as hers. She's awesome - and a great speaker.
This stragey uses the following worksheet: http://timfredrick.pbwiki.com/f/Vocabulary%20template.doc
You put the word in the center circle. On the upper left hand quadrant, you elicit from the students everything they know about what the word is. The upper right quadrant is for what the word is not. The lower left is for connections to memory or prior knowledge about the work. The lower right is to draw an image that relates to the word. The idea is that all of this really gets at the sense of the word. As we all know, sometimes students can know the definition, but not know the meaning.
Typically, I will put one of these on the transparency machine or Smart Board, do one together, and have them do one for another word.