We all know the significance of vocabulary instruction in our students academic and social development. We also know that there are many limitations and boundaries put on how much time we have to wholly focus on vocabulary in the classroom. Some teachers prefer a word-a-day strategy using a common list of academic grade level words. Others use a weekly program that includes a set of words that the students memorize, spell, and are tested on. And still others attempt to integrate vocabulary work into content instruction. Each of these forms of vocabulary instruction have their place, but far to often we fall into the habit of providing words and definitions to our students and then simply quizzing them on the vocab at the end of each unit. What are students really learning from the exercise of memorizing a list of words? We know they may gain some study skills, rote memorization skills, or even perseverance in a task, but have they developed a capacity to think deeply, problem solve, or build connections?
I have been grappling with my understanding and use of vocabulary instruction in the classroom over the past several weeks and came to this conclusion. Simply studying words and definitions is not enough, and will never be useful if we don't push our students to a higher level. My goal this past year was to integrate vocabulary into my daily content, rather than teach any separate word lists or use a vocabulary program. The thought was great, but the implementation of this idea takes some significant thought and work. For many of us, we need to see the value in the work we do and the growth in our students to make our effort seem worth it (see post on Putting in the Time). I have already found my time to be work it! The few strategies I have used and resources I have created already have had an impact on my students. This has encouraged me in continuing to develop appropriate vocabulary resources relevant to the content I teach.
Below I will share some of the resources I created around some of my classroom content, but in addition, I would love to share some simple strategies that you can implement with any set of vocabulary, whether a program or into content.
Mind Maps - A simple way for students to show their connections to words and their understanding of relationships between words. This is particularly useful in science instruction as many words have deep connections and include many similar root words.
Graphic Organizers - I tend to use the Frayer model, or a version of this with all my math and science vocabulary. These models allow students to think about synonyms/examples and antonyms/non-examples of words. They then make connections to other terms they may have background knowledge in.
Associations Game - This is a great whole class or small group activity (you can even adapt to be a partner game). Share one of the vocabulary words a student should be familiar with. Then another student calls out a similar/connected word. Then, another student calls out a word connected to the previously shared word. This continues around the group until you feel students have made connections/participated/etc. One way to engage students in deeper thought is to have them share how they made their connections as they call out new words.
Concept Map (Web) - Have students list a content topic in a box. They then list out 5-6 connected words to that topic. For each connected word, the students try to list 2-3 connected words. Connections can be synonyms to those words, examples of those words, or even words with similar prefixes/suffixes/root words.
Word Charts - Post a large chart in the classroom with set categories. Categories can include prefixes/suffixes/root words, subject areas, or word types (noun/verb/adjective). As students learn new words they can add them to the chart. This helps them make connections to previous knowledge, and shows their understanding of word relationships.
I could go on for several pages of vocabulary strategies and activities (this may require Vocabulary at Its Core Part 2). These are just a few of the ideas that can be implemented right away with little prep work. If you are interested in templates for some of these maps, check out Teachers Pay Teachers. Click HERE for a free graphic organizer of a Frayer model and other word map templates that can be used with any content area vocabulary.