Vocabulary
What is it and how does it work?
Vocabulary is the meaning of the word and it is significant in reading because of its usefulness in understanding the piece or concept as a whole. Students who struggle in this area cannot tell the teacher what a word means, cannot accurately point out a picture that represents the word, nor can they provide synonyms or antonyms in relation to that word. Researchers assert that this skill should be taught explicitly by activating prior knowledge and ensuring success through repetition and reinforcement. Students can learn two to three new words a day when instructional strategies are based on active processing and are applied in a meaningful context!
Research Based Intervention Strategies
Providing Experiences
The best way for a student to internalize the meaning of a word or concept is for him to experience it firsthand and connect it with prior knowledge. By providing a scenario for the students to participate in, engaging their bodies and minds, they have a higher probability of making personal connections and accurately applying a word’s meaning.
Semantic Mapping
Semantic word mapping, usually done via graphic organizers, is taught by creating a web of related words that correlate with the main topic, activate the students’ knowledge of other words and establish connections between the new vocabulary and their background knowledge. This should occur before the reading of the text because pre-teaching the vocabulary allows for improved comprehension. These graphic organizers should be “consistent” among subject areas, “coherent” to make “complex concepts more comprehensible,” and “creative” to meet the vast needs of students with RD.
Vocabulary Cards
This is not the old fashioned index cards with the words on the front and the definition on the back. It's much, much more than that! Researchers criticize that traditional method, but praise the more effective practice of using cards to link terms and definitions with visuals. In this method the students divide the cards into four boxes and write the new vocabulary word in one box, draw a picture that evokes a personal connection in another box, write a self-selected definition in another empty box and jot down synonyms in the final box. These cards can come in handy for playing review games with vocabulary such as charades, Pictionary or Jeopardy.
Cross Curricular Extensions
Many teachers claim that the hardest part about teaching vocabulary is that some words are very content specific or have many meanings (homonyms). When this situation occurs in a content specific class, like social studies or science, teachers are in the position of not only teaching and reinforcing their content specific definition, but also replacing the student’s previously learned word meanings. The word volume is a good example of a homonym because it has various meanings in Math, Science, Social Studies, English Language Arts and as in most students' experiences - it's the button that controls the volume on a TV. In addition, because some terms are so content specific they are considered low frequency words, and as with any concept, the less exposure to a specific definition, the fewer opportunities the students have to internalize the word meanings. Using the various vocabulary strategies as a whole school, via cross-curricular opportunities, will help students’ overall comprehension by moving them beyond memorizing definitions to comparing and contrasting how concepts interrelate.
Metacognition
Metacognition is a fancy way of saying, "getting students to start thinking about the way they think." One metacognitive skill is to know how you study best; some people need silence and repetition while others can study while listening to music. By demonstrating various techniques for learning vocabulary, allowing the students to practice the assortment of tactics, and supporting them in applying strategies that best fit their unique learning style, the teacher is motivating the students to process their learning metacognitively. Indeed, exposing the students to a variety of techniques for supporting more student-centered, vocabulary-focused activities may support the goal of helping students become more independent learners in the various disciplines.
The best way for a student to internalize the meaning of a word or concept is for him to experience it firsthand and connect it with prior knowledge. By providing a scenario for the students to participate in, engaging their bodies and minds, they have a higher probability of making personal connections and accurately applying a word’s meaning.
Semantic Mapping
Semantic word mapping, usually done via graphic organizers, is taught by creating a web of related words that correlate with the main topic, activate the students’ knowledge of other words and establish connections between the new vocabulary and their background knowledge. This should occur before the reading of the text because pre-teaching the vocabulary allows for improved comprehension. These graphic organizers should be “consistent” among subject areas, “coherent” to make “complex concepts more comprehensible,” and “creative” to meet the vast needs of students with RD.
Vocabulary Cards
This is not the old fashioned index cards with the words on the front and the definition on the back. It's much, much more than that! Researchers criticize that traditional method, but praise the more effective practice of using cards to link terms and definitions with visuals. In this method the students divide the cards into four boxes and write the new vocabulary word in one box, draw a picture that evokes a personal connection in another box, write a self-selected definition in another empty box and jot down synonyms in the final box. These cards can come in handy for playing review games with vocabulary such as charades, Pictionary or Jeopardy.
Cross Curricular Extensions
Many teachers claim that the hardest part about teaching vocabulary is that some words are very content specific or have many meanings (homonyms). When this situation occurs in a content specific class, like social studies or science, teachers are in the position of not only teaching and reinforcing their content specific definition, but also replacing the student’s previously learned word meanings. The word volume is a good example of a homonym because it has various meanings in Math, Science, Social Studies, English Language Arts and as in most students' experiences - it's the button that controls the volume on a TV. In addition, because some terms are so content specific they are considered low frequency words, and as with any concept, the less exposure to a specific definition, the fewer opportunities the students have to internalize the word meanings. Using the various vocabulary strategies as a whole school, via cross-curricular opportunities, will help students’ overall comprehension by moving them beyond memorizing definitions to comparing and contrasting how concepts interrelate.
Metacognition
Metacognition is a fancy way of saying, "getting students to start thinking about the way they think." One metacognitive skill is to know how you study best; some people need silence and repetition while others can study while listening to music. By demonstrating various techniques for learning vocabulary, allowing the students to practice the assortment of tactics, and supporting them in applying strategies that best fit their unique learning style, the teacher is motivating the students to process their learning metacognitively. Indeed, exposing the students to a variety of techniques for supporting more student-centered, vocabulary-focused activities may support the goal of helping students become more independent learners in the various disciplines.
Links for Teachers and Parents
k12 Reader is a website that offers effective reading strategies involving explicit and implicit vocabulary strategies.
Reading Rockets Teaching Vocabulary offers some excellent lesson models for teaching vocabulary, explaining idioms, fostering word consciousness, instruction for English Language Learners, and mnemonic strategies.
Vocabulary Activities is another teacher's site that provides strategies, games and organizers.
Scholastic's Concept Definition Map is a good example of how to teach, use and assess semantic maps.
Scholastic's Guidelines for Teaching Vocabulary offers another good example of semantic mapping for younger students (grades 3 & 4).
This Youtube video explains why the old fashioned ways of teaching vocabulary is ineffective and gives advice on how to support learning vocabulary in more meaningful ways.
Reading Rockets Teaching Vocabulary offers some excellent lesson models for teaching vocabulary, explaining idioms, fostering word consciousness, instruction for English Language Learners, and mnemonic strategies.
Vocabulary Activities is another teacher's site that provides strategies, games and organizers.
Scholastic's Concept Definition Map is a good example of how to teach, use and assess semantic maps.
Scholastic's Guidelines for Teaching Vocabulary offers another good example of semantic mapping for younger students (grades 3 & 4).
This Youtube video explains why the old fashioned ways of teaching vocabulary is ineffective and gives advice on how to support learning vocabulary in more meaningful ways.
