Multiple Exposures, Key Vocabulary and the K-U-D

Cindy Riedl
Dec 13, 2010

Too many of us continue to view vocabulary instruction with annoyance because it infringes on our time for preparation and delivery. We are defeated before we start. On top of which, we feel guilty because we know that an expansive personal vocabulary contributes in all sorts of ways to success in and beyond school. We know how critical a rich vocabulary impacts reading and writing success for our at-risk learners, yet we struggle with a commitment to pervasive vocabulary instruction. Suppose it was fun and easy to apply, not just for your students but for you to?

First answer these questions. When you introduce a new word do you use humor when presenting or explaining its meaning? Do you create connections using rhyme, rhythm or music, emotion or movement? Do you use the word in a variety of different ways and in different forms? Do you demonstrate how to connect the word to real life experiences and to words and ideas your students already know? Do you act out or demonstrate with emotion the meaning of the word or model the process suggested by the word using examples, such as evaluating something, inferring or generating ideas? These questions represent only a few alternatives to the ho hum scripted instructional techniques that teachers have been using for years with little satisfaction or impact on student learning.

Make a commitment beyond lots of reading experiences, high-quality conversations and repeated experiences of hearing a range of interesting words for your students by trying the following activities that are highly motivational and engaging for you and your students. Many of these strategies were adapted from Joy MacKenzie's fold out book, Making Vocabulary Unforgettable at Incentive Publications.

Let's look beyond Marzano's 6 steps and examine the 5 steps that Joy Mackenzie recommends (please note that many of her steps are similar to the expectations established in the book, Robust Vocabulary Instruction). The intension is not to select one or the other but to create your own blend when ‘explicitly' teaching new words.

5 Begin by pronouncing each word and asking students to repeat it in unison. (Say it first, exaggerating the accented syllables; then pronounce it normally).
4 Identify familiar parts of the word and make connections to known words. From this information, let students predict the word meaning and connect it to other similar words.
3 Do something that draws your students into the word, i.e. paraphrasing, making a real world connection, movement).
2 Ask students if they can already use the word in a context that will give a clue to its meaning and solicit already known synonyms or antonyms, i.e. Think-Pair-Share.
1 Suggest fun connections or whacky mnemonic devices - the more outlandish, the better.

Practical and Quick Word Learning Practice

Physical Synectics

Creates high student involvement. Spread the contents of one or more purses, pockets or junk drawers on a tabletop. Assign a vocabulary word to each pair of students. Direct them to scan the objects on the table to find one that can be associated in some way with their word. The challenge is to use the name of the object and the word sensibly in a sentence, i.e. Sun block lotion will mitigate the chance of sun burn.

Let It Roll

Each group of four students is given a dice. The student who rolls the largest number selects a word from one of the Word Walls in the classroom and must create a question that can be answered by the word. The student who rolled the lowest number gets first choice in saying the word. To modify this activity, students can use a word bank or questions provided by the teacher on an overhead or SMART Board. The game resumes and continues for 10 minutes.

Memory Mnemonics

Pairs or small groups work together to create sentences, riddles, jokes, or phrases that contain both the assigned vocabulary word and a mnemonic to help them remember the meaning of the word. Examples: The auto workers of DETROIT are ADROIT at building cars. Lumber mill LOGISTICS consist of LOGS and STICKS. The lobster preferred EMBROILING to BOILING.

Cartoon It

Students work in pairs to create a cartoon that will help them remember the meaning of words. For instance, ask students to draw "A COPIOUS CUP of coffee." "A PIOUS PIE." "GREGARIOUS GREG was HILARIOUS." "ED getting some EDIFICATION while on VACATION."

Make Them Laugh

Use humor when you present or explain a word to students. Then, once they know a word's meaning, pair them up and let them create a way to use humor to teach it to someone else. Pairs take turns sharing their humor with the class. Example: SWELTERING in a sweater is not the coolest way to diet. As a climber climbs a mountain, the CLIMATE gets colder. Since Santa couldn't take all the reindeer, Comet became the REMAINDER.

Set the Alarm!

Plant two or three hidden alarm clocks in the room, set them to go off at different unexpected moments during the class period. When an alarm sounds, pull a stick with a student's name on it from the class name can. The student whose name you draw, finds the alarm, turns it off and brings it to you where it is traded for a vocabulary word with a descriptive meaning. The student's job is to silently demonstrate the meaning of the word, while the other students try to guess the word.

‘Hook' Them!

Assign one or more vocabulary words to a pair or trio of students. Explain what a billboard advertisement looks like and provide examples. The purpose of a billboard is to hook the billboard readers to try a product, come to an event, support a cause, or patronize a place of business. The assigned words must appear in print as part of the ad along with any illustrations that are needed to support it. Students present their billboards to the class and they are displayed.

Digging Deeper Deepens Knowledge

Deepen student understanding and broaden their knowledge of words and concepts by asking them to build a list of one or more of the following about the word or the idea named by the word:
(1) Causes, effects, implications, consequences
(2) Situations in which you have seen or heard about the word
(3) People (or places) that might be associated with the word

Make It Interactive

Challenge student teams (groups of 4) to come up with 20 ways to use the Word Wall in eight minutes. Teams of 20 or more ideas are winners. Chart ideas and post where you or a student can select an idea to use for guided practice.

Use It or Lose It!

Encourage frequent use of new or past vocabulary by modeling it in conversations with students. Reward students who identify the word with a special "applause.” When students use new or past words in conversations and you or one of your students identify the word being used, use a special "applause" by the CLAPPER or a silent applause with a thumb and a finger together.

Mind Readers

Have students create cards with the vocabulary word on the front in large print and the description of the word on the back of the card. Pairs take turns with their vocabulary cards trying to identify the words meaning. Student A reads the description of the word and then holds it on his forehead. Student B asks questions to determine what the word means if he/she cannot provide the correct description. Students switch places when the correct description is given. This process can be reversed, student A provides descriptive prompts of the word; student B identifies the word.

Give One! Get One!

Have students fold paper to create six or nine squares. Identify a vocabulary word for each box (on an overhead or chart paper), as your students record each word. Allow students to partner and rehearse the meaning or a synonym of each word. After rehearsal, have students walk around the room exchanging the meaning of one word for the meaning of another. Once they have recorded the meanings of all their words on their paper, they sit down. The first person to sit down and have accurate responses wins a prize. You can also reverse this process by providing a matrix of definitions. Students then can identify the word that corresponds with the definition.

Word games provide practice that students need to ‘play' with words so that their usage becomes automatic. These are just a few. A plan must be in place to assure that word practice occurs often and is highly interactive.

Assess word knowledge periodically and rigorously. Make evaluations unexpected in form and content. Think of inviting, amusing and unusual ways to determine what has been learned. Alter how you evaluate often and without notice. Include analogies that can be completed only when word meanings are fully understood. Immerse reasoning skills into test items. Require a show of understanding or an application of the word. Evaluate with oral questions or directions to draw, apply or demonstrate meanings.

Examples:

  • Describe or draw an illustration of where you are if you are in solitude.

  • How would you cajole someone into doing your chores?

  • Draw something that would oscillate.

  • What is the logical thing to do when you encounter a juggernaut?

  • How is acclaim often the consequence of fame?

  • The math teacher tells the class to be ready for a quiz at any moment. Is the quiz eminent or imminent?

  • Demonstrate how a camel might amble.

  • Where would you find a diction?

  • Write a question that you would ask a culprit.

  • List three things that are known to be ductile.

  • What can you do when you reach a summit?

  • How do doctors provide succor to their patients?


Teaching vocabulary does not have to be tedious or a burden to avoid. Take the plunge and make your instruction, activities and assessments vibrate vigorously for you and your students!