4 Steps to Teach Vocabulary Across the Day
September 23, 2024
I love words. I think most teachers do. When I read a word that I don’t know – or perhaps a word for which I can’t remember the definition – my curiosity is piqued. I may be able to figure out the meaning from the context. Or perhaps the root is like other words I know. Or maybe I need to turn to the dictionary. I relish these opportunities to expand my vocabulary.
I think kids like to learn new words too. Most kindergartners know about 10,000 words (and more if they speak multiple languages) and by the time they graduate high school they have dramatically expanded their vocabulary base to approximately 50,000 words. Most words are learned through context – listening to others, reading, exploring interests, watching videos, etc. Research confirms that developing students’ vocabulary is critical to their ability to fully comprehend and appreciate what they read.
As teachers we can help expand students’ vocabulary by adding vocabulary building goals to all of our lessons, and adding a vocabulary lesson structure to our repertoire of lesson types used. Below are four ways all teachers can actively, and easily, work vocabulary instruction into all subjects across the day.
1. Identify key words in the text ahead of time, no matter the lesson. Select only a few words for each lesson. As you read a text, think about which words your students likely not to know, and which words are most important to the learning objectives of your lesson. Scan for any Tier 2 vocabulary words in the text that will be important for them to know not only for this text but when reading others. Also consider if there are any words that expand upon vocabulary students have learned in other recent lessons. Note the words you want to highlight on your lesson plan and think about the type of support you’ll need to offer students. Maybe you’ll tuck in a quick definition. Maybe you’ll need to stop for a short discussion. No matter the subject, knowing critical words will advance your students’ understanding of the text and the content under study more generally.
2. Think aloud definitions during the lesson. When you come to a word in the text you planned to highlight, you might stop and offer a clear definition. If it’s a word you know your students will quickly understand, you can move on after a brief explanation. If the word requires greater clarification, you might provide synonyms or share an example. If your students remain puzzled, you’ll need to decide if you want to focus on that word during a vocabulary lesson (see tip #4) or if you should take the time to offer a deeper dive immediately. That will depend on your read of your students and how important the word is to students meeting the learning objectives of your current lesson.
3. Teach strategies to figure out words in context. As I noted earlier, most of our vocabulary is acquired through context. One strategy is to look and see if the definition is provided in the text, perhaps set off by commas. Another is look at other text features – illustrations, side bars, headers, etc. – that provide clarity. Or, have the students read the word aloud. Perhaps they know the word but have never seen it written. Another is to remind students to look at the root of the word as one way to figure out meaning from a base they already know.
4. Return to words students learned in context. To truly cement our knowledge of a new word, we need to go beyond definition. We need to know how to use the word, other words it is related to, concepts it represents, and what the word does not mean. You can support students’ deep processing of a word by asking yes/no and why questions, asking them to substitute another word in place of the original word where it appears in the text, and/or asking them to complete a sentence in a way that demonstrates that they understand how to use the word.
By artfully including vocabulary building in every lesson, we can teach students to be as curious, and as excited, about new words as we are.
For more information about incorporating vocabulary into every lesson in every subject, see Teaching Reading Across the Day at Corwin or Amazon.
For more information about strategies to teach vocabulary, see The Reading Strategies Book 2.0.