Most of us have read the research that says giving kids lists of words and having them learn and spit back definitions doesn’t work. It doesn’t grow kids’ vocabularies. Not really. I’ve read the research (and agree with it), but I still struggle with devising an organized system for teaching vocabulary. I like order–at least some semblance of order–and I’m finding it hard to wrangle this vocabulary beast.
I’m trying to make sure any system I devise adheres to these two principles:
- The words aren’t devoid of context. They are tied to a text.
- Students have time to play with the words–manipulate them, explore them, use them.
I still haven’t quite tweaked a system, but I’m discovering lots of cool ways to let kids play with words. I’ve written before about using mini dry erase boards. Kids love that. Today, I discovered a new tool: Google Sets. It allows you to type in five words, and Google will magically generate a set of related words. Very cool.
Today in class, I had kids work in small groups to brainstorm a list of words that mean “fat.” I then gave them the word “corpulent,” displaying it on Wordnik. We looked at several synonyms, talked about the denotation and connotations of the words, clustered them into groups based on their connotations, and wound up adding several ACT (or SAT) words: obese, portly, rotund to the vocabulary section of their binders. We then read “Sidekicks,” a poem which contains the word “corpulence.”
I didn’t know about Google Sets today. I’ll be using it in future word play lessons. I’m thinking it 
would be a great way to learn tone words. We, for example, might start with the word “angry.” Students could type in four other words that mean “angry,” and generate a set. We could add these words to an “angry” page in our binders (and draw a picture of angry to help them remember), and then add words that mean the same as “angry.” We might then read a text that has an angry tone. I’m thinking “A Dream Deferred” might be a good text. They could choose the “angry” word that best pinpoints the author’s tone.
I’d love to hear other teachers’ ideas or systems for teaching vocabulary.
Andrew McC
April 9, 2011
Hi there, thanks for your post, really like the ideas of google sets and wordnik. I teach a secondary set of students with low literacy and we have had all sorts of trouble learning vocab for ‘The Great Gatsby.’ We have been trying out Quizlet as a way to move the basics of vocab work into their homes and out of the classroom. It’s a little slow getting a whole class registered but from there we can generate flashcards very quickly. The website then automatically generates four activities/games including a test that you can track and monitor progress on. Also, it allows groups which avoids security issues. Also, students can chat whilst on at the same time, see the best scores and have a little healthy competition. So far, intrinsically motivating for some, not 100% effective with all students but a good first run. One student has even downloaded the flashcards onto his phone using Ace Flashcards. Involvement was encouraged by some short formal tests at first, but now has moved to more informal questions about the meaning of words. Hope this is some help. Andrew
Lisa Huff
April 9, 2011
@Andrew: What a great idea. I’ve used Quizlet in the past but haven’t explored the “healthy competition” aspect. I’m currently reading The Great Gatsby with my students. I think I’ll give Quizlet a try. Thanks for sharing.
Dena
May 15, 2013
I am just now finding this and I don’t know if you still look at it after 3 years. Vocabulary was a challenge for me at first but I looked at some read180 resources a junior high Enhlish teacher showed me and mixed them with Kagan learning techniques in my senior class.
1. Give a short list of words (10)
2. Students form groups of four and work together to find dictionary definitions (they split the words so everyone is accountable)
3. They find a synonym and antonym for each word
4. We come together as a whole group and create sentences with context clues
5. They partner off and create a short analysis of whatever literature we are reading together and insert 5 words of their choice from the list
6. To assess them I assign a full length analytical essay using all vocabulary words (they can change the way the word is used and this is usually after they have a total of 20 words)
The essay can either be written in class or as an outside assignment (if outside I require it to fit MLA format)
7. For my incision students I write an analysis & have them fill in the blanks