Vocabulary Doesn't Have to Be Boring

My most successful lessons are my vocabulary lessons, which are based off of Liz Towle’s methods. She did all the research and developing of these lessons and I’ve just piggybacked off what she gave us. Essentially, she did all the heavy lifting and I love teaching lessons I don’t have to plan myself; therefore, I deserve no credit for how well they have worked out. I’m not sure it counts as one teaching strategy, but it does utilize call-and-answer (very briefly); Think, Pair, Share; and contextual analysis.

I start by reading the text to be covered by my class. I make a list of words that my students may find potentially challenging or unfamiliar. I’ll narrow it down to five words, per Liz Towle’s suggestion. I will write up a short paragraph using each of the vocabulary words, hopefully referencing my students in some way. (They usually love to be mentioned or laugh with each other if I poke fun at one of their fellow classmates.) Each of the lesson presentations will follow this general order: 

1) A word puzzle that warms up critical thinking skills;

Can you guess the phrase? It works really well as directions for the next part!

2) call-and-answer with vocabulary pronunciation;

This is my students first look at the vocabulary words. I have them repeat each word aloud twice.

3) read the paragraph aloud twice (students listen the first time and raise their hands for context clues the second time); 

Paragraph length varies depending on how well the words work together. Sometimes they don't work together at all and my 'paragraph' ends up three slides long. If the paragraph gets super long, I provide my students with a print-out. Otherwise, they write it.

4) independently mark the paragraph for context clues and label what type of context clue it is (definition, synonym, antonym, inference), and define each word using context clues; 

I became super frustrated with some of my students when we first started doing vocabulary days because they wouldn't even try to guess the definition, so I added a special reminder to my instructions. I always ask them now what two answers are unacceptable and they can easily tell you "I don't know" and "no response."

5) discuss what they marked as context clues, how they labeled those clues, and their tentative definitions for the vocabulary words; 

6) use the dictionary definitions to correct the context-clue definitions; 

I remind them they only need to fix incorrect definitions. If what they have in their notebooks is similar to the dictionary definition, I tell them to leave it as is. They worked to create the definition using context clues, so why undo it?

7) and finally, use Think, Pair, Share to respond to questions involving the vocabulary words.

I usually have three student volunteers review each of the (last) three steps for Think, Pair, Share.

I wish I had thought of this question for precipitous when I taught this lesson in my class. It's honestly one of my favorites, with languor's slide being a close second.

Depending on the words, creating questions for Think, Pair, Share can range from easy to difficult. I know I have good question when my students are excited to discuss their responses or it gets a laugh.

8) Usually, that is enough to take up an entire class period. I typically include an extra slide with a bonus vocabulary activity. (The next day's bell ringer also uses the vocabulary words in some way.)

I try to add an extra challenge to vocabulary practice by having my students write sentences where they create their own context clues. This means they practice using the word in a sentence and think about the definition/what it means as they are writing.

Most of my students can get on board with this lesson. They are given several opportunities to participate. They can share what they think the context clues are, what the definitions might be, and their answers to the Think, Pair, Share questions (they are usually most enthusiastic about this part). At first, my students were afraid to guess wrong on the definitions, but now I think they recognize it as a doable, not-impossible lesson. They know now I won't make fun of them or invalidate their thought process for wrong guesses. (In fact, one of my Rewarding Teacher Moments™ was a student excitedly telling me that their Star Reading scores had improved and that the context clue lessons are what helped them the most on the test.) I think the numerous chances to speak also help engage them in the lesson.

On a more basic teaching-strategy level, Think, Pair, Share has worked excellently in my classroom. Do my students always understand why they need to write their responses first? Not necessarily. (I can’t find a satisfactory way to explain why this step is important beyond it’s the basis for building your spoken response). Do they enjoy the opportunity to talk with their fellow classmates during the lesson? Totally! I don’t think they realize that it helps build their responses and their confidence in their responses when we use Think, Pair, Share. It’s simple, interactive, and involves very little written work from the student. However, I know they are thinking about the question (whatever that question may be), even if it is just the five minutes we spend on it during Think, Pair, Share.