Researchers have stated that vocabulary deficiencies are a primary cause of academic failure in grades 3 through 12 (Baumann and Kameenui 1991; Stanovich 1986; Becker 1977). These researchers profess that direct and explicit instruction of a set number of vocabulary words will improve academic success in all content areas. Stahl and Fairbanks (1986) suggest that teaching students 350 words each year may improve learning by as much as 10 to 30%.

Over the course of the year, we have taken a look at five vocabulary activities designed for the various ways a person learns: flashcards, sentence writing, pictographs, vocab squares, and quiz a partner.

Your final task is to choose the study method that you found most effective for you. This weekend, you are to then employ your chosen strategy to demonstrate word understanding.

Remember, you get out what you put in. Now, it’s time for me to back that up. If you are willing to put in the work this weekend, you will be rewarded on Tuesday’s final.

Focus on words you haven’t fully embedded into memory, use 1 strategy or some combination of strategy to demonstrate word recognition. For every 20 ideal sentences or 20 pictographs or 10 squares or 2 quizzes (10 q’s each) –you will earn a vocab skip. Earn up to 10 skips on the final.

Building and recognizing context and connotation

Poor- The man was abominable for what he did.

Ok- The abominable man knocked the old lady down.

Ideal- The man’s actions were abominable, for he first stole a gun then used it to hold up a bank.

An activity for the visual learner

A pictograph could be defined as a written picture…that is a picture that has a word (a vocab word) written into the illustration; the key concept is that a visual learner can not only see the image but the word as well and make a connection between the word and the the content of the image

Ms. Ambrosini’s favorite whole word and making connections

activity

VOCAB WORD

Picture Clue Word clue (synonym)

Ideal Sentence(use it in another form)

Reminds me of…

PIOUS

Devoted, dedicated

The man’s piousness was evident when he showed his dedication to the cause by donating time and money.

Reminds me of…

A pious priest