Ch. 7 - Mastering the Art of Effective Vocabulary Instruction

I have always thought graphic organizers a somewhat cumbersome idea for teaching math vocabulary (don’t ask me why), but after reading this chapter I am particularly interested in the idea of using Concept Circles. I think I could begin this at the start of a lesson and students could build as we move through the unit. They could even provide examples. I think this would work better for more complex words that need extra examples.

Generally, when I teach vocabulary to students, we begin by talking about other words that remind us of the new word and we break down the word by its prefix/suffix and root when possible. Then, I use the word in a sentence; they look up the word using the dictionary on their laptop and we discuss the meaning for clarity; they write the word in a sentence such that the meaning is easily inferred; and, finally, we make up silly sentences (and sometimes actions) using the vocabulary word (e.g., acute angle – a cute little angle, “little” meaning less than 90 degrees). Students also build a word wall in the room. The words are written on separate sheets of large print paper that also includes the definition and an example or two. The students are able to refer to this throughout the year.