In college, I tutored an elementary student in science. She had been absent and missed a vocabulary assignment. With her list of words in front of her, I decided to conduct an experiment. I turned to the word in the Spanish glossary and she started writing. Keep in mind, she was an English-speaking student and still wrote until the end. I told her to go back and read what she had written. It was then that she realized it wasn’t even in her language. Students do not process vocabulary by simply copying the definition. They must process it and apply it to truly grasp it. What started as good intentions to understand content has simply turned into busy work for the student. Often, vocabulary words are given without context and in a long list. When this happens, students are overwhelmed and can’t truly learn them. (Guerra 2023)

I’m sure thinking back to your time as a student, you can recall mindlessly copying the definitions for many words that you forgot a week later (or never learned at all.) Superficial instruction does not result in gains in vocabulary. (Block & Mangieri 2006) This is not to say that learning vocabulary is not important, it is quite the opposite. Learning vocabulary provides students with the capability to take in new information more efficiently and vocabulary growth is directly proportional to school achievement. (Miller n.d.) It’s in the methods of teaching the vocabulary that makes all the difference. Stahl (2006) said, “The knowledge of a word not only implies a definition, but also implies how that word fits into the world.” Learning vocabulary must move from a memorization technique to an understanding technique. (Guerra 2023) Here, you will find many strategies that help turn vocabulary from a form of passive learning to active learning to maximize the learning experience for your students.

Block, C.C., Mangieri, J.N. (2006). The Vocabulary-Enriched Classroom: Practices for Improving the Reading Performances of All Students in Grades 3 and Up. New York: Scholastic Inc.

Guerra, J. (2023, November 12). 3 reasons why I don’t assign vocabulary words. Excelsior Classes. https://excelsiorclasses.com/3-reasons-dont-assign-vocabulary-words/

Miller, J. B. (n.d.) The Importance of Vocabulary. JCFS Chicago. https://www.jcfs.org/blog/importance-vocabulary#:~:text=Since%20comprehension%20is%20the%20ultimate,that%20word%20in%20their%20vocabulary.

Stahl, S. A., & Nagy, W. E. (2006). Teaching word meanings. Lawrence 

    Erlbaum Associates Publishers.