Give a list of vocabulary words to look up in the dictionary, write a sentence, and then take a quiz on Friday…… these practices have come and gone! Not only do the students not enjoy this process, it isn’t a best practice.
Research has shown that teaching new words without context (teaching just definitions) will not improve reading comprehension. Here are three BIG reasons, supported by research, why you should throw out the vocabulary list. And if you want to read even more, I suggest starting with No More “Look Up The List” Vocabulary Instruction by Charlene Cobb and Camille Blachowicz, as well as Bringing Words to Life by Isabel Beck, Margaret McKeown, and Linda Kucan! (These two book links are Amazon affiliate links. When you buy through these links, Amazon gives me a few cents which I contribute to my fabulous blog giveaways!)
Words must be presented in context for proper comprehension.
Picture books are vital – yes, even in the upper grades – to allow students to use the images to help with context and infer meaning of words. One way to present vocabulary words effectively is to teach through texts you are already using for other lessons. As Irene Fountas and Gay Pinnell remind us in Guiding Readers and Writers (2001), “if you really know a word, you can:
Words must be used over time or they won’t “stick.”
In order to effectively employ vocabulary instruction, it is crucial to present opportunities for students to make connections between the words and concepts, and provide repeated exposures to the words. One suggestion from Charlene Cobb and Camille Blachowicz is to have a word wall- but not one that remains on the wall untouched all year. It should be used regularly, with student input.
Definitions mean nothing when the relationship is unknown.
Think of how many words can be used as a noun, an adjective, AND a verb, depending on how it is used, or even as one part of speech having several meanings. How are students supposed to figure this out when given a list? Answer: they don’t. They pick the shortest definition and write it!
You probably know, previewing is so important for comprehension… but that rule does not apply to vocabulary, unless you present it completely in context! In other words, it is not necessary to always “preview” words before reading a text, because the students don’t understand the context. Beck, McKeown, and Kucan advise the best time to introduce the meaning of a word is when it is encountered in the text. This can also be done after reading the entire text by referring back to the pages where the word is found.
THROW OUT THE LIST!
LEARN EVEN MORE about how to incorporate ongoing vocabulary activities with ANY words all year long:
Read the next post of this vocabulary blogging series!
Visit the vocabulary category in my TpT store!
This is a cheap and easy game to play with your students to review vocabulary (because remember, we want students to use and remember the words, not just talk about them for a week and move on to new words). All you need is a couple of cheap, plastic flyswatters (or you can use these amazing swatters 
Don’t forget about those listening and speaking standards! This exercise is a great way to help students learn to listen to each other and practice using vocabulary words. If the vocabulary words are specific to a certain topic, this will work better because the students are not going to “stretch” to try to incorporate the words. Group your students with three or four students in each group (any more and they may not all get a chance to talk). One student begins the discussion by asking a question that incorporates a vocabulary word (and it can’t be, “What does demolish mean?” but rather, “What happens to a building when it is demolished?”) to the next student. That student should answer the question, taking as much time as needed to respond, and then ask the next student a question that incorporates another vocabulary word. The other students should nod or shake their head to indicate if they agree or disagree with the student answering the question. They may only speak out of turn if the student answering chooses to call on someone shaking their head to indicate that they disagree.
Analogies can be tricky to teach at first, but once students understand the setup and connections, it is really great for higher order thinking skills! Students will learn to apply logical reasoning and think critically in order to finish analogies. And of course, these exercises are going to strengthen their understanding of vocabulary. The most helpful tip when teaching students to solve analogies is to have them create a sentence with one side. This will help them think of how to “fill” the sentence with the other side of the analogy.
