Vocabulary Strategies

Strategies

Vocabulary

Gestures

Movement

AWLs

Anchor Charts

Story Time

Collaboration

eLearning

Digital Learning

Tally It Up

Interactivity

What it means to know a word:

1. Generalization (Definition)
2. Application (Use the word)
3. Breadth (Multiple meanings)
4. Precision (Use it right)
5. Availability (Use in discussion and thinking)

Game Boards

Design

Alphaboxes

Non-Fiction

From Best Practices in Literacy Instruction (7th Ed.) by Morrow, Morrell, and Casey (2023).

Words Words Words

• From a book you’ve read aloud, identify some Tier 2 words you want students to become familiar with (maybe once a week).
• Write each word on a sentence strip.
• Add the word to a chart, reading the sentence from the book in which the word was found and discuss the meaning. Give students a sample sentence and have them come up with one.
• Tell students to be on the lookout for this word.
• Ask several students each day to share their “found” words.
• Have the child read a sentence, leaving the vocabulary word out for the other students to guess.
• Place a tally mark next to the word.
• “Retire” a word when slots on chart are full.

Alphaboxes

• Nonfiction texts
• Have a class discussion about topic
• Add words to Alphabox chart
• Paste Alphaboxes into content notebooks
• Go back and revisit

Academic Word Lists

• Have students create their own or have a list of academic vocabulary on an anchor chart
• Tier 2 words can come from specific stories or texts
• Which words would be good choices for your students and would afford you/them multiple opportunities to use the words?
• From Best Practices in Literacy Instruction (7th Ed.) by Morrow, Morrell, and Casey (2023).

eLearning

• Online vocabulary programs:
• Infercabulary.com
• NoRedInk.com
• Knoword.com
• You could integrate your own vocabulary on sites such as Kahoot, GimKit, Blooket, etc.

Infercabulary.com suggestion from Best Practices in Literacy Instruction (7th Ed.) by Morrow, Morrell, and Casey (2023).

Images or Gestures

1. Add a picture or a movement to support the child's learning 2. Use projector, SMART Board, iPad, other technology to show images 3. Use word wall for vocabulary From Best Practices in Literacy Instruction (7th Ed.) by Morrow, Morrell, and Casey (2023).

Story Time

1. Choose a favorite picture book to reread or rewrite as a script.
2. Substitute academic vocabulary for 2 or 3 of the words. Substituting adjectives or verbs works best!
3. Students can deduce the meaning of the word.
4. Students can act out or practice the new words.

From Best Practices in Literacy Instruction (7th Ed.) by Morrow, Morrell, and Casey (2023).

Game Board

Integrate vocabulary into a gameboard, or have students create their own gameboard using vocabulary in the gameplay through cards. (e.g. vocab words on Jenga pieces or the game Sorry with vocab words) This can be used in station rotations and vocabulary can be swapped out as needed. Digital gameboard templates could also be an option to integrate technology.