Vocabulary

Vocabulary (noun: voh-cab-you-lair-ee)

Vocabulary- sounds like a simple enough word, probably a word every American students have heard more than they prefer.
I associate the word, "vocabulary" with vocabulary words that were burned into my brain in elementary and middle school. I can recall getting handouts every week in which I was required to learn word that were, in no way, significant to me. All I knew was that I, essentially, needed to memorize definitions. This most commonly resulted in me acing the test and them immediately forgetting the terms. Vocabulary should be both receptive and productive. In other words, vocabulary words should be learned and taken in, but also understood and used in life.

I am a wordy person. I love word. So, all in all, I never really had any negative ideas towards it. I'm going to be honest and nerd out right now: just got an iPhone after renewing my plan. I immediately downloaded the Dictionary app. I learn new words every day, and I love it! (My endorsement is obviously English) :)

Anyway, my point in sharing this fun fact about myself is to say this: Many students do not nerd out this way and find learning new words and their meanings as burdensome.

After beginning my tutoring sessions with a third grade student, I quickly found out that vocabulary is not something that comes easy, especially in those younger grades. It is absolutely essential that strategies are implemented as soon as possible. 

I think the best thing teachers can do is make sure vocabulary is presented in the funnest way possible. Although I had my fair share of boring vocabulary lessons, I also had my fair share of teachers who made vocabulary fun. One of my favorite methods teachers use, and one that is pointed out in the text, is the incorporation of word walls. I feel that if a students is handed a sheet filled with word and definitions to memorize, they will simply see it as a study guide that can be tossed aside after staring at it blankly the night before a test. Word walls incorporate new words to students in such a way that they are introduced to it more frequently and are better able to relate it to their own lives.


-Em