Humanities 

Building vocabulary (continued)

In the last Newslink, we reported on the importance of students learning complex vocabulary. Here we describe how particular words are taught.

What helps students learn complex vocabulary?

Educational researchers like Isabel Beck and Robert Marzano recommend that students be explicitly taught complex vocabulary. Rather than assuming students will naturally acquire words through reading or over time, efforts should be made to teach students the meaning of words in a direct and ‘student-friendly’ way. This starts with students being provided with definitions — but not in the way you might expect.

What’s the problem with traditional dictionary definitions?

The main purpose of a traditional dictionary definition is to classify or categorise words. These definitions might be hard for students to understand or use. By contrast, ‘student-friendly’ descriptions of words are designed to be easily applied. For example, a traditional dictionary definition of “alter” might be “to make or become different in some respect”. A student-friendly description might be: “If you alter something, you change it”.  

Where are students recording these descriptions?

Year 7-11 Humanities students have been recording their target words in ‘vocabulary logs’. For each word, they write a friendly description, list some synonyms, antonyms or examples, and draw an image to help them remember the word. The images are important, because the brain processes information in both ‘logogens’ (words) and ‘imagens’ (pictures).

Ask your child to show you their vocab log, or see the photos here for some examples.

How else are the words taught?

In addition to entering words in their vocab logs, students are given opportunities to pronounce the words, discuss the meanings of words, practise writing them in sentences, and engage in ‘word games’. All of these activities are important because regular revision helps students to remember words and understand how they apply in different contexts.

In coming Newslinks, we’ll go into more detail about word games and vocabulary testing.

Dear Editor

Ms Dixon’s Hey Big Spender class has been comparing organic and non-organic foods. Their research included a blind taste test and price comparison (see photos), and culminated in students writing letters to the editor on the issue.

Here is an extract from Cara Woodman’s letter:

“Dear Editor … I strongly believe that organic food is better than non-organic food. Non-organic food is filled with pesticides, antibiotics, steroids, herbicides, synthetic fertilisers, and many other chemicals that make us sick. Organic food is also friendlier to the environment [as it uses] physical weed control, and animal and green manure. …”

Photos 1 & 2: Students’ vocab log entries for “immune” and “unanimous”.

Photos 3 & 4: The Hey Big Spender class tests organic and non-organic foods.