Building Vocabulary
As I've learned from Dr. Rees-Miller, building vocabulary is problematic. Studies have shown that the time honored method of asking students to look up words in the dictionary, and to then construct sentences demonstrating their newfound knowledge, doesn't really work--unless you think sentences like "My family erodes a lot" (from the dictionary definition of "eating away") serve any useful purpose other than entertainment. Yet how many teachers continue to use this as their primary method for teaching vocabulary? And do weekly vocabulary quizzes really accomplishing anything? If our intention as educators is to introduce new words into the student's working vocabulary, doesn't it make more sense to emphasize semantics and usage, rather than rote memorization?
The results of research on language acquisition suggest a number of things concerning the teaching of vocabulary. Research suggests that providing students with a model sentence using the word--rather than asking them to construct their own from a dictionary definition--helps them create better sentences themselves. Research has also shown that students need to be exposed to a new word multiple times in order to remember it. And it isn't terribly surprising to learn that children who don't read outside the classroom don't perform well on vocabulary tests. Research suggests that learning words in some kind of context is definitely the way to go.
Books are available now that present vocabulary words entirely in context. Dad recently sent me a Miami Herald review of two new books that specifically target SAT/ACT vocabulary: Charles Harrington Elster's Test of Time, and Karen Chapman's The Marino Mission. After doing some searching on Amazon.com, I ordered four books for Rachel (and me!). The Elster and Chapman books are novels using SAT vocabulary words, which are bolded and defined. Thanks to book designers who understand that one can never underestimate the laziness of adolescents, Chapman's word definitions are included right on the same page. I also ordered a book that retells the story of The Wizard of Oz with beefed-up vocabulary (The Wizard of Oz Vocabulary Builder)--definitions also on the same page--and that is destined to find a treasured place in the Barone household. Unfortunately, Test of Time has definitions at the end of the book, but the story seems interesting and funny. Finally, I bought Vocabulary Cartoons, in which each word is illustrated with a cartoon, as well as quotations from literature. Later I found a book that uses a visualization technique to help get words into long-term memory, called 500 Key Words for the SAT, And How to Remember Them Forever! It would be fun to experiment with various methods to help students master new words.
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