Vocabulary

So many times, vocabulary instruction is thought of only as a means for reading comprehension.  I enjoyed reading this chapter because it went beyond reading comprehension and discussed what vocabulary instruction looks like and sounds like in various content areas.  This is important because vocabulary has a different purpose in each content area.  In English, for example, vocabulary instruction is more focused on word study; whereas, instruciton is more focused on technical vocabulary in Social Studies.  As quoted in the text: "vocabulary is as unique to a content area as fingerprints are to a human being." (Vacca and Vacca, p. 314) 

Of most interest to me was the portion of the text that stated, "Instrucion often relied on rote memorization of definitions followed by weekly vocabulary tests.  Words were rarely derived from texts the students were teaching."  I found this interesting because this is exactly how I was taught vocabulary.  Throughout my elementary years, we had a spelling book.  Each week we had a list of spelling words and a list of 10 vocabulary words that came from that spelling book.  While we wrote sentences with the words and did different activities with them, they were never words that we were coming in contact with in other content areas.  How much more meaningful would vocabulary words have been to me if my teachers had specially hand-picked vocabulary words from daily lessons and class readings?  I believe I would have a much wider vocabulary today if this had been the case. 

In my opinion, one of the most widely known vocabulary strategies is word walls; however, I also believe they are one of the most misused.  While I see word walls in almost every classroom I visit, I rarely see teachers and students "do" the strategy.  Word walls are meant to be an interactive tool for teachers to use to teach vocabulary and students to use to learn vocabulary, yet so many times word walls are just a list of words placed on a wall never to be revisited again.  It seems that organization may play a role here.  What can teachers do to ensure that word walls are not just decoration but a learning tool?

Overall, I think this chapter offers many fun and engaging activities for teaching vocabulary in both elementary and secondary education.  Among my favorites are "Said is Dead," "Shades of Meaning," and "Quiz Me Cards."