Academic vocabulary are words kids will see often in school, especially in textbooks and assessments, but are not always heard in everyday conversation. As a result, your students will be all over the place in terms of being able to understand these words and follow along with what they are being asked to do. While it’s impossible to teach every vocabulary word in isolation, it is helpful to select a group of words that kids will see over and over again, not just in ELA, but in all subject areas. Poster, notes, practice, and games are a great way to keep your students practicing these words all year long.
Posters
In my classroom, the kids are exposed to these words from day one with these posters. I purposely include them in my teaching and practice, so the kids can get used to hearing them, using them, and defining them. The more exposure they have, the more fluent they will become.
Practice
We also take notes and practice using the words. The kids put flashcards in their notebooks, so they can practice at any time. I have the words chunked into lists and quiz them on their meanings.
Fun!
Finally, games and puzzles that we can turn to whenever we have a little extra time keep the kids working with the words all year long. Bingo!, Memory, “I Have… Who Has…”, and word searches are great anchor activities to keep your students practicing.
Do you incorporate academic vocabulary into your instruction? I’d love to hear how! Drop me a comment or pop over to Facebook or Instagram and join the conversation!
Yes! Finally someone who is saying what I’ve been saying. I have told my admin multiple times that my students know HOW to answer the test questions the problem is they didn’t know the academic vocabulary. In other words, they don’t know what the test is asking them to do so they can’t show what they know. I teach academic vocabulary all year and we love to have quizlet live practice where they compete in teams to see who knows the most vocab. My students grow leaps and bounds over the course of the year in comparison to teachers who never teach academic vocabulary. Next year I’m going to have my students create a vocabulary notebook like you have shown so that they can learn even more.
Great ideas and suggestions! The posters, practice, and fun is a nice way to remember how I can begin to implement. I do not teach ELA, but the vocabulary is vital to every subject.