If you followed Marzano's first step, your students now have the vocabulary terms and a definition, explanation or example of each.

Great, but we want our students to be able to do more than just recite back the definition they were given (rote memorization); we want them to understand and be able to apply them.

So, how do we get our students to be able to make deeper connections to the words so they can understand and apply them?

​Dr. Marzano says the next step is to have students re-state the definitions in their own words.  This is kink of the Social Studies version of showing your work in math - it lets us see their thinking and connections.  I achieve this step in a couple of different ways...

1. Vocabulary Charts - On the first vocabulary day of each unit, part of my students' assignment is to put the definition into their own words on their unit's vocabulary sheet.
2. "Partner Clues" Warm Up Activity - One of my variety of daily vocabulary warm up activities is called "Partner Clues".  In pairs, one student picks a work from the list and defines it in their own words for their partner who then tries to guess the term.  If the partner is correct, they switch, if not, they get another clue (the first partner tries a different definition).

This same concept is built into the "Turn and Talks" I embed in most of my interactive notes presentations to help my students understand the content better by hearing their peers put it into their own words.

So, if you are interested in seeing more great interactive vocabulary resources, be sure to click the link below, and also check out the rest of my store for more great interactive Social Studies resources!

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I used to be a big believer in having students look up content vocabulary terms in dictionaries when I introduced new vocabulary.  I thought they'd learn all sorts of other words while looking up our words.  I even had them write the definitions in their own words.  I thought I knew it all. 

Then, I quickly noticed my students when (if) they found the correct word would look at all the various definitions and select the shortest.  Where I'd intended for them to understand that pyramids were amazing buildings built by the Egyptians among others, they'd wind up telling me that they were geometric shapes.

So, how do we fix this?  We listen to Dr. Marzano, and when we introduce new terms, we also provide easy to understand definitions in student-friendly words and show them examples.  In the example above, when we study ancient Egypt, I now provide them with the word (Pyramid), a definition (a huge building built by Egyptians), and show pictures of several of them.

What's happening in your students' brains is they are building connections between the word, the definition and an image.  These connections deepen with practice over time, and help your students visualize the word when they encounter it later.

When I introduce new vocabulary, we do it over two days.  The first day, students are given all of the words and definitions for the unit, and the second day, we use vocabulary task cards that use the same words, same definitions and introduce images for each term that students move around in collaborative groups completing various activities with them.  These two days are then followed up with brief daily vocabulary activities throughout the unit which will be described in later posts.

If you want to see my World History or American History Vocabulary Task Cards, click the link below, and don't forget to check out the rest of my store for more great Social Studies resources!

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I love words.  Discovering new words, using old words in new ways, and, as a teacher, helping students learn content vocabulary.  But how?  What are the most effective ways to help students learn and apply content vocabulary terms?  It may shock all the middle school teachers I had growing up to learn that the best way is NOT to give out weekly vocabulary lists on Mondays for vocabulary/spelling tests on Fridays.  This approach both does not install long term retention of the terms, it also rarely instills a love of words or an ability to apply them beyond that week's test.

So, if rote memorization of weekly vocabulary lists isn't the answer, what is?  Fortunately, Dr. Marzano did all the research for us and created his 6 Steps of Vocabulary Instruction!

1. Provide a description, explanation or example of the term
2. Have students re-state the description, explanation or example in their own words
3. Have students produce a picture, pictograph, some other non-linguistic representation or act out the term
   
4. Extend and refine your students' understanding of the term by engaging in activities that help them add to their knowledge of terms in vocabulary notebooks
   
5. Periodically ask students to discuss the terms with one another
   
6. Play games that use the words and definitions 

I discovered these steps a few years ago and they made so much sense, I literally began using them the next day.  Since then, my students have consistently scored in the 90's on vocabulary quizzes whereas before they averaged in the upper 70's, and in talking to former students in the next year, they could usually remember almost all the terms, and are excited to show me!

Over the next month or so, I will be posting tips, tricks and resources for each of the 6 steps.  In the meantime, check out the vocabulary resources I have in my TpT store.

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