7 Awesome Vocabulary Strategies

7 Awesome Vocabulary Strategies

Vocabulary Strategies

It can be hard to know where to start with vocabulary intervention. These 7 vocabulary strategies are just what your struggling readers need to build vocabulary and reading skills.

What is vocabulary?

Vocabulary is building your “bank” of words to use to deliver a message (aka speaking and writing). It is also building a schema of recognizable concepts and experiences that you can connect with words that you hear, so you are better able to receive messages.

There are 2 types of vocabulary: social vocabulary and academic vocabulary.

Social vocabulary is the use and understanding of words that you use when you interact with others and socialize with peers. It’s when students talk to each other or play at recess, or when they are having a casual conversation with you or following basic directions (getting in line, passing a pencil, etc.).

Academic vocabulary is the use and understanding of words that you use in learning academic concepts, like science and social studies vocabulary, math concepts, even terms as simple as “phonics pattern” or “rough draft”. Academic vocabulary also includes directions for assignments (solve each problem, or circle the proper nouns).

It’s important to note the difference, because a lot more students struggle with vocabulary than we realize. Social vocabulary is built MUCH faster than academic vocabulary. We can interact with a student and think their vocabulary is just fine, but we forget that talking with them socially doesn’t show how much academic vocabulary they have developed.

Why is vocabulary important?

Vocabulary is important because it is the base of comprehension. It’s great if students can read the words in a text, but if they don’t know what the words mean, the point of reading is lost. Building vocabulary skills gives students the tools they need to understand the words they read so they can then understand the message of the text they are reading.

Vocabulary Interventions

Vocabulary intervention is identifying students who need extra help, and then using vocabulary intervention strategies to give students targeted and meaningful practice in building vocabulary skills. If you need help identifying the students who need help in vocabulary, try using this FREE Reading Intervention Cheat Sheet.

Teaching vocabulary is not just assigning long lists of words to define. Just like any reading intervention, the vocabulary teaching strategies you use need to have context, be memorable, and purposeful. Speaking of making the most out of our interventions, here are 6 tips to make your interventions actually work.

I know you might be thinking, “Great. One more area to squeeze in intervention time.”

But I promise you, building vocabulary is so important! If you are feeling overwhelmed with all of the different areas your students need intervention and help in, this Key to Stress Free Reading Intervention might be helpful to you!

Here is a list of 7 vocabulary strategies you can use in your vocabulary interventions. They are effective and engaging, while being easy to implement!

Vocabulary Strategies #1: MODELING

One of the best vocabulary teaching strategies you can use is to model using vocabulary for your students. The same words you are teaching your students to use, YOU should be using in your daily conversations. Yes, use them in your lessons when you are explicitly teaching them the vocabulary words, but also use them in your regular conversation throughout the day. Use old and new vocabulary words you have learned. Encourage your students to point out when you use them and to use them themselves as well.

Vocabulary Strategies #2: Reframing Sentences

This is a vocabulary strategy I learned in my child development in college, that is truly magical. When students use a vocabulary word incorrectly, or if their grammar is incorrect, it’s important for them to receive feedback so they can correct it. However, you never want students to feel embarrassed or shot down after being vulnerable in trying to use new words. Reframing sentences in a positive way can validate students for using their new vocabulary skills while still modeling the correct way to use them.

To reframe a sentence, simply positively acknowledge their statement and repeat it in the correct way. For example, let’s say a student asks, “Is it necessarily to do our homework?” Instead of just saying “yes,” or telling them that’s not how you use the word, you could say, “Yes, it is necessary for you to do your homework.” Or if a student says, “It’s time almost we go to lunch,” you can say, “Yes, it’s almost time for us to go to lunch.”

Vocabulary Strategies #3: Vocabulary with Pictures and Visuals

It’s hard for students to keep all of the new vocabulary words they are learning straight when they are just hearing them verbally. It’s easy for it all to become a jumble in their heads. Try using vocabulary strategies with pictures and visuals. Most students respond well to visual cues as it gives them a mental image to associate with the new word. It helps them differentiate the words in a concrete way, and helps prompt their memory when they hear the word again. Here I use visual picture cards to go with each vocabulary word in my Snowflake Bentley Unit.

Vocabulary Strategies #4: Labeling (try using sticky notes!)

Students love vocabulary strategies that are hands on and engaging. Get students involved by giving them sticky notes and having them label vocabulary words. If students are still learning to write, you can have them pre-written, or have the students write their own words. Give students a list of words (this works great for adjectives) and have them write them on their sticky notes, then walk around the room and stick them to objects that apply. You can also use a poster or even just a diagram on a worksheet to give the students more specific things to label. For more hands-on reading intervention activities that are super engaging, check out this Ultimate List of Reading Intervention Strategies!

Vocabulary Strategies #5: Word of the Day

Try using a “word of the day” vocabulary intervention. Just choose one word each day and stay hyper focused on it. Use it as many times as you can (you can have students keep a tally mark record of how many times they hear it that day), have students give someone a high-five any time they use the word or hear someone use the word, get a sticker if they find the word in a book, say the word whenever they enter the room… the possibilities are endless! This is a good way for honing down on specific words, just be sure to keep some sort of record and quick review of all of the words you have learned, so it’s not just “one-and-done, forget about it and move on.”

Vocabulary Strategies #6: Crazy words with Context Clues

Using context clues is one of the greatest vocabulary skills you can give your students to help them build vocabulary on their own. Pair it with this silly activity in your vocabulary teaching strategies, and students will be so engaged during this vocabulary intervention. Make a list of silly, made up words. Then write a paragraph or several sentences about different topics try to have them include real vocabulary words. Substitute the made-up words for the vocabulary words. Try to make sure your paragraph or sentences give a lot of context clues for what your words mean. Then have students try to figure out the meaning of the crazy words. You can take this vocabulary activity one step further by including a list of the original vocabulary words that were in your text, and having the students match the crazy words to their “synonyms”.

Vocabulary Strategies #7: Synonyms Posters

As mentioned earlier, visuals make great vocabulary strategies. Try making posters that show lists of synonyms for vocabulary words. Bonus points if they are in the shape they can associate with the words! For example, a big red heart that has all of the synonyms for “like”, or a clock that lists synonyms for “hurry”. They can just be plain posters or paint ships, like shown above, to show “shades” of meaning. These posters are great to have around the room for students to refer to. They are a great vocabulary teaching strategy for reminding students of the new words they have learned. Also, they help students find new words to use when they are writing, so they don’t have to repeat the same words all of the time.

Building vocabulary skills is so important in reading intervention. I hope these vocabulary strategies give you plenty of ideas you can use with your students in your vocabulary interventions, and help keep your teaching fresh and focused. For more reading intervention tips, read this blog post on 11 Effective Reading Intervention Strategies for all areas of reading!

And don’t forget to download this FREE Reading Intervention Cheat Sheet for some more tips and ideas for teaching vocabulary. It has ideas and activities for other areas in reading too, and is super helpful!

Happy teaching and reading!