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VOCABULARY MAP

Instructions - Creating a Vocabulary Map​

A. Identify and read the text or passage that your students will read. 

B. Identify the purpose for reading the text. Ask yourself, “What should students learn from reading this passage? How does it relate to the learning objectives for this unit of study?”

C. Choose two to three words to teach explicitly before students read the text. These words should support students’ overall understanding of the text. 

D. Create a vocabulary map for each word or concept you choose. Using the vocabulary map template, include the following:

  1. Vocabulary word

  2. Student-friendly definition of the word 

  3. Include a visual representation of the word

  4. Create a sentence using the word to provide context. (Variation: Write two sentences, one using the word correctly and one using the word incorrectly. During instruction, ask the students to identify the sentence that uses the word correctly.)

  5. List a few words associated with the vocabulary word and a few words not associated with the vocabulary word.

  6. Leave this box open for students to write example sentences using the word. 

  7. Turn-and-talk prompts for students to practice using the word and for you to monitor student understanding .

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Instructions - Using a Vocabulary Map

A. Before reading the text, teacher spends about five minutes delivering explicit instruction about a word.

  1. Students look at the vocabulary word and pronounce the word.

  2. Students read the student-friendly definition and the teacher asks students to highlight or underline the key words in the provided definition. (Teacher provides guidance and correction as needed.)

  3. The teacher asks students to look at the illustration, and the teacher reinforces the meaning of the word as it relates to the picture.

  4. Students review the sentences using the word in context and choose the sentence that uses the word correctly. (Teacher provides guidance and correction as needed.)

B. Students read a passage or section of text that uses the vocabulary word. 

C. After reading the passage:

  1. Students review the words in box 5 and identify the two words that are associated with the vocabulary word.

  2. Students write a sentence using the vocabulary word in box 6. The teacher circulates among students as they do this, correcting misconceptions and noting strong examples. 

  3. Students find words in the same word family or build on the vocabulary word using prefixes and suffixes.

  4. The teacher asks students to read the prompt related to the vocabulary word and students talk with a partner about the prompt, using the vocabulary word in their response.

THE RESEARCH

  • Hattie: "The most effective vocabulary teaching methods explicitly provided definitional and contextual information and provided students with more than one or two exposures to the words they were to learn."

  • Vocabulary programs have an effect size of .67 (Hattie). 

  • What Works Clearinghouse recommends explicitly teaching the meaning of a few essential words prior to reading a passage and reinforcing these words through practice frequently.

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