Strategies to Teach and Reinforce Vocabulary

Teaching science is a lot like teaching a new language. Good pedagogy and engaging, relevant hands on activities can help students understand concepts, but the vocabulary often remains elusive. Here are five strategies to teach and reinforce science vocabulary:

1. Preteach. Give students an opportunity before you teach the content to explore the vocabulary with flash cards, vocabulary games, and just rote memorization.
2. Word walls. Typically thought of as an elementary school trick, word walls can work in middle school also. Post the new words – either as you introduce them or all at once. Refer to the word wall often – seeing the word in writing is reinforcement.
3. Word maps. For each vocabulary word, have students write the textbook definition of the word and the definition in his or her own words. Then, have the students write a sentence that demonstrates their understanding of the word and draw a picture representing the word. I’ve created a few word map interactive Google Slides activities if you want to see some examples.

4. I have, who has. This fantastic game is great for a 5 minute whole class review. It takes a little bit of time to set up, but you can laminate the cards and use them forever. Each card says “I have” and then a vocabulary word. Underneath that, each card says “Who has” and a definition. Or, vice versa. I usually keep one card to myself and hand out the others – great if you have a few extras to give 2 or 3 to fidgeters to keep them engaged. I start by reading my “Who has,” and then the student with the “I have” that matches it shouts out “I have” and then the word. Then, that student reads his or her “Who has” and so on. Download my free template here.

5. Gamify it. Charades, Taboo, and Hangman are obvious choices, but Connect 4 (place a piece in the game board when you get a question right), Chutes and Ladders (move ahead 1 place if you get the question right) and Checkers (get a question right before you can take a turn) are all great options.
6. Magic Picture Reveal Vocabulary Digital Worksheets. When students get the answers correct, pixels of a magic picture are revealed. When all of the questions are correct, the whole image is visible. Read more about magic pictures here.