Learning Vocabulary Words

For the last few years in our homeschool, my older three children have worked each year in a series of workbooks called Wordly Wise.  These workbooks have 20 chapters in each book, and each book takes approximately one school year to complete.  Each chapter begins with a list of 15 new vocabulary words along with their definitions.  The daily exercises in each chapter allow the student to practice the meanings of the words, and each chapter ends with the student reading a story that incorporates the vocabulary words.  The student then answers comprehension questions about the story, using the vocabulary words in their answers.  You also have the option of purchasing an accompanying test booklet that contains a vocabulary test for each chapter.

While I have been pleased with this approach to learning new vocabulary words, I have not seen my children really using these new words in their daily conversation or in their creative writing.  So recently I thought of a simple way to daily review their Wordly Wise words in the hopes that in doing so, we all might begin to use some new words more frequently.

Here is my simple plan:

• I provided each child with a stack of 3×5 index cards.
• I asked the children to choose three of their vocabulary words each day.
• On the front of the card they are to write the word and its part of speech (noun, verb, adjective, etc.)
• On the back of the card they are to write the definition or definitions of the word.
• Each child adds his three cards to the stack of vocabulary cards on our kitchen table.
• At least once a day, at mealtime, I shuffle the cards and then pass out 2 or 3 cards to each child.
• Each person then makes up a sentence using the vocabulary word, and by the content of the sentence, the rest of us try to figure out the meaning of the word.  My two youngest children are not able to make up the sentences, but they are able to guess the meanings, and they are frequently correct!
• I encourage all of the children to choose one new word each day to try to incorporate into their conversation and/or their writing for that day.

So far I have been pleased with the results.  As with any plan, you have to actually follow through in order to see the results.  There have been days that we have completely forgotten to review the words, but as we do it more and more, I am confident that it will become an effortless part of our daily routine.

Roan is the homeschooling mother of 5 children, ages 4-15.  You can visit her personal blog, Joyful Always,  for more homeschooling ideas.

No related posts.