Vocabulary and History

I remember my own experiences with vocabulary in History classes. This mostly consisted of copying definitions from the textbook that I was "supposed" to memorize. What really happened was I put some words on a piece of paper which I forgot after the test. As an aspiring History teacher I was stumped as to how to make vocabulary meaningful for students. I searched online and found this video from Colorin Colorado, a website to designed to help English Language Learners.

I learned that the best way to teach vocabulary is through multiple exposure in many different forms. I was able to observe one such experience during my clinicals. I was in an 8th grade History class, and the teacher had her students copy vocabulary from the book in preparation for their next unit. I thought to myself how boring this must be for the students. However, the teacher did a couple things to make it more interesting and meaningful. She had students draw a picture along with their definition to help the word stick. She also had the students work together in groups to discuss the vocabulary which allowed them to practice using the words. My cooperating teacher's justification for this activity was multiple exposure so that when these words were used in future lessons the students would have a foundation to build upon.

In my own classroom, I want to incorporate these same ideas into my own teaching. I especially liked the ideas of using images and discussion to teach vocabulary. I am a very visual learner and images stick in my mind more than words. I would have my students convert the vocabulary into images maybe even having them create vocabulary picture books for future students or students in lower grades. I would also provide my students with many opportunities to use the vocabulary when speaking with each other preferably while working out problems together that are of interest to them.