Index cards are easy to carry from one place to the next. Study the cards while you are waiting for the school bus or after getting into bed at night. It's easy to make time to study vocabulary words when the words are at your fingertips!
Your next step is to use visual, auditory, and tactile strategies to study the words and their definitions. These strategies are only effective if you repeat them; you must practice the words often! Let's take a look at some helpful study strategies for vocabulary words.
Create a mental image. Make a picture, association, or connection in your head. Relate the word to other words you know. Visualize the word and its definition. Draw a picture of the word.
Use chunking. Break the word into chunks using the root and affix (prefix or suffix). Use the root, prefix, and suffix to remember the definitions. Group words with similar meanings.
Create a rhyme or song. Rhyme the word and parts of its definition.
Use an acronym. Use the first letter in each word of the definition to create an acronym.
Create movements. Use a motion or gesture based on the definition of the word.
Liza-Jane is studying the following word and its definition:
plunder: (v.) to rob of goods or valuables by open force, as in a war or a raid
She gestures with her arms and hands, as if she is taking things from other people. What strategy is Liza-Jane using?
Here are two ways that Liza-Jane could relate the word to another word that she knows:
Did you suggest something similar?
Student responses may vary. Acceptable answers include:
Please evaluate the student's answers:
Excellent
Good
Okay