An Explicit and Integrated Vocabulary Routine

When I consider which instructional routines to share on this blog, I think a lot about opportunity cost and efficiency. Teachers do not have an infinite amount of time to teach everything they need to teach. Everything they do comes with an opportunity cost. A big part of a reading teacher’s job is to weigh these opportunity costs and try to figure out the most efficient approach to growing the greatest number of readers.

Dylan Kane recently noted: “it strikes me how many vocab teaching strategies act like there’s no opportunity cost…Nothing against the Frayer model but it is not a very fast way to teach words.”

I agree with Dylan. And I’m so happy to share the below vocabulary routine from kindergarten teacher Anjanette McNeely NOT because it’s a particularly fast way to teach words but because it seamlessly integrates explicit vocabulary instruction with other instructional priorities: oral language work and content learning. Integration is another kind of efficiency. Through this routine, Anjanette accomplishes at least three things at once: students learn a vocabulary word, they get tons of oral language practice, and they retrieval previously learned knowledge.

Here’s what it looks like.

Step One: Introduce the Word

Anjanette starts by introducing the word, “shore,” which comes from a text that she recently read aloud to the class. Students repeat the word three times, before “pounding and sounding” it. Anjanette writes the word on the board, drawing students’ attention to how it is spelled. Note how efficiently Anjanette moves through this part of the routine.

Step Two: Student-Friendly Definition

Anjanette then provides a student-friendly definition of “shore.” Once again, she’s moving quickly. We’re only 90 seconds into the routine.

Step Three: Illustrate the Word with Examples

Anjanette gives students a gesture for '“shore,” and students practice using it. Then, she ask them to complete this sentence starter: “I once saw a shore when…” Note: we’re just over two minutes into this routine, and that includes ~15 seconds of video titles.

Step Four: Check for Understanding

Now, Anjanette checks for understanding. This is the bulk of the routine. Students do a turn and talk with the above sentence starter, while Anjanette circulates and gives feedback. From there, students evaluate whether or not different examples are appropriate to things to do on a shore. I really appreciate this activity because Anjanette is not simply giving examples or non-examples of shores. She’s asking students consider what you might do on a shore, which requires them to think beyond the definition. And she expects that they use a full sentence when they evaluate each example.

Step Five: Elicit Word Use

Finally, students draw a picture to represent their new vocabulary word on their cumulative vocabulary sheet. Before they draw, Anjanette reviews what they’re actually learning about (Christopher Columbus), and they brainstorm different options for their picture. I love how Anjanette uses this step as an opportunity to review content learning and connect “shore” back to Columbus and his three ships. We also learn that students earn tally marks over the course of the year each time they use a vocabulary word at school (I can’t help but be reminded of the Vocabulary Challenge Game).

From Anjanette: This routine was created around the steps in my district mandated CKLA program. I noticed the students were not retaining the words and tried to make it a little stronger. I used the following sources: NRTAC vocabulary routine, the POSSUM approach from the IRRC, Top 10 Tools, LETRS, and Bringing Words to Life (Beck, McKeown and Kucan).