1. How much do you know? Can Define Have Seen/Heard What…?
List vocabulary words found in an upcoming reading down the lefthand side of the chart. This is a great activation / vocabulary preview exercise. Students can put a symbol or pointer in the appropriate box before reading the selection.
Adapted from Content Area Reading by Vacca, Vacca, and Mraz ©2011

2. Quote from text using word: Explanation in your own words:
“Someone who is…”
“Something that is …. “
“When you…”
Examples:
Visual Representation:
Steps to teaching vocabulary
Identify Tier 2 & Tier 3 words (based on Beck, McKeown, & Kucan’s system)
Tier 3 words are content-specific and relate to key concepts.
Tier 2 words are common in academic language but might be found across disciplines.
Tier 1 words are words that most native English speakers will know already and do not need to be taught.
Model for students how to “explain” rather than define a word.
Allow students to experiment with example sentences in other contexts or in real life.
Have students create a visual representation of the word
This can be modeled for students whole-group, but then they can be encouraged to keep a vocabulary journal for themselves.
Online resource for more ideas:
For another way to sort words for teaching called the four-level framework, see Flanagan & Greenwood.

3. Words that are relatives: Words that are similar:
Pronunciation Key:
Memory Clue:
Ancestor (root word):
Which means:
Words that are relatives:
Words that are similar:
Word:
Explanation:
A sentence where you found this word:
This is another graphic organizer that might help students as they dig into the meaning of words. Again, this can be modeled in class and then used individually or in small groups as well.
Source: Beuhl, D. (1999). Word family trees: Heritage sheds insight into words’ meaning and use. WEAC News & Views, 35(2), 14.
From Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning (3rd ed.) by Dough Buehl.
Who would say it? Pick three kinds of people who might say this word and write a sentence showing how they might use it.

4. Word Category: What is it? Property Example
Concept of definition word map
In the center, put the new word.
In the trapezoid, students list the category by answering, “What is it?” and putting comparisons next to the bullets.
In the triangles, students put illustrations by answering, “What are some examples?”
In the squares, students put properties by answering, “What is it like?”
CD word maps work best with nouns and may not fit every word. They should be used as one of many possible strategies students can pull from to help them learn words.
Adapted from Content Area Reading by Vacca, Vacca, and Mraz ©2011