Building Strong Vocabularies

One of this week's readings talked about how to develop vocabularies in the classroom, a concept that I'm sure is important throughout any content. When I see a student who is frustrated in a math class, I try to ask them what exactly it is that is making them feel uncomfortable. The most common answer is, "I just don't understand what you are even saying!" This shows just how important it is for students to be able to talk the talk. I must do something as a teacher to help my students develop the proper vocabulary if they are to succeed in math.

The first strategy listed in chapter, Personal Glossary, is one that I fully intend on using in my classroom. I remember when I took geometry in high school, we had to keep spiral-bound index cards filled with definitions, theorems, and postulates. We were constantly being quizzed over vocabulary words! Once we had a firm grasp of these words, the problems suddenly became much easier to work when we could apply these theorems and postulates to solve problems.

Another strategy that could be used in conjunction with the Personal Glossary is the Verbal and Visual Word Association. This strategy reminds me a lot of the Frayer model. Students write the word, an example, a non-example, the definition, and possibly a picture to help them remember the word. This would be a great way to organize each individual word, and then the students can have all of these association arranged in their personal glossary.

Vocabulary is such a crucial piece of the learning puzzle, but I think focusing on developing vocabulary is an easy way to build confidence in students. Once they feel comfortable with vocabulary, they will hopefully feel more confident when approaching math problems.