Engage Students in Vocabulary Learning
Self-assessment and ideas for Multilingual Learners
How do you get students excited about vocabulary learning no matter their language learning level?
Create a Vocabulary Knowledge Rating sheet so students can self-assess words before getting started on a unit. The students evaluate their understanding of vocabulary words on a list associated with a content area subject. This teaching idea works really well with Multilingual Learners because expanding vocabulary is a crucial aspect of understanding content areas. Of course, all students need to expand their vocabulary so it works in all classes and content areas.
Here's how you can implement a Vocabulary Knowledge Rating:
Compile a Word List:
Provide students with a list of words relevant to the current lesson, unit, or language level. It’s best to focus on about 7-10 words.
Choose words that are essential and align with the learning objectives.
Here’s a vocabulary rating sheet that you can download and edit.
Develop a Rating Scale:
The vocabulary rating sheet you give the students will allow students to check how well they know the word from “don’t know it (1)” to “know it well (4).”
Self-assessment Session:
Give time to the students to individually check a box for how well they know a word.
Assure them that this activity will not count against them even if they don’t know the words.
Peer Discussion:
Pair students carefully. It’s usually good to pair students who are relatively close on the WIDA scale.
If one knows a word and the other doesn’t, they can explain meanings to each other.
If confident, they can write a description of the word in the box in their own words. By the end of the class, they’ll have a definition for each word based on the discussion with a peer or the whole class discussion with the teacher.
Whole Class:
Ask the students if there are words where they both marked “don’t know it.” Set up an environment where not knowing a word is just fine.
Ask if other pairs have “know it well” for this word. If they do, ask them to share the definition. If not, as the teacher, you can share the definition. It’s great to write the definition of the word and share an image if possible.
The Vocabulary Knowledge Rating teaching idea encourages all students to actively engage with new words, monitor their progress, and expand their vocabulary.
I found that student are more motivated to learn the new words when done with the student-to-student part built in.
Have you tried this type of self-assessment?
What worked?
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