Vocabulary Chart with an Interaction Twist
Building background for Multilingual Learners
One of the best ways to build background knowledge before jumping into a new subject is to focus on vocabulary. Multilingual learners learn vocabulary best when they are engaged in the process of relating the new words to their own experiences.
One way they can do that is to create a vocabulary chart with space for the vocabulary word, a picture, a sentence, a definition, and a synonym.
Free LINK to chart.
When they do this task, they connect to their lived experiences by drawing a picture, creating their own definition, and writing a sentence and a synonym.
Here’s are some steps to create engagement and interaction with this task:
Before a unit, pull out the vocabulary words (no more than 8) that are essential for the topic they will study.
Pass out the (4) blank charts to each student.
Assign ½ the class a set of 4 words, and the other ½ the set of the other 4 words. Each student will work individually on their 4 words.
After they have finished, pair them up to share their words with a partner.
Give them each 4 more blank charts to do the other 4 words.
Finally, I organize the pairs into groups of 4, so they each share 2 of the 8 words with each other.
Adding interaction to the lessons with Multilingual Learners is always beneficial, especially in pairs or small groups.
Have you used vocabulary charts? What works for you?
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