How Can You Teach Vocabulary In Context?

June 7, 2018 in News

The best way for students to learn vocabulary is in the context of their own reading and writing. We can provide students with a definition to plant a seed for the word, but then we need to water it with reading and feed it with the students’ own writing. With this understanding in mind, I am creating new lesson plans to go along with the short stories that we recommend. These lesson plans help you pre-teach the vocabulary within the context of the short story and your students' own writing.

Here are the lesson plans I have so far. (The links will take you to a page where you can subscribe to our list for that short story and receive resources including links to download the stories, suggested videos or audios, and paired texts. If you're already on that list, you won't be added to it again unless you use a different email. Once you've entered your email address, you'll be taken directly to the page where you can download your resources and order the Vocabulary and Writing Lesson Plan for that story.)

Here's what our beta testers have said about the vocabulary and writing lesson plans:

The rigor of the reading selection is great, the vocabulary challenging and relevant, and the questions are fantastic for exploring the topics as well as giving them a chance to practice writing a thorough and insightful journal entry.” — Suzy, online ESL teacher

[bctt tweet=”The best way for students to learn vocabulary is in the context of their own reading and writing.” username=”watersenglish”]

I love the idea of writing more with vocabulary!” — Courtney, Miami middle school teacher

[bctt tweet=”We can provide students with a definition to plant a seed for the word, but then we need to water it with reading and feed it with the students’ own writing.” username=”watersenglish”]

I am anticipating the quick writes to be extremely helpful for us.” — Brandy, Pennsylvania middle school teacher

Need more ideas for teaching vocabulary, grammar, reading comprehension, writing, and more? Check out our Facebook group and subscribe to our newsletter below!

Michelle Boyd Waters, M.Ed.

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Michelle Boyd Waters is the founder of reThink ELA, where she creates research-informed resources that help middle and high school English teachers build stronger communities of readers and writers. After teaching secondary English for 10 years, Michelle has continued working alongside educators and students as a university composition instructor, writing center director, teacher consultant for the Oklahoma Writing Project, and mentor to new teachers. Her work brings together classroom experience, literacy research, and writing center pedagogy to create practical resources that support authentic reading, meaningful writing, and student voice. Through reThink ELA, she helps teachers create classrooms where both students and educators can thrive.