Introduction
Wondering how to teach vocabulary and make it relevant to your high school students? You’re not alone.
Whether they’re words that preface a text in the literature book, words that may prove challenging when reading an article, or words that link to the theme of a unit, teaching vocabulary is perhaps the most advantageous thing teachers can do for their students, helping them develop a rich vocabulary that greatly improves their listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
Aside from being linked to overall language comprehension, vocabulary knowledge helps students to express themselves more clearly and comprehend what they’re reading more deeply. Most of the time, when students encounter unfamiliar words in a text, they either skip it or gloss over it, not realizing the impact it has in limiting their understanding.
However, by providing them with the knowledge and skills necessary to develop and foster their vocabulary, students can greatly improve their reading comprehension and writing proficiency, helping them become more confident in themselves.
Let’s explore some effective strategies I’ve incorporated in my classroom on teaching vocabulary that can help you help your students.
Strategies for Teaching Vocabulary
My approach towards how to teach vocabulary involves using the following strategies that I’ve learned and utilized over the years. They are contextual learning, Frayer Model vocabulary maps, and repetition and practice.
Contextual Learning
Contextual learning (aka context clues) is a great start on how to teach vocabulary. Rather than isolating words, teaching them in context gives students a deeper understanding of how these words are used and what they mean in different contexts.
Consider the word “ambitious“. Rather than telling students its definition (an earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction), it’s better to introduce the word in a passage or scenario where a character actively demonstrates ambition. Through contextual learning, students not only learn the definition of ambition, but they also understand how it works.
A compliment to reading words in context is using articles, news reports, or video clips that reflect the word’s use in everyday life. Keeping with the same example of the word “ambition”, after students have watched an interview where the interviewee spoke about what makes them ambitious, students can discuss what responses help define the interviewee’s ambition.
Finally, having students apply their understanding of a word in given contexts helps solidify their understanding of the word and its definition. Consider, for example, posting the following questions around the word:
- When is it wrong to be ambitious? Think of three reasons. Then, write three separate answers to the question and begin each answer with the following sentence stem: “It’s wrong to be ambitious when _____.”
- How does being ambitious benefit us? Think of three ways. Then, write three separate answers to the question and begin each answer with the following sentence stem: “Being ambitious benefits us by _____.”
Frayer Model Vocabulary Map
Another way on how to teach vocabulary involves students completing a Frayer Model Vocabulary Map (I love using these, by the way!). When considering how to teach vocabulary in a way that moves beyond definitions, the Frayer Model is one of my favorite strategies as it requires students to interact with words in multiple ways.
This graphic organizer has students write the word in the middle, and each of the outer squares serves a different purpose. Rather than simply memorizing a definition, students interact with the word in multiple ways, helping build a deeper and more flexible understanding of its meaning.
In my case, I have students label the four outer square as follows:
- Definition: students write the definition of the term that closely aligns with how it’s contextually used in the text
- Drawing: students draw a visual representation of the word’s definition (this also helps with dual coding)
- Examples: students write a list of three examples (e.g. real-world, literature, comics or manga, history, current events, film/TV/anime) that demonstrate the word in context
- Sentence: students practice using the word in an original sentence (either simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex)
For all students (including those who struggle with vocabulary), I model the first Frayer Model with the class before asking them to complete one independently. This gradual release approach allows students to see the thinking process involved in understanding and applying new words.
Much like contextual learning, Frayer Model Vocabulary Maps give students an opportunity to internalize the word and its meaning. By combining definitions, visuals, examples, and written application, students move beyond word recognition towards a true ownership of its meaning.
Repetition and Practice
Repetition has its place in language learning, and it’s even more useful when wondering how to teach vocabulary. While introducing students to new words is important, strong vocabulary instruction requries multiple opportunities for students to revisit, practice, and apply those words over time.
When words are encountered multiple times over a period of time, students retain the words better. This repeated exposure allows students to move vocabulary from short-term recognition into long-term memory. Exposure alone isn’t enough: practicing vocabulary in various contexts—like the two mentioned above—encourages active recall, strengthening students’ memory and long-term retention. In other words, students need more than the ability to recognize a word: they need repeated opportunities to retrieve and use the word independently.
The way I integrate repetition when teaching vocabulary is through spaced repetition, which Kang (2016) notes as “Having the initial study and subsequent review or practice be spaced out over time”. For teachers wondering how to teach vocabulary in a way that leads to deepened understanding, spaced repetition is a practical strategy because it intentionally schedules vocabulary review instead of relying on students to remember words after a single lesson.
In my case, I start with spaced repetition shortly after the lesson and activity (either contextual learning or Frayer Model Vocabulary Maps). This first review helps reinforce the initial learning before too much time has passed. After a few days, we revisit the words again either as a warm-up activity or exit ticket. A week later, we revisit the words again through a contextual activity. By spacing out these opportunities, students are repeatedly challenged to recall the words rather than simply reread them.
The warm-ups and exit tickets engage students with actively practicing the terms even after the initial lesson is over. Rather than passively recalling the words, the goal is to make them actively use the words, which forces them to recall the word’s definition or its contextual application (depending on where the need is). This type of active practice is one of the most important components of effective vocabulary instruction: retrieval strengthens students’ ability to access the word when they encounter it later in reading, writing, or discussion.
Furthermore, I assess students by giving them a brief ungraded quiz over the terms (I tell them it’ll be graded to avoid the usual “Why am I doing this if it’s not for a grade?” question). Assessing them in this manner also gives me an opportunity to see how well the class as a whole have retained the words. These quick assessments also help me determine whether students need additional practice, reteaching, or more opportunities to apply the vocabulary in context.
When thinking about how to teach vocabulary, it’s very important to remember that retention doesn’t happen after a single encounter with a word. It’s through deliberated, repeated, meaningful practices that students need to recall and apply vocabulary in different situations.
These activities—and even activities like Power Writing—are useful with spaced repetition and practice. Combining repetition, retrieval practice, and meaningful application creates a stronger vocabulary learning process and helps students develop lasting word knowledge.
Final Thoughts
When thinking of best ways on how to teach vocabulary, it’s important to remember that the words you choose must be meaningful and relevant.
If you’re using a text in a textbook, odds are there are emboldened words that you can use. If you plan on using articles—like Kelly Gallagher’s Article of the Week—you should preview the text first and identify at least 5 words you feel may interfere with student’s overall comprehension of the text.
How do you teach vocabulary in your classroom? Let me know in the comments!
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