Reflection #7: Vocabulary Instruction

 

    This week’s readings were on vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension.  I particularly liked the Tierney & Readance article which mentioned strategies to help students learn vocabulary.  My favorite strategy was Levin’s Keyword Method.  This method is “a mnemonic strategy that helps students to learn new information by associating it with interactive visual images for later recall” (Tierney & Readance, p. 324).  I believe that of all of the strategies mentioned in this article, this would be the best for math students.  Mathematics can be such a vague and abstract subject for students to understand.  However, the Levin’s Keyword Method would allow students to visualize and remember key mathematical vocabulary.  If students can recognize mathematical vocabulary in this way, they will be more likely to succeed in mathematics.  I have noticed in my classroom that most students who struggle with math also struggle with mathematical vocabulary.

     I also really liked the idea of using a personal glossary in the classroom.  Once students learn vocabulary in mathematics, it is essential that they remember that vocabulary for future mathematics lessons.  Math is a subject that builds upon itself and understanding the vocabulary is a crucial part of understanding mathematics.  By keeping a personal glossary, students can refer back to it to remember key vocabulary words and to help students keep track of these vocabulary words.