Vocab+Cards

__**Vocabulary Cards**__
**__WHAT IS IT?__** The use of vocabulary cards is a SDAIE strategy that is helpful in expanding and strengthening student vocabulary by linking unfamiliar words to visuals that illustrate their meaning.


 * __WHY IT WORKS?__** When learning new words, the basic letter combinations are essentially abstract for EL students. In order for them to remember and later recall the word and its meaning, they need to link it to an image or experience that gives it meaning. This strategy provides the student with more than just the word and its definition. It includes a visual representation (a drawing or a picture) of the word as well as the word used in a sentence. The acts of identifying the word as unfamiliar, looking up its definition, and then creating the vocabulary card will already make the student more familiar with the word. The vocabulary cards can then be used to periodically review the new words and then later as a personal dictionary for the student.

**__HOW IT WORKS?__** When introducing students to a new text (narrative or expository), have the students scan the text before they read in order to identify words they are unfamiliar with. Once the students have created a list of words that they do not know, they will create a vocabulary card for each of the words. Students should draw a picture of the word and write the sentence in which it is used in the text on the front of the card. On the back side of the card, the student should write the word and the definition of the word found in an age-appropriate dictionary. Students may add to the dictionary definition as well, including any words or phrases that they think will help them remember what the word means.

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 * __THINGS TO REMEMBER__**:
 * provide students with flash cards that they can use to make their vocabulary cards
 * students need access to an age-appropriate dictionary and be familiar with how to use them
 * some students will have difficulty choosing //unfamiliar// words; be prepared with prompts or clues to help them choose; modeling the process for the students the first couple times it is used will be necessary
 * it may be very helpful for students to share one or two of the cards they created with the class. Other students may also be unfamiliar with the same word so they will benefit from the process as well. Sharing their cards will further increase their familiarity with the word and increase their confidence with English vocabulary.
 * once the cards have been created, they can be bound together to create a personal dictionary for each student
 * this strategy can be applied to unfamiliar words outside of texts as well... in the beginning of the school year, you may have students create vocabulary cards for words like nurse, principal, bus driver, teacher, etc.
 * __EXAMPLE OF VOCABULARY CARD:__**