Students:
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Students: 
Format

VOCABULARY:  STUDENT

The VOCABULARY is so unfamiliar that I don't understand much of what I read.

A deep and broad vocabulary is essential for college learning.  More importantly, the ability to LEARN new words is paramount to developing a deep and broad vocabulary.  Most, if not all, courses include new vocabulary that must be learned to fully comprehend the key concepts being taught.  The good news is that once you learn HOW to learn new words, you can generalize that learning to any new vocabularies.  Learning new words is somewhat individualistic in nature - in other words, while we may all use some of the same vocabulary-building techniques, we also develop favorite strategies that work well for us.  The first step is to try several strategies and decide how YOU best learn new words. 

The two SECRETS of learning new words:
 

Strategies for Learning new Words:

Each of these links provides students with direct experiences and practice with the strategy listed.  Students should then identify problematic vocabulary in current courses they are taking and use the appropriate strategy to gain a deep and lasting understanding of the terms. 

• Vocabulary Box
• Three Way Tie
• Making the Word Your Own
• Contextual Redefinition
• Word Mapping
• Prediction Chart
• Memory Game, Study Cards, Vocabulary Word Journal
• Vocabulary Building for Students
  • Using Context Clues
  • Using Prefixes and Suffixes
  • Spotting Unknown Words
  • Building a Vocabulary Kit
  • Increasing Word Power
  • Vocabulary Word Map
• Concept Cards
• Vocabulary Searches and On-Line Resources
• Vocabulary Building for Students
• Grouping and Categorizing Vocabulary Words
  • Group and Label Handout
• Vocabulary Journal
• Vocabulary Journaling 2
  • Handout for Vocabulary Journal (grid)
• Mnemonics:  Tricks for Remembering New Words      
• Vocabulary Notebooks:  Keeping Track of New Terminology      
  • PowerPoint Presentation for Organizing a Vocabulary Notebook  
• Vocabulary Attack Strategies
• Highlighter Reading Strategy
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• Linguistic Approach - using the etymology of words to understand the meaning of affixes, root words and how the morphology of the language affects words meanings.
• Vocabulary journal - many students have found success in keeping journals of new words and referencing it often during a course.  Many times this allows students to use the CONTEXT of the words in print to understand the meaning. 
• Flashcards - as noted in the flashcardexchange.com link below, there are electronic services in which you can build flashcard databases of vocabulary words or simply use 3 x 5 or 4 x 6 cards and make your own.
• Visualization and illustration - these techniques allow people who learn visually to draw/sketch symbols or pictures that represent word meanings. 
• Mnemonics - link the new words to a known word or concept that triggers your memory. 

Resources:

• General Approaches to Unfamiliar Vocabulary Words:  http://muskingum.edu/~cal/database/general/reading.html#GeneralApproach
• Frayer Method of Vocabulary Development:  http://www.longwood.edu/staff/jonescd/projects/educ530/aboxley/graphicorg/fraym.htm
• Flashcardexchange.com:  http://www.flashcardexchange.com/
• Visualizing Vocabulary:  http://www.writingproject.org/pub/nwpr/quarterly/Q2002no3/simmons.html
• Strengthening Vocabulary Development:  http://www.itrc.ucf.edu/forpd/courseinfo/lesson7.pdf

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