Frontloading vocabulary has a place in every classroom, whether you teach elementary or secondary. You know when a student is reading out loud and they reach a word they don’t know how to pronounce and they say “whatever that says” and continue reading? More times than not, that “hard” word is one of the keywords you need them to know. Darn it! Let’s change that. One way to do this is by frontloading vocabulary.
Vocabulary instruction is critical for developing strong literacy skills, improving academic performance, and promoting effective communication. Vocabulary knowledge is strongly correlated with reading comprehension. Students who have a larger vocabulary understand more of what they read and are better able to make connections between words and ideas. It’s also known that children from low-income families often start school with smaller vocabularies than their peers from higher-income families. This puts them at a disadvantage when it comes to academic success, as vocabulary knowledge is an important predictor of academic achievement. All teachers should be teaching vocabulary, no matter the age, content, or background of a student.
Before we get too far into frontloading vocabulary, I wanted to share this checklist to make sure you are covering all the important “things” when using a text. No worries, the checklist is free! It will help guide you through your planning and ensure you are maximizing the text you’re using. I included what I did based on my experience of teaching ELL students. These are vital components to lesson planning even (when not using text!).
Can you relate?
Even though I despise when students skip a word saying “whatever that says”, I am guilty of doing it. Whoops. For those of you who speak another language, you will probably understand my frustration when I read in Spanish. I learned both Spanish and English when I was little… However, my schooling was in English.
I know that it’s good for my language development to read in Spanish, but sometimes I come across A LOT of words I don’t know. Queue in the “whatever that says” and the mindless reading. There are so many words that I become lazy and don’t bother to look them up. Once I get to this point, I become bored and then give up. Uh oh! This means I need to find a book at my independent reading level, not frustrational level. (Check out the graphic at the end of this section if you’re not sure what independent or frustrational level means!) Anybody else been in this boat? I know this happens often with students so let’s help them!
Here are those levels I mentioned:
Let’s Begin Frontloading Vocabulary!
We can begin helping by frontloading vocabulary! It is a great method to introduce keywords and challenging words while also helping with mindless reading. Frontloading vocabulary is introducing key terms, their meanings, and visuals that students will encounter not only in text but in a unit or video. Doing this is SO helpful, especially for ELL students. Hearing the word alone is so helpful before encountering it in text.
This strategy is actually helpful for all students. Consider it a stepping stone to understanding the main concept. By using this stepping stone, students will avoid the problem I mentioned above about reading mindlessly which eventually leads to giving up. Students’ engagement will increase as students feel more comfortable having explored the word prior to the encounter.
With all that being said, it’s also important to note that when you frontload vocabulary you should NOT expect students to know the word right away. This is simply an introduction to the word and they will build upon it as the unit goes on.
Let’s get started! Here are five different ways to use frontloading on your text topic or unit!
Frontloading vocabulary method #1: Word, meaning, and visual
Let’s start off basic for frontloading vocabulary. This might be helpful if you’ve never frontloaded before. Just like it sounds…give the students the word in a presentation, written on the board, or possibly on the side of their reading. Include a grade-level appropriate definition plus a visual. Talk about them BEFORE jumping into the text, or video (or whatever material you will be using). One big tip here is to have the student practice SAYING the words. Even if you are in higher grades, they need practice with pronunciation.
Frontloading vocabulary method #2: Guess the word
Have you heard of or used ThinkingMaps? “Thinking Maps is a set of 8 visual patterns that correlate to specific cognitive processes.” I LOVE THEM! I use them all the time. These next three options to frontload will involve using a circle map which is used for defining.
Guess the word is when you give a bunch of hints at what the word may be. If you don’t use Circle Maps, just write hints on the board and students can guess what the word is. Here is an example from math. I won’t tell you the word until after you read all the hints. 😉
The word is a rectangular prism. Did you guess it right? My co-teacher and I used this to introduce our key term for the unit of 3D shapes. Every couple of days we added a new one in the same way (for sphere and triangular prism). The students had fun doing these!
We also added hints in students’ home languages. They LOVED this and were confused at the same time. “Miss, why is that is Swahili?” It was an easy way to include an important part of their lives in class. It was more memorable for them as well!
Frontloading vocabulary method #3: Give the word, get the definition
For this one, I also use a Circle Map from Thinking Maps. (I am not joking when I say I LOVE ThinkingMaps.) I give the students the word on which we will be focusing, for example, culture. From here, students will add what they know about that word, then share with their partners, and lastly share with the whole class.
Again, if you are not Thinking Maps trained you can do this by doing a graffiti wall or just by making a list of the definitions.
Frontloading vocabulary method #4: Provide a synonym
The fourth suggestion is to provide a synonym for the keyword. Students will be tapping into their funds of knowledge hopefully. This one is a bit easier in certain subjects as it’s hard (or impossible) to come up with synonyms. For example, planets in science.
There are so many good reasons why our students should be exposed to synonyms. This blog post Why are Synonyms and Antonyms Important for Children? by Hemali goes over some great reasons. The first reason is that it enhances vocabulary. Yes! Don’t we want this for all our students?!
Of course… I used another Thinking Map for this one! 🙌 For this one, I like to use a Bridge Map! When using Bridge Maps you have a relating factor, in this case, it is “is a synonym for”. The other section gives you the words and helps you make a complete sentence using the relating factor. The sentences for the example below would be:
Equivalent is a synonym for equal.
Represent is a synonym show.
If you’re not using thinking maps, just list out the synonyms!
Equivalent = Equal
Represent=Show
Frontloading vocabulary method #5: Gallery Walk
The final way is to have a gallery walk of the words. Put the keywords around the room with the definition and a visual. This will get students up and moving.
There are so many ways to “spice” this one up with. Here are three suggestions for students to do while doing the walk about the words:
- In a different color, rate the word with a symbol.
? – never heard it before 😐 – sounds familiar :D- I know it! - While in groups, have the quickly add sketches to match the word. In groups is key here so they can build off what their classmates know.
- Write another time during class when they’ve heard this word or even something similar.
Leave a comment with another way you could spice this one up. I’d love to hear more ideas.
Related Articles for Vobaulary and Reading
Building vocabulary is one of my top priorities as a language teacher. Frontloading vocabulary feels so right to me. I have more suggestions on how to build vocabulary in this blog post. I go over 5 easy strategies for vocabulary development that you could implement tomorrow! If you’re all set on vocabulary and need to make reading more engaging, check out this blog post for games students can play while reading. I promise students will LOVE these games.
Don’t forget to get this checklist to make sure you are covering all the important “things” when using a text. It’s totally free and helpful. It will guide you through your planning and ensure you are maximizing the text you’re using. These are vital components to lesson planning even (when not using text!).
Recap on Frontloading Vocabulary Strategies
These frontloading vocabulary methods help students avoid frustration in my class. Comprehending the text is easier which is my main goal when teaching with text. I know this will help build their confidence in reading and in content knowledge. I am excited for you to try these methods out, as well! They are quick ways to get students to feel comfortable with new words and text. If you have any questions, want to bounce ideas off of me, or simply want to chat, let me know! These frontloading vocabulary strategies should help your students feel more confident when they experience keywords during instruction.
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