Student-Friendly Definitions: Making Vocabulary Accessible to All
Have you ever looked up a word in a dictionary only to find yourself even more confused? This article explores the importance of student-friendly definitions in vocabulary instruction and provides practical strategies for educators to make learning new words easier and more effective for their students. It emphasizes moving away from rote memorization of complex dictionary definitions and toward explanations that resonate with a student's existing knowledge base.
The Problem with Traditional Dictionaries
Traditional dictionaries, while valuable resources, often fall short when it comes to helping students grasp new vocabulary. The language used in these definitions can be abstract, complex, and filled with unfamiliar words, effectively creating a barrier to understanding. As a teacher, you may have made the mistake countless times, asking students, "So who can tell us what X means?" or "Our new word is Y, what do you think it means?". Students begin to guess the meaning of the words, share incorrect answers, or disengage completely.
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Furthermore, many words have multiple definitions, leaving students struggling to determine which meaning is relevant to the context in which the word is being used. Asking students to use a glossary or dictionary to define a list of words is an ineffective way to teach vocabulary. Ms. Anita Archer, a well-known educational consultant, delivered a lecture a few years ago. The later definitions ring a bell for me. Next time when you tell your child or student to “look it up” make sure they’re using an appropriate dictionary!
The Power of Student-Friendly Explanations
Student-friendly explanations are easy to understand because they use more familiar and known words. Instead, teachers can directly introduce student-friendly definitions and explanations for each word at the start of instruction. Student-friendly definitions allow students to make sense of a new term in language that they can work with.
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Consider the following example of teaching the word "bizarre" to elementary students:
- Teacher 1: "Our new vocabulary word is bizarre, who can tell us what it means?"
- Teacher 2: "The dictionary says bizarre means markedly unusual in appearance, style, or general character and often involving incongruous or unexpected elements."
- Teacher 3: "Bizarre means something very strange or out of the ordinary. For example, if the Principal walked into the classroom with a clown outfit, that would be bizarre behavior."
Teacher 3 straightforwardly provides a student-friendly definition and explanation using a context that students would likely be familiar with. This sets all students up for success, learning, and eliminates the guess-work. Notice the difference in the complexity of the language in the dictionary and student-friendly definitions. By doing so, teachers put the definition into language that will make the most sense to their students. Teachers should also provide examples of how the word will be used in the context of the lesson, particularly if that word will appear in different forms. Also notice that the example above uses different forms of the word table (i.e., tabled, tabling).
Strategies for Creating Student-Friendly Definitions
Several effective strategies can be employed to craft student-friendly definitions:
- Use simple, familiar language: Avoid jargon and complex sentence structures. Opt for words that students already understand.
- Provide concrete examples: Illustrate the meaning of the word with real-world examples that are relevant to students' lives and experiences.
- Connect to prior knowledge: Relate the new word to concepts or experiences that students are already familiar with.
- Use visuals: Incorporate pictures, diagrams, or other visual aids to help students visualize the meaning of the word. Research shows that visuals help language learners with comprehension and fluency. This is why it is important to have picture dictionaries available for students to quickly reference. If you can’t afford physical picture dictionaries and have a few devices available, then your students can quickly look up words in free online visual dictionaries.
- Encourage student participation: Ask students to generate their own examples and explanations of the word.
The Importance of Context
Providing context is crucial for understanding the nuances of a word's meaning. Teachers should provide examples of how the word will be used in the context of the lesson, particularly if that word will appear in different forms. The synonyms and antonyms included in dictionary definitions can help students gain a deeper understanding of a word’s meaning.
Consider the example of the word "poisonous." A teacher might introduce the word by saying:
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Dr. Teacher: We just read about Eugenie Clark traveling and studying fish. And some of the fish were poisonous.
Teacher: Okay.
Teacher: What is the first sound that you hear in poisonous?
Teacher: Very nice.
Teacher: You also notice that the word poisonous, have you ever heard this word before? Okay. There are some animals that are poisonous. There are some trees and flowers that are poisonous, right? I actually printed out two pictures. Okay? I have a poison dart frog. Okay? And I have poison ivy. So if you’re walking in the woods, or I even have poison ivy in my backyard, if you rub up against poison ivy, it’s poisonous, so it gives you an itchy rash. Okay? A poison dart frog looks so cute, right? But it’s actually poisonous. I’m going to give you some examples of things that are poisonous or not poisonous. So I, when I say the word, I want you to say poisonous or not poisonous. Okay?
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What do you think of?
Teacher: Not poisonous, right?
Teacher: Right.
Teacher: Poisonous.
Teacher: Yes. Poisonous. Okay. Okay, excellent. So I want us to look at this word one more time. Okay. Poisonous means toxic.
Teacher: It means it’s not healthy for us. Okay. So anytime you see anything poisonous, it means it’s toxic. I would like you to turn and talk to your partner about something that you know that is poisonous.
Student(s): Something that poison.
Teacher: Okay. Who would like to share something they talk to with their partner that they know that is poisonous?
Teacher: A spider. Some spiders. Are you right?
Teacher: Okay.
Student(s): Animals with bright colors because then when there’s predators and they wanna eat that them, they’re like, oops, no, they’re poisonous. That person that I want eat. No, they’re poisonous.
Teacher: They’re bright.
Leveraging Visual Dictionaries
For visual learners, picture dictionaries can be an invaluable tool. These dictionaries provide images that help students connect words with their meanings.
Below is a list of online dictionaries that are often animated and interactive.
- Kid’s Wordsmyth: is an online dictionary for children that has amazing features, including a widget to look up any word on any page.
- WILD: is their free illustrated dictionary for children, which shows colorful animated images and sounds out the word.
- Vidtionary: is a video dictionary for adolescents to adults.
- A Math’s Dictionary for Kids by Jenny Eather: features two different online visual dictionaries. The original A Maths Dictionary for Kids is animated and interactive with over 630 common mathematical terms in simple language with definitions, examples, activities, practice and calculators. The Math is Fun Visual Dictionary illustrates several math terms and instruments and includes simple definitions.
Exploring Word Relationships
Expanding vocabulary involves understanding how words relate to each other. Teachers can help students by exploring synonyms, antonyms, and word families.
Teacher: Here we have some words that are related, and one of the best ways to expand your vocabulary is to see the relationship. So I’m going to tell you a story. When I touch it, say the word.
Teacher: Intend to be free.
Teacher: Intention to go from a slave to a free state so she would be free.
Teacher: Intentional, so she had to have a plan of those actions.
Teacher: Intentionally.
Additionally, teachers can ask students to compare the new meaning of a word and how it is similar to or different from how they have used this word previously.
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