Learning vocabulary in second grade is always so much fun.  We start our lesson with a set of pictures.  We know that it deals with the word but not what the word is yet.  As a class we talk about what we see, how the pictures are the same and how they are different.  We not only get our brain thinking about how to define the vocabulary word but we practice important comparing and contrasting skills.

Here is an example of a set of pictures we would see prior to knowing the vocabulary word.

Then we have the vocabulary word revealed to us.  Sometimes we guess the word, come close, or define it without even knowing we did.  We then use our discussion to help us write a definition of our vocabulary word.  We put it in our own words and try to spell as best we can.  As the year progresses, I begin holding students accountable for words they should know or words with patterns we have already learned. We also sketch a picture of the word to help keep it in our brains longer.  Finally we share some definitions with the class and put the word in our dictionary so we can use it in our writing.

Student vocab journal example

For homework then, students bring home an index card with the word and the definition on it.  They can either draw or find (on the computer, magazine or newspaper) a picture that represents that word.  They are encouraged to fill all the white space, use lots of detail and try our very best.  Check out some of the examples below:

At school the next day, students share their vocabulary cards with their partner.  We practice communicating what the picture is and why we chose it to represent that word.  We also practice being a good listener because after we explain it we have to switch cards to see how much we can remember.  It is so much fun to see what ideas are classmates come up with to represent the words.  It even gives us ideas for next time.

After we share our vocabulary cards, we put them in our vocab boxes in alphabetical order.  This way we have the cards to use and look back on throughout the year.  I always say just because we learned the word once doesn’t mean we forget about it.  We try to use it in our writing and even play games with past vocabulary words like Password.

We learn 3 new vocabulary words a week, and are encouraged to revisit our vocabulary journals every day to revise, add more detail, and make sure our meaning is clear. When we have all our vocabulary words done for the theme, we add color pictures, and rate ourselves using the rubric on the front.