LearningTip #24:
Strengthen Vocabulary Through
Reading and Exploring
With a Vocabulary Scavenger Hunt

By Joyce Melton Pagés, Ed.D.
Middle School Instructional Specialist, President of KidBibs

"Look up each of your vocabulary words.  Copy the definition and write a sentence using each word."  Does this sound familiar?  How many times did you hear this while you were growing up?  More importantly, how many of those words actually became part of your vocabulary?

In all likelihood, those words were forgotten just as quickly as the vocabulary test was completed.  You saw no relevance to the learning.  Further, you had not developed the concepts or experiences to support the learning of the vocabulary words.  Finally, you had not developed strategies to strengthen your vocabulary learning in the future.  You had simply placed definitions into short term memory for the purpose of passing a test.

The goal of vocabulary instruction is two-fold.  First, teachers and parents should provide experiences that develop the concepts behind the vocabulary; this helps children "own" the words (so that they use them in their lives).  Second, vocabulary instruction should help children develop the strategies that enable them to use context and other appropriate strategies to construct meaning for unfamiliar words.  In this way, they continue to develop as independent readers and writers.

Conducting a Vocabulary Scavenger Hunt is one way to build vocabulary in a fun, interesting, motivating way; other vocabulary strategies will be the focus of  future LearningTips articles. Whether it's implemented at school or at home, a Vocabulary Scavenger Hunt involves children in reading a wide variety of materials, experiencing the words in varied contexts, and developing the strategies to generalize the meanings  from experiencing the words in these different references and settings.  And, in the process, they're even having fun!

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Procedure

1.  Have the students form small groups---usually three or four students per group.

2.  Distribute a list of vocabulary words one to two weeks before the unit is to be taught.  Provide a list of five to eight words for primary grade children.  Intermediate grade students can have longer lists.  The Vocabulary Scavenger Hunt list should contain the key words that will support the teaching unit or inquiry unit to be implemented.  For example, a list of vocabulary words related to a weather unit might include some of the following words:

3.  Provide the children with time to search for the words.  Have the students use library books, encyclopedias, dictionaries, newspapers, magazines, textbooks, internet web sites, and other appropriate resources at school and at home to find the words on the list.   They should collect examples of the the words, copy sentences which use the words (including enough context to support meaning making), collect pictures, draw pictures, build models or examples, etc.  Tell students how much each item or example is worth in terms of points.  A possible way to assign points could be:

8 points for building a model representing the word/process

5 points for finding a newspaper/magazine article about the word/process

2 points for finding a book about the word/process OR a picture about the word/process OR a description in a dictionary, encyclopedia, or almanac about the word/process OR drawing a picture of the word/process

1 point for each time the word (with surrounding context) if copied from a reference

The points values can be arranged in a wide variety of ways.  You may also want to provide bonus points for every group that finds an item/example for all of the words on the list.

4.  Allow the groups to meet occasionally to discuss the words. Encourage them to plan a strategy for gathering the examples of the words outside of school.  One child may be able to go to the library, while another may have a friend who knows a lot about the topic (and might have some "things").  Every student is expected to contribute to the team effort.  [Students should have a few minutes to meet each day to assess how they're progressing in the collection of items/examples.]  Tell the groups to keep their progress and "findings" secret; they are competing with the other groups to earn the most points.  This is very motivating for some children.

5.  On the day when the items/examples are due, have the students bring them to school.  Give the groups a few minutes to organize their objects in piles by word (items/examples for "Hurricane" in one pile, items/examples for "temperature" in another pile, etc.)  Have one large sheet of paper (perhaps the size of half of a posterboard) prepared for each word.  Show the first word page and have students, group by group, share what they found/know about the word (related to weather, for example) from their reading and searching.  Briefly record their ideas on each word page. These pages may be posted on the wall for use during the unit or they may be put together to make a unit glossary or word book.

6.  Now groups may sort their items/examples by type (books about the topics in one pile, pictures in another pile, models in another pile, etc.)  the students can then count up points in each pile, add them together, and calculate their total.

7. When the actual unit is taught (or research is done in the case of inquiry-centered instruction), students can refer to the posters or word book for assistance. Some teachers like to use the list of scavenger hunt words to write a class summary.

This strategy involves students in reading, using references, organizing, collaborating, and many other activities!  They read these words in a wide variety of references and discover their relevance in the real world.  With this strategy, children actually learn their vocabulary words---and they have fun doing it!

© KidBibs International
http://www.kidbibs.com/

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