Vocabulary

To help increase student reading comprehension I assign looking up the vocabulary definitions for the next chapter students will be required to read. Often I will create a crossword puzzle using those terms to aid student retention. Crossword puzzles are viewed as a fun activity by most students. Therefore, they willingly participate and learn at the same time. Since the vocabulary is usually part of an important fact or concept these activities help students better understand what they are reading. In addition, when lecturing or during class discussions I will not only question students on how these terms relate to the material under discussion, but also about how they can be applied today. As a result, students are not only compelled to utilize the terms in context, but also use their own words instead of just parroting back a memorized definition.