Students are required to learn several hundred new words each year. As a classroom teacher, how do you make that vocabulary stick in their brains?
Teachers frequently offer students multiple ways to learn vocabulary: vocabulary cards, quizzes, drawing, matching activities, and even games. By varying the activities, they hope to keep students engaged with the words.
Few would argue with the importance of vocabulary knowledge in all school subjects.
I have the privilege of working with teachers across the country and I often hear the refrain that too many students are just not reading on level.
More and more often, history teachers are being asked to structure their curricula thematically as opposed to chronologically, in hopes of increasing student engagement and facilitating comparison among multiple perspectives.
“Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope.” —Kofi Annan
“My least favorite thing about school is world history.”
Using discussion boards can be an excellent way to engage students with important middle and high school social studies content.
