Four Square, Vocabulary Care

      Vocabulary words are an important part of our students' literacy development. I have learned a lot about vocabulary in my Integrated Literacy class this semester. Vocabulary words are words children can understand during reading and use in their writing. They need to be able to associate printed words with their meanings. There are two types of vocabulary words: sight words and general reading vocabulary. Sight words make up 50-70% of the words students read. These are words that students need to immediately know to be able to fluently read and comprehend a text. Children need to learn 3000 words each year! To be able to understand a story, children need to understand the meaning of the words in a text. One strategy my class went over is the Four Square Vocabulary Strategy. It helps students get to the deeper meaning of words. First, students identify the word they are thinking about. Next, they write a brief definition in their own words! (I believe that words are easier to remember if you come up with your own definition!) After that, students should draw a picture to help them visualize the meaning of the word. Once students can define and visualize what a word means, they can begin to make personal associations or connections to the word. The last portion of the strategy has students come up with antonyms and synonyms to help analyze, compare, and contrast the meaning of the word to other words. They will be critically thinking about words! I have attached a sample four square chart for you to enjoy and try out in your classroom! :)

Four Square Vocabulary Chart

Have you ever used the Four Square Vocabulary Strategy? If so, tell me about what you heard, saw, and learned...