Denotative and Connotative Meaning

Authors of “Integrated Vocabulary Instruction” provide examples of the difference between denotations and connotations of words.  They note:  The denotation of a word is its general or literal meaning.  For example, while clothing and raiment may have the same denotation the connotation is very different.  The clothing is “what people wear,” but the words has connotations that that would normally include the mundane or utilitarian, such as outdoor clothing.  The connotation of raiment is something splendid, such as clothing worn by princes and princesses on formal occasions. Not knowing the connotations of a word can cause students to write sentences like “He put on his raiment to go out in the rain.  

• The authors recommend Synonym Feature Analysis as an exercise to help students learn word connotation. Check out the Learning Point Associates Report, pages 11-12.

• Another way to help students zero in on the exact meaning of a word is through Venn Diagrams that compare and contrast two terms.  To see an example of a Venn Diagram used to distinguish Two social Studies terms, go to page Page 26 of the Learning Point Associates Report. 

Synonyms and Antonyms

Antonyms are one way that students can understand the limits of a word’s meaning.  Knowing that “big” is the opposite of “small” or “gather” is the opposite of “disperse” can help students visualize and remember a word’s meaning. 

• Some teachers like to have their students create word cards that include pictures, definitions in their own words, and antonyms.  

• Synonym Webs are one way to help students think about words that have similar meanings, and to understand the relationship between a word and its synonyms.  Click on the Learning Point Associates Report and check out pages 9 - 10 for an example.

Examples and non-Examples

For important words, giving students a definition without an example is generally not effective.  Examples should be given when a word is introduced, and students should be encouraged to think of their own.  Personal examples are especially helpful in helping students remember word meanings, so students should be encouraged to come up with their own examples.

• Students can also be asked to draw upon their general experience of the world to create examples:

• Have you Ever? Is another exercise that helps students associate new words with their own experiences.  Click here for some examples. 

• Examples and Nonexamples can be presented in question form as well:

Multiple Meanings

Research shows that students often have trouble understanding a learned word in a new context.  Teachers should be explicit about mentioning and differentiating meanings.  For instance, introducing the word “factor,” a teacher might want to say something like “You are used to hearing this word in math class to describe the numbers that can be multiplied to come up with a third number.  But “factor” also means …..”  Here are some strategies for teaching multiple meetings:

• Students can also be introduced to multiple meanings by being asked to consider a word in different sentences in which the words are used slightly differently:

• Kate Kinsella has something about polysemous words. 

• Synonym Webs, mentioned in the “Antonyms and Synonyms” section above, are one way to help students work with a word’s multiple meanings.  In creating such a chart, discussion has been shown to be a key factor in helping students learn the words.

• A good example of a lesson that focuses on the ways word meanings change in different contexts comes from the EngageNY.org 6^th Grade ELA Unit “The Heroes Journey”  on page 109.

Word Forms

Adult students, both second language learners and native speakers, often do not fully distinguish between the forms of a word.  They may use words like different and difference interchangeably.

• Word forms charts can help students visualize the way that words with the same root are connected, and also the way different endings are used depending upon the part of speech and the way the word is used in a sentence.  Click here and here for an example.

Collocation

Collocation refers to the ways certain words go together.  Do we say “Welcome in” or “Welcome to?

For second language learners in particular, collocations can be challenging. Some sites that can help both teachers and students with collocations are:

• OneStopEnglish
• EnglishTeacherMelanie.com
• Eslweb.org
• MyEnglishTeacher.org
• JTW (Just the Word) 

Word Walls

Many adult education teachers do not have dedicated classrooms, so making a word wall may be a bit more complicated than it is for a K-12 teacher.  Nevertheless, a large piece of mural paper or pasteboard can provide the backdrop for a word wall.

The effectiveness of a word wall is due to the fact that students see the words many, many times.

Click here to see examples of word walls and ways to use them:

Quizzes

Quizzes are a great way to review words and give both teachers and students a sense of how much word learning is actually taking place.  To be effective, use of quizzes should follow these guidelines:

• Questions should include a variety of formats and ask students to apply word meanings.
• Students should be given a review sheet for homework and informed beforehand that a quiz is coming
• At times, it may make sense to have students to construct the questions themselves.

Role Play, Dialogues and Debates 

Drama can provide a fun way for students to use words they are learning in context. 

Dialogues can show students how words are used in the context of their own lives.  Click here for an example of a dialogue (Kate’s word doc)

Students may role play two people discussing a situation, for example, -----, and using several of the target words written on the board.  Points can be given for correct use of the terms.

Students can be asked to debate a point using words that express positions such as “contend, “maintain.”

Games

Games, of course, are an all time favorite way for students to review vocabulary and have fun.  Below are examples of games that work well in the classroom:

1. Out of a Hat

For this activity, you will need:

• A hat
• Slips of paper with words that students have studied
• Slips of paper with definitions of those words.

Each student takes a slip of paper, then looks for the definition that matches her word, or the word that matches her definition.  Once she is partnered up, the two students write a meaningful sentence using the word and put it up on the board.  This activity is a good start up activity and doesn’t require a lot of time.  A rambunctious variant is Snowball, in which students write words and definitions on slips of paper, crumple them up, throw them at each other, and then students uncrumple one slip of paper each and find the partner that matches them.  A bit wild and better to do at the end of class.

2. Vocabulary Bingo

Here is an example at the Beacon Lesson Plan Library.

3. Jeopardy

For this game, you will need large pieces of paper with dollar amounts on one side and words on the other.  Tape the pieces to the board in rows.  Create categories for the words.  $200 words should be easier than $400 words and $600 words.  Students work in teams to choose categories and give the meaning of the word that appears on the card once it is turned over.  Points are given for each word correctly defined and used in a sentence.  Winning team gets small prizes.

4. Vobackulary

A vocabulary word is written on an index card and taped to a student’s back.  The student can choose three fellow students to help her figure out the word.  The students giving clues cannot use the word or a form of the word.  If the student can use the three clues to figure out the word, they win the card.

5. Row Race

Words are written on the board in groups of five.  The first student in a row of seats must choose one of the words in the group and write a definition or a sentence using the word correctly, the passes the paper back.  As the paper moves farther back in the row, the process becomes more difficult because students have less choice.  The first row to use all words correctly wins. 

6. Swat 

Words are written on the board.  As definitions are read off, a student who knows what word is being defined can go to the board and swat the word with a fly swatter.