math vocabulary assignment

5 Fun activities for teaching math vocabulary

• March 8, 2024
• Rebekah Bergman
• Education Tips & Tricks

Why is teaching math vocabulary important?

Success in math isn’t only a matter of numbers; math vocabulary plays a huge role too! For students to gain true mastery of math, they need to become fluent in the language of mathematics. Becoming fluent means building a vocabulary that includes words from “addend” to the “y-axis,” understanding those words, and then being able to use them and apply them to new scenarios. Plus, a word can have one meaning inside the math classroom and an entirely different one outside of it, think of “odd” and “plane.” Math vocab also includes words and phrases that are also symbols that students need to learn how to recognize, read, and use (e.g., ℼ and √).

With many skills and standards to master, it can be tricky for math teachers to find time and opportunities to devote to vocabulary instruction . Keep reading to explore five fun ideas to teach math vocabulary.

Flocabulary for math vocabulary

At Flocabulary , vocabulary is key to our lessons and activities. Our belief in the power of vocabulary informs our approach to learning across subjects. Our hip-hop songs and engaging videos are centered around vocabulary and threaded through all the activities in each lesson. Here’s a mashup of some of the math videos Flocabulary has to offer!

Captivate students and make learning experiences memorable and interesting through Flocabulary.  Teachers can sign up below to access video lessons and activities shared in this blog post. Administrators can contact us below to learn more about the power of Flocabulary Plus.

5 Fun activities and tips for teaching math vocabulary

1. incorporate vocabulary into number talks, do nows, and your other rituals and routines..

Vocabulary instruction doesn’t have to occur in an isolated vacuum; researchers say it shouldn’t be ( File, Kieran & Adams, Rebecca, 2010 )! Exposing students to math words as they are used authentically in context is an effective strategy to build their vocabulary. It can be relatively simple to do this: you can use your existing classroom rituals and routines–like Number Talks or Do Nows–as opportunities to integrate vocabulary learning.

Exposing students to a word will not be enough to grow their vocabulary. Repetition and context are key.  As a word is used, take a moment to examine it with students. How is that vocabulary word being used in this problem or example? If the vocab word is relatively new to your students, you might provide direct instruction about its meaning and usage. If it’s a word students have seen many times already, you might pause for a quick check for understanding to reinforce the meaning and usage.

Here are some specific vocabulary activities you can implement into your classroom routines:

• Make a game of spotting the vocabulary. Ask students to keep an eye out for their math vocabulary words throughout the class. Consider creating a gesture or other signal that students can make if they see or hear one of the words used in a Number Talk or Do Now. Turn it into a friendly competition and offer prizes. Keep it easy and quick for you to implement, and this game can become its own vocabulary ritual that will foster engagement and keep the learning going and growing. 
• Use Flocabulary to spot vocabulary words in a song. Flocabulary creates standards-aligned hip-hop infused videos for K-12 subjects. Every Flocabulary lesson includes 3-10 vocabulary words. Pause the video, or have students raise their hand for you to pause the video, whenever a vocab word is used. Look at the lyrics and visuals on the screen that represent the word or phrase, and discuss the vocabulary before you continue playing the song!

2. Have students speak, write, and draw their math vocabulary words.

Math teachers know the importance of manipulatives for gaining first-hand experience with abstract mathematical concepts. Similarly, students need opportunities to practice speaking, writing and drawing new words to fully incorporate those words into their vocabulary and make them their own.

Here are a few activities that provide students with this opportunity:

• Have students apply the word to a new scenario by writing a sentence or creating their own example problem.
• Ask students to draw a visual representation of a word.
• Pair students up or put them in small groups to have conversations using their vocabulary.
• Use a Frayer model graphic organizer . This typically includes four boxes for each vocabulary word with space for students to create a definition, list examples, list non-examples, and describe features or facts.
• Assign students Flocabulary’s Vocab Cards. Inspired by the Frayer model, Vocab Cards feature a definition in student-friendly language, words, parts of speech, an image, synonyms, antonyms, and an example sentence. There is room for students to practice writing an example and drawing the word, too. Assign these Vocab Cards and have students share their work, or you can complete them front-of-class together.

3. Have students keep a journal with examples and definitions of their vocabulary words.

In a vocabulary journal, you can have students log any new words they have encountered incidentally while solving word problems, the vocabulary words you introduced, or provided direct instruction around, or a combination of both!

How much and what you have students record for each word is up to you! But again, knowing the importance of exposing students to a word in multiple contexts, you might have students create a running log with space for additional examples of the word used in context as they come across them. Having a journal is especially useful during test prep season because students can refer back to what they’ve learned.

Here’s a breakdown of how students can create a vocabulary journal:

• Adding words to the journal will help students commit the new vocabulary to memory. For each entry, students can write the word, a predicted definition from context, the real definition they find, and examples.
• Students can use the journal to self-assess. Have them set up the page with the words on one side and the definitions on the other. When they fold the page in half, they can quiz themselves!
• Use Read & Respond to record new words in their journal. After students watch a Flocabulary video, have them complete the Read & Respond accompanying activity. Instruct them to write down any additional vocabulary words from the text passages in their journal.
• Seeing this journal grow can be hugely motivational , especially for students who might struggle in other areas of mathematics. Over time, the vocabulary journal will also serve as a comprehensive and living record of their learning.

4. Gamify vocab instruction for added fun, competition, and collaboration.

Earlier, we discussed ways to create a game for math vocabulary words used throughout class time. You can also play games with students using the math terms in new contexts to test their knowledge.

Gameplay can be one round or many. Educational games can be especially significant when students need to reset their energy level or get up and move a bit before they’re ready to sit still or quietly focus on a different kind of task. It also creates opportunities to build classroom community through friendly competition and student collaboration. These games do not take much time away from the other math learning and practice. They also don’t require many materials or time to set up.

Here are some vocabulary games and activities students can do:

• Charades: Students can work in partners or teams to act out a vocabulary word and have their teammates guess it correctly.
• Pictionary: Students can draw a vocabulary word and have their teammates guess it correctly.
• Fil-in-the-blanks: Students can come up with a fill-in-the-blank sentence for their teammates to compete or race to identify which vocab word is being defined or described.
• Flocabulary’s Vocab Game : In this game, students complete fill-in-the-blank sentences and match definitions, images, synonyms, and antonyms with the right vocabulary word. Correct answers add new instruments to build a Flocab beat! By the end of the game, students will be able to listen to a beat they’ve created by completing the fill-in-the-blanks. Flocabulary’s Vocab Game is available in every lesson.

5. Allow room for students to get creative!

“Creating” is at the very top of Bloom’s Taxonomy and is considered to require higher-order thinking skills. While most tips on this list won’t take much time to implement, this one can take longer, but we feel the investment can be well worth the time. With that in mind, you can consider a creative vocab assignment.

You can use vocabulary activities to encourage freedom, expression, and creativity. After all, we know that students can do a lot more than write sentences and draw pictures. Often, they crave opportunities to engage more creatively with their learning.

Here are a few ways to get creative with vocab instruction with students:

• Create a picture book or other visual that could teach younger students about one or more math vocab terms while telling a story.
• Create and perform a skit that uses math vocab in a real-world context. 
• Create a poem that uses examples or definitions of math vocabulary words.
• Use Lyric Lab to have students create their own songs using their vocabulary words. Lyric Lab is a rhyme-writing tool available in every Flocabulary lesson. It includes a rhyming dictionary and beats that students can use to help them write their rap or poem. It also consists of a word bank that keeps track of which vocabulary words they’ve used. You can have students write songs in Lyric Lab and perform them to celebrate the end of a unit!

Start using these tips in your math classroom

Across all subject areas, vocabulary is essential to comprehension. It’s estimated that students need to know more than 90% of words in a text to understand it ( Schmitt et al., 2011 ). In math, this means that students need opportunities to learn the language of math to understand the problems they are solving. Fortunately, there are lots of fun and easy-to-implement ways you can build students’ math vocabulary, and Flocabulary’s videos and lesson activities can help!

Captivate students and make learning experiences memorable and interesting through Flocabulary.  Teachers can sign up below to access video lessons and activities shared in this blog post. Administrators can contact us below to learn more about the power of Flocabulary Plus.

Interested in reading more about this topic? Check out this blog post: Tips for math instruction with Flocabulary

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The Complete Guide to Teaching Math Vocabulary

By Mary Montero

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I am a firm believer that students in the upper grades can be expected to use precise math vocabulary. This means they know the difference between conceptual and computational errors, they fluently use words like “sum” and “product,” and they read decimals with tenths and hundreds instead of points. The more we can incorporate this seamlessly into our instruction and conversation, the more automatic it will become for students. Now, I never call out my students for using informal math vocabulary. However, just like we practice reading fluency, it’s important to me that we practice math fluency as well! 

Download Everything You Need– for free!

This free PDF guide will allow you to have all of the math vocabulary resources right at your fingertips.

Why it’s important to use correct, precise math vocabulary:

• It increases student comprehension and ability to tackle math word problems
• It improves performance on standardized tests (which almost always use proper, precise math vocabulary)
• It gives every child a little knowledge boost as they progress through the grade levels
• It increases conceptual understanding of math concepts

A special note: Please note that I have used these strategies and expectations with all students, but students needing extra support or English Language Learners may need additional scaffolds, support, and accommodations. I never call out a student for using informal math vocabulary.

Important Math Vocabulary Lessons

I infuse proper math vocabulary into all of my lessons, but I do teach three explicit lessons on the skill.

Lesson #1: Expression vs. Equation

We dissect the words expression and equation. You’ll see in the anchor chart below that  “Express” is underlined under Expression and “Equa” is underlined under Equation. Expressions are short, hence the “express” and “equa” is similar to equal. This helps my students remember the difference and infuses a bit of word study as well.

Lesson #2: Conceptual vs. Computational Understanding

I teach this lesson in relation to analyzing errors in your work, but it’s essential. When students have me check a piece of work, and I tell them it’s wrong, I will always tell them whether it’s computational or conceptual, which requires them to understand the difference between the two. If it’s computational, I typically don’t do a lot of reteaching. If it’s a conceptual error, I know I need to help them with the concept. This also makes them highly aware of their gaps in knowledge – there is a big difference between making computational mistakes and not understanding the concept. Don’t skip this lesson!

Lesson #3: Formal vs. Informal Math Talk 

The upper grades, we do a fun little lesson about formal vs. informal math talk. We discuss that it’s perfectly fine to occasionally use informal math talk, but the more we use formal math talk, the more automatic it will become (just like informal math talk!). Here are the math topics I focus on the most:

• Operations: I constantly ask my students what OPERATION they used to solve the problem. When asking them about their answer, I’m always sure to ask “What the sum/difference/product/quotient.”
• Decimal Points: We read 2.34 as two and thirty-four hundredths , not two point three four
• Reading Whole numbers: We don’t use and when reading larger numbers, specifically because that’s how we read decimal numbers, and we don’t want to get in that habit early on.
• Reading Fractions: We refer to the top number as the numerator and the bottom number as the denominator .
• Greater than and Less Than: As students get older, they should fluently be able to read statements using <,>, and =
• Regroup and Decompose: It’s really hard to break the habit of saying “borrow,” but they aren’t borrowing numbers, they are regrouping them.
• Improper Fractions and Fractions Greater than One: This is newer, and one I still accidentally use sometimes! 
• Reduced and Simplified Fractions: I use both terms interchangeable, BUT I make sure that students understand that we are not reducing the size of a fraction when we simplify. 
• Geometry Terms: I’m a stickler for this one too – those aren’t corner. Those are vertices! 
• Dimensions: Make it a point to teach this term and how to read dimensions. This is hugely important as students learn about area and perimeter (other terms you should always use). 
• Digits vs. Numbers: This is akin to understanding that letters make up words. Digits make up numbers, and it’s important that students understand the difference.

More Math Vocabulary Practice

The free PDF guide includes extra practice for 145 math vocabulary terms!

Excellent Books for Teaching Math Vocabulary and Skills

I created an  Amazon Affiliate List of my favorite math picture books . The free PDF includes activity suggestions to use with some of the books to make teaching math vocabulary lessons easier!

Related Blog Posts

• Teaching Precise Math Vocabulary
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Mary Montero

I’m so glad you are here. I’m a current gifted and talented teacher in a small town in Colorado, and I’ve been in education since 2009. My passion (other than my family and cookies) is for making teachers’ lives easier and classrooms more engaging.

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Build Strong Math Vocabulary Skills Using These Simple Strategies

Learning new vocabulary is a fundamental part of understanding math concepts. Use these strategies to build both fluency and engagement.

Math class doesn’t seem like the most obvious choice for word walls, glossary lists, and word of the day games. But a strong understanding of math terms is essential for mastering concepts—meaning strategies for building robust vocabulary are surprisingly useful. 

Recently, fifth-grade math teacher Kathleen Palmieri began to wonder how well her students understood the complex terms used in textbooks and word problems. So she performed some action research by pulling out 10 key terms—including exponent, base, equivalent, and estimate—and asked students to define those terms using words or numbers, she writes in a recent piece for MiddleWeb . About 40 percent of her kids could write a basic definition, exposing significant gaps in conceptual fluency.

“What I discovered in my students’ responses was that learning math terminology is more than studying a list of words,” she said, concluding that regular practice with new math terminology facilitates mathematical discourse and understanding. “It is much more of an architecture of learning where concepts need to be explored and a pathway of understanding needs to be blazed before a mathematical term can be attached to establish true meaning.”

Here are a few of the ways Palmieri and other teachers “immerse students in the language of math”—while keeping student engagement high. 

1. Let students do the defining: Students need to contextualize words before they can understand them, and need repeated exposure to them before they sink in. 

As an alternative to Palmieri’s baseline assessment, have students pull out the key terms they think will be important later. Literacy specialist Rebecca Alber asked her students to skim a chapter from a textbook and identify their own vocabulary list . Students would then rate each term by whether they “know it,” “sort of know it,” or “don't know it at all.” Afterward, they wrote out a definition or took their best guess at the term’s meaning.

“Before they turn in these pre-reading charts, be sure to emphasize this is not about ‘being right,’” she advised. “They are providing you with information to guide next steps in class vocabulary instruction.”

Similarly, Palmieri provides some introductory context and asks students to add to an expanding glossary. Research has largely dispelled the practice of writing out memorized definitions from textbooks, so Palmieri takes a different tack. Students take an active role in coming up with definitions based on their learning. As students learn more about the terms and how they’re used, they update definitions. At the end of the lesson, to consolidate learning, it may prove helpful to review all the terms as a class.

2. Get creative with word walls: Instead of writing terms on a word wall and hanging it up for students to glance at, Palmieri has students write terms on colorful Post-Its and affix them to bulletin boards. She also gets great engagement from letting students use art supplies to creatively show what they’ve learned: “Bubble letters, examples of problems and definitions with graphics are truly fun ‘math’ activities,” she explains. “Students present and explain their term and then proudly display their poster in the classroom.” 

Unlike static word walls, these strategies involve principles of constructivism , an active and social learning theory where learners build on previous knowledge and create new learning themselves. As students learn new concepts, they can define terms in real-time, make adjustments as the concepts deepen, and hang them around the classroom for others to learn from.

3. Make it a game: Math instruction doesn’t have to be drab, says Palmieri. You can introduce familiar word games like Pictionary, where students draw out clues and others try to guess the concept. She also plays a game called “What’s My Term?” where “students verbally give clues as others listen.” 

Likewise, language specialist and Harvard lecturer Rebecca Rolland suggests a game where students show they know what terms mean by listing “non-examples” of things they are studying. For instance, acute angles can look “‘sharp’ but not ‘curvy’ or ‘wavy’ or ‘square,’” she says. Ask students to come up with creative non-examples and explain their thought processes. “That same acute angle might look like a door that’s partly shut, but not like a smile or a cloud.” 

Still others play match games with index cards face down on a table, or encourage students to create definitions that rhyme or fit to music. In these cases, the game itself is perhaps less important than the act of engaging students to commit the terms to memory. 

4. Word(s) of the day: To reinforce specific concepts, Palmieri has the class come up with a word of the day or week, depending on the duration of the lesson. Students count how often the word is used and in which contexts (e.g., in word problems, during class discussion, in small group activities). 

Inspired by research she had done that suggested students need to use a word between six and 30 times to truly learn it, sixth-grade teacher Megan Kelly began picking three words to focus on for a day and reviewing the terms at the start of class. During class, she emphasizes the words herself, and asks students to use the words as many times as they can with a partner. 

“I used the words a ton in my directions and made a big deal whenever I heard a student say one of our goal words,” she says. “Everyone wants to be in on the fun, so each time I praised someone for using the word, there was an increase in others using them too.”

5. Break down word problems: Word problems are notoriously difficult, especially when challenging language obscures the intent of the question. Before students solve word problems numerically, Palmieri has the whole class perform a close read for sense-making. Together they pull out key words and create a written response. Working out word problems as a group is a well-established strategy. Teachers at Concourse Village Elementary School in New York City use a 3-read protocol : First, they read the word problem aloud to the class without numbers, then students read the complete problem on their own and pull out key terms before reading it together as a class. The 3-read protocol clarifies “what they’re reading and helps to build their fluency,” says Blair Pacheco, a teacher who has used the strategy with her students.

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Teaching Math Vocabulary that Sticks

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For math to be accessible to students, math vocabulary must be taught! Let’s talk about teaching math vocabulary in a way that sticks!

Let’s see how important math vocabulary is to understanding and solving this problem. Could you solve this problem? I covered up a vital piece of information needed to solve this problem to emulate what a student might experience without knowing the vocabulary necessary to solve.

Model Using the Math Language

If we want students to use the words we are teaching, we need to practice using it ourselves. Vocabulary requires exposure. Using the words as frequently as possible, students will hear  the words as frequently as possible, increasing their comfort with the words.

If a student uses a vocabulary word incorrectly, then make sure to correct it. “Bottom number” is a “denominator.”

As teachers, we can jump ahead to the solving of a problem, but using the STAAR test question above, we should start by asking students – “What does surface area mean?”

Annotating word problems or questions is also a way to practice math vocabulary. Anytime we read the word “percent,” we wrote “/100” to remember that percent meant “out of 100.”Let’s look at another math vocabulary rich problem: 

Here are some questions you can ask to practice that math vocabulary. 

• What makes a number an integer?
• Is -53 an integer?
• What does absolute value mean?

Get Ahead By Previewing Vocabulary

If you are a Texas teacher, you can use this excellent document that will show you which vocabulary words are new to the grade level as well as words from previous grade levels. This is a great place to start for a word wall. 

• 6th grade 

Previewing the vocabulary for an upcoming unit is a great place to start when teaching math vocabulary. In my experience, students copying definitions killed the energy in class, but offering students a “kid-friendly” definition that you referenced daily and had them practice (using some of the ideas in this post) was much more successful. 

Display a Word Wall

Update 7/28/2023: maneuvering the middle now has a middle school math + algebra 1 word wall..

As you can see in the video below, our Word Wall includes 190 essential math terms, their clear-cut definitions, and their visual representations.

We’ve included Spanish translations for all terms and definitions, ensuring a supportive and accessible learning experience for English Language Learners.

They were designed to be minimal prep and flexible to customize the formatting to suit your students’ unique needs.

Word walls are a vital part of any math classroom. You can learn more about word walls in this post .  If students are taking a brain break and staring off into space, they are likely staring at some math content. To have the most useful word wall, make sure words include a short definition, picture, and can be visible from the furthest spot in the classroom.

My word wall was constantly building. The wall started with 3 words in unit 1 and eventually built to just under 100 by the end of the school year. I purchased my sixth grade TEKS word wall here . 

Pointing out the addition of new words to the word wall and where students can access help if needed lets students know that the word wall is for their use! It is meant to be used!

Provide Opportunities to Use the Words in Context

When asking students questions, prompt the response to include vocabulary in their answer. This is the lowest lift, but it is so effective! Use a turn and talk and a cold call to get every student responding.

• Instead of: how do we divide fractions?
• Try: Using the word reciprocal, explain how we divide fractions.
• Instead of: What sides of the triangle are congruent?
• Try: Using the word congruent, describe what you notice about the sides of this triangle.

I read that you need to use a new word about 10 times before you remember it!  Teaching math vocabulary is something that you build into your instruction.

Fun Practice for Spiraling Definitions

To keep vocabulary and definitions fresh, use any of these activities in the last few minutes of class:

• Flyswatter Games – If you want students to get familiar with your word wall, use the Flyswatter Game.  This is a very engaging review game. If you are like me and don’t bother to cover up anything in your room before a test, this will help remind students where to look when they are stuck.  Two students face off with fly swatters in hand.  You give them a prompt such as “2, 4, 6, 8” are examples of ______” And the first student to swat the word ‘multiples’ earns their team a point.
• Flashlight Game -This game is great for those last few minutes of class as a sponge activity.  Turn off the lights and use a flashlight to point to a word on the wall.  Students can then shout out an example, the definition, or even a counter-example. 
• Guess the Word – I played this in a PD, and immediately implemented it in my classroom. One student stands with the white board behind them facing the rest of the classroom. You write (or have a slide deck prepared) a vocabulary word behind the student. Students in the classroom take turns giving the students hints to what vocabulary word is written behind them. You see how many words the student can guess in a given amount of time. 
• Quizziz or Kahoot – Both have a vast library of vocabulary rich games.

How do you teach math vocabulary to your students?

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5 Math Vocabulary Activities for Primary Learners

How do you teach math vocabulary in your classroom? When you think of the word vocabulary, ELA is the subject that comes to most people’s minds. However, I want to share my passion with you about also teaching the importance of it during your math instruction! Below, I will share some strategies and activities you can use to focus on the significance of math vocabulary with your students.

If you’re not already familiar with Marzano’s Six Step Process , I would highly suggest looking over it for your vocabulary instruction. In this specific blog post , I mention how I use it during my reading block, but it’s also an effective method for math vocabulary!

Before we dive in, one of the big things I want you to take away from vocabulary instruction is the importance of students explaining terms using their OWN definitions. You don’t just want students reciting textbook definitions back to you without fully understanding the concept of it.

“ To effectively teach mathematical vocabulary, consider what foundational knowledge should they already know to understand the terms being taught and how they will be assessed.” (The Art & Science of Teaching, R. Marzano)

There are 3 different types of vocabulary words within mathematical concepts.

• Ex: how, many, and more.
• Ex: exact, complete, connect, item
• Ex: area, array, regrouping

Keep in mind that when looking over your mathematical vocabulary that goes with your lesson, which tier does it fall into…1, 2, or 3? That will help you decide what kind of instruction needs to be used with those words. You might have 2 or 3 words that your kids are already pretty familiar with that you don’t need to review as much, whereas these new terms that students are not as familiar with will need more exposure to.

Below are 5 different activity ideas that you can use to introduce or review vocabulary words with students during your math instruction time!

1. Graphic Organizers

I love using graphic organizers when introducing vocabulary words. The one seen below may look familiar to you. Even though it seems super simple, it truly is an effective way to help students better understand mathematical terminology. You can grab this exact one HERE!

You’ve probably seen something like this before used for reading vocabulary and while this one is somewhat similar it does have its differences. While in an ELA block, you might ask for a synonym or antonym, but in math you want students to demonstrate an example and a non-example.

As you are working through this graphic organizer, I just want to remember that you don’t have to complete everything in one day for every word. That could take forever!

Break it down into chunks for better understanding for your students. For example, on day 1 you could have students draw a picture for each of the vocabulary words. On day 2, you can go over and review definitions and have students write the definitions in their own words.

Once your students become familiar with these graphic organizers and become familiar with the activity, they could do it as a math station. That way it doesn’t take up too much of your whole group instruction time.

2. Pocket Chart Sorts

Pocket chart sorts can help students distinguish the characteristics that define a concept in a simple way. Something like this that has pictures really benefits your ELL students where they can put an image with a concept. It helps students visualize and see what they are and what they are not!

You can use pocket charts with shapes, place value blocks, time, money, and more! Once you do this whole group, you can put an activity like this in a math station. Students will be getting that valuable vocabulary practice without even realizing it.

3. Mile a Minute

This is one of my favorite games to play with students. Here’s how it works:

• Place students into teams
• Provide a list of words related to a specific concept
• Call on a student to come to the front. They must read the words related to the concept.
• The first team to guess the concepts gets a point.

I’ve done this several different ways. For example, you can put all the words on the board at one time and have students come up and read them out loud. Another way to play this game is to pull up a blank PowerPoint or have words written on an index card and only show one word at a time. The possibilities are endless with this and it’s such a great way to review those math vocab words!

4. Mathematical Conversations

If you’re a member of Managing Math Stations , you know how much I preach the importance of having mathematical conversations with your students on a daily basis.

You might have a kid who can answer a question correctly on paper, but to have them explain something using their own words is so valuable. You’re not going to know that they fully understand the concept unless you’re having mathematical conversations with them.

Something that I’m constantly using to have these mathematical conversations are these math comprehension question stem cards. I keep them on a ring at my small group station as well as up by my desk so that I have quick access to them whenever needed!

As you are having these important math discussions, include targeted vocabulary as part of the question. For example, What does it mean to partition a fraction? Always ask for an explanation and justification , as well. This way you are truly gaining an understanding of where your student is with their learning.

5. Math Word Wall

Last, but not least, have some sort of math word wall for your students to reference. You can do one inside of your classroom or in the hallway like the one below!

If you don’t have enough wall space to do an entire word wall, feel free to use other important graphics such as anchor charts and printable visuals. You can keep them up for long periods of time or switch them out according to what lesson you are teaching.

As you can see, there are SO many different ways to help practice those math vocabulary skills! You can see all of the strategies mentioned here in my Math Vocabulary Facebook Live Video.

Don’t forget to download your FREE math vocabulary graphic organizer to use with your students by filling out the form below!

Feel free to pin the image below to save this post for later!

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10 Ideas for Vocabulary Instruction in Math

There is a strong correlation between a student’s word knowledge and future academic success. Evidence shows that what students already know about a topic is a reliable predictor of how easy they will learn new information in that topic. Words are the tools students use to access background knowledge, to make necessary connections, to learn about new concepts, and to express those ideas in everyday life. In fact, the more terms you know about a specific subject, the easier it is to understand and learn new information related to that subject. One builds upon the other.

It takes a numeracy-rich environment for authentic vocabulary learning to occur. The power of numeracy lies in the empowerment of students; that is, students are given opportunities to use academic vocabulary in a natural setting and to recognize and appreciate how that term relates to the world both inside and outside the math class.

As teachers, we need to look at developing vocabulary in mathematics. Learning new content vocabulary is critical to deepening mathematical understanding. Without an appreciation of the content vocabulary involved, students are often denied access to mathematics. Understanding math language gives students the proficiency they need to mull around in the math a bit, integrate old knowledge with newly learned vocabulary, and apply that learned knowledge in new situations.

The authors of Bringing Words to Life (Beck, McKeown, Kucan 2002) explain that effective vocabulary instruction does not rely solely on definitions. Writing definitions out of a math dictionary is just not enough. When vocabulary instruction is effective, students learn the words, use the words, remember the words, and can ultimately apply the words fluently in different contexts.

Research indicates that when vocabulary instruction is direct and purposeful, it is effective. One of the most consistent findings related to effective vocabulary instruction is that students need multiple exposures to a word in order to learn it. Essentially, the more times students are exposed to a new vocabulary word, the stronger the understanding becomes. We sometimes forget a child needs to hear and use a word several times before it can be assimilated into daily conversation. Consequently, teachers should consider how to make multiple exposures to the word or concept frequent, novel, meaningful, and engaging. In other words, we need to make vocabulary instruction come alive!

Below you will find 10 ideas for making vocabulary instruction engaging, meaningful, and lasting:

1. An Interactive Word Wall

As students learn new vocabulary words, add them to a Word Wall. You can simply add the words or have students create a poster of each word including a visual, student definition, examples & non-examples. Allow students to move words around on the word wall according to whatever challenges you present. Provide opportunities to categorize the concepts, create hierarchies, and/or identify words that would connect to the learning that day.

You can also play a mystery word game giving hints while students guess the appropriate word. The student who guesses can then take a turn identifying a new mystery vocab. Another great idea is to choose one word and have students create questions that can be answered using the word. Students can play “fact or fib” using a word wall. As you choose one word and read statements about that word, students decide whether that statement is a fact or fib. This can easily be adapted into “sometimes, always, never” statements. Of course, it is important to discuss reasoning behind all activities using an interactive word wall.

The word wall below comes from a Ms. Clark’s fifth grade class at First Philadelphia Charter School. It is magnetized to allow for easy movement of the words.

As a way to build background knowledge, have students preview the text pages and with a partner identify any vocabulary words that might trip them up during the lesson. Students can keep their own “confusing words” list and use that list to search for answers and clarify misconceptions. Make sure to revisit and revise the list so students can keep track of growth.

3. Inside/Outside Circle

Each student receives a vocabulary word on an index card. Students are to define and draw an example of the word on the back of the card. Students form two concentric circles – inside circle facing out and outside circle facing in so that each student is facing a partner. Students alternate asking partners either definition or term. Teachers move circles to find new partners and repeat steps.

4. Frontload Multiple-Meaning Words

Mathematics often uses words with multiple meanings. This can be very confusing for students. It is helpful to present these words prior to the lesson and ask students to brainstorm various meanings. If need be, simply let students know what the math meaning is. This revelation can be a relief to students with limited background knowledge. Some examples of multiple-meaning words in mathematics are substitute, regular, similar, angle, chord, expression, etc.

5. Word Wizard

Have students become “word wizards” by challenging them to discover their math vocabulary used somewhere outside the school setting. Of course, they will need to bring “proof,” which could be a news article, a quote from a relative, a picture emailed to you with a description, a drawing with a caption, a TV quote, etc. This activity raises awareness of how academic vocabulary is used in everyday life (Allen, 2000).

6. List-Group-Label, Word Sort, or Circle the Category

Classifying and categorizing vocabulary words are important skills for comprehension and application. A closed sort means you provide both terms and the categories. An open sort means you students are given the terms but are not given the category titles. It is up to them to create and justify groups and titles for each group. Circle the category is a kinesthetic way to either do an open or closed sort. Students receive the words and get up to form groups.

7. Double-Dutch Chants

8. Concept Circles

Concept circles are circles divided into quarters. You can design this activity differently:

• Include four terms and challenge students to recognize how they are related. Students can provide an appropriate topic title.
• Write one word that doesn’t belong. Students recognize and defend their answers. This can be open-ended so all answers can be right as long as the explanation is mathematically sound.
• Include three words and leave the last quarter blank asking students to find another related term and justify their answer.
• Leave all quarters blank. Students fill in related terms or sketches with shared explanations.

9. Pre- and Post- Concept Checks

This tool for vocabulary development takes just a minute to prepare, and the payoff is big for both teachers and students. If the objective for your lesson can only be achieved with a clear understanding of certain terms, or if your lesson is heavy on vocabulary, this is a great entry point.

Directions:

• Ahead of time, pull out the terms that are most important.
• Have students rate their understanding of the terms before the lesson using the rating scale below.
• Circulate the room using this as a formative assessment. Adapt lesson accordingly.
• After the lesson, have student re-rate their understanding and prove this rating by creating representations or writing an explanation (Forget, 2004, p.230).

Ratings:               

+ could teach it

Kind of know it

10. Vocabulary Cartoons

Vocabulary Cartoons work on the principle of mnemonics. A mnemonic device helps with retrieval by associating it with something you already know. Vocabulary cartoons link a rhyming word with a visual in the form of a humorous cartoon.

In the example below, the new math term chord is associated with the word bored . A chord is a line segment connecting two points on a circle’s circumference. By definition, a diameter is a chord, but there are endless other chords that do not pass through the center point of the circle. In this case, the chord is bored because, even though he’s invited into the circle, he’s rarely ever in the center of it all.

Pearse, Margie. Teaching Numeracy: 9 Critical Habits to Ignite Mathematical Thinking . Thousand Oaks: Corwin, 2011.

Written by Margie Pearse

Margie Pearse has over 30 years of teaching experience with certifications in mathematics, elementary education, English as a Second Language (ESL), and Pennsylvania Quality Assurance Systems (Certified Instructor – PQAS 2014). She is presently at Chester Community Charter School as a Math Coach and in graduate education, training pre-service teachers how to create deeper, more numeracy based lessons.

Margie’s passion is to share a love of math with teachers and students! Her goal is to empower every student with the tools and strategies needed to be fluent and flexible with numbers. Margie’s educational philosophy can be summed up as such, “Why NOT reinvent the wheel! Yesterday’s lessons will not suffice for students to succeed in tomorrow’s world. We need to meet students, not just where they are, but where they need to be. There is great potential in every child. It is our job to empower students to discover that potential and possess the tenacity and self-efficacy to reach it.”

Published Books: Teaching Numeracy: 9 Critical Habits to Ignite Mathematical Thinking , released by Corwin in 2011; Learning That Never Ends , released by Rowman & Littlefield in 2013; and Passing the Mathematics Test for Elementary Teachers , by Rowman & Littlefield, February 2015.

Establishing a Shared Language for VISIBLE LEARNING (Part 2)

Great teaching by design, latest comments, pingback: math | pearltrees / january 12, 2019, pingback: vocabulary | pearltrees / august 2, 2018.

Olivia Bartlett / July 6, 2016

Hello! This post was recommended for The Best of the Math Teacher Blogs 2016: a collection of people’s favorite blog posts of the year. We would like to publish an edited volume of the posts at the end of the year and use the money raised toward a scholarship for TMC. Please let us know by responding via http://goo.gl/forms/LLURZ4GOsQ whether or not you grant us permission to include your post. Thank you, Tina and Lani.

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Use these 5 actionable strategies today to grow your students' math vocabulary.

Posted by Colleen Uscianowski · September 10, 2018

SCROLL DOWN TO THE BOTTOM TO GET YOUR FREE COPY OF OUR MATH VOCABULARY TOOLKIT

Do the bolded words mean the same thing in the following examples?

The third cup was roughly two- thirds full of water. The kids were rough -housing and banged a foot into the table, which knocked over the cup. The water spill was a foot wide.

He placed an even number of spoons on the even surface of the table. If he takes one away, there will be 3 spoons  left on the left side.

As educators, we know firsthand how tricky math vocabulary can be for our students- especially using exact, precise math words correctly.

Based on your experiences in the classroom, you probably already know that students with math disabilities- especially those who are also English language learners or have language disabilities- will have an especially hard time learning new math words. Using correct math words can seem like learning a new language!

While this is true, you should also know that YOU are an important factor in students’ learning. YOU matter and there are actionable strategies YOU can implement to grow your students’ knowledge of math words.

In this post, you will learn 5 actionable ways to improve your students’ math vocabulary- 5 strategies that you can implement today and that work for students with disabilities.

AND, if you make it down to the bottom of the post, you'll find my FAVORITE resource that I use to help build my math word wall. 

Language in the math classroom

When you think of learning new vocabulary words, English Language Arts class comes to mind first, right? We tend to think of math as all numbers, but there’s actually quite a bit of language learning that goes on in the math class, too.

Students need to learn the two (or more) different meanings for certain math words. Words they thoughts they knew, like face, mean something else once math class starts.

They need to understand and use these hard to say words, like quadrilateral.

They finally understand and remember what those math words mean, like decimal point. But now they learn that we sometimes use different words in different contexts. When we read a number aloud that has a decimal point, we don’t call it “decimal point,” we say “and.”

Oy vay! You know what else makes teaching math words so difficult? The fact that almost 50% of children with math disabilities ALSO have reading disabilities!

So not only do many of our struggling math students have a hard time understanding the meaning of math words, but they also have a hard time with expressive and receptive language.

A double whammy, but later I’ll show you that all is not lost. Our students with math and reading disabilities CAN learn to understand and use math words correctly, with the right supports. We’ll get into what those supports are later, but first:

Why should we focus on teaching math vocabulary?

Well, for a few reasons:

We use language to communicate.

Let’s say you’re working with Alice and you ask her to explain the steps she took to solve a fraction division problem.

She says, “I took this one and turned it like this, so now it’s the other. Then I timesed the top and the bottom, which gave me the answer.”

Does that sound like something some of your students might say? My struggling students tended to use a lot of vague words- “things” “this one” “like this”- instead of exact math language.

Using more precise language, Alice might have said, “I took the second fraction and turned it upside down, so it became the reciprocal. Then I multiplied the two numerators and the two denominators, which gave me the quotient.”

Sure does sound a lot more mathy, right? But more importantly, I understand what Alice did. Her use of precise language conveyed her understanding of the procedure and helped me get an insight into what she was thinking and doing.

Using the right math language helps us to have a conversation and understand what the other person means.

If math language isn’t explicitly taught, children learn to disregard math words and only pay attention to the numbers.

For example, let’s say you give Alice the following problem: "Nancy has 32 pretzels to share with 8 friends. How many pretzels will each friend get?"

Instead of figuring out what all those words mean, Alice narrows her focus to the numbers. She chooses an operation based on an arbitrary metric, then voilà! She has an answer. Alice might think, “32 is bigger than 8, so maybe I need to subtract. 32 minus 8 is 24.” Is it the right answer to the word problem? No.

But more importantly, did Alice have the chance to engage in critical thinking and flex her problem-solving skills? No.

If math vocabulary is so important, how do we teach it?

5 high impact strategies to teach math vocabulary:

1) Start with what they know and use student-friendly definitions .

Let students use their own informal language to describe math concepts and ideas when you first introduce them. For example, Ms. Williams is introducing parallelograms to her class and calls on Eduardo to share his thinking: 

Notice that Ms. Williams acknowledged and repeated back Eduardo’s observations about the rhombus, which reaffirms that he already has some knowledge about shapes. His teacher then builds on this knowledge by rephrasing his everyday language using the correct math words: rhombus instead of diamond and vertex instead of corner .

Teaching tip: Model the correct use of math language. You should be careful to use precise math language as you talk about math ideas with your students and rephrase new math words. For example, "Let's take a look at the area , or inside space , of the shape. We already know the area is 8 square units…"

2)  Explicitly teach new math words and give students multiple exposures to math words.  

When we teach vocabulary in Language Arts class, we don’t expect students to understand the words on their own. We isolate the words, help students sound them out, provide definitions, and give examples. We review new vocabulary words many times before we expect students to know them.

Same goes for the math class.

Math words need to be made explicit to students, defined, and shown in context, with examples. 

Students need to hear novel math words and practice using the words themselves many times before the words become part of the child’s own language. You can increase children’s exposure to math words by: 

• Pre-teaching: At the beginning of a new unit, tell students the new words they’ll be learning throughout the unit. As you introduce each new word, show an image and explain what it means. 
• Teaching: Teach math words through explicit instruction. Pull out those images and examples you used when you pre-taught the words. Show how the novel math words fit together with concepts they already know. Add the new math words to your classroom word wall and/or students’ individual word walls. Use the new words in conversations you have with students.
• Re-teaching and reviewing: When the unit is over, review all the new math words you taught. Celebrate the fact that students learned new words and grew their ability to communicate mathematically. Have students turn and talk with a partner, explaining what each new math word means. Have students draw pictures that show examples and non-examples of each math word.

Teaching tip: Research on word learning has found that teaching vocabulary in context works better than teaching definitions in isolation.

In other words, don’t show a word and its definition and expect students to memorize the meaning of the word. Try to show the meaning in context and have students draw or act out the meaning, as much as possible.

For example, don’t say this: Perimeter is the measure of the boundary of a closed geometric figure. Who can repeat back what perimeter means?

Instead, say this: Perimeter is the distance around the outside of a shape. Think of the fence around the school yard. The fence hugs the perimeter of the yard. Let’s take a walk around the perimeter of our classroom. Where should we start?

3) Set up a classroom math word wall and individual math word banks.

[Disclaimer: Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means I may get paid a commission if you purchase through those links, which comes at no cost to you.]

Math vocabulary words that are relevant to the current unit should be displayed visibly in the classroom. I like to print my math vocabulary cards on thick cardstock, like this one .

Each vocabulary card should include the word in large font along with a meaningful image and simple definition (sometimes I leave out the definition if the image makes it clear what the word means.)

Struggling to come up with kid-friendly definitions of a math word? My go-to resource is Mathisfun.com . If you look up the word in their search bar, you'll usually find a kid-friendly definition and image.

Sometimes it can be hard to get good images to use as part of your word wall. You can always draw an image directly on the cardstock. You can also do a google search for “royalty free stock images” or search for images on Teachers Pay Teachers, which has some low-cost clipart.

Once you set up your word wall, don't let it sit there, gathering dust! Make your word wall come alive with these 7 activities:

Scroll down to the bottom to get a FREE copy of our word wall activities checklist.

I also have my students create their own personal word walls or word banks .

Some years I have students fill out a graphic organizer (like the Frayer Model, which we'll see below) for each new math word. They keep their Frayer Models stored in a math journal or binder and can access their own personal math dictionary whenever they need to.

Other years I've had students create math dictionaries on index cards, which they keep on a ring . They write the math vocabulary word on one side of the index card and the definition or a picture on the other side. 

What I like about personal word banks is that each student in my class had a unique collection of words. No two students are the same and no two students are trying to learn the same math words. This is a great way to differentiate for different levels of learners. 

4) Use graphic organizers.

Use a graphic organizer for students to record and reinforce their understanding of math words. In addition to the Frayer Model shown below, you can use Venn Diagrams, semantic maps, word banks, etc.  

Frayer Model

The Frayer Model is my favorite graphic organizer that I like to use when teaching math vocabulary.

In the Frayer Model, students write the word in the center of the graphic organizer. In the surrounding boxes, they list the definition, characteristics, and provide examples and non-examples.

The examples and non-examples that students draw in the Frayer Model are especially powerful ways to reinforce what a word means and doesn't mean. 

Scroll down to the bottom to get a FREE copy of our place value arrow cards. 

Journaling is a great way to reinforce the use of math language. At the end of a lesson, have students answer specific prompts in their math journals.

For example:

• Today in math, I learned...
• One problem I solved was...
• Two ways to solve this problem are...

As students write about what they learned in math class and how they solved specific problems, they are reflecting on the newly taught math concepts. They also have practice writing and thinking about new math words they just learned. 

Encourage your students to use the word wall or their own personal graphic organizers to incorporate correct math vocabulary words in their journals.

Wrapping it up:

Think about the special education students in your class.

They might struggle to understand and use correct, precise words when expressing their ideas in all content areas, including math. But they won't absorb new math words automatically just by hearing the words during your lesson.

Instead, the best approach is to introduce new vocabulary directly through explicit instruction, in the context of meaningful math examples, and indirectly through conversation. 

Hopefully, some of the strategies above will help you teach math vocabulary and help your students learn new math words. 

If you want to learn more about vocabulary instruction, two of my favorite books are:

• Building Academic Vocabulary: Teacher's Manual by Marzano and Pickering
• Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction by Beck, McKeown, and Lucan

(note that these books aren't specific for math vocabulary instruction, but you can apply the knowledge in the books to teaching math words)

But before we go, I have one last resource to share with you...

MY FAVORITE MATH WORD WALL RESOURCE

Ok, I did promise you earlier in this post that I would share my favorite math word wall resource.

drumroll:: 

Not only do they list the words students should be learning in each grade, but they created cards, with definitions and images, that you can print and post on your word wall. 

Here's an example:

MATH VOCABULARY TOOLKIT

- Frayer Model 

- Word wall activities checklist

- Place value arrow cards 

- Math homophones infographic

- Word wall card templates 

• math vocabulary

Common Core Math Vocabulary: Your Ultimate Math Dictionary with Definitions

Find the math terms beginning with the letter:.

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50 Fun Earth Day Crafts and Activities 🌎!

30 Meaningful Vocabulary Activities for Every Grade

These activities are the definition of fun!

Learning new words is like adding to your writing toolbox. Your writing becomes so much more interesting and engaging when you have more tools available. Check out these fun and engaging vocabulary activities for kids in grades K-12, and give your students the equipment they need to build their wordsmith skills.

1. Write vocabulary short stories

Using vocabulary words in writing shows mastery. Challenge your students to use all of their vocabulary words in an original short story. Allow students to pair up and share their stories with a partner.

Learn more: Lucky Little Learners 

2. Put your students in the “hot seat”

Divide your class into two teams. Choose one student from one team to go to the front of the room and sit in a chair facing the class with his/her back to the board. This person is “on the spot.” Place a word on the board so everyone can see it except the person in the chair. One at a time, team members give the person a clue about the mystery word. If the word is guessed before two minutes are up, the team gets a point and play turns to the other team.

Learn more: On the Spot/Upper Elementary Snapshots

3. Match up words and definitions

Download these vocabulary words and matching definitions. Distribute one card to each student (either a word or a definition). Allow students to circulate in the room and find their “match.” Switch cards and repeat.

Learn more: Teach Starter

4. Sketch up some word maps

Creating word maps from vocabulary words encourages students to find the relationships between the vocabulary word and other words. Have them include words, pictures, examples, real-world connections, definitions, descriptive words, etc.

Learn more: Southern Fried Teachin’

5. Create Post-it stations

Post vocabulary words around the room, then have students circulate and write an original sentence using that word on a sticky note. Follow along and make sure students use the words correctly.

Learn more: Now Spark Creativity

6. Play a game of Pop!

Write vocabulary words on cards or craft sticks and place in a paper bag. Write the word Pop! on three to five cards or sticks and add them to the bag as well. To play, students will take turns drawing cards or sticks out of the bag, reading the word and giving the definition. If they correctly define the word, they keep the card or stick. If not, it goes back in the bag. If they pull the word Pop! they must return all their cards or sticks to the bag and start over. The player with the most cards or sticks wins.

Learn more: Pop/Not So Wimpy Teacher

7. Take a gallery walk

Hang six to eight large sheets of chart paper in various places around the room. On each sheet, write one vocabulary word. Have students work in small groups, rotating between stations. At each station, ask students to come up with a different, original way to use each word. Continue the activity until all students have visited every station.

Learn more: Teachwriting.org

8. Create vocabulary strips

Have students draw a diagonal line across an index card. On the top half, have them write the vocabulary word and definition. On the bottom half, have them draw a picture of the word and use it in a sentence. Cards can be joined together in a strip for easy review.

Learn more: Teaching Fourth

9. Play a round of Pictionary

This fun activity requires students to draw a picture for each word to create their own visual dictionary. When students create their own visual representations, they develop an association with the word that they will be able to tap into when needed.

Learn more: Pictionary/Lit in Focus

10. Make a word map

Word maps help deepen understanding of a vocab word by relating it to other words and concepts students already know.

Learn more: Word Map/Upper Elementary Snapshots

11. Use the Frayer model

Frayer models are a popular way to learn new words and concepts. Kids define the word in their own terms, then list facts and characteristics, examples, and non-examples.

12. Draw vocabulary Sketchnotes

Kids and teachers love Sketchnotes ! Rather than writing out definitions, have students draw a sketch that sums up each word instead. It’s a lot more fun and gives kids an image for visual association and to help remember the meanings.

13. Bump words along

Group vocab words together with a few other words with similar meanings and one that’s an antonym. Students identify the antonym and “bump” it to the next box, filling in the next group of words. They continue until the worksheet is full.

Learn more: Reading and Writing Haven

14. Post a graffiti wall

Think of a vocabulary graffiti wall like a collaborative word wall. In the classroom, post the words on the wall and have kids add sticky notes to illustrate the term (they can use words or pictures). Online, try a tool like Padlet or Google Slides.

Learn more: Digging Deeper

15. Match words to describe character

This is a terrific way to practice vocab words pulled from books you’re reading. Ask students to use various words to describe the different characters in the book and their feelings, thoughts, and actions.

Learn more: The Sassy Apple

16. Fill in words from A to Z

This vocabulary game is fun and challenging, and you can play it at any age. Choose a word, then challenge kids to come up with related words for as many letters as possible. These could be synonyms, antonyms, examples, and more. Trickier letters are worth more points!

Learn more: A to Z/Lit in Focus

17. Try Flip for vocabulary activities

Forever a Teacher at Heart/Twitter

Are you on the Flip (formerly Flipgrid) bandwagon yet? It’s perfect for vocabulary activities! Have kids record a quick video for each word, using their creativity to make it fun and meaningful.

18. Battle it out in Vocabulary Jeopardy

Good vocabulary activities encourage more than just memorization of definitions. That’s why we like this Jeopardy game idea. It explores synonyms and antonyms and how words are used in real sentences.

Learn more: Not So Wimpy Teacher

19. Use RAFTs to write vocabulary stories

Writing a story using vocab words is a perennial favorite, but the RAFT method gives it a new twist. Students are assigned a Role (the point of view from which they’ll tell the story), an Audience, a Format, and a Topic. For instance, they might be an astronaut (Role) writing a postcard (Format) to their friends back home (Audience) about what they’ve seen on Mars (Topic). RAFTs are especially great for kids who claim they don’t know what to write about.

Learn more: RAFT/Teachingwriting.org

20. Discover the power of words

Vocabulary words take on greater meaning when students incorporate them into their daily lives. Challenge kids to use their vocab words in conversation and writing outside the language arts classroom. Use the free printable worksheet here to help them keep track of how often they use them.

21. Create graphic organizers

Colorful organizers like these are terrific vocabulary activities. Want to go digital? Have kids make a slideshow, one slide per word. They can include the same information, but instead of drawing a picture, have them find one online that illustrates the concept.

Learn more: Graphic Organizers/Upper Elementary Snapshots

22. Focus on a Word of the Week

Give really important terms the attention they deserve. Choose a new vocab word each week, then explore it in depth day by day.

Learn more: Lit in Focus

23. Join the Million Dollar Word Club

Post a list of target vocab words. If a student uses one of the words in class (outside of vocabulary activities), they become a member of the Million Dollar Word Club! You can have them sign their name on a wall in the classroom or award a badge online. You could even develop this into a reward system for homework passes or extra credit.

Learn more: Million Dollar Words/The Sassy Apple

24. Explore shades of meaning

This is a cool idea for exploring synonyms and the slight differences that make words unique. Ask for paint sample strips at your local hardware store, or buy a clip art set . In the classroom, use these paint strips to make crafts for a bulletin board. Working in a virtual environment? Have kids print clip art strips at home or use the images to make slides or digital worksheets.

Learn more: Around the Kampfire

25. Personify a word with social media

This is one of those vocabulary activities kids will want to do over and over again! Assign each student a word and have them create a fake Facebook, Instagram, or other social media page for it. They can draw them freehand or complete a template like these from Teachers Pay Teachers . Post the images to a shared Google slideshow so other students can use them for review.

26. Play vocabulary word Taboo

In this game, the goal is for one student to get their partner to guess the word by describing or giving examples of it. The trick? There’s a list of additional words they’re not allowed to use! Let other students see the card in advance to help keep the players honest. (Flash it on a whiteboard and have the guesser face away.)

Learn more: Teaching Talking

27. Roll a die for vocabulary activities

Choose a vocab word, then have the student roll a die ( these virtual dice are handy ) to see which activity they get to complete.

Learn more: Roll a Word/Lucky Little Learners

28. Write an acrostic

Write an acrostic poem for each vocab term, using the letters to determine the first word in each line. This can get really challenging when words are longer!

Learn more: Vocab Acrostic/Upper Elementary Snapshots

29. Play vocabulary board games

Everyone knows that playing games is the best way to learn! Try some of these fabulous board games with your students and watch their vocabularies grow!

Learn more: 11 Vocab Games to Make the Learning Stick

30. Become a Word Collector

This is one of those picture books that grown-up kids will enjoy as much as little ones. Use it to remind your kids that they don’t need a vocabulary list to learn new words—new words are all around them. Encourage them to keep a word list or journal of their own to record new words they want to explore and use more often.

Buy it: The Word Collector by Peter Reynolds on Amazon

Reading poetry helps students expand their vocabularies. Check out these must-share poems for elementary school and middle and high school .

Plus, get all the latest teaching tips and ideas when you sign up for our free newsletters .

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November 7, 2018 VG Teaching Resources Vocab & ELA Res , Vocab Gal , ELA K-5 , ELA Seasonal Back to School , ELA 6-8 , ELA Resources - Activities , ELA 9-12 , ELA PD - Classroom Management , ELA PD - Vocabulary , ELA Focus - Writing with Vocabulary , ELA Focus - Vocabulary

11 vocabulary homework ideas and how to motivate students to do it, by: vocab gal.

Homework is such a valuable formative assessment for both teachers and students, and yet students are motivated* by many different factors when it comes to their desire to actually complete the work. In this article, I'm sharing how to motivate students to do their homework and 11 vocabulary homework ideas and worksheets that work in grades 1–12. Plus, preview and grab my 7 Options for Vocabulary Homework Kit .

Keep scrolling to find vocabulary homework ideas! 

How to motivate students to do their homework.

As a teacher, I try to concentrate students’ learning on activities done in class, because asking some students to complete work at home can be daunting. Many times in my career I have been discouraged when more than half the class does not return to class with their homework assignment complete.

Yet we only have so many minutes with our students, and we need them to practice the concepts and skills they are learning until the knowledge becomes ingrained. Most students have a homeroom, study hall, or other downtime during the day in which they could complete activities, they just have to be motivated to do it.

Many studies cite “student choice” as one of the most important factors in inspiring students to learn. When students have the opportunity to select what questions to answer, what activity to complete or what role to play, they tend to feel more comfortable and confident about performing.

Additionally, research shows that when students are dedicated to a task important to them, like improving their video game scores, or optimizing their success on a playing field, they will go to great lengths to improve. While probably not as meaningful as their video game level, students will be more excited to answer questions about themselves than a generic worksheet.

By providing students with both choice and a topic that is personally meaningful, homework can be a great learning exercise as well as an important formative assessment.

Steps to Ensure Students Complete Homework

There are a few other motivating factors that can help establish homework as a meaningful part of a student’s educational experience. Here are suggested steps a school, parish, department, or teacher might take to ensure successful homework completion.

Step One First, confirm that students have a strong rapport with their teacher(s). While it is difficult to cultivate a deep relationship with each student, teachers should strive to show students that they value their students and are committed to helping them learn and grow to their fullest potential. I would encourage teachers not to assign homework for the first few weeks of school until they develop a classroom community of respect and appreciation for learning.

Step Two Second, once the classroom community has been established, teachers should specifically explain the importance of homework as a way of deeply ingraining knowledge. Teachers should also make it clear that homework is a meaningful formative assessment where both they and their students can understand what students know and where there are knowledge gaps.

Step Three Third, some students may be quite unhappy when being mandated to do specific work. Therefore, teachers should stress the choices a student gets when completing their homework and that students get to complete the work that best reflects their own sense of self.

Step Four Finally, the teacher should praise students individually, as well as praise the class when homework is turned in on time. Many students thrive on positive reinforcement and also many may feel guilt if they let their classmates or teacher down. Additionally, as many teachers know, a word of encouragement or a small sticker can make the difference to many.

How to Respond When Homework is Not Completed

When at last it comes time for homework collection, there will be students who did not complete the assignment, no matter how well it was set up. Teachers can again encourage students who did not complete the homework in time to think about what may motivate them to complete it. If a student seems to dislike direct mandates, providing support such as, “I know that you value your learning and will find a way to demonstrate your abilities,” might be more effective than, “Turn in your paper by Thursday or it’s a zero!”

For others who seem driven by the need to please or help others, teachers might encourage students by stating, “I’m disappointed that you weren’t able to complete your work on time, and I know you will submit your work in order to show us both what you know and understand,” might work better than, “Don’t you want the credit for this assignment?”

Vocabulary Homework Ideas for Students

For this post, I have a few homework assignments that model these ideas. Both in my new It's All About Me vocabulary practice page, and my tried-and true,  7 Options for Vocabulary Homework bundle, students are motivated to continue their learning because they have both choice and a focus on themselves, a topic in which they are already invested.

My new It's All About Me Vocabulary Activity tasks students with answering a series of questions about themselves using vocabulary words in context. On the first page of this download students will list their vocabulary words and write their own brief definitions. On the second page student will answer eight prompts. Each response should include at least one of the vocabulary words from their list in context . In each of their answers students must underline the context clues that would help someone unfamiliar with the word understand what it means.

With the 7 Options for Vocabulary Homework bundle, students can choose from a variety of fun and engaging activities for learning or reviewing vocabulary words. In addition to the homework selection sheet, the bundle includes worksheets for vocabulary homework ideas number five and six. The other vocabulary homework options can be completed on a plain piece of paper or in student workbooks.

Here are the vocabulary activities listed on the 7 Options for Vocabulary Homework handout:

#1 Say Your Words

Do you love the sound of your own voice? Do you tend to learn information by teaching others? Then try saying each of the vocabulary words, out loud and in context, to friends, family, strangers, etc. Use either your flashcards or your list of words, and make sure to get initials from someone who heard you say your vocabulary sentence. If you can’t get a signature, just explain when and how you said the sentences and we will invoke the HONOR SYSTEM! Create two sentences per word.

Do you love to write? Do you copy your notes to help you remember information? Then try writing two sentences for each vocabulary word. These can either be two individual sentences for each word or you can put all of your words together in a story. (If you write a story, you only have to use each word once). Have fun and get creative – amuse me and impress me, but make sure you use your vocabulary words in context!

#3 Write Your Words in Other Classes

As an alternative to the above “Write your Words,” use your vocabulary in your assignments for other classes – social studies essays, science notes, art descriptions, etc. Write down the vocabulary you used for this assignment (For example: On my science test I said “Newton was meritorious,” etc.). You can abbreviate your explanations slightly, as long as I understand you know the word’s meaning; remember to use each word twice.

#4 Become Your Words

Do you gesture when you talk? Is it hard for you to sit still? Then consider creating motions to go along with your words. Cry for lament , raise your arms in praise for approbation , etc. See me during class to “perform” your motions, or write them down, making sure that the connection between word, meaning, and gesture makes sense.

#5 Draw Your Words

Are you an artist? Do you constantly doodle? Then create cartoons or drawings that illustrate each word’s meaning. Create one drawing or cartoon per word and make them neat, using clean white paper (consider using recycled paper that has printing on the other side). Paperclip all your drawings together for the end of the week.

#6 Sing Your Words

Do you love to sing? Are you constantly creating your own raps? Try rewriting the lyrics to a song to incorporate each of your vocabulary words or write your own song, rap, etc. You can also write poetry; regardless of the form you choose, the words should be used in the correct context.

#7 Test Your Words

Do you want to play teacher and write the test as well as take it? Now you can! Create a vocabulary test using all the words in a variety of different types of questions. Make sure to create the answer key to the test as well.

Download the 7 Options for Vocabulary Homework bundle and have students keep the selection sheet in their binders. Now they have seven weeks of vocabulary homework assignments!

Additional Vocabulary Homework Ideas

Ultimately, establishing a culture of community and trust in the classroom, explaining the reasoning behind and the benefits of homework, and providing choice and meaningful topics can make a significant difference in completion rates. Even if homework is not completed on time, teachers can still work to connect with each student to provide motivation to complete the assignments.

As educators, we all strive to make learning exciting and applicable to our students. By setting up clear expectations and providing interesting options, we can make any homework, including vocabulary homework, meaningful and valuable to students.

 *I have recently completed Gretchen Rubin’s audiobook The Four Tendencies about what motivates different groups of people. Many of the ideas about motivating students come loosely from her book as well as my own observations. I highly recommend the book to anyone wanting to learn how to better motivate themselves and others.

Math Vocabulary

Main objective of this lecture is to present on Math Vocabulary. Knowledge of math vocabulary is an essential component of learning mathematics. In order to communicate math thinking clearly and coherently students need to learn and use appropriate math vocabulary. If we want students to use the language of mathematics precisely it is important that that we model appropriate language in context, both verbally and visually.

Graphing Linear Equations

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