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Classroom Strategies
Word Maps
A word map is a visual organizer that promotes vocabulary development. Using a graphic organizer, students think about terms or concepts in several ways. Most word map organizers engage students in developing a definition, synonyms, antonyms, and a picture for a given vocabulary word or concept. Enhancing students' vocabulary is important to developing their reading comprehension.
Why use word maps?
- They're useful for helping students develop their understanding of a word.
- They help students think about new terms or concepts in several ways by asking the following questions:
"What is it?"
"What is it like?" and
"What are some examples?" - They help student build upon prior knowledge and visually represent new information.
| When to use: | Before reading | During reading | After reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| How to use: | Individually | With small groups | Whole class setting |
How to use word maps
- Introduce the vocabulary word and the map to the students.
- Teach them how to use the map by putting the target word in the central box.
- Ask students to suggest words or phrases to put in the other boxes which answer the following questions: "What is it?" "What is it like?" and "What are some examples?"
- Encourage students to use synonyms, antonyms, and a picture to help illustrate the new target word or concept.
- Model how to write a definition using the information on the word map.
Download blank templates
- Template 1 (52K PDF)*
- Template 2 (64K PDF)*
- Template 3 (28K PDF)*
Examples
Language Arts
See example of a completed word map for the vocabulary word "harbor" and examples of using synonyms, antonyms and the student's description.
See example > (76K PDF)*
Math
See how teachers can use word maps to teach new and unfamiliar terms in various math units.
See example > (52K PDF)*
Science
See how teachers can use this strategy to teach unfamiliar vocabulary terms in science units.
See example > (688K PDF)*
Social Studies
See how word maps can be integrated within a geography lesson to teach new concepts and terms.
See example > (8K PDF)*
Children's books to use with this strategy
Big, Bigger, Biggest!
Concept book/picture book
One animal's claim is followed by others who are successively bigger, smaller, etc., each using rich (and richer) descriptors.
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
Picture book
Sylvester unwittingly turns himself into a rock when he finds a magic pebble. The vivid language in this Caldecott Medal winning book is rich and varied. Other books by Steig with equally intriguing plots and rich language include The Amazing Bone (Farrar, 1993) and Dr. DeSoto (Farrar, 1990).
The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Picture book
The classic tale of the naughty bunny is told in evocative language not heard in everyday conversation.
Differentiated instruction
For second language learners, students of varying reading skill, students with learning disabilities, and younger learners
- Give students who need extra help the chance to work with a partner.
- Allow students to use pictures to illustrate when appropriate.
- Adjust the number of words students need to map.
- Provide students with sentences each containing the target word. The sentences should provide enough context clues to enable students to complete a word map.
- Instruct advanced students to refer to the dictionary, encyclopedia or other reference books for help in completing the word map. Ask them to compare their definitions and the dictionary definition.
See the research that supports this strategy
Baumann, J. F., & Kameenui, E. J. (1991). Research on vocabulary instruction: Ode to Voltaire. In J. Flood, J. D. Lapp, & J. R. Squire (Eds.), Handbook of research on teaching the English Language Arts (pp. 604-632). New York: Macmillan.
Colorín Colorado. (2007). Using Science to Develop ELLs Language Skills.
Jones, R. (2007). Strategies for Reading Comprehension: Vocabulary Word Maps.
Jones, R.C., & Thomas, T.G. (2006). Leave No Discipline Behind. The Reading Teacher, 60(1), 58-64.
Schwartz, R. M., & Raphael, T. E. (1985). Concept of definition: A key to improving students' vocabulary. The Reading Teacher, 39, 198-205
Texas Education Agency. (2002). Teaching Word Meanings as Concepts.
My kids are ELL students. I should also state that the word maps are done on chart paper, so they are fairly large.
Posted by: Tammy Jarred | December 29, 2010 12:33 PMI can't wait to try this in my first grade class now. My students are advanced readers and I'm always looking for fun ways to challenge them. This would be great to use a dictionary for practice and you can incorporate so many things with word association while doing this.
Posted by: Crystal Smith | March 19, 2013 07:28 AMThis looks like a great tool to use when promoting vocabulary development. I like how it can be modified for any grade level and can work with any content area. It challenges the student to think beyond the meaning of the word. I also like that it is a 'visual' graphic organizer.
Posted by: Lara Knowlan | March 22, 2013 05:37 PMI love to use word maps in kindergarten. We do these a lot together as a class to discuss new vocabulary. We also use a lot of pictures on the map as needed to help students create an understanding of the word. We do it on chart paper during whole group reading.
Posted by: Mykah Chappell | March 24, 2013 04:13 PMI would love to use this strategy I my 1st grade class as well. Vocabulary is one area my higher level readers need to be challenged in, especially since we are reading 2nd grade level books. I would complete a word map as a group, then let them work in partners. I think the children would love to share their work with the group, and even with the class after reading a new book.
Posted by: Sarah Pourney | March 24, 2013 06:54 PM
Comments
How can I use word maps in groups? I don't have a lot of time and what I usually do is assign one word to a group of 4/5 students. Each group does the research and comes up with something similar to Example 2, and then we share our completed words and the rest of the class takes notes. Then I post each completed word map where they are visible to the students.
Posted by: Tammy Jarred | December 29, 2010 12:29 PM