Why Teaching Words in Isolation Fails
The only way to successfully gain increase in one’s vocabulary is to read. Reading is the horse that pulls the vocabulary cart, period.
This test is simply to demonstrate to teachers (all of us, perhaps) what literacy students may experience when we, as teachers, try to help them with vocabulary outside of reading.
New Vocabulary Guessed Definition
Abies: _______________________________________________________________
Barton: _______________________________________________
Calced: ______________________________________________
Deloul: _____________________________________________________________
Enfiled: _____________________________________________________________
Farer: _______________________________________________________________
Gault: _______________________________________________________________
Hodden: _______________________________________________
Incarn: ________________________________________________
Jabble: ______________________________________________________________
Kreng: ______________________________________________________________
Lill: _______________________________________________________________
Mampus: ______________________________________________
.
Nefast: _____________________________________________________________
Obrok: ________________________________________________
Pavid: _______________________________________________________________
Queme: _______________________________________________
Reboise: _____________________________________________________________
Sarcel: ________________________________________________
Tantivy: ______________________________________________________________
Upscuddle: __________________________________________________________
Vouge:: _______________________________________________
Wamus: ______________________________________________________________
Xancus: ____________________________________________________________
Yare: _______________________________________________________________
Zanda: _______________________________________________________________
All of the above words are from the Webster’s 3rd International Dictionary Unabridged
This test is simply to demonstrate to teachers (all of us, perhaps) what literacy students may experience when we, as teachers, try to help them learn new vocabulary out of context.
New Vocabulary Guessed Definition
Match up the vocabulary on the left with the sentences on the right
Abies: She _______ the thread in the needle in
order to sew the hole in the sock.
Barton: The band-aide and ointment helped the
wound to_________.
Calced: They took all of the _________ from the
sheep shearer and sent if off to be dyed
to be made into sweaters and mittens
and hats.
Deloul: When Little Red Riding hood walked
through the _________ on the long dark
path to her grandmother’s house it was
as if all of the trees were watching and
listening to her foot steps.
Enfiled: The workmen all wore a warm _______
when they worked outdoors in order to
keep from getting chilled.
Farer: The farmer had to cut a long _______in
the ground so that the water from the
river could get to his field of crops.
Gault: Whenever the twins thought that one got
something the other didn’t, they would
____________with each other for hours.
Hodden: . When he was young, the youth hoped
that it would be his ________ to travel
the world.
Incarn: There were several buzzards feasting on
the _________on the side of the busy
highway.
Jabble: The ______between the farm house and
the barn was filled with chickens
scratching the ground for stray seed.
Kreng: The ________ could be ridden across the
desert for days without needing water to
drink.
Lill: The musician put her finger over the
________ on the flute to change the
tone.
Mampus: When the entire herd of horses took off all
at once at a mad __________, the cloud
of dust rose high up into the air.
Nefast: He discovered that he did not need snow
shoes to walk on the ________ without
sinking in.
Obrok: The ________we planted in the front yard
was growing just like a fir or balsam.
Pavid: When the gun went off, the runners ran
very _________ down the track to the
finish line.
Queme: The _________ old witch cast a nasty
spell on the young princess.
Reboise: The ________had been to many different
countries on his long journey.
Sarcel: He used the long handled ________ with
the two tines to pick up the large steak off
of the grill to turn it.
Tantivy: A very large _________ of people came to
the political demonstration.
Upscuddle: The sunshine on that calm, serene, late
afternoon day in late May made that day
perfectly _________.
Vouge: The _________ on the surface of the river
water was caused by the Pirranha in their
feeding frenzy.
Wamus: Although she did like horror movies, she
was so ________ that any unusual noise
would make her jump.
Xancus: There were three _________ under the big
top at the Circus.
Yare: If you hold the __________ up to your ear,
they say you can hear the sea.
Zanda: He was _________, though the ones he had
on his feet did not fit him well.
The only way to successfully gain increase in one’s vocabulary is to read. Reading is the horse that pulls the vocabulary cart, period.
Abies: The abies we planted in the front yard was growing just like a fir or balsam.
Barton: The barton between the farm house and the barn was filled with chickens scratching the ground for stray seed.
Calced: He was calced, though the ones he had on his feet did not fit him well.
Deloul: The deloul could be ridden across the desert for days without needing water to drink.
Enfiled: She enfiled the thread in the needle in order to sew the hole in the sock.
Farer: The farer had been to many different countries on his long journey.
Gault: He discovered that he did not need snow shoes to walk on the gault without sinking in.
Hodden: They took all of the hodden from the sheep shearer and sent if off to be dyed to be made into sweaters and mittens and hats.
Incarn: The bandaid and ointment helped the wound to incarn.
Jabble: The jabble on the surface of the river water was caused by the Pirranha in their feeding frenzy.
Kreng: There were several buzzards feasting on the kreng on the side of the busy highway.
Lill: The musician put her finger over the lill on the flute to change the tone.
Mampus: A very large mampus of people came to the political demonstration.
Nefast: The nefast old witch cast a nasty spell on the young princess.
Obrok—When he was young, the youth hoped that it would be his obrok to travel the world.
Pavid: Although she did like horror movies, she was so pavid that any unusual noise would make her jump.
Queme: The sunshine on that calm, serene, late afternoon day in late May made that day perfectly queme.
Reboise: When Little Red Riding hood walked through the reboise on the long dark path to her grandmother’s house it was as if all of the trees were watching and listening to her foot steps.
Sarcel: There were three sarcels under the big top at the Circus.
Tantivy: When the entire herd of horses took off all at once at a mad tantivy, the cloud of dust rose high up into the air.
Upscuddle: Whenever the twins thought that one got something the other didn’t, they would upscuddle with each other for hours.
Vouge: He used the long handled vouge with the two tines to pick up the large steak off of the grill to turn it.
Wamus: The workmen all wore a warm wamus when they worked outdoors in order to keep from getting chilled .
Xancus: If you hold the xancus up to your ear, they say you can hear the sea.
Yare: When the gun went off, the runners ran very yare down the track to the finish line.
Zanda: the farmer had to cut a long zanda in the ground so that the water from the river could get to his field of crops.