Habit 2

Focus on vocabulary before, during and when reviewing every lesson.

Teaching vocabulary and telling about vocabulary are not seen as the same thing with STELLAR strategies. STELLAR focuses on teaching vocabulary by the use of word walls and interactive word wall strategies for individuals, pairs, small groups and the whole class at all grade levels, word art, flip and fold books and other vocabulary games and strategies for recalling the meaning of words and building comprehension.

We can directly access the meanings of only the words we already know. The referents of new words can be verbally explained only in terms of old words. This can be done either explicitly, by presenting their definitions, or implicitly, by setting them in a context of old words that effectively constrains their meanings (Adams, 1990, p. 205).

The enduring effects of the vocabulary limitations of students with diverse learning needs are becoming increasingly apparent. Learning itself depends on language. Certainly, as Adams (1990) suggests, most of our formal education is acquired through language. Learning something new does not occur in a vacuum. Rather, new learning always builds on what the learner already knows. Adams suggests that new learning is the process of forming novel combinations of familiar concepts. Learning, as a language-based activity, is fundamentally and profoundly dependent on vocabulary knowledge.

Learners must have access to the meaning of words teachers, or their surrogates (e.g., other adults, books, films, etc.), use to guide them into contemplating known concepts in novel ways (i.e., to learn something new). With inadequate vocabulary knowledge, learners are being asked to develop novel combinations of known concepts with insufficient tools.