Sometimes when my students are writing about their lives, they ask me questions about vocabulary they know in spanish but not in english. I answer by writing a list of words on the whiteboard. Students who are given this kind of answers may beneift from this approach. However, not all students are able to ask questions about vocabulary.
That is why a vocabulary poster made by students themselves can be advantageous towards building vocabulary. This poster should be created prior to their reading or writing acitivity. If reading is the target, on the one hand, then key words are extracted from the text, by everyone in class. Next, roles are given after teams are formed. Student A may draw a targeted word while student B labels the drawing with the corresponding word. Student C may paste both the drawings and the words on the poster.
On the other hand, if writing is the target, all students are asked to make drawings or cut out magazine pictures to build vocabulary according to the topic explored. If the topic is vacation, for example, students will look for pictures related to that past or future experience. Again, students may be given the same roles describe above.
Finally, the posters are hung. They will be a reference for the planned reading or writing activities. Such visual aid will help students make personal connections, sequence events, recall quotes or ask questions. In the long run, vocabulary is essential to understand reading aand make connections when writing.
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