Marzano’s Six Step Process Teaching Academic Vocabulary

Vocabulary

The importance of direct vocabulary instruction cannot be overstated. Vocabulary provides essential background knowledge and is linked to academic achievement. Effective teachers select terms for direct instruction, use a research-based process to teach those terms, and assess and track students’ progress with new terms

Marzano’s Six Step Process
Teaching Academic Vocabulary
1. Provide a description, explanation, or example of the new
term. (Include a non-linguistic representation of the term
for ESL kids.)
2. Ask students to restate the description, explanation, or
example in their own words. (Allow students whose primary
existing knowledge base is still in their native language to
write in it.)
3. Ask students to construct a picture, symbol, or graphic
representing the word.
4. Engage students periodically in activities that help them add
to their knowledge of the terms in their notebooks.
5. Periodically ask students to discuss the terms with one
another. (Allow in native language when appropriate)
6. Involve students periodically in games that allow them to play
with terms.




1. Provide a description, explanation, or example of the new term.
 Looking up words in dictionaries is not useful for teaching vocab
 Provide a context for the term
 Introduce direct experiences that provide examples of the term
 Tell a story that integrates the term
 Use video as the stimulus for understanding information
 Ask students to investigate the term and present the information to
the class (skit, pantomime, poster, etc.)
 Describe your own mental picture of the term
 Find or create pictures that explain the term

2. Ask students to restate the description, explanation, or example
in their own words.
 Monitor and correct misunderstandings
 Must be student’s original ideas, not parroting the teacher

3. Ask students to construct a picture, symbol, or graphic
representing the word.
 Model, model, model
 Provide examples of student’s drawings (and your own) that are rough but
represent the ideas
 Play “Pictionary”
 Draw an example of the term
 Dramatize the term using speech bubbles
 Let them find a picture on the internet, if necessary

4. Engage students periodically in activities that help them add to
their knowledge of the terms in their notebooks.
 Highlight prefixes, suffixes, root words that will help them remember the
meaning of the term
 Identify synonyms and antonyms for the term
 List related words
 Write brief cautions or reminders of common confusions
 Translate the term into another language for second language students
 Point out cognates to words in Spanish
 Write incomplete analogies for students to complete
 Allow students to write (or draw) their own analogies
 Sort or classify words
 Compare similarities and differences

5. Periodically ask students to discuss the terms with one another.
 Think-Pair-Share
 Compare their descriptions of the term
 Describe their pictures to one another
 Explain to each other any new information they have learned (“aha’s”)
 Identify areas of disagreement or confusion and seek clarification
 Students can make revisions to their own work

6. Involve students periodically in games that allow them to play with
terms.
 Pictionary
 “Oops” (formerly known as “Bang”)
 Upset the fruit basket
 Memory
 Jeopardy (vocab words are on the board, players make up a question to define)
 Charades
 Name that Category ($100,000 Pyramid)
 Password
 Talk a Mile a Minute (like Catch Phrase)
 Bingo (you give definition, kid marks the word)
 Create a skit (assign groups of 3-4 kids 3 vocab words to make a skit out of)
 Swat Game (post 2 sets of words, kids on 2 teams compete to find words first and swat with fly-swatter)


BEFORE you begin your next UNIT of INSTRUCTION:
1. What Power Indicators (standards) are included in this Unit? List indicators.
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2. What is the key academic vocabulary needed in this Unit? List words.
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Plan for direct vocab. instruction: (Marzano’s 6 Steps for Teaching Vocab.)
1. YOU provide a description, explanation or example. (story, sketch,
powerpoint)
2. Ask students to re-state or re-explain meaning in their own words. (journal,
community circle, turn to your neighbor)
3. Ask students to construct a picture, graphic, or symbol for each word.
4. Engage students in activities to expand their word knowledge. (add to their
notes, use graphic organizer format)
5. Ask students to discuss vocabulary words with one another. (collaborate)
6. Have student play games with the words. (Bingo w/definitions, Pictionary
Charades, )

3. Plan to provide or activate background knowledge:
__ Study Trip                    
__ Guest Speaker (expert)
__ Bring In Live Sample 
__ Bring In Actual Artifacts
__ Theme Day (“Indian Day”)
__ Video (United Streaming) 
__ Show Photos
__ Posters 
__ Models of Actual Items
__ Graphic Organizer 
__ PowerPoint
__ Community Circle Topic 
__ Read Aloud (story)
__ Other

4. Now you are ready to plan your Unit’s lessons, activities, and assessments.