Logographic Cues For Vocab Words

In her book “When Kids Can’ Read,” Kylene Beers address the issue of building vocabulary for struggling readers. She admits that traditional vocabulary instruction is not particularly effective, and it is something of a drag—for both students and teachers. She sums up traditional vocab word instruction when she writes, “On Monday, teacher gives students the vocabulary words; during the week, students memorize definitions of vocabulary words; on Friday, teacher gives test on vocabulary words; on Friday afternoon, students forget definitions of vocabulary words.” (176).  This is how I learned vocabulary. I remember it as a tough slog, but something that had to be done.

I never really thought there was another way to learn vocab other than pounding through it, but Beers offers other approaches that focus more on fun and critical thinking than rote memorization. She has found vocabulary instruction methods that allow students to “learn the words, use the words, and remember the words" without relying on boring repetitive methods (179).

Of her vocab instruction strategies, I found the Logographic Cue Cards to be my favorite. In this strategy, students make their own logographic of each vocabulary word, “on one side of the card, students write the vocabulary word; on the other side, they write the definition and draw a logograph that suggests the meaning of the word.” (195). I’m so found of this idea because it requires students to really think about the word, internalize it, and come up with their own definition that is unique to them. Of course, they write the actual definition on the back of the card, but they also have to come up with a picture to draw; which means they can’t just memorize the sentences that define the vocab word, they have to figure out what it actually means to them and then express that in an image.

I also think that adding a visual element to a word’s definition will be an incredible memory aid. Not only will the students have the visual memory, but they will have the memory of thinking about and creating the actual drawing. 

As Beers concludes, “Logographics act as a powerful scaffold to comprehension for some students. As students decide what symbol would best represent an idea in the text, they are encouraged to think critically about what they are reading.” (195).  Not to mention—drawing a picture is a lot more fun than  rote memorization.