Who doesn’t love a treasure map?
Even as adults, many of us can remember drafting up a map on looseleaf paper and excavating a neighbor’s yard, a local park, or maybe just a bedroom.
With word mapping, parents and educators can utilize the magic of a treasure map. By framing new words as treasures waiting to be found, reading becomes 10x more exciting — and infinitely more rewarding. Read on to learn more about the magic of word maps, followed by ways to incorporate this strategy into daily reading lessons.
What is a word map?
A word map is a process used to break a new word into its phonemes for clear understanding.
A quick refresher: a phoneme is simply an individual unit of sound in a word. Graphemes are the individual letters or letter units that correspond to phonemes.
To complete a traditional word map, a reader needs to:
- Speak the word aloud to hear and “feel” the phonemes, as well as to clarify the word’s meaning
- Break the word down into its phonemes (orally)
- Write down the graphemes that correspond to each sound in the word
- Write the entire word down!
Follow these four steps, and voilà: you’ve just mapped a word.
How to use word maps
If you’re knee-deep in the research on word maps, you probably already know this: there are lots of ways to approach word mapping!
While many teachers rely on the four-step process outlined above, others define word maps more broadly. In general, a word map is any visual aid that helps students make connections between new vocabulary words, synonyms, and real-world applications of the new words.
For example: some reading teachers use a four-corner word map with one of the following details in each corner:
- The student’s definition of the word
- Synonyms of the word
- A meaningful use of the word in a sentence
- The student’s drawing of the word!
This word mapping strategy doesn’t require that students break down words into their phonemes, which may be more appropriate depending on the needs and goals of your students.
An example word map. Image Source
Word mapping activities
Like so many reading activities, we recognize that mapping can be trickier in practice!
While the science of reading supports the effectiveness of this strategy, many educators find it challenging to use word maps in ways that feels fun, rewarding, and effective.
If you’re struggling to create the right vocabulary lesson for your students, don’t sweat it. Here are some simple and accessible word mapping activities that can be used both at-home and throughout the school day.
1. Tap it out!
If students are breaking a word down into its phonemes, have them use their fingers to tap the sounds as they speak and/or hear them in a word. Once they’ve segmented the sounds, they can write — or “map” — each grapheme in its corresponding box.
Teachers can create simple worksheets to do this; or, if you’re at home, you can easily practice word mapping with your child using a blank notebook and colorful pencils.
2. Use a phoneme popper.
Whether you have old bubble wrap or one of these trendy fidget popper toys, both can be used for word mapping! As students sound out a word, they first push down on a popper and then write the corresponding grapheme. It’s a playful, hands-on way to introduce students to the concept of word maps.
3. Make word art.
When students are mapping new words, don’t be afraid to summon their creative genius! Drawing each word helps students visualize — and remember — their new vocabulary.
4. Turn new vocabulary into a treasure hunt.
After a long day of school and extracurricular activities, kids may not want to sit down and complete another word map — and that’s okay! On days when sitting still is tough, consider these word treasure hunt activities to get everyone moving:
- Write a new word in chalk on the sidewalk, then have kids find things around the house, apartment, or yard that relate to that word
- Stick a new word on the refrigerator each day, and then make drawings (or take pictures) of things that relate to that word.
With a little bit of creativity, word mapping can be an exciting, versatile way to sprinkle new words — and a hint of magic — into each day.
Take-Aways:
- Word maps are any visual organizers that help readers make connections between new words, synonyms, and how these words show up in sentences (and in real life!).
- Depending on the needs and skills of their students, teachers and parents can use a range of word mapping strategies to introduce new vocabulary.
- Some of our favorite word mapping activities include:
- Tapping it out
- Using phoneme poppers
- Drawing new words
- Creating word treasure hunts
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In this article, we explain how you can improve children’s vocabulary using word maps as graphic organizers. We’ve included a variety examples and blank word map templates – all free for you to download.
You might also find it useful to read our article, ‘How Can I Improve My Child’s Vocabulary?‘, where we discuss other important aspects of vocabulary development.
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Contents:
- Introduction
- Types of word Maps
- What Should Be Included in a Word Map?
- How to Teach Word Mapping
- Example Word Maps
- Useful Links
- Blank Word Map Templates
- Further Information
- References
Introduction
There are a variety of different styles of word maps and a number of different terms are used to describe them. For example, they are sometimes called ‘vocabulary maps’, ‘semantic maps’ or ‘concept of definition maps’.
However, no matter what term is used to describe them, all word maps serve a similar purpose. They’re all designed to help children see the relationships between words, knowledge and concepts by organising the information in a visual framework.
Visual representations of information are know as graphic organisers in education circles and Dr Robert Marzano found that these strategies were particularly effective when he compiled his meta-analysis of classroom instruction techniques.1
Combining linguistic information with non-linguistic representations (imagery) utilises what psychologists call the ‘dual coding theory’. According to Marzano and others, the more we use both systems of representation, the better we are able to understand and recall knowledge. Essentially, dual coding gives us two ways of processing and remembering information rather than just one.
Types of Word Maps
Word maps can be constructed in different ways – some are structured as simple tables, whereas others have more complex diagrammatic or pictorial forms. And there is also some variation in the details included in different styles of word maps.
Specialist software can be purchased to construct graphic organisers, but other products that are widely available, such as Microsoft Word or PowerPoint, can also be used to make templates. For example, the SmartArt function in PowerPoint and Word provides a wide choice of graphics, including the following examples:
You can also design your own style of word map templates using tables, shapes or text boxes in Word or PowerPoint, or you can use or adapt some of the blank word map templates we’ve included in this article.
No single style of diagram or table has been shown to be more effective than others. The important thing is that the word map should help to structure and organize the information in a meaningful way.
And it’s not essential or even important to use graphics from computer software. You can use paper templates or simply hand-draw the diagrams on blank paper.
In fact, there may be some advantages in getting your child to handwrite the information rather than type it. That’s because students who take notes by hand seem to learn conceptual information better over the long-term than students who write their notes on laptops.2
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What Should Be Included in a Word Map?
The simplest word maps usually include a definition, a synonym and a sentence containing the word. The short videos below show some relatively simple variations:
More elaborate word maps might contain an assortment of the components listed below:
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- Definition – this could be copied straight from a regular dictionary, or it might be a simplified version that’s more accessible to children. We’ve included some links to child-friendly sources of information in this article. It’s also important to consider alternative definitions if the word has more than one meaning.
- Synonyms – see if you can prompt your child to think of some synonyms. Ask them, ‘what is this similar to?’ Or, ‘what other words do you know that mean the same thing as this word?’ Use a thesaurus to find more examples.
- Antonyms – ask your child, ‘what is the opposite of this?’
- Word structure/origins – identifying common root words, prefixes or suffixes can help children understand the meaning of words (and this can also help with spelling). See below for links that can help you find word origins.
- Related Words – recognising related words can also improve a child’s understanding and widen their vocabulary.
For example, if the new vocabulary word was the adjective ‘expensive’, you might also include the adverb ‘expensively’, the nouns ‘expense’, ‘expenses’ and ‘expenditure’ and the verbs ‘expend’ and ‘spend’.
You don’t need to explain the correct grammatical terminology for each word if your child hasn’t studied much grammar in school yet. Just thinking about related words and how they might be used in different sentences can still be beneficial.
For some technical words, it can help to look beyond grammatical variations. For example, if you were introducing the word ‘soluble’ in a scientific context, it would also be helpful to consider the related words ‘solute’, ‘solvent’ and ‘solution’. All of these words start with ‘sol’, and probably originate from the Latin word ‘solvere’ which means ‘to loosen’ or ‘unfasten’.
You could discuss how molecules (or ions), which are stuck together in the solid form (the solute), work loose when they dissolve in a solvent to form a solution. Your child might notice that the word dissolve also contains ‘sol’.
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- Example sentence(s) – if your child first encountered the new word in a book, you could copy the sentence from the book as one example and then help help them to make up a sentence of their own. You might want to help them construct more than one sentence if the word has more than one meaning so they can see how it’s used in different contexts.
- Pictures or examples – representing the meaning of words with concrete examples or images can improve a child’s understanding and make the information more memorable.
- Mnemonic / association – this might not be possible for every word, but see if there is a way of linking the word to something your child already knows. Considering the word structure and origins can sometimes help with this step.
The different sections on a word map could vary for different types of word. For example, you might choose some different categories for nouns than you would for verbs or adjectives.
The complexity of the word might also influence the amount of detail you include in a word map, but it’s probably better to put in a bit more information than to have too little…
Our brain is made up of an enormous network of neurons, and learning something new causes the brain to build connections between these neurons.
Cognitive neuroscientists tell us the more meaningful connections to prior knowledge we can make, the better will be our understanding and our ability to recall the information. 3,4
In the very simplified model below, the dots represent neurons (brain cells) and the lines represent the connections between neurons (synapses).
How to Teach Word Mapping
Before you get your child to complete a word map independently, it can be helpful to explain and model the process with them first.
Your child will understand the process better if you teach them using real examples, rather than just explaining the process in an abstract way. And it’s better for them to see a variety of examples instead of just one or two.
We’ve included several examples below, most of which are in a tabular form. Although tables aren’t as elaborate as some alternatives, they’re still a useful way of organising information in a logical order.
Even if you intend to construct a more diagrammatic style of word map, it can sometimes be helpful to compile the information in a table first.
Example Word Maps
You might find the links below helpful when you are compiling the information for word maps. Explain to your child that using information from a variety of sources will give them a more thorough understanding of a word.
Useful Links:
Vocabulary.com We mentioned this site in our article, ‘How Can I Improve My Child’s Vocabulary?’ As well as providing child-friendly definitions, it uses sophisticated computer algorithms to help children learn new words and can be played as a game. They ask questions about words in different contexts and also provide information about word structure for some words.
The Kids.Wordsmyth dictionary is a useful resource for finding simple definitions and related words.
Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s dictionary is designed for students with another fist language who are learning English. However, the definitions are also useful for children because they are generally shorter and use simpler language.
Thesaurus.com is great for synonyms and antonyms. It claims to be the world’s largest free online thesaurus.
Dictionary.com is useful for finding out about word structure because it provides information on word origins.
The Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus is an interactive dictionary and thesaurus which creates word maps of related words.
VISUWORDS™ is another interactive online graphical dictionary that shows creative associations between words.
IXL Learning cover 8000 skills in 5 subjects including phonics and reading comprehension. You can click on the following link to access a 7-day free trial if you live in the US.
If you live outside of the US, you can get 20% off a month’s subscription if you click on the ad. below:
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Blank Word Map Templates
Download the templates as PowerPoint slides if you want to edit them in some way. Download them as pdf documents if you want to use them as they are.
Further Information…
References
- Marzano, R. (2001), Classroom Instruction that Works, ASCD.
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Take Notes by Hand for Better Long-Term Comprehension, Association for Psychological Research (April 2014): http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/take-notes-by-hand-for-better-long-term-comprehension.html
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Learning in the brain: https://sites.google.com/view/efratfurst/learning-in-the-brain
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Willingham, D. (2006), How Knowledge Helps, American Educator: https://www.aft.org/periodical/american-educator/spring-2006/how-knowledge-helps
Table of Contents
- What is word map strategy?
- What are some important vocabulary words to use when talking about maps?
- What is a word map example?
- What a map is for kids?
- What is map language?
A four-corner vocabulary chart is a strategy to help learners learn new vocabulary word. In this strategy, students write their vocabulary word in one corner, use the word in a sentence, draw a picture of the word, and then define what the word means to them.
What is word map strategy?
The Word Mapping Strategy is an instructional vocabulary strategy developed to help students learn how to predict the meaning of unknown words. Students are explicitly taught prefixes, suffixes, and roots to increase their knowledge base of word meanings.
What are some important vocabulary words to use when talking about maps?
Explore the Words
- cartographer. a person who makes maps.
- Mercator projection. a map projection of the earth onto a cylinder.
- cartographic. of or relating to the making of maps or charts.
- geographic. of or relating to the science of geography.
- area. the extent of a two-dimensional surface within a boundary.
- distort.
- navigate.
- flat.
What is a word map example?
For example, you could introduce word maps with the concept of a flower, with which the students are already familiar. The word map would indicate that a flower is a type of plant and that flowers have petals, stems, leaves, and roots. The map might include roses and daisies as examples of flowers.
What a map is for kids?
A map is a drawing of all or part of Earth’s surface. Its basic purpose is to show where things are. Maps may show visible features, such as rivers and lakes, forests, buildings, and roads. A map displayed on a round surface is called a globe.
What is map language?
The symbols, signs, location, geographical settings are called as the language of a map. Explanation: The symbols, signs used in the map to describe the different locations, different geographical settings are known as the language of the map.
Contents
- 1 How do you create a word cloud?
- 2 What is the best word cloud generator?
- 3 What is word cloud example?
- 4 How do you make a live word cloud?
- 5 How do I create a free word cloud?
- 6 How do I make words into a shape?
- 7 How do you create a cluster in word?
- 8 How do you make an interactive word cloud in PowerPoint?
- 9 How do you insert a word bubble in PowerPoint?
- 10 How do you make a collage on Microsoft Word?
- 11 How do I create a word cloud in Excel?
- 12 Can you do a Wordle in zoom?
- 13 What is word collage?
- 14 What is a wordcloud?
- 15 Are word clouds effective?
- 16 Does Google have a word cloud generator?
- 17 How do you keep words together in a word cloud?
- 18 Does Wordle exist?
- 19 How do I create a word cloud image?
- 20 How do I insert text into an object in Word?
How do you create a word cloud?
You can make a word cloud in 5 easy steps:
- You can make a word cloud in 5 easy steps:
- Join Infogram to make your own tag cloud design.
- Select a word cloud chart type.
- Upload or copy and paste your data.
- Customize colors, fonts, and text orientation.
- Download your word cloud or embed it on your website.
What is the best word cloud generator?
The 10 best word cloud generators
- WordArt.com. WordArt.com (formerly Tagul) creates stunning images, and is easily one of the best word cloud generators out there.
- WordClouds.com.
- Wordle.
- Jason Davies’ word cloud generator.
- Abcya.com.
- TagCrowd.
- WordItOut.
- Tagxedo.
What is word cloud example?
Words the audience submits multiple times grow larger than the rest. One-word responses make it easy to see which ones are the most popular.That way is to put a tilde “~” or underscore “_” between each word in the phrase. For example, “apples~and~oranges” would appear as “apples and oranges” in the word cloud.
How do you make a live word cloud?
Create your first live word cloud
- Create a word cloud activity. Create an empty word cloud activity and embed it into your presentation.
- Watch the results appear live. Present the activity during your presentation.
- Visualize audience feedback. See the audience’s eyes light up as their words appear on screen.
How do I create a free word cloud?
10 Best Free Word Cloud Generators
- MonkeyLearn WordCloud Generator | Free word clouds powered by AI.
- WordArt.com | Design-led word art generator.
- Wordclouds.com | Highly customizable tag cloud creator.
- WordItOut | Simple word cloud generator.
- Jason Davies | Wordle-inspired word cloud generator.
How do I make words into a shape?
Use WordArt to shape text
- On the Insert tab, in the Text group, click WordArt, and then click the WordArt style that you want.
- Type the text that you want.
- Change the font size, if needed, and then click OK.
How do you create a cluster in word?
The website Wordle is the most common source for creating word clusters, and it is relatively simple to use.
- Load the Wordle home page and click the “Create” tab at the top.
- Paste the text you wish to convert to a word cluster in the “Paste in a bunch of text” box at the top of the screen.
How do you make an interactive word cloud in PowerPoint?
To access the add-in in PowerPoint, head to Insert > My Add-ins > See All. From this menu, select Pro Word Cloud. Once you open it, you’re going to get a sidebar on the right-hand side of the page where you can control a few options about how your word cloud is going to look.
How do you insert a word bubble in PowerPoint?
First a speech bubble must be created in PowerPoint. To do this, click on “Shapes” under “Insert”. Here you have the choice between different shapes, arrows, flow charts and callouts, which you can easily insert into your video. In our case select a speech bubble under “Callouts” and place it in the video.
How do you make a collage on Microsoft Word?
Using SmartArt
- With a Word Document open, click on the ‘Insert’ tap in the ribbon and click on ‘SmartArt. ‘
- A dropdown will appear, click ‘Picture. ‘ Choose the layout you’d like to use.
- Add your photos to the template. Your photos will automatically size to fit within the template making a picture collage.
How do I create a word cloud in Excel?
How to Create A Word Cloud From Excel Data
- Upload your Excel data to the word cloud generator. Go to the word cloud generator, click ‘Upload text file’, and choose your Excel doc.
- Click ‘Generate word cloud’ Your word cloud will be generated in a matter of seconds.
- Customize your word cloud.
- Download your data.
Can you do a Wordle in zoom?
Live polling app
Besides single choice and multiple choice polls, your online participants can send their rating in rating polls and create beautiful word clouds with word cloud polls. Let them write down their own thoughts in open text polls, or lift their spirits with a quiz.
What is word collage?
Word Clouds (also known as wordle, word collage or tag cloud) are visual representations of words that give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently. For Mentimeter Word Clouds, the words that are added most frequently by audience members using their smartphones.
What is a wordcloud?
Word clouds or tag clouds are graphical representations of word frequency that give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in a source text.Most word cloud generators have features that allow users to change colors, font, and exclude common or similar words.
Are word clouds effective?
The data viz catalogue (datavizcatalogue.com) mentions that word clouds are not great for analytical accuracy. Daniel McNichol, in a post published in Towards Data Science, called word clouds the pie chart of text data. My main problem is that this visualization is usually uninteresting and provides little insight.
Does Google have a word cloud generator?
Create your own word cloud today using our free software. Open a document inside Google Documents, switch on the addon “Word Cloud Generator”. We help you find the most common themes/words inside your document by doing a quick scan of the text inside Google Documents and then generating a quick Word Cloud.
How do you keep words together in a word cloud?
Use a tilde symbol ~ to keep two words together in the cloud. Otherwise, the two words will be scattered apart in the cloud.
Does Wordle exist?
Wordle.net was a popular wordle maker that required you to install a desktop version. As of December 2020, it appears that Wordle.Net no longer exists. However, there are plenty of other online word cloud tools that you can use to create your wordle.
How do I create a word cloud image?
Tutorial on How to Create Your Own Word Art
- Upload your data. Go to MonkeyLearn’s word art generator, then paste your text or upload a text file.
- Click ‘Generate Cloud’ After clicking ‘Generate Cloud’, your word art will appear in just a few seconds.
- Customize your word art.
- Download your word art.
How do I insert text into an object in Word?
To do so, click the “Insert” tab on the ribbon menu. Then, click the downward-facing arrow next to “Object” and select “Text from File.” Browse to the file you want and double-click it. Its text will appear in the Word document.
For example, you could introduce word maps with the concept of a flower, with which the students are already familiar. The word map would indicate that a flower is a type of plant and that flowers have petals, stems, leaves, and roots. The map might include roses and daisies as examples of flowers.
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What is a Word Web? At first glance, you might think that a vocabulary word web or word map is a simple way for students to record the definition and related words to a specific focus word. Although this thought would be correct, I’m here to tell you that a word map/web used correctly can be so much more than that. It’s not necessarily the vocabulary themed graphic organizer itself that is going to significantly expand students’ knowledge of the focus word, it’s more of HOW you use the word web in your classroom that matters! A word web/word map is the first turn on the cross country road trip that ends with students’ deep knowledge of the focus word.
💌 Before we get down and dirty with all things word webs, I want to share about a unique opportunity to join our Word Lovers Community! Whether you are brand new to teaching vocabulary, or a veteran looking to spice up your word learning activities, you have come to the right place! Join for exclusive vocabulary teaching tips and activity ideas sent directly to your inbox. Here is a preview of the types of resources I share. Share your email below to hop on board the Word Lovers Train!
Out With the Old, In With the New
Did you know that choosing an arbitrary word list and having students look up the definition doesn’t actually increase their vocabulary acquisition? Even when they write a connected sentence and memorize it. It won’t take long to figure out that these exercises don’t increase students’ reading, writing and conversational language.
But, that’s how I was taught new vocabulary words in school, weren’t you? That being said, I remember ZERO words that were on those arbitrary word lists. If anything, I remember getting frustrated trying to memorize the definitions of words I had never seen before. Plus, I would probably never use them in conversation. These weren’t even words from books we were reading as a class. They were just copied out of a textbook that my teacher was told she had to use in her classroom. We call this the “assign, define and test” strategy.
So, if that doesn’t work, what does? In the words of my favorite vocabulary guru Janet Allen, “Knowing what didn’t work was easy. Finding and reading the research to word knowledge was also not very difficult. Knowing how to implement that research in effective, interesting ways turned out to be the hard part.”
The HOW is where most teachers I know get stuck. If the only strategy you know how to implement in your classroom isn’t an effective one, where can you find one that is? Don’t worry my friends, I’ve got you every step of the way.
Much More Than a Worksheet
Before we get too far down the road of non-“assign, define and test” vocabulary teaching strategies, I want to make something crystal clear. I create and share a LOT of vocabulary worksheets. To be exact, almost every post on this blog points you to a resource to take your vocabulary teaching to the next level. And 75% of those resources are worksheets.
One would think this worksheet model would be the “define” section of the “assign, define and test” strategy we are trying to stay clear of. But, I am here to scream from the rooftops that this is so far from the truth. It is HOW you use the worksheet that matters most.
⭐️ Today, you are going to learn that it’s not actually the word web that works magic. It’s HOW you use the word web that makes your magical spell truly stick.
Conversations Themed Around Vocabulary
Whether you’ve read every post on my blog, or this is your first, you will quickly learn that I believe the special ingredient for teaching vocabulary is to provide students with multiple opportunities to TALK about words. When they’re not talking ABOUT words they should be talking WITH the new words we’ve just learned.
I primarily create, share and use vocabulary worksheets in my classroom as conversation starters. I rarely ask students to complete a worksheet themed around a vocabulary word and then never have them go back to it again. These worksheets/resources/note taking sheets (whatever you want to call them!) act as a place to stop and jot thoughts before joining a small group or classroom conversation. My students travel to morning meeting, small groups and reading circles with their vocabulary notebooks, note taking worksheets and personal word lists.
Foster a Word Loving Classroom Community
The words I teach become members of our classroom. We hang them on the word wall. We use them in conversation. We practice and play with them at home. We incorporate them into our projects, we share them with our friends from other classes… I could go on all day.
⭐️ To truly create a classroom that fosters a love of words you have to LOVE these words yourself. If you’re not in love, put your best acting face on, and get in love quickly. You need to act like these words are the best thing since sliced bread.
So, all of this to say that the way I use a word web/word map for vocabulary instruction is far different than how you may have seen it implemented in the past. I use it as an avenue for introducing a new word. To spark conversation and help students connect the focus word to words/concepts they already know.
What is a Vocabulary Word Map or Word Web?
A vocabulary word map or word web is a style of graphic organizer that is themed around one focus vocabulary word. The focus word usually goes in the middle or on the top. Then, other related words, phrases, examples and meanings radiate out from it. This helps students to explore the meaning of the word in depth. Plus, make connections to other words or phrases they may already know. Some common areas on a word web are: definition, synonyms, antonyms, examples, non-examples, origin, stems and part of speech.
💻 If you’re looking to incorporate technology into your vocabulary lesson, encourage students to explore the focus word on a digital word web site. Learn more in my blog post, Say Hello to the Virtual Word Web!
Word Map for Vocabulary Implementation Tips
As a class, we learn a new word every week. To kick off this word learning, we fill out a word web together. I have students grab a clipboard and gather on the rug. We huddle up as if we’re about to learn a top secret football play that no one else can know about. I make sure to get very excited about the new focus word of the week. I then pass out the word web/word map sheet. I use this to spark a conversation about related words we already know. When also discuss examples of when and where the focus word may show up in real life situations. I project this word web onto the board, and all together we take notes and make connections.
Another way to use the word web is as a pre-teaching/warm-up tool before you introduce the new focus word. Before your lesson, you could ask students to use a dictionary, thesaurus or digital word web generator to help them fill in their word web graphic organizer. This can be done with a partner or independently. Then, you could come back together as a class to discuss their findings. Also, make sure everyone has the correct understanding of the word and synonyms that relate!
Whether you’re using the word web during your lesson or before, the most important thing is that you’re leading a conversation about the new focus word. I will never stop saying it, getting students to TALK about words is how you get vocabulary words to stick!
Example of Vocabulary Word Map
Depending on the word theme of the month (character trait, social studies vocabulary, etc.), I mix up what aspects of the focus word that the web is asking students to identify. Sometimes we only focus on the definition, synonyms and antonyms. Other times, I want them to share when they would hear this word, who would say it and what type of emotions go with this word.
It’s not rocket science which word web I use when. Before I decide, I try to fill it out myself. If I’m not successful, students won’t be either. Words will quickly lend themselves to one style of word web versus another. If you have trouble filling out the first style of word web for the word of the week, try style 2, style 3, etc.
⭐️ Word webs are simple to create, but even simple things take time. Since your teacher time is so precious, I’ve created 12 Vocabulary Word Web Graphic Organizer Templates that require zero prep! These are adaptable for any type of focus word. Whether you’re teaching science vocabulary words, or just a handful of rich words from your read aloud text, there is a word web in this pack that will work for you!
Time Management Pro Tip
As I’ve shared many times in past blog posts, I choose one word a week for our classroom vocabulary lessons. Do the math, this equals 4-5 words a month. Each month I choose a theme, whether it’s a whole month of character trait words or words related to our social studies unit, etc.
Slow and steady wins the race here folks. It really doesn’t matter what words you choose, just make sure they are relevant to your classroom and students lives. If they are words kids will never come across again, they are less likely to use them in conversation, thus less likely to remember them.
Don’t forget, it’s all about depth of knowledge of quality words, not memorizing a large quantity of random ones!
⏰ To save yourself time each week, at the beginning of the month, choose your 4-5 focus words for the next few weeks. To help students develop a routine, use the SAME vocabulary activities each week for all 4-5 weeks. Once you choose the words and activities, prepare your resources in bulk. For me, that means making 4-5 vocabulary activity/worksheet packets for each student. Just like that, you have a whole month of focus words, lessons and activities! Learn more about my 5 favorite vocabulary activities, here!
Classroom Management Pro Tip
As you start to teach 4-5 words per month the worksheets/note taking sheets you have students use will add up fast. Come up with a way to keep all of these activities organized, whether it’s in a word study/vocabulary folder, or in an interactive notebook.
Make sure to model how kids can refer back to their folder/notebook when they can’t remember the meaning of a past focus word. This notebook/folder will act as an archive of all of the words you’ve taught this year.
Of course, now that you know all of the secrets to effective vocabulary teaching, you’re going to be teaching a LOT of words 😉. So, develop a routine of cleaning out students’ vocabulary folders every so often. I suggest every 3 months or so. Make sure they keep 1 artifact from each focus word, like the word web! This way no words are left behind!
❤️ Remember, it’s more about HOW you use the word web than which word web you choose. Use these as conversation starters and let it flow! All in all, the purpose of any vocabulary activity should be to get students to use these words in conversation. That is the special ingredient for getting vocabulary words to stick!
I invite you to comment with your success stories themed around using word webs in your classroom! Or please share any other tips and tricks for building a word learning routine.
I look forward to continuing to share low investment, high return ways to spice up your vocabulary lessons. Until next time, make today meaningful, friends 💕 .
🎥 Learn More About My 12 Pack of Vocabulary Word Maps & Word Webs in this Video:
💌 Loving these vocabulary word webs? Join my email list to access exclusive freebies and monthly tips and tricks for fostering a classroom culture that buzzes with new words!
More Vocabulary Word Web/Word Map related articles:
- Say Hello to the Virtual Word Web by Vocabulicious
- Using a Word Web to Expand Vocabulary by The SLP Solution
- Word Maps by Reading Rockets
- Using Word Maps to Introduce Concepts by Vocabulary.com
Teachers, are you wondering how you can use Visual Thesaurus word maps to introduce new concepts to your students? Check out this excerpt from Sharon Walpole and Michael C. McKenna’s Differentiated Reading Instruction for some ideas.
CONCEPT OF DEFINITION
What Kind of Reader Will Concept of Definition Help?
Sometimes you will have to develop knowledge of Tier 3 words — words for which students have much less background. Concept of definition is a strategy useful for developing an understanding of words that represent entirely new concepts for young learners. It is likely to be especially useful for teaching content-specific vocabulary important to grade-level goals.
What Is the Instructional Focus of Concept of Definition?
The focus of this strategy is building conceptual knowledge by teaching new concepts in direct relationship to known ones. This strategy relies on the creation of a semantic organizer and is sometimes called word mapping. The word map that is created in the course of this instruction makes explicit the connections of a new word to known words and concepts.
Where Does Concept of Definition Come from?
This instructional strategy is based on an ancient idea, first discussed by Aristotle. He suggested that the definition of a noun must include the category to which the concept belongs as well as features that distinguish it from other members of that category. The notion of using a simple diagram to teach these relationships is far newer (Schwartz & Raphael, 1985).
What Materials Are Needed for Concept of Definition?
In order to implement this strategy, you need a word map that allows students to show connections. This word map might be drawn on the board, presented with an overhead projector, or duplicated on paper for students to use. A simple word map has a space for the word, the connections to its superordinate category (the class to which it belongs), its characteristics or attributes, and some examples. Figure 6.3 provides an example of such a map. In it, the word poultry is shown to be a member of the category meats. Specific characteristics are provided along with three examples.
How Do You Prepare for Concept of Definition?
This strategy is only useful when the target word is a member of a specific category, with particular characteristics and examples. However, many content-area terms are of this kind! The strategy is useful both for developing new concepts and also for teaching children to generate definitions as they are learning new words.
How Do You Implement Concept of Definition?
This strategy is implemented first with known concepts so that children grow accustomed to how the word maps work. Then, gradually, it is used to teach less familiar concepts. For example, you could introduce word maps with the concept of a flower, with which the students are already familiar. The word map would indicate that a flower is a type of plant and that flowers have petals, stems, leaves, and roots. The map might include roses and daisies as examples of flowers. In presenting the map, you would point out that grass (among other types of plants) is not included because it is not a flower. Once students understand what a word map is, you can use this strategy to teach words and concepts directly as part of your content-area instruction, or you can use it either before or after a read-aloud. We do not think it would be appropriate during a read-aloud, as teaching an individual word might take as long as 5 minutes — too long to stop during reading without compromising comprehension.
How Do You Know If Concept of Definition Is Working?
You know this strategy is working when children show evidence that they have learned the concepts targeted and when they can use the map on their own or during discussion to formulate and remember definitions. As with all vocabulary strategies, the goal is to teach the particular words deeply and also to teach wordlearning strategies so that children can benefit more from incidental word-learning opportunities.
From Differentiated Reading Instruction by Sharon Walpole and Michael C. McKenna. Copyright 2007 by Guilford Press. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission of Guilford Press.
Word mapping is a concept that you have most likely come across over the past few months. It has been popularized by the Science of Reading but is definitely not a new concept. Word mapping, also known as phoneme-grapheme mapping, is an instructional activity where students link the ‘sound’ part of a word to the ‘letter’ part of a word.
Word mapping ties in with a reading theory known as ‘orthographic mapping’. In a nutshell, orthographic mapping is ‘the mental process we use to permanently store words for immediate, effortless retrieval. It is the process we use to take an unfamiliar printed word and turn it into an immediately recognizable word’ (Kilpatrick, 2015). There are many wonderful, free resources out there that describe the theory behind orthographic mapping, so I won’t bore you with facts, diagrams or lengthy explanations. Instead, I’ll use this space to show you how word mapping works, and how you can implement it in your classroom. If you would like to learn more about orthographic mapping, I highly suggest researching David Kilpatrick and his associated texts.
What is word mapping?
Each word has 3 components — its sounds (phonemes), its letters (graphemes) and its meaning. Word mapping is an instructional tactic that you can use to help your students connect the sounds (phonemes) to the letters (graphemes) in a word.
To simplify the process of word mapping, here are the steps:
1. The student says the name of the word/picture aloud and meaning is ascertained.
2. The student orally breaks down the sounds in a word into phonemes by tapping or using manipulatives.
3. The student represents the phonemes with letters or letter combinations (graphemes).
4. The student reads the entire word aloud.
The word mapping process is different to decoding because students begin with a whole word that they break up, rather than a combination of letters that they must combine to form a word. It is the process of breaking words up and focusing on the phonemes/graphemes that helps to improve word recognition and store it into long term memory.
Which parts of a word stay together as one phoneme/grapheme?
Since releasing my Science of Reading Bundle, the most common question I’ve been asked is which parts of a word stay together and which are split into separate phonemes/graphemes. Many teachers are used to splitting words into letters or rimes. For example, c/at or f/e/e/t. The word mapping approach has students split letters into individual phonemes or sounds. This means that cat would be split into c/a/t and feet would be split into f/ee/t. The ‘ee’ in feet makes one sound so it’s a separate phoneme/grapheme. I also wanted to note that blends are separate letters and not treated as a single sound as you can still hear the individual sounds in blends. For example, the word crab would be split into c/r/a/b. I’ve created a cheat sheet below which details the phonemes/graphemes that are separate, single sounds.
Activities
I’ve created some activities that are aligned with the Science of Reading and are designed to help promote long term retention of words and sounds. I’ll detail below how to use these resources to amplify the reading and spelling skills of your students.
However, before I begin, I’m going to provide you with 2 definitions of terms you may come across in the following sections.
Phoneme: A phoneme is a sound. It has nothing to do with print or the written form of letters. It refers to the individual units that you can hear when you break a word up into sounds. For example, the ‘c’ at the start of ‘cab’ is a phoneme when you say it out loud.
Grapheme: A grapheme is the written form of a phoneme (sound). For example, the long a sound can be represented by numerous graphemes such as a_e, ai, ay, eigh etc.
Map a Word
Step 1: To begin, students point to the picture and say the picture name. The picture support combined with the word bank on the top right-hand corner help to add meaning to the words (I’ve also included an option without a word bank in case you want an extra challenge).
Step 2: Students begin orally ‘mapping’ the sounds (phonemes) that they can hear in the word by tapping the circles at the top of the boxes. There are exactly enough circles as there are sounds in the word. In this example, students would tap the first box and say ‘
Step 3: Next, students write the letters (graphemes) in the Elkonin boxes that represent each phoneme they said aloud. There are exactly enough boxes as there are sounds.
Step 4: Students read the word aloud and rewrite it on the line.
If you’d like to check out the Map a Word worksheets, you can find them here. There are sheets included for short vowels, CVCe words, vowel teams, digraphs, trigraphs, blends, double consonants, r-controlled vowels and diphthongs. They are also part of my Mega Science of Reading Worksheet Bundle at a discounted price.
Blend and Write
These Blend and Write worksheets follow a similar format as the worksheets above, however, they provide less picture support and encourage students to decode words before graphing them.
Step 1: To begin, students point to the first word and use the dots as scaffolds to read it aloud. The graphemes are already split up for students with spaces/dots so that students can focus on saying the sound aloud correctly and combining them together to form a word.
Step 2: Next, students cognitively think about the word and establish meaning.
Step 3: Then, students locate the picture that matches the word and graph the phonemes (sounds) into the boxes. They do this by saying the word aloud and then ‘sounding it out’ to write each grapheme (letter/s) in the boxes. There are exactly enough boxes as there are sounds.
If you’d like to check out the Blend and Write worksheets, you can find them here. There are sheets for short vowels, CVCe words, vowel teams, digraphs, blends, r-controlled vowels and diphthongs. They are also part of my Mega Science of Reading Worksheet Bundle at a discounted price.
Heart Words
In the past, many teachers have relied on memorization to teach sight words. This doesn’t work for all students, and in fact, most sight words are actually phonetically regular which means that students don’t actually need to remember them by sight. They can sound them out!
The heart word method teaches students how to read sight words phonetically rather than memorize them. It draws on the theory of orthographic mapping which states that when students break words apart into phonemes/graphemes and then build them back together, long term retention is achieved. The bonus part of this method is that these skills are transferrable to other words! It’s basically like that proverb that says if you give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day, but if you teach a man to fish, he’ll eat for a lifetime.
When using this method, attention is drawn to irregular or untaught sounds by using a heart. The heart is a reminder that this part of the word is ‘tricky’ and must be remembered by heart. The remainder of the word can be phonetically sounded out by students.
These Heart Word worksheets provide students with the opportunity to practice reading sight words aloud, mapping the sounds they hear, graphing the sounds and building the words using graphemes.
Step 1: To begin, students point to the word and say it aloud. Help will most likely be needed here as students will not be familiar with the word, plus, the word may include irregular or untaught graphemes.
Step 2: Next, students use marker to heart the parts of the word that are irregular or untaught. This serves as a reminder that this part of the word is ‘tricky’ and must be remembered by heart.
Step 3: Students map the phonemes (sounds) that they can hear in the word. They do this by tapping or placing counters on the circles for each sound they can hear in the word as they break it up orally.
Step 4: Then, students graph the word by writing the letters that match each of the phonemes they said aloud. Each grapheme goes in a separate box.
Step 5: Students rewrite the word on the line.
Step 6: Students build the word by cutting out graphemes (letters and letter combinations) and organizing them to form the word.
If you’d like to check out the Heart Word worksheets, you can find them here. There are sheets for 285 words included! They are also part of my Mega Science of Reading Worksheet Bundle at a discounted price.
Sound Work
Although these Sound Work worksheets don’t follow the entire process of word mapping, the bottom section encourages students to break up and rebuild words that follow a specific phonics pattern. These sheets are also aligned with the Science of Reading and are designed to help students learn about a specific grapheme and it’s associated phoneme (sound).
Step 1: To begin, students say the sound that the grapheme makes aloud. Mouth images are provided to help with articulation and to show students how to position their lips, teeth and tongue to say the sound correctly.
Step 2: Next, they point to the graphemes and read the sounds aloud.
Step 3: Then, they trace the graphemes using pencil or marker.
Step 4: Students then read the words that contain the grapheme. Dots are provided to help break the words up into sections to make them easier to decode for students.
Step 5: Students rebuild the words by cutting out the graphemes and pasting them in order.
All of the worksheets described in this blog post are 20% off in my Mega Science of Reading worksheet Bundle. It contains over 500 worksheets to help your students become super readers and spellers.
The more I learn about the Science of Reading, the more I love the approach . Most of you have probably come across the term already, and I highly suggest researching into its methods. If you have any questions or comments, let me know below 
What is Word Mapping?
You’ve probably heard of word mapping, especially with all the talk about the Science of Reading research and explicit instruction. . But it’s actually been around for a long time.
Word mapping, also known as phoneme-grapheme mapping, is when teachers help students link the sounds they hear in words to the letters that make up those words.
Word mapping is all about storing words in our brains in such a way that we can retrieve them later. It’s part of a reading strategy called orthographic mapping.
This word mapping strategy involves the mental process of taking the unknown (a new word we see in writing) and applying the same phoneme-grapheme mapping skills we have learned through a similar word.
For example: when we see a word like tip, and we have already mapped a word like pin, we see a word pattern that our brain already knows. With enough exposure, our brains will know that pattern without having to think about it. This is when orthographic mapping leads to orthographic learning. Think about a snowball effect.
This orthographic mapping allows our little learners an effective way to improve their word recognition because their brains store words in an organized way. I like to compare word mapping to a file cabinet. When students receive instruction in an organized and systematic way, their brains can find those files quickly.
Orthographic Word Mapping Vocabulary Words to Know
I will give you some examples of how we break down the process of orthographic mapping. But first, we need to build our vocabulary word bank when discussing word mapping:
What is a Phoneme?
What is a phoneme? It is a unit of sound. Phonemes are something you hear when you break a word up into its individual sounds. EXAMPLE: the word lad has 3 phonemes: /l/ /a/ /d/, the word shack has 3 phonemes /sh /a/ /k/.
What is a Grapheme?
What is a Grapheme? A grapheme is the written representation of a phoneme (sound). EXAMPLE: the long i sound can be represented by numerous graphemes such as i_e (bike) igh (light), y (try), i, (pilot), ie (pie) y_e (type)
What is Speech-to-Print?
What does speech-to-print mean? Speech-to-print skills are used when students encode or write a word. They hear a word or see a picture of an object and they want to write the graphemes (letters) to represent the word. Students practice speech-to-print every time they write.
What is Print-to-Speech?
What does print-to-speech mean? Print-to-speech skills are used when students are decoding words When a student sees a series of letters and letter combinations (graphemes) and the student wants to read the word, they must blend these sounds to produce a word. Students practice print-to-speech every time they read a word.
This becomes an especially essential skill in student performance when students encounter an unfamiliar printed word. If a student encounters a word like habitat, they will first need to understand the rules of syllable division, then apply those rules to decode the word.
What is word mapping?
What exactly is word mapping? Well, every word has three parts:
- Phonemes: the individual sounds it makes
- Graphemes: the letters that represent those sounds
- Meaning: what the word actually means.
Word mapping is a teaching strategy that helps students connect the sounds to the letters of a word and attach meaning! It’s a pretty handy tool!
Word mapping is different than decoding because the student starts with a whole word (or picture card as shown below.) Then the student must break down that word into smaller sounds and letters. By breaking words apart and paying attention to each sound and letter, it helps students recognize words more easily and remember them for the long term.
What does word mapping look like?
Let’s look at these two examples of word mapping and using the heart word method.
from – the f, r, and m sounds are behaving themselves. These represent the sounds that we would expect. Nothing tricky with 75% of this word. However, the o is not representing the typical short o sound or long o sound. Therefore, students must know that part by heart.
she – the sh digraph is also behaving. The e is also representing the long e sound, just like it should. Once students recognize the difference between an open and closed syllable, they can read a whole list of words.
Closed Syllable Examples: can, is, him, just, much
Open Syllable Examples: me, my, so, hi
The Heart Word Method
What is the heart word method? The heart word method is a step-by-step teaching strategy that is used with students. Let’s take a look.
Step 1: Say the word aloud
Teacher: “The word is want. Students, repeat the word want.”
Students: “want“
Teacher: “Want has 4 sounds.” The teacher will draw a line for each sound.
Teacher: “The first sound you hear in want is ________. What letter represents that sound?”
Teacher: “The last sound you hear in want is ____ What letter represents that sound?”
Teachers: “What other sounds do you hear in the word, want?”
Teacher: “Great job! You did a great job of hearing sounds. But let me show you something.
Want is actually spelled like this.”
Teacher: “The /o/ sound you hear in want, is actually spelled with an a. This is called a schwa. You will learn all about that in second grade. For now, you will need to remember this part of the word by heart. I will place a heart over the “a” to remind you.”
On a daily basis, we review these words because we want students to store these words for effortless retrieval.
After a week of teaching the word, want, you will add the word to your sound wall.
You can read more about sound walls in this blog post:
- How to Teach Kindergarten High Frequency Words So Students Learn (FREE FILE)
IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER: Students need words to be revisited and practiced for 6-8 weeks in order for the word to be stored in their long term memory.
Every child’s brain is different. Some students will need 30-40 exposures to reach automaticity with a word.
Can we agree that weekly spelling tests are the least effective way for young readers to learn words? Spelling “tests” should be used to tell the teacher what you need to revisit. They should not be “graded.”
Your teacher brain might be yelling at me! “WHAT!?!? You would spell it incorrectly at first? Why?”
Let’s think of what we ask students to do when they want help spelling a word. We ask them to put the sounds they hear. We need to validate that these emergent writers heard those sounds correctly.
I model this word during my teaching phase the same way each time. Then as students start to write the word, want, with an o, we hope to trigger their orthographic mapping system and they will remember the heart word.
Once that word is on the sound wall and I write the word, I may think out loud, “I remember that want is a heart word.”
Additional Word Mapping Activities
One reason decodable texts are so essential to a structure literacy approach to instruction is the fact we can control the text.
This means, I’m not going to ask a student to orthgraphically map a word unless:
- the word is decodable based on the phonics instruction that the student has mastered so far.
- the heart word has not already been explicitly taught (as discussed above.)
EXAMPLE: If you teach first grade and you have taught digraphs, but you have a student who has not mastered digraphs, you would not expect them to decode it on their own. Your lesson would be centered around teaching the digraph and practicing blending words that have that phonics skill.
Digraphs, blends, vowel teams, oh my!
Since releasing my Science of Reading Curriculum, the most common question I’ve been asked during the professional development I provide is, which parts of a word stay together and which are split into separate phonemes/graphemes. Many teachers are used to splitting words into word families or onset and rimes. For example:
- CVC words – Short vowels are where we usually start and would be broken into m/an or b/ig.
- Digraphs: th/em
- Blends: fl/at
- Long vowels or vowel teams might look like c/oat.
You will not see a significant difference in the phoneme grapheme mapping approach, but there is a subtle difference. Students split letters into individual phonemes or sounds. This is how it would look, using the same word examples above:
- CVC: m/a/n or b/i/g
- Digraphs: th/e/m
- Blends: f/l/a/t
- Long vowels: c/oa/t
This images are part of our decodable texts. Each lesson includes a dictation practice.
Additionally, we include sentence dictation.
Word Mapping Centers
Once students have had individual practice with word mapping, you can add these skills to your center practice.
These cards are from our Science of Reading Writing Center, but they can be used in so many ways.
These plastic trays are from Wal-Mart (CHEAP) and a great way to make this activity hands-on. I added colored pom-poms and a dry erase marker! This provides a physical way for students to segment the word. Simple!
In this center activity, students match the picture to the sentence, then write the sentence.
We want to keep these activities hands-on so adding the magnetic want and chips for segmenting and blending words is a winner.
Sliding the elkonin mapping worksheets into plastic sleeves is an easy way to add writing practice as they write the entire word.
Word Mapping Worksheets
Here are a few low prep word mapping worksheets that are great for morning work or as a review activity.