Before writing a sentence, have the student look up the definition of the word to be sure he knows what it means.
Having your students use their vocabulary words in sentences is a creative activity that helps the students both learn and retain the definition of each word, while illustrating their understanding of the word's meaning. This activity can have an added benefit of stimulating a student's interest in language. You can provide the instructions below as part of your vocabulary lesson plans. When helping students create sentences, make sure they are using proper grammatical structure and encourage clear and concise writing.
Instructions
1. Look the vocabulary word up in a dictionary. Read the definition of the word, the part of speech and review the examples of the word as it is used in a sentence. Seeing the word used in a sentence will help you understand the meaning of the word beyond the definition. It will also help you understand the connotation of the word. Connotation is a set of attributes that form the meaning of a term--these are often formed over time. It also defines the range of objects to which a term can apply.
2. Write a sentence that proves that you understand the definition of the word, while following correct grammatical structure. Use the word clearly and in correct context. For example, using the word "happy," you could write the following sentence: "I could tell that she was happy with the gift by the big smile on her face when she opened it." This sentence demonstrates the definition of happy as to be delighted, pleased or glad over a particular thing.
3. Write a sentence that demonstrates multiple parts of speech usage. If your vocabulary word is "exchange," for example, you could write the following sentence: "The salesperson allowed her to exchange the yellow top for the pink top, because the exchange was in alignment with store policy." This sentence allows the reader to infer that to exchange something means to change one thing for another. In this sentence, exchange is used as both a verb and a noun.
4. Write a sentence that demonstrates multiple meanings of a word. If your vocabulary word is "fair" for example, you could make the following sentence: "It is not fair that I have to stay inside on such a fair day." The first usage of fair means a situation that is free from injustice. The second usage of fair means fine or clear weather.
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