101 Strategies to Make Academic Vocabulary Stick

by Marilee Sprenger

Veteran educator Marilee Sprenger explains how to teach the essential, high-frequency words that appear in academic contexts—and reverse the disadvantages of what she calls "word poverty." Drawing on research and experience, Sprenger provides a rich array of engaging strategies to help educators across all content areas and grade levels not only teach students a large quantity of words but also ensure that they know these words well . You'll find This comprehensive resource has everything you need to help your students profoundly expand their vocabulary, enabling them to speak, read, and write with greater understanding and confidence.

Genres: Education, Teaching

106 pages, Paperback

Published January 17, 2017

About the author

Marilee is a member of the American Academy of Neurology, the Learning and the Brain Society, and the Cognitive Neuroscience Society. She is an adjunct professor at Aurora University, teaching graduate courses on brain based teaching, learning and memory, and differentiation.

Reviews

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm always a little weary about books like this, that claim to offer tons of ways to teach something. As a high school teacher who typically teaches below-grade level students, it's difficult to find strategies that will engage them without insulting their sense of themselves. Everything is either too tough, or too easy.

I have to say this book is different. Of the 101 strategies shared, I would truly use 98 of them with happiness, and I've already started making notes in the margin about which ones to introduce and tackle first. I'm so excited to try some of these that I want to use some next week, as a preparation for the end-of-year vocab final. (Who introduces new strategies the last week of school? Me, apparently.)

This is also a great book for content area teachers - at least 80% of the strategies could be used on content area vocab or general academic vocabulary. And, of course, Sprenger makes it clear which strategies are a good fit for ELL students.

The last part of the chapter includes suggestions / lesson plans for how to teach new vocabulary words, based on the brain science she lays out in chapter 1. Overall, well worth the money.

[Elie · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my goals this summer was to learn how to better teach vocabulary. I bought several books on the subject, and this one was by far the most helpful. Out of 101 strategies, I took notes on 30 of them that I plan to use. Some of the strategies were too elementary or I just couldn't see them working with my students in my subjects, but having 30 great ideas to use next year will be a huge improvement from past years.

The last chapter also includes ways to sequence your vocabulary instruction and infuse it throughout the week. If you're looking for a book to help you teach vocabulary, this book is probably it; I haven't found anything better, that's for sure.

[Mariya Ortiz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the organization of this book and the strategies represented. However, I didn't like the misunderstanding of some words like academic words being "better" than conversational words. This shows a lack of understanding of the registers of language. Context is an important part of language and word choice. Academic words in an informal setting, for example, can seem pretentious or even condescending.

[Aida Saldana Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very practical book, there are lots of interesting and engaging activities that teachers can try on a regular classroom. I'd love to try out some of the exercises and engage my students in learning more vocabulary in a friendly way!

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many of the strategies are excellent, but some seem to be filler material. Quick, easy read. Good ideas for classroom use.

[Nikki McDorman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the explanation on memory types! I was hoping for more contextual and less isolated practices, but a good start nonetheless.

[Amelia Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the explanation of brain function in relation to vocab retention, and the strategies are varied and practical!

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

#51- Popsugar 2017 "A book with Career advice" #2

I felt like this was more of a “101 Vocabulary Activities” Book than a strategy book for making the words stick. Yes, it talked about memory and retrieval but the strategies/activities listed by themselves will not make Vocabulary stick. Great resource for teaching vocabulary. To make it stick- we need the follow through in instruction.