The research is clear: If students are to learn and use new vocabulary words and other terms, they have to be taught those terms within a meaningful context. However, how can these terms be taught in a way that students can remember them? The Clarifying Routine gives teachers a way to explore the definitions of new terms as part of their actual subject-matter instruction. Specifically, teachers and students use a form called the Clarifying Table to construct the meaning of an important term, such as “embryo,” “Martin Luther King, Jr.,” or “The Alamo.” Terms can be a vocabulary word, a person, a place, an event, an object, or a time in history. They fill in a Clarifying Table to briefly define the term, identify words that clarify the term’s meaning, identify how the term is to be used and how it is not to be used, relate the term to the student’s life, and use the term in a sentence. This book includes specific steps for introducing the Clarifying Table to students, as well as the steps for developing Clarifying Tables as a part of whole-class discussions. Multiple examples of Clarifying Tables are included throughout the book, as are ideas for adapting the instruction and teaching students how to construct Clarifying Tables on their own.

This guidebook focuses on how teachers can help students master the meaning of targeted words and phrases (e.g .. vocabulary. names of historical figures. events. ideas) using a set of instructional methods called the Clarifying Routine. This routine was developed because teachers often find that teaching students the meaning of important terms is a challenge, and students often find that learning the terms at the end of chapters or on study guides is an insurmountable task. As a result. when these terms appear on tests, many students perform poorly. and most at-risk students fail the tests. Unfortunately. the students who are successful at answering test questions about such terms often quickly forget what the terms mean after the test because of the way they studied the terms. Research has shown that new terms must be taught in a meaningful way within a meaningful context if students are to really learn them and use them. That is, they must not be taught in isolation from the content to which they apply, and the act of mastering them should not be treated solely as a rote memory task. Instead. they must be taught as a part of meaningful learning experiences focused on the subject matter at hand. In addition. these terms must be encountered by average-achieving learners a minimum of 14 to 20 times within meaningful contexts if they are to be mastered. At-risk learners may require an even greater number of encounters.

The Clarifying Routine has been designed to enable teachers to explore new terms with students within the meaningful context of subject-matter instruction and in such a way that the students hear. talk about, and use the terms multiple times. Specifically, the Clarifying Routine is used to reveal the meaning of a term by (a) naming the term to be learned, (b) specifying information related to the term. (c) figuring out how the term might be used correctly and incorrectly, (d) naming the core idea behind the term. (e) having students connect the meaning of the term to their knowledge and experiences. and (f} creating an example sentence using the term.

Thus. the Clarifying Routine is designed to help students understand the meaning of a term by talking about information related to it. connecting their own knowledge and experiences to it. and using it in a variety of ways. If such procedures are used. students are more likely to remember and use a given term correctly. Additionally. they will be ready to apply memory strategies to commit it to memory.

Learn More about the research behind The Clarifying Routine