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.

Learn More about the research behind The Clarifying Routine