Summary Statement Dancing Definitions ™ An Explicit Teaching Strategy Designed to Accelerate the Building of Academic Vocabulary and Academic Language Mastery

Dancing Definitions is a pre-reading teaching strategy that leads to mastery of definitions critical to understanding a text selection that is to be read or a subject that is to be studied. Using inquiry approaches, the teacher engages students in discussions that help them understand the meanings of each of the words. To ensure understanding, students are guided in relating the vocabulary to their experiences and prior knowledge. Only after this step are the definitions and “tag” sentences memorized. Both brain-based and culture-based approaches are incorporated to accelerate memorization.

Why memorization of the definitions and sentences? Isn’t understanding enough? In addition to supporting long-term memory of word meanings, the clear, precise, expressive academic language patterns internalized as the definitions and "tag" sentences are memorized become models that students can use as references when explaining or applying these word meanings in their speech and writing. These academic language models are especially important for those students who need significant acceleration in the development of language skills to meet literacy standards.

Video Credits    Workshop Participants:  Delorise Campbell, Trinda Foley, Ron Gerbrandt, LeeAnna Groves, Lettie L. Harris, Verna King, Nicole Kurtel, Amanda Perdue, Michelle Peters, Erika Radford, Alissa Solchik, Natalie Stewart, Delores Walker, Regina Young

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