ABSTRACT
The purpose of vocabulary instruction is not for students to acquire new words for a few days. We want as many targeted words as possible to become a permanent part of their vocabulary. An effective way to build knowledge of a given word is to have students capture its characteristics through concept mapping. Concept mapping was developed by Joseph D. Novak at Cornell University in the 1960s. Professor Novak first used concept mapping as way of having students organize their emergent knowledge as they learned science. Graphic organizers not only help students see relationships and make connections, but they also serve as memory cues. The best graphic organizers are those that offer enough latitude that everyone's graphic organizer does not end up looking the same. While some Internet dictionaries have opted for the system we recommend, many either provide no pronunciation assistance or use the traditional symbols.
