Pre-Learn Vocabulary

But the diversity of words makes understanding the information more challenging. Reading comprehension is the skill of understanding text.  Current research suggests that we need to know 95 to 98 percent of the words in a reading to understand it. If we know fewer words than that, our understanding of the information will drop. If our understanding drops, then our ability to remember that information also drops.  Complex vocabulary impacts our ability to put events in the correct order.  This is a tested skill in AP history classes!

Many students also tell me that their AP textbook is difficult to read.  They are 100% correct.  AP textbooks are college-level textbooks.  This means that they use academic English to convey ideas.  One aspect of academic English is that it uses words that are not used in day-to-day speech.  Few websites, newspapers, novels, and other forms of media use college-level vocabulary.  These texts don't use the complex language that's characteristic of college-level textbooks.

In other words, there's nothing wrong with you.  It's just part of being human.  Luckily, we don't have to sit around and stew.  We can use strategies to make our lives easier.  One of these strategies is pre-learning vocabulary.

First, we have to identify which vocabulary terms are likely to cause problems.

If you have a textbook, this is usually done for you.  Textbooks identify key vocabulary words in the margin at the beginning of the text.  If they do not list them there, they are likely in bold or highlighted within the text.  If you are very lucky, the definitions of these words may in the text or the margin. Score!

It is uncommon for the words textbooks emphasize to include academic vocabulary words. These are words that we read in school, but are absent from everyday speech and reading. Some examples from the AP history exams are allocate, institution, and recalcitrant. These words make up the bulk of complexity in history and science classes (see page 137 and 138).  You can skim through the text to see if any of these words jump out at you.  Add them to your list.

It is uncommon for historical documents or research studies to identify vocabulary words.  Skim the text before you read and identify any unfamiliar words.​

Another version of this strategy focuses on the big picture.  In this version, you start learning the vocabulary for the whole unit at the beginning of the unit.  The vocabulary won't be as aligned to an individual reading. It will familiarize you with the big picture ideas and events.  You can source words from the textbook like before.

You can use a pre-created list of vocabulary terms.  I have pre-made vocabulary decks for several courses.  They are 100% free to use and fully customizable.

You can also find vocabulary support on my Facebook and Instagram!  Every Wednesday I feature one of those sneaky academic vocabulary words. That way, you can be more successful in your course!​

A common suggestion that students is to look up words they don't know while they read.  The reality is that very few people actually do this - even the people that suggest it!  The only time I look up a word is when I'm reading on my eReader.  It lets me click on any word for a definition.  But if I have to stop reading, get a device, and type in the word?  Forget it.  Plus, I may not have noticed in the first place that I didn't know that word.

It's easier to take time at the beginning to learn the words. I've designated time to do this task. I'm also focused on finding the terms I don't know, so I'm more likely to recognize them.​

Another common suggestion is using context cues to figure out the meaning.  This can be a frustrating way to try to understand what you're reading.  It's time consuming.  There's also a good chance that you're guess will be incorrect.  If you don't look up the definition later, you may walk away with an incorrect assumption.

This can be frustrating and cause tons of problems.  I was working with a student recently who didn't know what "cede" meant.  He did what everyone told him to do.  He used the context cues to figure out that it had something to do with land.  He figured that it meant gaining land or territory.  As a result, he though France took land from the British after the French and Indian War.  This caused him to misunderstand many things about the Colonial era.  He was missing questions on exams because of that misunderstanding. The worst part was that he didn't know why. He could have saved a lot of time if he had known there were better ways to tackle those terms.

Frustration interferes with learning.  It's worth taking the time to prevent it.​

This method is not the most helpful strategy during exams.  You won't have the time or resources to look up words in advance.

Luckily, you do have other options.  You can reduce the number of unfamiliar words by studying vocabulary before the text.  Pre-learning vocabulary is effective because you see some words over and over again.  If you learn it once, you'll be set.

It's best to skip over questions and documents that you don't understand during an exam.  Spend as much time as you can on the questions that you can answer.  For the Document-Based Question, you don't need to use all the documents.  Choosing to include the documents you understand well is a great strategy.

You may be able to determine what the word means using context cues.  I don't usually recommend context cues because they so often lead readers astray. This should be the last thing you try.