Recently I  had occasion to visit some classrooms where I was reminded once again of how important vocabulary acquisition is, especially for understanding content.  As I began to reflect on how the TEKS Resource System social studies team could better support the direct instruction of vocabulary I rummaged through some old files and stumbled across some vocabulary flashcards I had used in summer school years ago. Voila! Our team kicked into gear and now we have vocabulary flashcards in the system for all secondary courses. Vocabulary flashcards for elementary are currently in production and will be available when the streamlined curriculum is posted.

Here is an example of what the flashcards look like and all the flashcards are aligned to the unit vocabulary in the TEKS Resource System.

These flashcards are “old school” manipulatives that facilitate effective vocabulary instruction and can be used in a variety of ways, including:

• introducing/ previewing vocabulary
• creating/ explaining definitions
• providing multiple exposures to the vocabulary
• assessing vocabulary acquisition

Just print, cut, and plan for using them during instruction. The new resource also includes some ideas for utilizing the flashcards. We hope you find these beneficial for your students.