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Make Vocabulary Notes Work for Your Students - Create a Dictionary!

I don't know about your students, but mine don't especially love taking down notes!  I don't love notes, either, but they can be a great tool for studying and review if they are set up in a user-friendly way.  

For French vocabulary review, I like to set up the notes as a French-English dictionary.  The students use a notebook and dedicate one page for each letter of the alphabet.  I like Hilroy 32-page exercise books because I can pick them up at Walmart the week before school starts for only $0.05 each! 



To jazz up the booklets, you can glue on a simple cover.




I spend the first class setting up the book with my students.  I use three columns: 
  • ENGLISH WORD  
    • I set the alphabet by English word, as it makes it easier for the students to find what they are looking for.
  • FRENCH WORD
    • I have my students include an article for all nouns to help them remember the gender of the noun.
  • WORD TYPE 
    • I ask my students to write the word type (noun, adjective, verb, etc.) to help reinforce grammar and parts of speech.


This method can be used by any student in any grade, and it is personalized to your class! Your students will have the vocabulary they are learning at their fingertips!

They are a great tool for studying, too.  It can be used alone, in pairs, or in groups for review! If a student finishes work early, he or she can take out their dictionary and cover the French column and quiz themselves.  Students can take the dictionary home on a light homework day and ask a family member to quiz them on vocabulary.  Students can quiz each other during class. The best part is they can take the dictionary with them to use the following year!

Don't want to set up notebooks?  Download and print a version you can photocopy for your students.  Click on the picture below!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Free-Create-a-Personalized-French-English-Dictionary-with-Vocabulary-Words-3320961



So what do you think?  Will you give it a try?  Do you already do something similar?  Do you have another great way to organize vocabulary?  Let me know in the comments below!




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