My word! Vocabulary and geography learning

Geography learning places a high demand on children's vocabulary development because they know so few words useful for analyzing geographic phenomena and processes. Research shows that multiple experiences with new words are needed if children are to use them fluently in conversation, reading, and writing. This paper describes a variety of contexts that can provide children with the experiences needed to construct the meanings of new words. These include explorations and guided experiments during science instruction and additional discussion, reading, and writing activities during literacy instruction.