This post was originally published on FTIS Edtech Background For a number of years we have been using "Best Practice" strategies developed by Robert Marzano to help students graphically organize their work and organize their thinking so that they can retain information at higher levels. When it comes to teaching vocabulary, researched, Best Practices, from Marzano include the following strategies: Provide a description, explanation, or example of the new term. Ask students to restate the description, explanation, or example in their own words. Ask students to construct a picture, pictograph, or symbolic representation of the term. Engage students periodically in activities that help them add to their knowledge of the terms in their vocabulary notebooks. Periodically ask students to discuss the terms with one another. Involve students periodically in games that enable them to play with terms. To target these strategies, many teachers use a weekly format of ha