Another great way to engage your students is through the creation of storyboards that use vocabulary fromThe Handmaid’s Tale. Here is a list of a few vocabulary words commonly taught with the novel, and an example of a visual vocabulary board.
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Student Instructions
Demonstrate your understanding of the vocabulary words in The Handmaid’s Tale by creating visualizations.
Adapt your vocabulary instruction to meet the needs of all learners by offering varied options for engagement, scaffolding, and assessment. Supporting diverse learning styles ensures every student has a chance to succeed with challenging texts like The Handmaid’s Tale.
Provide students with vocabulary lists at different difficulty levels. Advanced students can work with more complex or nuanced words, while others focus on core terms. This encourages confidence and growth for every learner.
Have students create Frayer Models, semantic maps, or word webs for new terms. Visual supports help students of all abilities break down definitions, synonyms, antonyms, and usage. These tools make abstract words concrete.
Pair or group students so they can explain vocabulary to each other and collaborate on illustrations. Peer learning builds understanding and confidence, especially for students who need extra support. Everyone benefits from shared insights.
Let students pick from drawing, acting, digital slides, or creating word games to show what they've learned. Providing options increases motivation and helps students play to their strengths. This fosters creativity and ownership.
Visual vocabulary boards are an engaging way to help students learn key terms from The Handmaid’s Tale. Select important words, define them, use them in sentences, and create illustrations or use images to show their meanings.
Students can show understanding by choosing vocabulary words from the novel, finding their definitions, writing example sentences, and illustrating each word with a scene or image, either drawn or selected from a photo database.
A visual vocabulary board is a graphic organizer where students match vocabulary words with definitions, sentences, and images. Use it to reinforce new terms by prompting students to visualize and contextualize word meanings.
Vocabulary instruction helps students comprehend complex language and themes in The Handmaid’s Tale. Understanding key terms deepens engagement and supports critical analysis of the novel’s content.
Common vocabulary words include palimpsest, archaic, fraternize, demure, fanatical, parley, bestow, perfidy, chalice, effigy, pier glass, and heretical.