• Learning a new vocabulary is imperative for studying science.science image by JMDZ from Fotolia.com
  
  Telling your "proton" from your "prototype" and remembering that the "anemometer" is like a speedometer for wind can amount to a lofty task, especially for young science students. The unfamiliar terms, their suffixes and prefixes and sometimes abstract meanings can add up to a frustrating experience for parents, teachers and students alike. There are some tricks, however, that can demystify science vocabulary lists for students of all levels.
  
  

Incorporate Drama

• By inventing miniature plays and performances, students can put their scientific vocabulary to use in fun and interesting ways. Students learn new words when they have opportunities to use them in a range of settings. To give them these opportunities, take the new science vocabulary list beyond the textbook and into the field by creating a story or narrative related to the lesson and incorporating the new words into the action.
  
  A lesson on the laws of motion, a typical elementary science topic, is an excellent example. Have students act out "momentum," "velocity," "acceleration" and "gravity" by performing short plays they write themselves. The more opportunity for using and experiencing these words alongside the concept they describe, the more sense their textbook reading will make.
  
  

Building Blocks

• Breaking down terms into their parts can make a set of seemingly random terms suddenly sound like a family. Many science terms have their roots in Latin, Greek, or French, and many of those words have relatives in English that will be familiar to students. Learning to see words as small puzzles can demystify complex terminology, and spending time examining a word solidifies the experience and cements the word's meaning in a student's memory.
  
  When learning geology and earth science, for example, knowing that the prefix "hydro" means "water" is the key to half a dozen new words on your list. Grouping words that share roots and prefixes is an excellent way to get a grip on a long vocabulary list. In any new science lesson, you'll find the new words group easily into smaller, digestible groups.
  
  

Concept Mapping

• Visual learners especially will thrive on the graphic aspect of this vocabulary building technique. To begin, take a large piece of paper or white board, or use a simple graphics computer program. Place a central concept at the center--for example, "The Human Body." Students add concepts and words they already know, branching out from the central concept. Teachers, and students as well, can add new, unfamiliar vocabulary terms and concepts to the chart as they develop. When "bones" come up, for example, group them with "joints", "skeleton" and the prefix "osteo-". Use colorful markers or color options on the screen, and incorporate these kinds of visual cues into the concept map so that students come to see which words are related and associate new terms with familiar ones.