Yes-no-why vocabulary activities
Work toward multiple ELA objectives

Whenever possible, savvy teachers choose and/or craft vocabulary activities that move students toward accomplishment of at least two of their annual objectives.

One technique for teaching reading vocabulary that can simultaneously do double duty in other areas of the English language arts curriculum is called Yes-No-Why. The technique is used for developing a deeper understanding of vocabulary than is required for recall activities, such as using a word in a sentence.

Yes-No-Why vocabulary activity

In a Yes-No-Why activity, students are asked a single-sentence question about the relationship between two words on their vocabulary study list. The students answer either yes or no, but must state their reasons for their answer. In developing their reasons, students have to think about meanings of words at a deeper level than mere recall.

The goal is not to get the right answer (there are no right or wrong answers), but to

• Support their opinions.

• Present their reasoning clearly.

• Defend their position logically.

General vocabulary examples

Here are three yes-no sentences that ask students to reflect on general vocabulary:

• Can a chronic ailment be acute?

• Can someone be caustic without animosity?

• Are predecessors ever precursors?

ELA vocabulary examples

Here are three yes-no sentences that ask students to reflect on ELA vocabulary:

• Is nonfiction a literary genre?

• Can someone have a point of view without having an opinion?

• Is a novel's theme the equivalent of a nonfiction book's thesis?

Ways to use yes-no-why activities

If you expend a little effort, you can devise ways to make yes-no-why activities work toward two or more ojectives of your ELA curriculum. For example, you could:

• Have students answer questions independently, discuss the answers in teams, and have each team present its best answer as a 3-minute persuasive speech to the class.

• Do yes-no-why activity in preparation for writing prompt that requires using or discussing one or more of the vocabulary terms.

• Couple yes-no-why activities with discussion of denotation and connotation prior to a poetry unit.

• Use a yes-no-why question as an informal writing prompt to activate knowledge or sum up learning.

• Couple yes-no-why activities with discussion of synonyms and antonyms.

• Couple yes-no-why activities with discussion of language references

• Use yes-no-why activities with along with discussion of word roots, prefixes, or suffixes.

To get maximum return on your investment when using yes-no-why or any other learning technique, you need to use the technique often enough to justify the time you spend preparing materials and training students to use the technique. Using a technique repeatedly throughout a year in short sessions almost always yields higher ROI than a one-time use.