What does the science of reading look like in high school (part 2 of many)?

What does the science of reading or structured literacy look like in high school? We get this question a lot…and the truth is, there is no one way to answer it, but we can still try. In this series, we will highlight high-impact, replicable instructional practices and routines that are relevant to high school and middle school English/ELA classes. Today, we invite you into Faith Howard’s Literacy Lab, an intervention class she has designed for striving high school readers. You can learn more about Faith’s work here and watch more of it here.

Have you ever taught a vocabulary word only to have your students completely forget its meaning the next time you asked them to use it?

We’ve all been there!

That’s why retrieval practice is so critical—and why I love using vocabulary circle maps in my high school Literacy Lab. Instead of isolated drills, this activity asks students to:

1. Recall high-level Tier 2 & Tier 3 terms they’ve been explicitly taught.

2. Make authentic conceptual connections between words.

3. Use and explain terms in discussion and writing.

In this video, you’ll see my students map out words like adjudicated, incarceration, litigation, and exonerated as part of our novel study of Just Mercy. The result? Students owning the words, not just memorizing them.

How a circle map might deepen vocabulary learning in your own classroom? What other strategies do you use to ensure that students recall, connect, and use essential vocab? Let me know in the comments!