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Words , a photo by trs125 on Flickr. Vocabulary study in the middle school curriculum is crucial to understanding both the curriculum and the texts. However, finding time to devote to full word study during the week can be an exhausting task. Several years ago our school adopted a school-wide Word Immersion program. The program was based on Robert Marzano's six-step process for learning vocabulary. I really liked the program and saw its potential for students. Unfortunately, most of the other teachers didn't. They saw it as a waste of time and energy, not to mention the number of copies needed each week for the vocabulary notebook. The process for learning vocabulary has six basic steps: 1. Explain the words to the students giving the definitions, examples, anecdotes related to word, etc. 2. The students then write their own understanding of the words in their Word Immersion notebook. 3. The students then draw a picture or symbol that illustrates th...