Vocabulary A-Z User Tips

Activating word find: To find a word on a particular page, you can use the built in Find function in your browser. To activate the Find function, click on the EDIT tab and select FIND. You can also activate the feature using your keyboard by pressing Ctrl + F on a PC or Apple + F on a Mac.

Adding your own words: You cannot add your own words to Vocabulary A-Z. Technically we do not have the capability. However, new words and new categories are added on a regular basis.

Deleting a word list: You can delete a Word List after it has been saved. Simply select the Saved Word List tab and click on the red X next to the Word List to be deleted.

Finding and/or downloading a PDF: If you are unable to successfully download your PDF, your pop-up blocker may be on. You will have to change the settings on your pop-up blocker to allow pop-ups from Vocabulary A-Z. Many browsers will let you selectively allow pop-ups from specific sites like Vocabulary A-Z.

Using mouseovers: The mouseover feature provides useful information such as the distinction between Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 words, and word definitions. To activate the mouseover function, simply run your mouse over the underlined portion(s) of text. You must have Vocabulary A-Z pop-ups enabled for the mouseover feature to work.

Enabling/disabling pop-ups: You can turn off the mouseover feature by turning off the pop-up feature. The pop-ups On/Off feature can be found on the right-hand side of the page, below the Instructions, and above the list of words to be chosen from.

Subcategories in Step 1 (Choose a Category): When you scroll over the categories, a pop-up menu appears to indicate the presence of subcategories. The pop-up menu is for informational purposes only and cannot be used to directly select a subcategory. You must click on the primary category to access any subcategories within the primary category. (Note: Some categories have several subcategories, while other categories have none.)

Word limitations: A maximum of 12 words may be included in any given Word List. Cumulative Assessments can have up to 24 words.

Bold words: When you select a word to add to your Word List, it turns bold. When you access a word that has been previously selected and saved in a Saved Word List, it turns green.

Category choices: You may choose words to add to any Word List from anywhere words are listed on the site. For instance, you can choose from the Functional Words, Content Words, and/or Saved Word Lists. Additionally, you may choose from among Tier One, Tier Two, and/or Tier Three words.

The lesson plan: The five-day lesson plan is generic and will not change from lesson to lesson; it has been designed to work with all Word Lists. Because the lesson plan may be used as a guide for each list of words, you may choose to download it once, then not download it again with each additional Word List.

Word Work Activities: The Vocabulary A-Z database generates customized worksheets based on your word choices. For example, if you create a Word List that contains a variety of parts of speech and an assortment of compound words, you are likely to generate several different Word Work activities. Conversely, if your list contains only nouns, your Word Work activity selection will be narrower, providing only noun activities.

Editing an active Word List: To edit a word from your Word List, simply select the Edit Word List button to return to the screen where you can add or delete words from your list. You may also edit a Word List by clicking on the red X next to a word which will delete the selected word and then automatically return to the edit screen.

Editing a saved Word List: To modify a saved Words List, click on the "Saved Word Lists" tab and select your list. Add or delete words, then save the list with a new name. Your old list will still be available until it is deleted.

Creating customized assessments: Each word in the Vocabulary A-Z database has been associated with four separate assessment questions, which means the database can generate a random collection of different assessment questions for each word on your list. The number of possible combinations depends on the number of words you choose. (Example: For one word, there are four possible combinations. For two words, there are 16 possible combinations. For three words there are 64 possible combinations, and so on.)

Saving your customized assessments: You must save the PDF versions of each assessment on your hard drive if you wish to review them later, as past assessments are not saved for retrieval on the Vocabulary A-Z website. With so many potential assessments that can be generated from one set of words, the chances of the same assessment being created from the same Word List is very small.

Generating multiple versions of an assessment from a single Word List: If you want to create a different assessment using the same Word List, simply access the Word List to create another "Custom Assessment" and save the PDF.

Creating a pre-assessment: You may create a pre-assessment to evaluate your students' understanding of a set of words by creating a Cumulative Assessment. To do so, simply select up to 12 words, generate an assessment, have your students complete it, and then decide which words to teach in your final lesson based on the results of the pre-assessment.

Deciding whether to use the "Large type size" or "Small type size": The larger type size is designed for Primary learners. The worksheets are written in a larger typeface and include longer, dashed writing lines. Additionally, the graphic organizers are simpler. The smaller type size is designed for Intermediate students. The worksheets are written in a smaller typeface and include standard writing lines and more complicated graphic organizers.

Naming worksheets and assessments: You must name worksheets and/or assessments before you can download them. Names may contain numbers and/or letters only. Each time you make a change to a Word List, you will need to save it with a unique name.

Word limitation: A maximum of 24 words may be included in any cumulative assessment. Word Lists to build customized worksheets can have up to 12 words.

Category choices: You may choose words from the Functional Words, Content Words, and/or Saved Word Lists categories. Additionally, you may choose Tier One, Tier Two, and/or Tier Three words.

Creating Cumulative Assessments: Each word in the Vocabulary A-Z database has been associated with four separate assessment questions, which means the database can generate a random collection of different assessment questions for each word on your list. The number of possible combinations depends on the number of words you choose. (Example: For one word, there are four possible combinations. For two words, there are 16 possible combinations. For three words there are 64 possible combinations, and so on.)

Saving cumulative assessments: You must save the PDF versions of each assessment on your hard drive if you wish to review them later, as past assessments are not saved for retrieval on the Vocabulary A-Z website. With so many potential assessments that can be generated from one set of words, the chances of the same assessment being created from the same Word List is very small.

Generating multiple versions of an assessment from a single Word List: If you want to create a different assessment using the same Word List, simply access the Word List to create another "Custom Assessment" and save the PDF.