Biology and Chemistry Vocabulary
Course-specific terms that block comprehension of high school lab science text.
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Contrast the pairs. Ionic and covalent bonds differ by one word — transferred against shared — and teaching them separately produces two half-memories that get swapped on a test. Ask the student to use each term in a sentence about something concrete rather than to define it, since a definition can be recited and a sentence cannot. Bring the actual textbook page if you have it: fifteen minutes spent on the terms in the passage the student is stuck on is worth more than the list in isolation.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentPresent the item and wait 5 seconds of quiet before helping.Log as correct
- HintGive a clue about the word's category, what it does, or where you find it.Log as cued
- Two choicesOffer two answers, the right one not always second.Log as cued
- ModelGive the answer in a sentence; the student says it back and uses it once more.Log as cued
Adjust it
Use fewer items and start with the ones the student already knows.
Ask for the word in a sentence of the student's own, or a second example from the same group.
Matching IEP goal
Given vocabulary cards, Student will name, sort or define target words in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than an indirect cue.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Eight terms that block comprehension of lab science text, each with a definition written in ordinary words: photosynthesis — plants turning light into chemical energy; homeostasis — keeping internal conditions steady; catalyst — speeds up a reaction without being used up; ionic bond — electrons transferred between atoms; covalent bond — electrons shared. These are not general vocabulary; they are the specific words a textbook assumes and a struggling reader stalls on.
What to listen for
Listen for morphology being used. A student who can see photo and synthesis, or equi and librium, has a strategy that works on the next hundred terms as well as these eight. Watch for definitions recited without meaning — a student who says homeostasis is keeping internal conditions steady and cannot say what would happen without it has memorised a string.
Carrying it home
Science vocabulary is best reviewed against the notes the student already has. Ask them to explain one term to a family member who does not know it, which is a much harder and more revealing task than repeating the definition.
What's in this activity
- photosynthesis -- plants turning light into chemical energy
- homeostasis -- keeping internal conditions steady
- catalyst -- speeds up a reaction without being used up
- solubility -- how much of something will dissolve
- ionic bond -- electrons transferred between atoms
- covalent bond -- electrons shared between atoms
- mitosis -- one cell dividing into two identical cells
- equilibrium -- the forward and reverse rates are equal
Questions
- Why is science vocabulary a speech-language target?
- Because comprehension of academic text is a language skill. A student with adequate reasoning and thin semantic knowledge fails science for language reasons, and that is squarely in scope.
- Is it free?
- Yes, no account needed to use the cards.
- What grades is this for?
- Ninth through twelfth, matched to high school biology and chemistry coursework.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.