History and Government Vocabulary
Civics and history terms that appear on state assessments and in primary sources.
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
Anchor each one to an example the student can name. Precedent is abstract until it is a specific case; propaganda is abstract until it is a specific poster. Ask for a sentence rather than a definition, since a definition can be recited without meaning. Ratify and amendment work well as a pair because they describe two stages of the same process. Fifteen minutes covers the eight with examples.
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 civics and history terms with definitions in ordinary words: amendment, a formal change to the Constitution; ratify, to formally approve; precedent, an earlier decision used as a model for later ones; sovereignty, a government's authority to rule itself; propaganda, information shaped to push one opinion; referendum, a public vote on a single question. These are the words that appear in test questions and in primary sources alike.
What to listen for
Listen for the difference between a memorised definition and usable knowledge. A student who says propaganda is information shaped to push one opinion and cannot identify it in a text has the words and not the concept. Watch precedent and sovereignty, which are the two most abstract here and the two most likely to be recited without understanding.
Carrying it home
News coverage supplies these words weekly. Asking what a referendum is, when one is being reported on, gives the word a context that a definition never will.
What's in this activity
- amendment -- a formal change to the Constitution
- ratify -- to formally approve
- precedent -- an earlier decision used as a model for later ones
- sovereignty -- a government's authority to rule itself
- propaganda -- information shaped to push one opinion
- referendum -- a public vote on a single question
- annex -- to take territory into a country
- reparations -- payment made for past harm
Questions
- What grades is this for?
- Ninth through twelfth, matched to civics and history coursework and state assessments.
- Is it free?
- Yes, all eight cards play with no account.
- Why is content vocabulary a speech-language target?
- Because comprehension of academic text is a language skill. A student who reasons well and lacks the semantic knowledge fails a history assessment for language reasons, which is squarely in scope.
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.