Vocabulary for Lesson 15

Instructions [ Hide ]

Learning is work. There are multiple ways to study. Different study strategies will work differently for each student. Serious students should try all of them several (6-7) times to see how they work when done well. For the best learning, every student will likely need to use more than one strategy and switch between them. Here are some tips relating to studying vocabulary. You can adapt them for memorizing texts.

  1. Use multiple senses: read, speak, and hear the material aloud. Then, write your version with a pencil into your notebook and notice how that feels. Then, read your own definition aloud as you study. (combine with the next two strategies)
  2. Use your brain: condense the definitions into a form that makes sense to you. Identify key words for every definition. Think of synonyms that you would use. (combine with the other strategies)
  3. Use your body: say your definition and act it out with an expressiveness that fits the meaning.
  4. Use your friends and family: Ask someone to quiz you using spaced repetition for a set amount of time, from your notes. (Example: for 10 minutes, all questions get repeated, but the quicker and more accurate your answer, the longer the interval until that question comes back. Questions you get wrong are repeated sooner.)
  5. Use basic technology: Show all definitions and hide all the terms on this page. Try to remember each term before you show it (by clicking the definition) to check your answer. Then, show all terms and hide the definitions on the page. Only show a definition (by clicking the term) after you have made your best effort to remember your own version of it.
  6. Use tools: Make a stack of index cards with terms on one side and your definitions on the other. When reviewing, don't check the opposite side until you've made your best effort to remember. Sort them into three stacks: Easy, Hard, and Failed. Then re-sort the Failed cards and work through the Hard cards until they are all Easy.
  7. Use advanced technology: On the web (Example: SuperNotes with free signup or with subscription.) or on an app (Example: Anki), create a stack of virtual cards and let the software quiz you. It will use spaced repetition automatically.
  8. Use brute force memorization: Copy a term and definition from this page. Then navigate to Catechesis Contents > Memorization Tool and paste it into the box, then follow the instructions on that page. (Caution: this works quickly for memorizing texts, but must be repeated a few times after a break for long-term recall. It is less effective than the other strategies for understanding what you memorize.)
Gabriel
The angel, whose name means "man of God," who interpreted visions to Daniel in the Old Testament, and announced the births of John the Baptist to Zachariah and Jesus to Mary in the New Testament.
Nazareth
The town referred to as Jesus' hometown, where Mary and Joseph lived before He was born, where Joseph worked as a carpenter, and where Jesus was rejected when He preached in the synagogue.
St. Mary, Mother of Our Lord
The virgin mother of Jesus, the Son of God, from the tribe of Judah. Her feast day is 15 August.
Judah
The fourth son of Jacob and Leah. He interceded with his brothers to save Joseph's life. His descendants became known as the "Southern Kingdom" when Israel was a divided nation. The kings of the messianic line, including our Lord Jesus Christ, descended from this tribe.
The Annunciation of our Lord
The day Jesus was conceived in Mary's womb, when the angel Gabril appeared to her to announce that she would conceive and be the mother of the Messiah, the Son of God, by the Holy Spirit who would come upon her. This feast day is celebrated on 25 March, nine months prior to the celebration of our Lord's birth.
The Visitation
The visit of the pregnant Virgin Mary to her cousin Elizabeth when Elizabeth was six months pregnant with John the Baptist. When the word of Mary greeted Elizabeth on this occasion, the baby in Elizabeth's womb "leaped for joy" because the Lord was present among them in Mary's womb. This feast day is celebrated 31 May.
The Magnificat
The New Testament song of Mary at the visitation of Elizabeth while she carried the unborn Christ in her womb. It is usually sung at Vespers as the song of all faithful believers who have received God's Word. Its Latin title means "it magnifies" and is from the first line of the canticle, "My soul magnifies the Lord: and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior” (Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary, p. 123).