5.1: Bloom’s Taxonomy

Expanded Vocabulary List
Based on Bloom’s Taxonomy

In 1956, Benjamin Bloom came up with a list of vocabulary words that students who wished to get a higher education degree would need to know.  What I have done is add to that list.

Knowledge

1.  Duplicate:  When my sons were learning to play the piano, they tried to duplicate how their teacher played.  When teachers copy handouts, they duplicate each page for each student. I had the key maker duplicate my car key so that I would have an extra key.

2.  Define:  George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq in 2003 will define his presidency: a disaster for the United States worldwide.  Dictionaries define words for people.  I hope that when students remember me that they can define me by my devotion to my students’ learning and helpfulness in their efforts to learn English.

3.  Memorize:  Students need to memorize the irregular verbs in English.  Singers memorize the words to songs that they sing in public.

4.  Stipulate:  Sometimes in order to make something perfectly clear to students, I have to stipulate exactly what I want them to do.  I stipulated exactly which edition of your reading book I wanted when I ordered it from the bookstore.  My wife stipulates exactly what she wants me to buy when I go shopping for groceries.

5.  Record:  I record your attendance everyday on my attendance roster.  After I write a check, I record in my check register the check number, the date, the person I wrote the check to, and the amount of the check.

6.  Reproduce:  Some people who whistle well can reproduce bird calls and songs very well.  When people reproduce, they have babies.  Sometimes when a person has a noise in a car, a mechanic will ask the person to try to reproduce the sound.

7.  Recall:  We all recall our memories of important past events in our lives.  You will need to recall the meanings of these words when you see or hear them in the future.

8.  Support:  People work in order to support their family.  A foundation and walls support a building.  Our legs support us when we walk.  Good writers support their ideas with examples, facts, or statistics.

9.  Rename:  The country of Persia was renamed Iran many years ago.  Sometimes it is necessary to rename files on my computer hard drive because the name I want to use has already been given to another file.

10.  Relate:  Sometimes students don’t understand how some subjects they take in school will relate to their future lives and careers.  Insane people often can’t relate to reality.  Getting a good job often relates to how much education you have.

11.  Label:  When I put things in boxes, I always label the boxes so that I will know what is in them later on.  Medicine is always labeled with its name, the name of the person who needs to take it, and the amount to take.

12.  Specify:  A price tag specifies how much something costs.  When a form asks a person for his/her birth date, that person must specify the month, day, and year of his/her birth.  When I bought ice cream last week, my wife specified which flavors to buy.

13.  Cite:  If you are writing a report and copy some information from a book or magazine, you need to cite where you got the information and who wrote it; otherwise, it is called plagiarism.  When talking about laws, people always cite the U. S. Constitution. 

14.  Enumerate:  When telling someone how to do something or how to get somewhere, it is necessary to enumerate all of the steps in the process according to the order that you do them.  Children enumerate exactly what they want for Christmas when they talk to Santa Claus.

15.  Inform:  The credit card company informed its users by mail that the interest rate would increase in July 2009.  I always inform my students to skip lines when doing homework.  Children, when they leave their home, should inform their parents where they are going and whom they are going out with.

16.  Recount:  I sometimes recount to my students things that I did as a young man.  My son recounted to me what he did on his vacation.  Police ask witnesses to recount what they saw when a crime was committed.

17.  Recollect:  I don’t recollect much about the first five years of my life.  Do you recollect how much money you spent last week?  The older a person gets, the more difficult it is to recollect the early years of their lives.

Comprehension

18.  Restate:  I always restate grammar explanations so that my students will understand them better.  When writing compositions, it is OK to restate what someone else said; it is not OK to plagiarize, however.  Mothers always restate to children to be careful crossing streets and to look both ways.  When foreign people don’t understand what I say, I restate it using different words.

19.  Summarize:  My son summarized what he did last quarter at university for me when I saw him in December.  When friends ask me what I did when I was traveling around the world, I summarize my activities and the places I visited and lived.

20.  Order:  In the army, sergeants order soldiers to do various jobs.  We order food in a restaurant.  I order my books according to types or subjects.  Bosses order employees what to do every day.

21.  Describe:  My friend described the house she recently bought.  I described the windstorm we had in December to my sister.  Sometimes it is hard to describe a smell.

22.  Recognize:  I recognized my son’s voice on the phone last night.  I hadn’t seen my friend for thirty years, but I still recognized him when I ran into him at the market last week.  It is sometimes difficult for children to recognize the importance of education.

23.  Explain:  I explain grammar to my students every day.  I explained to the mechanic what the problem was with my car.  I often explain laws to my sons.

24.  Express:  It is difficult for some people to express their feelings.  It is good for children if adults express their love for them.  He expressed his sadness by crying.

25.  Identify:  If the police stop you when you are driving, you must identify yourself by showing the officer your driver’s license.  Sometimes I have students identify the parts of speech in a sentence.  Your student number identifies you at the college registration.

26.  Report:  It is necessary to report an automobile accident to the police if you want to collect insurance for damages.  At the end of the quarter, I report how many days you were absent to the ESL office.  You must report to court if a judge wants to talk to you.

27.  Retell:  Old people retell stories very many times.  It is necessary to retell children to brush their teeth so that they will do it.  I have retold you to skip lines many times.

28.  Review:  It is important to review school work that you have studied before examinations.  Before giving a speech, it is important to review your notes so that you won’t forget anything.  You should review documents before signing them.

29.  Translate:  A college education usually translates into a better-paying job.  Sometimes words in one language don’t translate well into another language.  A second-language dictionary translates words from one language to another language.

30.  Comprehend:  It is hard to comprehend how people can commit crimes against children.  I can’t comprehend higher mathematics.  It is sometimes difficult to comprehend what bad drivers do because often their driving doesn’t make any sense.

31.  Reiterate:  My wife told my son to brush his teeth and then had to reiterate it ten more times before he finally did brush his teeth.  Sometimes when students don’t skip lines when doing homework, it is necessary for me to reiterate to them that it is my rule and must be obeyed.

32.  Grasp:  Advanced grammar can be difficult to grasp for students.  Even though my wife has tried many times to teach my younger son how to cook, he still has a problem grasping what he is supposed to do.  It is sometimes hard to grasp what babies want.

33.  Recap:  [Recapitulate is the full form of the word.]  After the football game, the television announcer recapped how the points were scored.  When you fill out an accident report, it is necessary to recap everything that happened.

Application

34.  Exhibit:  My son exhibited signs of the flu:  He had a high fever, pains all over his body, and a headache.  Many artists exhibit their art in local coffee houses.  People with mental problems exhibit strange behavior.

35.  Clarify:  If people can’t understand you, then you need to clarify what you mean by repeating what you said or by giving better examples.  When my son told me that he was going to go somewhere and do something with a group of his friends, I wanted him to clarify exactly where he was going, what he was going to do, and with whom he was going.

36.  Simulate:  Pilots simulate flying airplane on machines and computers before they actually get in and fly a real plane.  Boys simulate shooting guns when they play with each other.  Actors simulate dying in movies.  Little girls simulate feeding babies with their dolls.

37.  Apply:  The hardest part of learning a language is applying what you learn in class when you are outside of class.  You need to apply all of your skill when you want to do a good job on anything.  Usually people who do good work seriously apply themselves.  When writing, students need to apply the rules of grammar.

38.  Engage:  When driving a car with a standard transmission, a driver needs to engage the clutch when changing gears; with an automatic transmission, gears are changed automatically.  When turning the lights on in a room, a person engages the electricity when he turns a switch to “on.”  It is sometimes hard to get second-language students to engage native speakers in conversations in English.

39.  Supervise:  When we had a big Thanksgiving feast, my wife supervised a lot of women who came to my house to cook the food; she told everyone what to do and how to do it.  I supervise whatever we do in my class.  Traffic lights supervise drivers in cars.

40.  Demonstrate:  My wife demonstrates how to roll up egg rolls to her students.  I demonstrated how to use an electric saw to my son so that he would know how to cut wood without having an accident.  I demonstrate how to change the present tense affirmative to the present tense negative on the white board.

41.  Exaggerate:  My elder son used to exaggerate pain whenever he hurt himself as a young boy even though most of his injuries were very minor ones.  Some people exaggerate their accomplishments in life to make themselves look better than they really are to other people.  The man exaggerated about how much he paid for his wife’s bracelet.  Fishermen often exaggerate the size of the fish they caught.

42.  Utilize:  I utilize a tape recorder when I teach pronunciation.  I am utilizing a computer right now as I write this sentence.  I utilize a key to start my car.

43.  Argue:  When a person argues a point of view, he defends his or her opinion.  President Obama argued in favor of healthcare reform in 2009.  Sometimes husbands and wives argue about their children or money.  When you argue an opinion, you support your idea.

44.  Illustrate:  I drew a map to illustrate how to get from the college to my house.  Sometimes companies illustrate how to use tools.  I can’t draw well, so I can’t illustrate with pictures.

45.  Operate:  To operate a car legally, a person must get a driver’s license.  My wife can’t operate a sewing machine very well.  Surgeons operate on patients by cutting into them during operations.  You need to operate electronic equipment.

46.  Calculate:  When planning for a party, it is important to calculate how much food to cook.  Before you buy a house, you need to calculate how much you can spend for a mortgage every month.  It is hard to calculate in feet, pounds, and miles for foreigners.

47.  Reveal:  My mother revealed to me some family secrets that I hadn’t known before.  The X-ray revealed a tumor on my sister’s left breast a couple of years ago.  The boy revealed to his parents that he didn’t go to school last week.

48.  Experiment:  Scientists experiment with drugs on animals before using drugs on people.  I sometimes experiment with grammar exercises to see if they help students. When people try to cook different kinds of food, they experiment with different spices.

49.  Question:  It is always important to question what one’s government says.  I questioned President Bush’s reasons for going to war with Iraq; I thought he was lying.  I always question whatever politicians promise before they are elected.

50.  Replicate:  When I was teaching my sons how to drive a car, first I would show them how to do something and then I would have them replicate it until they did it well.  In order to be a good father, I always try to act in a good, honest manner because I want my sons to replicate my behavior as they become men.

51.  Distinguish:  It is almost impossible to distinguish salt from sugar by looking only.  However, it is very easy to distinguish salt from sugar by taste.

52.  Diagram:  In sports, coaches diagram what each player is supposed to do in each situation.  A mechanic diagrammed for me how a car’s engine works.

Analysis

53.  Analyze:  Doctors need to analyze information they get from tests they have done on their patients.  If you have a problem, it is necessary to analyze how to solve the problem.

54.  Differentiate:  It is often very difficult to differentiate a boy baby from a girl baby; they often look the same as infants.  Parents dress girls in pink and boys in blue so that people can differentiate the baby’s sex.

55.  Compare (and Contrast):  It is easy to compare the weather in Seattle with the weather in Tacoma.  I can’t compare my ability to play sports with my twenty-one-year-old son’s ability.  We can contrast America from Somalia very easily.  It is easy to compare Seattle to Portland.

56.  Discriminate: My wife cannot discriminate good wine from bad wine.  She almost never drinks any alcoholic beverage.  It is difficult for many people of one race to discriminate a person from another a different race.  It is bad to discriminate against people based on race, color, creed, or sexual orientation.

57.  Scrutinize:  I scrutinize your homework papers to find mistakes.  My wife scrutinizes bills to make sure there are no mistakes.  The doctor scrutinized the laboratory reports.

58.  Categorize:  Libraries categorize books when they place them on shelves.  Scientists categorize different kinds of diseases.  Whales are not categorized as fish.

59.  Probe:  The police probed the murder of the grocery store clerk to try to find the killer.  Doctors probe the cause of patients’ medical problems.  The doctor probed into the man’s ear drum when he examined the man.

60.  Investigate:  Police investigate crimes.  The fire department investigated the cause of the fire in my neighbor’s house.  The insurance company investigated the accident.

61.  Inquire:  I inquired if my son needed anything from home when I went to see him last week.  My friend inquired about a job at Microsoft recently.

62.  Detect:  I detected a strange noise in my wife’s car last week so I took it to the mechanic.  The mechanic detected a problem with her catalytic converter.

63.  Inspect:  I inspect all of your written homework sentences.  At airports, customs inspectors inspect your baggage when you arrive from overseas.

64.  Classify:  The government classifies different crimes between violent crimes and non-violent crimes.  Supermarkets classify products before they put them out on shelves.  In general, animals are classified as vertebrates (with a backbone) and invertebrate (without a backbone).

65.  Arrange:  I arranged to meet my son at noon outside of his dormitory last Friday.  My mother-in-law arranged a marriage for her oldest son with a Chinese girl.  Women tend to arrange the furniture in a house or an apartment.

66.  Organize:  I wish students would organize their notebooks so that they could more easily find handouts and other papers.  My wife organized the party at our house.

67.  Examine:  Doctors examine patients whenever they see them.  I examined the new tool before I bought it.  I will again examine your knowledge of these words soon.

68.  Survey:  Every ten years the government takes the census report in America by surveying every American household, asking the head of household the same questions.  I surveyed my students to see who wanted to have a final exam and who didn’t want to have one.

69.  Dissect:  Police often have to dissect crimes in order to find out who committed the crime.  High school students often dissect frogs or other animals in biology class.

70.  Inventory:  In January every company in America will inventory all of the things they own so that they can fill out their tax reports.  Before taking my toolbox outside to do a job, I inventory what I have inside so that I have all the tools I will need to do the job.  A secretary inventoried everything in the teachers’ room last week.

71.  Interpret:  Sometimes when my wife, who is Chinese from Brazil, says something, I have to interpret what she is saying because she sometimes makes mistakes in English.  Scientists have to interpret the results of experiments.  By looking at someone’s face, we can interpret how they feel.  Doctors have to interpret medical test results.

Synthesis

72.  Compose:  My son composes classical music on his computer.    It is sometimes difficult to compose oneself when something bad happens and we are upset.  You need to compose sentences for me.  When a baby is crying, we need to pick the baby up to help compose the baby.

73.  Intend:  I intend to leave school early this afternoon and go shopping for some garden supplies.  I intend to write a lesson plan tonight so that I can be ready for class tomorrow.  What do you intend to study in college?

74.  Propose:  I proposed going out to eat at a restaurant this Friday evening to my wife, who will make the final decision.  My son proposed coming to see him this August in Japan when he will be on vacation.

75.  Produce:  Microsoft produces a lot of computer software.  The state of Washington produces a lot of paper products.  Car companies produce cars.

76.  Invent:  Thomas Edison invented the electric light bulb.  The thief invented a story to tell the police when they accused him of robbing the Seven Eleven store.  All lies are invented.

77.  Develop:  Children develop their movement skills more slowly than animals do.  Computer technology has developed tremendously in the last twenty-five years.

78.  Design:  My wife designed our kitchen.  A friend of mine works in the clothing industry and designs women’s clothing.  I designed this list of words and sentences.

79.  Formulate:  Before attacking the enemy, the generals had to formulate a plan for the battle.  Before I asked for a raise in pay, I formulated what I was going to say to my manager.  Teachers need to formulate a way to teach grammar points.

80. Compile:  When applying for a new job, it is necessary to compile a resume.  My wife compiles a list of people every year to send Christmas cards to.  In order to cook something well, it is necessary to compile the ingredients in the kitchen before starting to cook.

81.  Synthesize: When giving information concerning different written reports, it is often necessary to synthesize what the reports say to give one conclusion.  When I ask my sons what they are doing in college in their various courses, they quickly synthesize what they are doing in a sentence or two.  Scientists will sometimes do similar experiments and then synthesize their results into one report.

82.  Assemble:  We assemble in this classroom five days a week.  Very often when parents buy toys for children, it is necessary to assemble them before giving them to the children.  Computers are assembled in factories.

83.  Construct:  I constructed a bird house over the Christmas vacation.  You need to construct sentences for me every week by using some of these words.  Carpenters construct furniture.

84.  Create:  Naughty children can create problems for their parents.  Gambling and drinking can create big problems in a family.  The snow storm and cold weather created big problems for people all over Seattle in December.  Children when playing with their toys create a mess in their house.  Inventors create new things.

85.  Coordinate:  I need to set up and coordinate a meeting with teachers from a lot of different developmental English programs at this college in March.  My wife coordinated a party with a group of her friends last month by telling each woman what to cook for the party and each man what other stuff to bring to the party, such as soft drinks, beer, wine, and bread.  In wars, generals coordinate battles while soldiers do the actual fighting.

86.  Imagine:  I can only imagine what it feels like to give birth to a baby.  Can you imagine a world without war?  I imagine that life is easier for rich people.  It is often easy to imagine something; it is often much more difficult to actually do it.

87.  Hypothesize:  Scientists have to hypothesize about their experiments before they do them.  I often hypothesize what my life would be like if I hadn’t gotten married.  When we hypothesize something, we imagine it in our brain.

88.  Systematize:  A good business always systematizes how the employees will do their jobs so that the work gets done in an orderly and predictable manner.  The army systematizes how it trains soldiers.  Factories systematize their workers.

89.  Incorporate:  Students need to incorporate lots of ideas in compositions.  You need to incorporate your knowledge of grammar when you write anything.  Businesses often incorporate different businesses into one big business.

90.  Concoct:  When the boys were playing with matches and burned their house down, they concocted a story to tell their parents and the fire department so that they wouldn’t get into trouble.  My son was experimenting with cooking when he concocted a soup that tasted so bad that even the dog wouldn’t eat it.  Some robbers concocted a plan to rob a bank, but it was such a stupid plan that the police caught them right away.

91.  Generalize:  It is easy to generalize and say that all American are fat, but it is of course not true.  When people say that it rains all the time in Seattle, they are generalizing.  People generalize that Asian people have poor pronunciation, but it is not true for all Asians.

92.  Originate:  The gasoline that we use in our cars originates as oil deep under the ground.  My ancestors originated in France and Italy.  Drinking coffee originated in Ethiopia.

93.  Predict:  I predict that President Bush will go down in history as one of the worst presidents that America has ever had.  Weathermen predict the weather every night on television.  I can predict that my sons will be happy and intelligent men; however, I can’t predict that they will be rich.  People try to predict who will win the Super Bowl even before the football season begins.

94.  Contrive:  My wife contrived to have an unmarried girlfriend of hers meet an unmarried man friend of ours “by accident” at our house recently.  She hoped that they would like each other and eventually get married.  The robbers contrived to rob the store when most of the employees were on their break.  I contrive in my lesson plans to teach you English easily.

95.  Theorize:  The police theorized that one of the robbers must have worked for store before the robbery.  They theorized that it was “an inside job.”  Many people theorize that there is life on other planets in our solar system.

Evaluation

96.  Deduce:  When I got home, all of the lights were off, so I deduced that no one was home.  When my car wouldn’t start and the lights wouldn’t turn on, I deduced that my car battery was dead.  When the student failed the easy exam, I deduced he hadn’t studied.

97.  Foretell:  Some people say they can see into the future and foretell what is going to happen.  People all over the world foretold the disaster that happened in Iraq in 2003.  It is hard to foretell what young children will do for a living.

98.  Judge:  A friend of mine always judges the dessert contest at the Fourth of July picnic every year.  Before I hired painters to paint my house, I had to judge the quality of their work and the amount they wanted to be paid to do the job.  People judge other people’s behavior.

99.  Appraise:  The appraiser appraised my house at $475,000.  I appraise your English ability every time I decide who goes up to another level and who stays in the same level.

100.  Evaluate:  The insurance adjuster evaluated the damage on my car from the accident at $3,300.  I think it is better to evaluate a person’s writing ability from a writing sample as opposed to an examination.  Before you buy something, you should evaluate its worth.

101.  Rate:  I rated the book I just read as excellent.  Many people rate Seattle as one of the best cities in America.  My wife rated the roofer as an excellent worker.

102.  Score:  After I give an examination, I have to score each student’s test.  Every sport has different ways to score points.  The Seattle Mariners scored 10 runs in a game I saw last night.

103.  Value:  I value my children’s love above everything else in the world.  Many people value money more than other important things in life.  I value honesty and integrity.  I value old pictures of my parents very highly.

104.  Revise:  I always revise what I have written before I give it to people.  When students revise their work, they learn better and produce better quality work.

105.  Conclude:  When someone’s eyes seem heavy and that person yawns a lot, I can conclude that he or she is tired.  Last year concluded with a party at my friend’s house on December 31, 2015.  When I saw the snow, I concluded it was too dangerous to drive.

106.  Criticize:  Mothers-in-law often criticize their daughters-in-law about many things.  Parents need to be careful how they criticize their children because children are easily hurt by what their parents say.  Women often criticize other women for many reasons.

107.  Assess:  After a big storm, it is important to assess the damage to one’s house and property.  Before I start a job at home, I try to assess how long it will take me to do it and how much it will cost.  When buying a used car, it is necessary to assess its condition.

108.  Measure:  It is hard to measure the damage done to people’s minds by experiencing war.  A thermometer measures a person’s temperature.  We can’t measure love.

109.  Estimate:  The carpenter estimated that it would cost about $50,000 to remodel the kitchen and bathroom.  I estimate that it has taken me about twelve hours to write this vocabulary handout.  When driving on snow, it is hard to estimate the time it will take to get to a destination because driving on snow makes drivers drive more slowly and carefully.

110.  Recommend:  I always recommend to my students to review irregular verbs before taking an examination.  My friend recommended a good Chinese restaurant in Seattle.  I recommend learning as much as possible when you are young.

111.  Determine:  Every quarter I need to determine what to teach my students before the quarter begins.  Your education will determine the jobs you can qualify for later in life.

112.  Suggest:  My friend wanted to go to Hawaii and asked me where to go, so I suggested going to the island of Maui.  My son suggested going to the movie last Saturday.  I suggest your studying for the exam on these words next week.

113.  Urge:  I urge my students to study hard and go on to college, but the final decision is up to them.  I often urge my sons to apply for scholarships.  I urge you to study hard.

114.  Indicate:  When a person runs a fever, it indicates that he is sick.  The fuel gauge on the dashboard of a car indicates how much gas remains in the fuel tank. 

115.  Construe:  I construed from the way he looked at and talked about the other man that he hated him for some reason.  I couldn’t construe what he meant by what he said.  My son could construe that I wasn’t happy about his getting a failing grade on his chemistry examination just by looking at my face.

116.  Infer:  After the test when the teacher said that the students needed to study more, it was easy for the students to infer that they didn’t do well on the exam.  When the woman said she would never go to that restaurant again, I inferred that she didn’t like it at all.

117.  Suppose:  Suppose you win the lottery, what will you do with the money?  I suppose it will be all right to have the test on Friday instead of Thursday.  Who do you suppose will be the next president of the United States?

118.  To Be Supposed To (Base Form of the Verb):  To have an obligation or a plan with a choice as to whether you will do it or not do it.  Examples:  My sons are supposed to keep their bedrooms clean.  When I was a boy, I was supposed to clean the house for my mother every Saturday.  Last Saturday my wife and I were supposed to clean our back yard, but it was raining so we didn’t do it.  Children are supposed to tell their parents when they go out.

119.  Gather:  When the girl made a face when she drank the medicine, I gathered that it tasted bad.  Before you answer an essay question on an examination, you need to gather your thoughts.  We gather in this classroom every day.

120.  Surmise:  When the afternoon sky became black with clouds, I surmised that we were going to have a bad storm.  When I was speeding and a policeman pulled me over, I surmised that I was going to get a ticket for speeding.