Many times I can describe the word, but cannot figure out the word. Most of us will be handed a book by the school and told how much of it we need to complete before the end of the year. We could choose the most important words off of the list and add some of our own. I think that it will help us all, since we all have to teach vocabulary. However, even though we don't remember most of the words we were expected to memorize, we do remember some of them.
Some students do very well at memorizing and retaining information.
I realize that it doesn't sound exactly exciting, but memorizing is a valuable skill. Wouldn't it be awful, if when we watched our favorite T.V. show, or went to the movie, the actors and actresses read from the script the whole time. They have memorized their lines. First, they memorize, then they practice using the words they have memorized. I am not quite ready to get rid of lists yet.