Go to the first word on your vocabulary list. Read the word and its definition aloud at least once.
Think of a specific example or manifestation of this thing or action and draw it on your paper using colored pencils. For example, if the word was "ceramic," draw a mug or bowl that could be made out of clay. For certain adjectives that cannot be exemplified so easily, such as "happy," picture the first thing that comes to your mind when you read this word (a smiley face, a sun, etc.) and sketch it on your paper. Draw a smaller, simplified version of the symbol you have come up with in the left-hand margin next to the word.
Go to the next vocabulary word and repeat Steps 1 and 2 until you have gone through the entire list.
Cover the right hand-side of the list (or the side with the definitions) with a blank piece of paper. Go to the first word and read it aloud. If you cannot remember what it means, look at the symbol you have drawn in the margin, and think of the picture or thing that it represents. Tracing these associations should help you remember the word's meaning. If you cannot remember what your symbol stood for, look at your drawings again. Try to picture the word again as you did when you first learned it.
Move to the next word on the list and repeat Step 4.
Give your list to someone and have them give a word. Tell them what image or thing you have associated with the word. Then tell them what the word means and why you associated that particular thing or image with that word.