A study determined which approach for vocabulary development, context or definition, would yield the best results on a teacher-made content area vocabulary test. Two random samples (for a total of 45 students) of fourth graders from a central New Jersey elementary school were formed. One sample was taught 50 social studies vocabulary words using the dictionary method. The second sample was taught the same 50 word meanings using context clues. Identical 25 word posttests were given to both samples after two weeks of instruction. The following week, both samples completed posttest 2 on the second set of 25 words. Results indicated no significant difference in raw scores between the samples. (Contains 20 references and 4 tables of data. Appendixes present raw scores.) (Author/RS)