Teaching Vocabulary: 50 Creative Strategies, Grades K-12

by Tompkins, Gail E.; Blanchfield, Cathy L.

• ISBN13: 9780131129665
• ISBN10: 013112966X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-01-01
• Publisher: Prentice Hall

Summary

Can you use a book that fills the gap for specific learning needs? Here is an entire volume devoted to the time-tested, classroom-proven ideas thatreally work with elementary, middle, and high school students--including ESL and other students who have a limited vocabulary and few literacy skills. Each strategy has been successfully used by master teachers who participate in the San Joaquin Valley Writing Project, and authentic student feedback is included. With written-in adaptability and grade-level indicators so that users can address their own specific goals in the classroom, this book comprehensively covers: teaching vocabulary correctly, collecting words, discovering definitions, working with meanings, expanding writing vocabulary, investigating word origins, and word play. An obviously valuable tool for educators, this book is especially appropriate for new or future teachers, teachers of ESL and continuing education, and other curriculum planners. Can also be used by parents who wish to enhance their child's home study.

Table of Contents

Teaching Vocabulary Creatively

Collecting Words

Mastering Words: Making the Most of a Word Wall

Personal Word Walls

Thematic Word Walls

Creating Science Journals

Vocabulary Building: Sometimes Less is More

Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral

Disastrous Words

Vocabulary Graphics

Sorting for Success

Vocabulary Squares

Parts of Speech Word Wall

Discovering Definition

Word Expert

Second Graders Make Personal Thesauruses

Vocabulary Self-Check

Vocabulary Discussions in Literary Circles

Using Computer Software Tools to Expand Vocabulary

Literary Terms

Vocabulary Tea Party

Vocabulary Carousel: A Merry-Go-Round of Words

Using Meaningful Concepts to Understand Science Vocabulary

Working With Meanings

Which Meaning Should I Choose? Key Word Collection: A New Way to Focus on Multiple Meanings of Words

Word Posters That Link Key Concepts

Vocabulary Development in the Science Classroom

Sensitizing Students to Shades of Meaning: The Synonym Continuum

Connotations: Eclectic and Electric

Venerable Teaching

Shades of Meaning: Relating and Expanding Word Knowledge

Expanding Writing Vocabulary

Collecting Verbs for Revising Writing

Learning the ABC's

Nurturing My Students' Romance With Words

Integrating Creative Verbs into Student Writing

Recipe for Vocabulary Short Story Three-Layer Cake with Chocolate Frosting

The Excitement of Words

Curriculum-Related Word Banks: Deposits That Draw Interest

Monster Sentences

Don't Read This

It's Taboo

Investigating Word Origins

Where In the World? From Slang to Dictionary Entry: A Word Study Project

Back to Our Word Roots

Start Your Day With Vocabulary: It's Low in Fat and High in Fiber

Word Tree Posters

Linking the Past With the Present: Modernizing Words

Playing With Words

Logcreatology

Curing Homophone Madness

Building Vocabulary and Comprehension Through Dramatization

Vocabulary Poetry: A Means of Assessment

Word Clusters: Exploring the Multiple Meanings of Words

Vocabulary Crosswords

Vocabulary Crib Books

A Further Word

You Will Thank Me for This Some Day: A Reflection on Direct Vocabulary Instruction

About the Authors

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

The idea for this book came from teachers who are Teacher-Consultants in the San Joaquin Valley Writing Project in Fresno, California. We began as an informal focus group, discussing standards and how we might address them in our classrooms. As our meetings continued throughout the year, one theme surfaced over and over. We knew we needed to do a better job with vocabulary instruction. Whether we taught elementary school, middle school, or high school, the theme was the same: We need to better meet the needs of students who come to us with limited vocabulary development. A large percentage of our students are English language learners, and others are native English speakers from impoverished neighborhoods and rural areas; their lack of vocabulary development affects both their reading comprehension and their writing proficiency. Once the need was defined, we set about finding the solution. We read articles and books about vocabulary development, experimented with teaching techniques in our classrooms, and shared stories of our successes. This book is a compilation of our most successful classroom strategies. Each author has taken special care to discuss the steps in preparing and teaching the strategy, explain where this strategy fits into the overall literacy curriculum, and describe how their students responded. Most of these strategies can be used in a range of grade levels. For your convenience, a grade-level indicator is displayed on the first page of each chapter, showing the range of grade levels for which the strategy is developmentally appropriate. The black squares show the most appropriate grade levels, and the light squares indicate grade levels where the instructional strategy might be adapted and used successfully. In addition, if your students are working above or below grade level, you might find instructional strategies designed for other grade levels to be useful. An example of a grade level indicator is as follows: In this example, the strategy is targeted for grades 6 through 9, but could be used from grades 4 through 10 with adaptations. The San Joaquin Valley Writing Project is part of the National Writing Project (NWP), and there are NWP sites in every state. If you are interested in learning more about the NWP or in joining your local site, contact the National Writing Project through its website at http://www.writingproject.org or call [phone].