A few years ago I was trying to come up with a clever title for my vocabulary board and "Vivacious Vocabulary" was what I came up with. Not only did it make my assistant principal happy (turns out vivacious was one of her favorite words), it gave me the opportunity to teach a new vocabulary word (vivacious) and introduce the concept of alliteration. To borrow form a certain credit card commercial: happy principal + vocabulary instruction + concept introduction = one successful bulletin board title! OK, I admit it, that's a lot to expect from a bulletin board title, but it sure sounds good, doesn't it? I may be a little ridiculous from time to time, but vocabulary instruction is no joke, especially in my classroom! Newly arrived immigrant, beginning proficiency, middle school students in a full immersion classroom; vocabulary instruction is the foundation, bricks, mortar, and roofing joists of my instruction (see Dad, I do listen when you talk---mortar, joists....how's that for vocabulary?). On the other hand, vocabulary instruction has always been something I hated because it often meant boring memorization. Over the years I've worked on and developed a fairly extensive phonics-based vocabulary curriculum (Word Family Bonanza) that's been very effective. I've also started work on daily practice sets for grade level academic and math vocabulary. I've even done a few specific vocabulary practice sets including weather, baseball, space and even pirates! But for some unknown reason I've never developed full vocabulary practice sets for the different units I teach. Some might say that's because I've taught so many different grade levels in so many different locations and types of schools, but I think it's probably more like I just never thought about it. Well recently I was talking with my best teacher-friend (who happens to be teaching introductory Spanish this year) and we were discussing how we should line up our curriculum. Since her class is 100% vocabulary instruction (where I also have to keep my students as current as possible with their CCSSes) vocabulary is literally all she does. Then I was working on adding a unit to my curriculum (the book has NO section for teaching parts of the body, which made me think of what one of my students always says, "Seriously? For real?") and started thinking, "Why couldn't I take my existing vocabulary activities and use them to teach this vocabulary?" Since I couldn't think of a reason why not, I decided to try it--and it worked! The result is the first few sets of vocabulary practice bundles. Each bundle is a little different, but the basic activities are as follows: 1. sort cards--we use these to match up words to pictures, practice alphabetizing, play memory, and a host of other things; they also make good cards & pics for our vocabulary wall 2. Match It cards--these cards are pre-made to fit in the match up boards that my dad made me; the kids slide them in and then use rubber bands to match the word to the picture or definition on the other side 3. Clip cards--each card has a picture or definition in the center with the terms around the edges; the kids use clothes pins to indicate the correct word for each card 4. Spinners--I print these circles on Avery CD labels and then use the spinners with the stands that my dad made me; our favorite game is Spin-Spell-Sentence: spin the CD, say the word, spell the word, use the word in a sentence 5. Magnet spelling--strips with pictures on them, the kids put the strips on metal trays and then use magnetic letters to spell the words 6. Scrambled Words--inspired by a picture I saw on Pinterest, I made an egg carton's worth of words for each section. I numbered plastic eggs and placed Scrabble tiles that spelled one of our words into each egg. 7. Worksheets--cut and paste, alphabetical order, crossword, cloze, wordsearch, and an assessment I know what some of you are thinking, "These activities are too elementary for my middle / high school students." Honestly, ten years ago I'd have been thinking the same thing! But it was around that time that I was teaching beginning proficiency adults and was forced to use some of these methods and picture books because we had no other option. I learned a valuable lesson---yes, the activities are geared for young students, but if I treat my students with respect and don't make them feel stupid, they will try just about anything and have fun doing it. I would never ask my students (currently 7th-9th grade) to do these things in a classroom with their peers, but they really enjoy doing them and have a lot of fun within the privacy of my classroom. Thus far I've finished three vocabulary bundles: family relationships (these are seriously hard to learn!), rooms in a house, and household items (furniture and appliances). I'm currently working on parts of the body and have plans to make bundles for community places, USA coins, occupations, weather, clothes, school supplies, food, animals..... Basically working on these bundles has become my new plan for summer break, but I think it will be worth it to have some "new" vocabulary activities to add to my units next year. |
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AuthorI've been teaching since 2000 and love what I do! Archives
May 2018
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