Watching Our Word Wall Come Alive
Read this post for the story of one classroom’s creative celebration of word wall words.
Vocabulary Ideas From NCTE
Already, NCTE seems like a long time ago. However, as I reread my notes and think about some of the lasting learning, I have more to share! Vocabulary Matters was a great session!
In the Classroom We Are All Learners: Reflecting on a Year of Becoming Word Conscious
Elizabeth Siracusa, a fourth- and fifth-grade looping teacher, reflects on the ways she infused vocabulary instruction into her classroom this year.
Written Conversations
Another strategy for writing about reading: Written Conversations
A Mini-Crash-Course on Oral Storytelling
It’s been several months since I’ve written for Two Writing Teachers. In December my son was born, and I was on maternity leave until a few weeks ago. Then, in March I pushed … Continue Reading A Mini-Crash-Course on Oral Storytelling
Word Nerds Review + a Giveaway
Word Nerds: Teaching All Students to Learn and Love Vocabulary is filled with fresh ideas for ways to teach vocabulary so the meanings of the words stick with kids. It is a resource that will help you develop an innovative and meaningful vocabulary curriculum for your students. Read a review of the book and preview sections of the text. Then, leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Word Nerds.
Inspiring Independent Writing Project Mentor Text (Part 4 of 5)
An interview with Author Germano Zullo + a giveaway of his new book, Line 135.
Inspiring Independent Writing Project Mentor Text (Part 1 of 5)
Amy Krouse Rosenthal provides insight into her new word play book. Chronicle Books offers a giveaway of the book to one reader who comments on this post.
Mini-Lectures
I’ve been meaning to share my notes from “Methods That Matter: Using Mini-Lectures, Interactive Video Alouds, and Centers to Raise the Level of Engagement in Social Studies” ever since I … Continue Reading Mini-Lectures
Building Bigger Vocabularies Through Books: Part 2 of 2
Yesterday I posted a document that contained a week-long series of lessons for teaching vocabulary from Willow’s Whispers, a new book by Lana Button and Tania Howells. Since this type … Continue Reading Building Bigger Vocabularies Through Books: Part 2 of 2
Building Bigger Vocabularies Through Books: Part 1 of 2
In this month’s issue of The Reading Teacher, there’s an excellent article, “The Vocabulary-Rich Classroom: Modeling Sophisticated Word Use to Promote Word Consciousness and Vocabulary Growth,” which deals with ways … Continue Reading Building Bigger Vocabularies Through Books: Part 1 of 2
Visual Vocab.
One my colleagues e-mailed me a link to a site called “Weboword – Vocabulary Visually!” today. Essentially, this site is updated with adorable pictures that visually describe a word through … Continue Reading Visual Vocab.
Well-Defined
Salinger’s book Well Defined: Vocabulary in Rhyme provides me with a way to teach my students vocabulary and poetry simultaneously. I’m passionate about both, which is why I was so … Continue Reading Well-Defined
Vocabulary
Michael F. Graves’s Book The Vocabulary Book: Learning & Instruction asserts that increasing a child’s vocabulary makes him/her a stronger writer (43). He states: The goal is to get students … Continue Reading Vocabulary
Spelling Sites
I tend not to focus much on spelling when I write about the teaching of writing. However, I’m well-aware that using conventions properly is extremely important. Each week, my students … Continue Reading Spelling Sites
Sketchcast
My mother-in-law, who is a Literacy Coach, emailed me this evening to inform me about a resource called Sketchcast. I went online and checked it out tonight to start thinking … Continue Reading Sketchcast
