Writing a text of any kind requires significant cognitive work, involving memory, hand-eye coordination, strength, concentration, executive functioning, planning— and the list goes on because I haven’t even gotten into imagination, comprehension, and information integration. The PWIM has allowed me to isolate single or targeted skills, providing opportunities for intentional practice. I can select pictures that are of interest to specific students, challenge them to practice letters and sounds, to verbalize and draft simple sentences, or to describe a situation. That way when students are writing their own pieces, the cognitive load may be taken up less by these practiced skills, allowing for more intellectual energy on other competing and important challenges within their writing process.
Category: vocabulary
Step Up Interactive Writing (…And Sneak In More Spelling, Vocabulary, and Grammar)
As teachers, we know that when writers encode with ease, they are better able to focus on their ideas. Interactive writing is the perfect setting to build this competency.
Bringing Down Students’ Affective Filter
March seemed like it was never-ending. I glanced at my planner last week and realized one whole week left in March. For those that share my sentiment, breathe, we made it, and tomorrow is April. This month, I've been assessing our multilingual learners. It is called the Summative English Language Assessments for California (ELPAC) in… Continue reading Bringing Down Students’ Affective Filter
3 Reasons to Try Word Ladders!
Have you tried Word Ladders with your students? Here are three reasons you might want to!
Word Love
It almost sounds too good to be true, but I discovered a vocabulary curriculum that engage students joyfully in developing an understanding of new words in about ten minutes per day.
Developing Students’ Content Vocabulary
The Cognitive Content Dictionary (CCD) was first introduced to me in my tier 1 Project Guided Language Acquisition Design training. It is both linguistically and culturally responsive and, above all, brings joy into the classroom.
Vocabulary Development Across In-Person & Remote School Days
A Teacher's Guide to Vocabulary Development Across the Day is filled with practical ideas for teaching vocabulary in K-3 classrooms. It is a resource that will help you develop an innovative and meaningful vocabulary curriculum for your students. Listen to an interview with the book's author and preview sections of the text.
Expanding Vocabulary and Use of Transitions in Students’ Writing
The work of Elfrieda (Freddy) Hiebert, professor and founder of textproject.org, explains further that “lists do not help our kids retain or expand their word knowledge. Students need networks of words that are grounded in ideas.”
Exploring Character Traits with Reflective Journal Prompts
A back to school 2020 problem for those of us teaching in person- what do you do during masks breaks? A reflective journal that connects to character traits was my solution! Read on for resources I am sharing that match character traits with read alouds and reflective journal prompts.
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.