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.
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
TWO WRITING TEACHERS 