Vocabulary instruction, like spelling, has always been a necessary evil for me. I jump for joy when my students use colorful and descriptive vocabulary, but the teaching part of it has usually been day-to-day, or week-by-week, rote drudgery with a few sparkling lessons scattered throughout. There are only so many times that I can look at a class set of vocabulary squares that simply list the word, definition, part of speech, and a sentence, before I lose all interest - I think I may have contracted ADHD from my students, hmmm. Anyway, I crave creativity and color and the WOW! factor in my student's work. Therefore, I set about to change my requirements for vocabulary work.
I have always used Wordly Wise with my students and I love it, but there has been a huge disconnect between the Wordly Wise lessons and everything else we did in class. Even though we incorporate the words into our writing, it is always forced and the packets become just one more thing the students have to complete. I have been scouring educational blogs, books, and periodicals reading up on vocabulary instruction. Everything touts the paradigm that students need ownership of high level words and ownership only comes from choice. I have been force feeding my students a steady diet of 15 Wordly Wise words every two weeks, along with their content vocabulary, along with the words they have to choose from their weekly reading. In hindsight, this seems to be vocabulary overkill. Sigh. All these words and only a handful ever end up in their day-to-day vocabulary or writer's notebooks.
Choice. Don't we all love it when we can choose what we want from a variety of options? I decided to offer my students a menu board of vocabulary activities to choose from on a weekly basis. The students still have to identify the basics for each word: a correctly spelled vocabulary word, part of speech, and a dictionary definition, but that is where the uniform requirements end. The fourth activity required for each word comes from 12 different options. The level of creativity and understanding that has come with reviewing vocabulary this way is amazing.
I call the menu of vocabulary activities, "Vocabulary Visionary." The students have a copy of the menu pasted in their interactive notebook. In order to ensure my students understand how to complete each activity, and how to complete it well, I have been introducing the 12 different options through our Root Word of the Week. I have the students create a window foldable, glue it into their interactive notebook, and then complete it with me throughout the course of the week. The creativity in the written work associated with the words is astounding. The students are also required to complete a Vocabulary Visionary page in their interactive notebooks every two weeks. The students choose four of their own words and then complete four different menu activities, a different one for each word. I only have the students complete a page every two weeks because the level of detail required to complete an outstanding notebook page is intense and would be overwhelming if done on a weekly basis. Check out my TpT store using the link above to see the full menu of choices.
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| inside of window foldable using the vocabulary word "loquacious" |
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| outside of window foldable using "loquacious" |
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| Interactive Notebook page using four student chosen words |
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| another inside view of window foldable using "loquacious" |
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| Interactive notebook page using four student chosen words |
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| Interactive Notebook page using four student chosen words |
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| Interactive Notebook page using four student chosen words |
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| Interactive Notebook page using four student chosen words |
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| Interactive Notebook page using four student chosen words |
