Using Higher Level Vocabulary in Math

We all know that in order for students to be as successful as possible, we need to be using higher level and academic vocabulary in our classrooms on a constant basis. I want to be perfectly honest here. I think that math-minded people, those that went to college just to study math, have an easier time with this. I was not such a person. I majored in education, and even though I was always really good at math, using higher level vocabulary was tough for me. I had to teach myself to develop very purposeful and strategic ways to make sure it was occurring often in my classroom.

One of these ways was to make sure I was using very precise academic vocabulary in my lesson planning. By thinking about it well in advance, I could prepare my mind to use the correct terminology. This made it easier for me to remember to use higher level vocabulary when my actual lesson was taking place.

Another way was using higher level and academic vocab in all of my anchor charts. I had all of my anchor charts hung up on the walls once we learned about the concept. They were laminated for use year after year. By having them always hanging on the wall, it enables the students to also be reminded about the correct terminology when they need a little assistance. Plus, it adds just that much more support for student higher level thinking.

Lastly, I always tried to keep up with a word wall. This one was probably the one I kept up with the least. It got tough to maintain constantly adding to it as the school year got busy. If I could go back and redo, I would definitely have a word wall setup like this one from Diary of a Not So Wimpy Teacher. This one can be done all in advance and easily changed out to fit the current lesson.

Not sure where to start? Pinterest it!! There are so many amazing ways to accomplish each of the above on Pinterest that you will surely find one that fits your needs.

Teaching Vocabulary with Games

This month, the Mob is focusing on vocabulary. There's no doubt that introducing, teaching, and reinforcing vocabulary is vital, but what is the best way to do it?

Umm, Don't Try This

Yes, you guessed it.    Giving students word lists, vocabulary word finds, and even crossword puzzles are not going to build their vocabulary.  Rote memorization doesn't work -- not in any real, meaningful way.

But What Works?

I'm not sure there is one perfect way to teach vocabulary.  (That's the good news!)

Since students all learn in different ways and at different rates, it's important to practice vocabulary in a variety of ways.  We know that repeated, meaningful interaction with words helps students learn, understand, and use them.

Try This:  Generate Word Interest

Help raise your students' awareness of the importance of word use by getting them out of their seats to play games!  Gather up your Scrabble board and borrow several others and play scrabble.  Even though your students aren't technically studying content vocabulary, they are searching their minds for words that contain high value letters and words that will fit on the board. 

Make a word wall -- or at least an "Interesting Words" wall.  Encourage students to add words to a blank piece of butcher paper on your classroom wall.  What words do they notice from their reading?  Allowing students to illustrate the word's meaning or initial their word finds can help generate interest and enthusiasm for word collections.

Subscribe and use Merriam Webster's "Word of the Day."  While I wouldn't recommend trying to keep up with a new word a day, you could choose a word of the week.  I love this resource because it provides an audio pronunciation and a bit of etymology for the word.

Try This:  Vocabulary Collector

When your students are reading, provide them with a vocabulary collector.  It can be as simple as a sheet of paper folded into thirds.  Ask students to jot down words and phrases that they come along in their reading.  These words could go on your "Interesting Words" wall or into a Vocabulary Catcher (see below).  Again, you are encouraging your students to become more aware of words and how they are used.

Vocabulary collectors are also helpful in practicing using context clues.

Try This:  "Vocabulary Catcher" Games

Remember fortune tellers? Cootie catchers?  Use them for vocabulary.  The great thing is that students can create several throughout the school year and use them for impromptu games.  I also like them because each one only has eight spots for words -- a manageable amount of words to gather and understand.

I have a Vocabulary Catcher freebie on my Teachers Pay Teachers store.  Be sure to check it out!

The Bottom Line

Vocabulary, whether it's content vocabulary or not, is important.  Getting students interested and engaged with new words is the first step!

So, what innovative ideas do you use to teach vocabulary?  Share your ideas below!

Happiness always♥

Teaching the Vocabulary of Language Arts

In any English classroom, there’s a lot of vocabulary that has to be covered throughout the year.  In addition to the vocabulary from the stories and articles that you read, there is the vocabulary that is specific to our subject – and there’s a lot of it!  There are the story elements, poetry terms, genres of reading, types of writing, figurative language terms, terms about vocabulary itself, and more!

No matter how you divide it among the different units that you teach, it’s a lot of terms that your kids need to understand as they progress in their language arts skills.  The good thing is that, like with other language arts elements, these literary terms tend to come up again and again throughout the year so your kids will get a lot of chances to practice. 

Story Elements

Characterization, setting, plot, conflict, and theme.  What else? Maybe types of conflicts, plot elements, examples of themes – nearly every main story element can be broken down into its own list of more literary terms to teach! 

But to me, story elements are the easiest terms to teach because every story that you read is a ready-to-use mentor text.  Each time your students complete a story map, plot map, or other story organizer they are practicing using these terms.

Poetry Terms

You might include types of poems here, or sound elements of poetry, or figurative language, or maybe all three!  Of course, figurative language will fit just as well with fiction readings, and it can also be found in non-fiction, although this may be more for the older kids. 

For types of poetry, I like to have kids make a collection of their favorite poems of each type, maybe by making a booklet with their own hand-written copies of the poems, or a chart with a description of each poem and an illustration.  Sound elements are fun to search for, too, but can be a little difficult to find, so it might take a little time to set up this lesson.

Genres of Reading

Genres of fiction, genres of non-fiction, and oh yes, types of poems could be included here too!  My dilemma was always just which genres, and how many, to include – any suggestions?

One thing that comes to mind in this area is a library activity about finding different types of books on the shelves, along with suggestions from your friendly librarian for some good books in each genre.  Another idea would be to have the class, maybe one small group at a time, sort through the classroom library and organize your books by genre.

Types of Writing

Once I started to look at this group at a whole, the list turned out to be longer that I had thought, too.  Even a basic list might include:  narrative fiction, narrative non-fiction, biography, autobiography, personal essay, descriptive, informational, expository, explanatory, opinion, argument, and persuasive, prose, and poetry.

But in addition to these basic types of literature, kids also do plenty of daily writing, and so do many adults, that is more in the form of lists, charts, forms, social media comments, and writing combined with graphics.  Maybe these types aren’t as necessary to teach, but they could be used as a bridge into more sustained writing activities.

Figurative Language Terms

These are the fun ones, but they’re not easy!  How many times have you had to remind a student of the difference between a simile and a metaphor, or explain that all exaggerations aren’t automatically hyperbole?  And isn’t it fun to teach a word like “onomatopoeia,” – who but an English teacher would even try?

The fun part is when kids begin to really get the concept and appreciate the figurative language in stories and poems that they read.  To introduce each literary term, find a few great examples that kids can copy in their notebooks.  It will help them to remember the terms much better than just a definition. The example that has stayed in my mind all these years for the term simile is a line from “Old Friends,” an old song by Paul Simon about some elderly people passing the time by sitting in the park.  These “Old friends, Sat on their park bench Like bookends.”

Vocabulary Terms

Yes, there are even terms about vocabulary itself that middle graders will still need to learn.  Connotation and denotation, for example.  And don’t you know of a few kids who still get synonyms and antonyms mixes up?  Many kids already know prefix, suffix, and root, but how many of them know the term affix? 

Altogether, it’s a lot to teach.   Oh well, English teachers can handle it.  Anyone who can teach a term like “onomatopoeia” to middle grade kids can handle just about anything!

I’ve found it useful to have one big resource that I can go to as needed to introduce or reinforce each little set of terms as needed, and so I’ve collected all of my little bits and pieces of literary terms information and combined them into one big, organized PowerPoint presentation.  Literary Terms includes definitions and examples for 77 literary terms, and it includes student review slides at the end of each section as well as student note pages to print out with definitions for all 77 terms.  Check out the preview for more details if you think this is something that might be useful to you.

I would be interested in hearing which literary terms teachers at various middle school grades include.  Are there any categories that I could add to my lists?  Or any that don’t seem necessary?  Click on the comments below and let me know what you think.

Pin to save for later:

Blog post by Sharon from Classroom in the Middle where you can read more about teaching language arts topics like reading skills, the writing process, and vocabulary in the middle grades,

Using Digital Tools to Teach Vocabulary

Hi Everyone!  This is Lyndsey from Lit with Lyns, and I'm going to be sharing how my I teach vocabulary using digital tools.  I typically teach our content area vocab as I'm introducing that particular skill, but there isn't always enough time throughout the year to teach all the words that students need to know.

When looking for ways to ensure my students comprehend multiple words at a time, I came across this amazing website, called BoomWriter. BoomWriter is a FREE collaborative and interactive writing program that features 3 separate tools: StoryWriter, WordWriter, and ProjectWriter.

 

The feature I use for vocabulary is WordWriter.  As the website says, "WordWriter lets students apply, share, and assess their vocabulary knowledge in a new, fun, and interactive way." It's a great way to let your students practice the vocabulary words you assign them.  You can sign your students up yourself by entering their names one by one, or you can save time and have them do it by going to the following link:  http://www.boomwriter.com/registration/.  Here, they will type in the name of their school, which will then display your name, as well as the name of your school (you'll have to register first, of course).  Once they have registered, then they can begin the activities. 

I use WordWriter to have students practice the vocabulary that we're working on.  To set this up, you will "create a new WordWriter Project."  Then enter the name you want to call it and the subject area.

 

Next, you will select the students you want to participate.  I typically choose them all, but this is also where you could differentiate, creating different vocab lists for different students, depending on their needs.  Then you will add the vocab words you want your students to use, in addition to your instructions.

After you have done this, you will see your word bank, which is all the vocab words you entered for this activity.   If everything looks correct, you will click, "I'm Finished." 

 

When students go in to complete the activity, they will see the words that they are required to use, and then must write a paragraph, story, etc. (whatever you specify in the assignment instructions) using all of the vocab words.  As students use the words, they are highlighted within the passage and turn green in the Word Bank.  

The pic below is an example of what students see when they first open the assignment.

BoomWriter has been a huge hit in my classroom, and is a terrific way to spice things up a bit.  It's also a great way to incorporate technology.  What digital tools do you use to help your students to master vocab words?  I'd love to hear about it in the comments below.

Keeping Up with Multiple Preps

The dreaded multiple prep. If you are lucky in the secondary world, you will only have 1 subject area to have to prepare for every day. However, there seems to be a whole lot of us that have 2+ preps that we teach. Having multiple preps can make it very difficult to get everything accomplished in a timely manner. A big part of this is just being ORGANIZED. If you are not organized, then something will inevitably slip though the cracks. Below are a few ways that I keep organized myself when having multiple preps.

One of the biggest for me is having everything typed up in a spreadsheet. It is not the full lesson plan, but a general overview so that I can thought process and remember what I need to do at a quick glance for each class. This helps me stay focused on where I am going as the day progresses. It also make changes a breeze. And, as cute as all of the lesson planners are out there, most do not give me enough space to thought process as fully as I could like. By having it digitally saved, then I can use as much room as I need. An example of what a day might look like with multiple preps is found below.

Another great way to stay organized is to keep a daily list of schedule changes or to-do's. This planner is from Blue Sky and it is hands-down my favorite. I can plan out what I need to accomplish for classes for each day as well as any schedule changes I need to be made aware of. This lets me focus a day at a time and not get completely overwhelmed with everything that needs to be accomplished before I leave on Friday.

Lastly, I keep a binder with my full lesson plans in it. As much as I love online lesson planning websites, there are times when I do not have the ability to look up each class to remember the small details within the 5 minute passing period. By printing each lesson plan out and having a copy at my fingertips by keeping them in a binder on my desk, I can be better prepared for each class in case an emergency arises. It also lets any administrator that walks in to quickly see what this class is doing today.

Do you have any strategies that help you stay organized with multiple preps? If so, please share them below so that others can find new ways to help out their own classroom.

Organizing Vocabulary Instruction

Vocabulary lessons – where do you even start?  If you’re a new teacher, you’re probably already thinking of a long list of skills that you’ll need lessons and materials for.  If you’re an experienced teacher, maybe you have a big collection of resources, but the task of organizing them for a new year can still seem huge!   I think that’s because vocabulary covers so much ground, and so many details.  I know that I have arranged, and rearranged, my vocabulary lessons numerous times over the years!

                                                                                         

Just a few of the things you’re sure to be touching on at some time during the year –

·         The Basics – prefixes, suffixes, Greek and Latin roots.  This could be a full year of vocabulary lessons in itself!

·         Word Meanings – understanding specific meanings of words in their reading, and choosing vocabulary for their own writing – synonyms and antonyms, denotations and connotations, using context clues, understanding multiple meaning words, symbolism, and figurative language.  Another tall order!

·         Content Vocabulary – poetry terms, literary terms, and even terms related to vocabulary itself!

·         Story Vocabulary – interesting words from the stories and articles your class reads.

Some people have a strict order they follow to keep it all organized.  Others prefer to introduce vocabulary topics as they come across good stories to use as mentor texts.  I usually started with a few specific topics at first, probably prefixes and synonyms/antonyms.  Then things tended to get more flexible after that!

Wherever you decide to start, having students keep an organized vocabulary notebook can be a great help.  Students can set it up with sections for the various topics you want to cover, and then add to each section bit by bit as you add information and new words throughout the year.  In fact, I used this idea when revising my prefix, suffix, and root PowerPoints over the summer.  At the end of each presentation, I added a basic note sheet for students to complete as they viewed the slides, along with a completed sheet for students who need that.  Students can complete the note sheet for just the prefixes, suffixes, or roots that you are working on at the moment and glue it in their notebook to add to later.  Here is a picture of the note sheets and a few of the slides from my Suffixes 3 PowerPoint. 

Of course, mentor texts are great for introducing something new, and the great thing about vocabulary is that you can find examples for many of the topics – especially prefixes, suffixes, and roots – just about anywhere!  For more complex vocabulary topics, like connotations and denotations, there are still plenty of examples; it just takes a little more advance prep to find a good piece of text with several examples that you want to use.

Do you also keep a list of websites with good vocabulary activities for each topic?  Or maybe a Pinterest board for each?  If you do, be sure to include ReadWriteThink, a site where teachers contribute lessons and other resources.  You can search for a specific topic and narrow your search to either lesson plans or student interactives.  I searched for prefix lessons for 6^th grade and found 3 complete lessons plus one student interactive.  My favorite was the game called Make-a-Word, which is played like the old fashioned card game, rummy.

What about some other vocabulary organizers?  Word lists?  A word wall?  Vocabulary cards?  Anchor charts?  Any or all of these will help keep things organized as you add more vocabulary rules, words, and examples during the year!

Why so much organization for this one topic of vocabulary?  Well, as strange as it may sound, I think it is so that you actually can remain pretty flexible throughout the year.  With basic organization in place, it frees you up a little bit to incorporate a new idea or a few new words whenever you come across them.  After discussing them in class, just add them in to one of your existing structures.

So, to me, these are the basics to have in place:

• ·         Attractive anchor charts (or plans to create them with the class)
• ·         Student notebooks, and a plan for how they should be organized
• ·         Mini-lessons to introduce each new vocabulary topic
• ·         Short practice activities to review individual skills as needed

But what do you think?  How flexible or how structured do you think vocabulary instruction should be for middle grade kids?  I would love to hear what works best in your classroom!

Pin to save for later:

Blog post by Sharon from the Classroom in the Middle blog, where you’ll find more articles about teaching vocabulary and links to more vocabulary resources in my store, also called Classroom in the Middle.

How I Organize Learning with Anchor Charts!

As a Middle School Teacher, who blogs at Mrs. Spangler in the Middle, I am happy to tell you that this year, I am a 6th grade Language Arts Teacher!  In my area of the country, Language Arts focuses on writing.  Sure, we read, but we use that reading as a springboard for our writing.  So, as you can imagine, there are all kinds of things for us to remember.  How do I help keep it all organized?  I use anchor charts and "anchor walls".

This is my embedded assessment "anchor wall" where for each class we broke down the end of unit essay test to its specific pieces and parts.  I had pre-printed all these skills on sticky notes.  Then, we ranked our knowledge level to determine what we really needed to focus on in order to be able to successfully write one of the four essays.  So on this wall, since all the skills in the unit are all laid out on sticky notes, as we learn we can move them!  This is great for showing growth as well as tracking our learning.

This is my anchor wall for the 4 parts that all essays must have (Polestar Focus, Rules of Conventions, Organization, and Support.)

As you can see, I used the doors for my cabinets to display my anchor information and I build it one piece at a time as we learn that piece in class.  Students love the idea of becoming writing "pros" and I love having a way to display the key concepts of writing that we have been learning!

For other related concepts, I use anchor charts - some of which we create together in class:  

  

I especially like these anchor charts because they give students a pattern to use as a foundation for their writing.   Naturally, I hand them near my PROS anchor wall.  Of course, I have other anchor charts for things like grammar and parts of speech.  I find that I use these instead of commercially bought posters most of the time!  Not to mention that they look great for Open House when I am talking about what we are learning and I can reference our charts and walls!

The best part is when the students look at them as we're working on something.  I love to see students use their tools!  And even though I have to cover them up during state testing, they will still look to where the charts are located as if they can somehow "see" them and remember.  

If you love anchor "walls" and charts as much as I do, then stop by and visit my Pinterest board for them:

How do you visually organize learning in your class?  Join in the conversation by commenting below.  

Thanks for stopping by!