How do you extend the use of vocab?

Hi Curtis Greeley ,I love teaching vocab--definite word nerd over here so thanks for the tag!

I'm a huge fan of Frayer Models, especially for "-isms", because they really show that some words are more than just words; they're concepts! You need more than definition to understand and use concepts. They can so easily turn into graphic one-pagers like the work you pictured!

Additionally, when introducing new words in class, I love to ask kids to change the part of speech so that they are more nimble in their usage. So for example, if I were to introduce the word "category" to students, I would identify it as a noun and then ask students how I could make "category" a verb (categorize), how I could make it an adjective (categorical), an adverb (categorically), etc. My hope is that they'll internalize some of the commonalities among the parts of speech and transfer the skill to other words to enhance their writing and speaking. With one word, you open up opportunities to learn so many more words!

Another thing I do with words that gets a lot of traction with minimal effort is to require students to use certain words (or their word family members) OR ban certain words in written responses. Like when you answer such-and-such question, you need to use at least 3 of these 5 words (some academic vocab, some content-specific). I've found that when I do this, I get better quality answers because 1) I've provided a little hint when requiring certain content words and 2) using the words I require or not using the words I've banned leads to more sophisticated writing.

Looking forward to other ideas for vocabulary!

I've been thinking of a daily dip into the "Word Bank", so kids can build this capacity. I am trying to get away from the "we did it" and then walk away into other materials mode, constantly looping back. You've given me another something to dig into here, Erin Cunningham, with the part of speech angle. Maybe tattoos could help?! ;-) 

Great ideas here with the student-generated vocab cards. I haven't done this, but probably should. Something I tried last year to help with understanding all of the different disciplines was partner flip cards. Students made two slides: one had the name of the expert which was the 'reveal' and the cover contained hints and clues about the words. I had different sets of experts for each of my sections, so the students could look through all of them and try to guess. I think the main thing is that anything we are able to create student-generated 'posters' or things of that sort, naturally invites interactions. Just looking and referencing them helps make those vocabulary terms (expert or otherwise) a part of the dialogue.

Curtis Greeley it's always nice to have something visual to hang up in class.  I do something similar using Google Slides.  I call it digital flashcards.  The students create a slide for each word with the word, definition, a image, and any other details they want to include to help them remember the word.  The idea is that they can use the slide show to flip through the vocab and remember the words based on the picture.  https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1dBCKbBSROjUj2FNKBH3Ce-J9-TCtp5IwmnSGOkKh1Zs/edit?usp=sharing

Erin, you're my hero!

"Another thing I do with words that gets a lot of traction with minimal effort is to require students to use certain words (or their word family members) OR ban certain words in written responses."

I've been hovering around that simple sentence without ever putting it all together.   I will be including the following in all my written assignments from now until the end of time (or retirement):

You must use (A, B,C) and you must avoid (E, F, G).

Brian Moore , this is just the type of thing that I need to change things up a bit, it's not as involved as the Frayer slide deck that Amanda Sandoval shared at a conference, but still allows the kids to be responsible for themselves. Thanks for sharing, looking forward to slipping this into the rotation! ;-)

YASSS!

I love this.  My second grader's teacher had a funeral for the word "said" last week, and now they are forced to expand their vocabulary with other ways to describe how people express ideas.  As she was telling me this, I couldn't help but form a list of words in my head I want my classes to have a funeral for.  Brilliant, Erin Cunningham !  

Chris Scaturo your idea for wording this in instructions Is perfect.

Curtis Greeley this is truly impressive!  How often are you able to repeat this activity?  Are there any assignments/tasks that follow up/ For example, "grab two new words from the wall to use in tonight's assignment," etc.?  Wheels are spinning!

Nice one Curtis Greeley  ! I love the idea of everyone being able to have some ownership over "their word" and then each one teach one. 

This could be something worth trying on our home turf John Gennaoui Daniel Shapiro Farrar Cooper Danica Britton Juan Sosa Samantha García-Sherpa 

I love the use of images to support the definitions! That is such a great idea for those English learners, too! I like to give my students a vocabulary note card and have them actually group themselves according to what they think they all may have in common. A group can be three or more, so it really gets them to extend their thinking. Then, I have the group tell me their commonality and have members introduce their term and definition, and then tell me why they belong in the group. If we have time, I like them to regroup themselves in an entirely different way. It is fun, gets them talking, and gets them out of their seats for a bit.