Just like you never see SpongeBob without his SquarePants, your students should never be found without their word journals.
At the beginning of the term, each student should make their own book, using folded sheets of paper and a few staples. Then, every time students hear an unfamiliar word throughout the day, they should write it in their journal. At the end of the day, set aside one half hour for students to define, draw, or paste a magazine picture next to each word to help describe its meaning.
By using word journals, students will not only paste pictures into their books but also cement the meanings into their minds.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Letter Card Competition
This card game tests teamwork, tempo, and intellect. It’s where speed meets Scrabble, and it’s a whole lot of fun.
Divide students into teams of three. Give each team a deck of 26 index cards—each card has one letter of the alphabet on it. Start Round 1 by reading a vocabulary word. Teams must sort through their cards to find the letters they need to spell the word and place the cards in the correct order in front of them. If a word uses the same letter more than once, students can use the blank side of an unused card to represent the second or third instance of that letter.
The first team to correctly spell the word and raise their hands wins one point. Play as many rounds as you have vocabulary words.
Divide students into teams of three. Give each team a deck of 26 index cards—each card has one letter of the alphabet on it. Start Round 1 by reading a vocabulary word. Teams must sort through their cards to find the letters they need to spell the word and place the cards in the correct order in front of them. If a word uses the same letter more than once, students can use the blank side of an unused card to represent the second or third instance of that letter.
The first team to correctly spell the word and raise their hands wins one point. Play as many rounds as you have vocabulary words.
Category Scramble
You can’t go wrong with this familiar favorite, a game that will leave your students chattering for more.
Take turns asking students in the class to contribute a category (fruits, animals, jobs, etc.) for the game. Have each student write the decided categories on a sheet of paper. Pick one student to mentally say the alphabet, over and over. When a second student says stop, the first student reveals what letter he or she stopped on. Use a timer and give students two minutes to write down words that start with the chosen letter—one word for each category. For example, if ‘L’ was chosen, and one of the categories is Fruits, you could write “lemon” or “lime.”
At the end of the two minutes, compare student answers. Original answers earn one point each.
Take turns asking students in the class to contribute a category (fruits, animals, jobs, etc.) for the game. Have each student write the decided categories on a sheet of paper. Pick one student to mentally say the alphabet, over and over. When a second student says stop, the first student reveals what letter he or she stopped on. Use a timer and give students two minutes to write down words that start with the chosen letter—one word for each category. For example, if ‘L’ was chosen, and one of the categories is Fruits, you could write “lemon” or “lime.”
At the end of the two minutes, compare student answers. Original answers earn one point each.
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