It would be difficult to overstate the importance of academic vocabulary to our students’ success in reading, the content areas, and beyond. In Reading, Writing and Learning in ESL (2005), Suzanne Peregoy and Owen Boyle frame it this way: What we know in any content area is distilled in the vocabulary we own in that subject. In other words, our academic vocabulary, the words we control, manipulate, and communicate with, reflect the content we know at the conceptual level. For all of our ELs, but most especially those who enter the country in middle or high school, academic vocabulary acquisition is a...
Read More Post a comment (0)I discussed word study notebooks in one of my previous blogs. There has since been a request for more examples including images. Word study is an alternative for traditional spelling instruction. Traditional spelling instruction involves a list of spelling words, memorization, and a test on Friday. Word study is a way to teach phonics, vocabulary, and spelling. Word study instruction utilizes approximately twenty words per week that are studied in many ways in order for students to make generalizations in words in relation to patterns, sounds, and meaning. Word study notebooks include various activities, including sorts and word hunts that...
Read More Post a comment (0)What in the world is a word study notebook? What is its purpose? What goes in it? Even though many teachers have word study notebooks down to an art form, there are many others still asking themselves these questions. “What in the world is a word study notebook?” Well, a word study notebook is a tool that students can use to record word study activities such as word sorts and word hunts. It can be a spiral-bound notebook or loose-leaf paper stapled together. Basically, it is whatever you choose for it to be. “What is its purpose?” It serves several purposes....
Read More Post a comment (0)Do you know what the top NEW Elementary Intervention program is? If you answered, Benchmark Education's Word Study & Vocabulary Skill Bags, you're right! We're proud to announce that Benchmark Education's Word Study & Vocabulary Skill Bags won the AEP 2011 Distinguished Achievement Award for Best Elementary Level Intervention product! These Word Study & Vocabulary Skill Bags make teaching word analysis strategies effective and easy. Each kit provides everything educators need to assess, target skills and differentiate instruction. They're perfect for Grades 3-8+ classroom use or tiered intervention. Have you used our skill bags? We'd love to hear your thoughts.
