Throughout my years of teaching, I have found that there are some things in my classroom that I can't live without. They make my day go easier, and honestly, these things make the students' day go more smoothly as well.
Today, I had a guest-teacher come to my class and I realized the benefits of these things that I take for granted daily.
1. The first thing that is a must for teaching middle school is a timer. I got my timer at the dollar store and it was about $5. I have had it for about three years and I use it everyday! I use it to time our free-reading time, to time various sections of class (since my class has different sections for reading time, vocabulary, class time). I use it to time any type of group activity that we do. Heck! It helps me keep track of time because, even as a teacher, we can get off-track from time-to-time.
2. Something that I love about this year's classroom is my word wall. Until this year, I have never done a good job of incorporating a word wall into my daily class interactions. This year, I have been avidly incorporating it into my class and the students have even been involved in that, which I think is an important aspect of its success. My students help me put the words up on the wall and they use it daily. I see them, and it is amazing how much seeing the words help my students. In fact, one day, I took it down to redo it near the beginning of the year, and several students asked me if I was putting it back up. #teacherwin
3. Another item that is a must-have in a middle school classroom is this little black box on my door. It is kind of like the little thing on the outside of each room at a doctor's office so that the nurse can leave the patient's paperwork in it for the doctor. I love this because I have students put their exit-tickets in it at the end of class. If we didn't do an exit ticket, we always have something we are working on that we do not get finished before the bell rings and we have to leave. I can just have students put their papers in this black box on the door on their way out and it doesn't take up any extra time or cause them to create a line that makes them late for their next class.
4. Another thing that I love to have in my room is giant paper for making anchor charts and some good markers. This paper is incredible and I like it because I can write the notes on the anchor chart with the students and not before or after. I used to make anchor charts before to make them neat and clean, but I have learned that this is really not beneficial for the students. When I make them beforehand, students don't get to take an active role in the creation of the anchor chart. It is important for them to create it with the teacher, so having this giant pad of paper and some markers on hand is always beneficial and can be worked into virtually any lesson.
5. Sticky notes are some wonderful to incorporate into a lesson as well. It is amazing how a simple sticky note can make an lesson more engaging and fun. I have used sticky notes to allow students to annotate texts that I don't want them to write in and I have also used sticky notes to allow students to share thoughts quickly on the board. It is amazing the things you can do with them, so I always keep a ton on-hand.
6. Something that I have found is beneficial and fun for students (and me) is using old newspapers and magazines. Old newspapers and magazines are filled with tons of information that could be priceless in an English/language arts classroom if applied correctly. Currently in my class, I was cleaning through some old cabinets that were given to me and I found an entire set of scope magazines from 2012 with The Beibs on the front cover. I'll be honest: I almost trashed these. But is was a whole set, surely there was something I could use it for. As I sifted through the magazine, I found a little article about celebrities and whether or not they are under too much stress from the paparazzi. The article was geared towards argumentation and I was actually teaching that to my 8th graders. So, I decided it would be a nice little add-in to my lesson. We used the magazines and the 8th graders actually loved it. They laughed because some of them don't like Justin Beiber anymore. We then went on to write an argumentative paragraph where they took a side on whether or not the paparazzi should be allowed to photograph celebrities. They had some pretty good points and some meaningful discussions all from those old scope magazines. This just goes to show that good use can come from old materials if it is applied correctly.
Another way I have used old newspapers is to search for strong sentences throughout and then have students explain why the sentence was a mentor for them. These can be fun activities for when you are away and need meaningful assignments for students to do independently, but they can also be used when you are there. They are also generic and can be used alongside many different lessons.
Showing posts with label word walls. Show all posts
Showing posts with label word walls. Show all posts
Monday, October 31, 2016
Monday, August 15, 2016
Teaching Vocabulary: The Best Practices
Today was a great Monday in my classroom! We start class with 20 minutes of independent reading, and so far, that is going great. I set the standards high and I hope that will holdout throughout the school year. After the 20 minutes of reading, we record our reading on the Status of the Class form that I found in the book called The Book Whisperer. Next, we go over the mentor sentence of the week and notice the qualities that make it our mentor sentence. Finally, we do the vocabulary portion of the class. So, I decided that, on Mondays, I will give the students all of the vocabulary words and that will take the place of the "lesson" for that day. Today, that worked perfectly.
So, we all get out our little dictionaries that we made. This is a folder with prongs in the middle and pockets. We put paper in the middle and, on each page, we wrote a letter of the alphabet to create a dictionary for each student. Today, we had 5 words for the week for the 7th grade and 6 words for the 8th grade students. These words come from the story that we will be reading this week. I give the students the word, part of speech, correct definition that goes with our text, and a good example sentence. Many teachers think that the students should look up the words on their own, but I prefer to give this to the students so that I know they have the correct definition and sentence. They write all of this in their dictionary under that word's entry. Then, I follow a little "script" that I found online that worked wonderfully!
Here is how the script went:
1. The word is ______. What is the word? (I make the students say the word aloud to ensure they can say it properly.)
2. The defintion of _________ is __________________. (Again, they read it aloud. I make them redo it until they are all saying it.)
3. Let's look at our sentence. (I read the sentence again.)
4. Talk at your tables and figure out another way we could say this word in the sentence. (I make sure to tell students that this word does not have to be a synonym of the word. This is to make sure that students have an idea of what the word means and can replace it to make the same sentence make sense.)
5. Then, we share what they talked about at theit tables.
6. At the end, I try to think of a higher order question that goes with the word. So, if the word was faulty, I might ask: what are other things that can be faulty? This really makes them (and me) think about the word.
So, we did this with all 5 of the 7th grade words and then all 6 of the 8th grade words. It took some time, but I feel that the time was well-spent and I hope to see great improvements on their vocabulary development from these vocabulary practices.
Tomorrow, we will begin doing some paper-and-pencil activites that are Marzano-approved.
I will be sharing these soon!
So, we all get out our little dictionaries that we made. This is a folder with prongs in the middle and pockets. We put paper in the middle and, on each page, we wrote a letter of the alphabet to create a dictionary for each student. Today, we had 5 words for the week for the 7th grade and 6 words for the 8th grade students. These words come from the story that we will be reading this week. I give the students the word, part of speech, correct definition that goes with our text, and a good example sentence. Many teachers think that the students should look up the words on their own, but I prefer to give this to the students so that I know they have the correct definition and sentence. They write all of this in their dictionary under that word's entry. Then, I follow a little "script" that I found online that worked wonderfully!
Here is how the script went:
1. The word is ______. What is the word? (I make the students say the word aloud to ensure they can say it properly.)
2. The defintion of _________ is __________________. (Again, they read it aloud. I make them redo it until they are all saying it.)
3. Let's look at our sentence. (I read the sentence again.)
4. Talk at your tables and figure out another way we could say this word in the sentence. (I make sure to tell students that this word does not have to be a synonym of the word. This is to make sure that students have an idea of what the word means and can replace it to make the same sentence make sense.)
5. Then, we share what they talked about at theit tables.
6. At the end, I try to think of a higher order question that goes with the word. So, if the word was faulty, I might ask: what are other things that can be faulty? This really makes them (and me) think about the word.
So, we did this with all 5 of the 7th grade words and then all 6 of the 8th grade words. It took some time, but I feel that the time was well-spent and I hope to see great improvements on their vocabulary development from these vocabulary practices.
Tomorrow, we will begin doing some paper-and-pencil activites that are Marzano-approved.
I will be sharing these soon!
Monday, August 1, 2016
Tips to Make Your Word Wall Beneficial & Functional
Today, we started back with our first "teacher day" and it was the first day that I have worked on my room since last year. The main thing I got accomplished was getting my word wall laminated (thanks to our awesome librarian) and hung up in my room. I also cleaned the tables and got them all in order along with my own desk. While everything is still in the boxes I packed at the end of last year, I will get all of that cleaned up and put up tomorrow.
While hanging up my word wall, I realized some pointers that I wanted to share with you guys in an attempt to make it easier for you than it was for me.
1. Make sure your letters are large enough to see from across the classroom.
2. Laminate the cards or letters that you will stick to the wall.
3. Make sure you have enough room on the wall. If not, you can get creative and put it on two walls like I did. I kind of like how it looks.
4. Make sure that you can reach the word wall to easily put words on and take them off. Make sure the kids can reach it, too, so that they can interact and play the word wall games.
5. Try to position the word wall in a place that does not have desks in front of it. I am going to be moving those desks in my picture. I know this isn't always 100% possible, but do the best you can.
Two years ago, I had my wonderful husband hang letters perfectly around the top of my classroom. THE TOP! I could not reach it and none of my students (even the 6 foot kids) could reach any of the letters or the words. So, this word wall failed miserably. So, all of that to say that, even though the word wall might be cute and look great in your classroom, it must be functional to be beneficial for your kids.
I can't wait to add words to my wall.
If you have any tips, share them in the comments below. I would love to hear from you.
 |
| This is my word wall that I put up today. I kind of love how it turned out. <3 |
1. Make sure your letters are large enough to see from across the classroom.
2. Laminate the cards or letters that you will stick to the wall.
3. Make sure you have enough room on the wall. If not, you can get creative and put it on two walls like I did. I kind of like how it looks.
4. Make sure that you can reach the word wall to easily put words on and take them off. Make sure the kids can reach it, too, so that they can interact and play the word wall games.
5. Try to position the word wall in a place that does not have desks in front of it. I am going to be moving those desks in my picture. I know this isn't always 100% possible, but do the best you can.
Two years ago, I had my wonderful husband hang letters perfectly around the top of my classroom. THE TOP! I could not reach it and none of my students (even the 6 foot kids) could reach any of the letters or the words. So, this word wall failed miserably. So, all of that to say that, even though the word wall might be cute and look great in your classroom, it must be functional to be beneficial for your kids.
I can't wait to add words to my wall.
If you have any tips, share them in the comments below. I would love to hear from you.
Monday, July 25, 2016
Word Wall Games: Missing Word, Word Pictures, & Categories
I am very pleased with the research I have done this summer about vocabulary and word walls. This post has some of the games that I will be playing with my kids this year that I have never played in the past. This just goes to show the importance of trying to learn more so that you can do the best job you can. So, here are a few of the games I am excited to add to my arsenal, but there will be more coming soon!
Missing Word
One of the games that I thought was quick, easy, and fun is called the missing word. The only prep that this game requires is for the teacher to remove one of the words from the word wall and then you can rearrange the other words if you'd like. For older grades, I bet you could remove 2-3 words. During the vocabulary time that day, the teacher would give clues and hints to get the kids to figure out the word. This is very easy and I bet the kids would think it is fun, especially if a little candy is involved.
Word Pictures
One of the things that I love about Marzano's vocabulary ideas is the fact the he shows that students benefit from constructing a visual to go with each vocabulary word. I agree with this, and, even on my own, I can remember things more easily when there is some kind of visual to file in my head. The word picture game allows students to work in teams. The team chooses a word and illustrates it somehow on their paper. I will probably have mine use chart paper. Then, the opposing team guesses what the word is based on the illustration and gets a point if they get it correct. After they guess the word, the team that did not draw gets to choose a different word and illustrate it. I think it would also be neat to play this by having teams create a collage if they insist that they cannot draw.
This is one great example of why color coding the word wall is helpful; the teacher could say: "Choose a red word. Or choose a word from the red or green words on the wall." The color codes help students know which words are available during the game.
 |
| This is an example I found from online since I don't have any that my kids have made...yet. The goal is to try to get the other team to guess the word based on the picture. |
 |
| This is not from my classroom, but this is what I have in mind that this game will be like. I might have my kids draw it bigger. It is kind of like Pictionary. |
Categories
I really love the game called Categories. In this game, students create different categories and then put the words from the word wall into the categories that they created. The teacher could also create the categories if the students need the scaffolding. Sorting words really lets students interact with the words or "play" with them, which is what they need to truly learn the words and reuse them. The categories that I have in mind range from parts of speech, to actual context that the word could be used in. For example, if you had the words reverent, pious, and respect, the category could be polite. Sorting words into categories begins in lower grades, but it really helps students learn about the word more than simply memorizing a definition. It forces them to think about the word, and that kind of interaction is what we need for them to file this word into their personal dictionary.
Of course, since I only do 5-6 words per week, I would probably want to build the words on my word wall for a few weeks in order to play this game, but I will be doing that this year!
These games are simple and the actual prep and playtime is not time consuming either, so they should be very practical for you classroom. I can see my middle school kids loving these games and I can't wait to get into the classroom in exactly one week to get everything ready for my kids to #interact2learn.
 |
| This is an example of a word sort I found online where the words are sorted by the prefixes. It can be this simple, but it can also be more difficult depending on the words. |
 |
| Here is an example of a word sort for a music class. |
Keep in mind that these word wall games work even if you teach other subject areas. And the most important aspect of this game is to make sure you ask the kids why the sorted the words this way. They can't just do the activity and forget about it; they need to interact with the words and form mental and verbal connections among the words and their lives. The teacher's job is to get those brains working and making these connections. So, be sure to ask them why the sorted the way they did, and also, make sure to listen. What I love about language arts is the fact that half of the learning is done through discussions! Engage with those kiddos to make the most of the lessons.
I'd love to know how these games work in your classroom and I will be posting pictures of my kiddos playing them! I hope you can add these to your arsenal as well!
Sunday, July 24, 2016
Say YES! to Word Walls for Middle School Kids
My first experience with word walls was 2 years ago when I started working at Fall Branch School. I was new to the county and I learned that word walls were to be in all classrooms. I was going to be teaching 7th and 8th grade ELA, so I was new to word walls since only lower grades used them in the previous schools where I worked. I was honestly unsure of how to use a word wall, but I found a place in my classroom for a word wall because I was told to do this. The place I found was at the top of the classroom around the classroom. While this looked really neat at first, it made it impossible for me (I am 5 foot 2 inches!) to put the words up easily. The first thing you want to make sure you do with your word wall is make it accessible to you and the kids. This first word wall was not accessible and I really did not use it efficiently that year even though I tried my best. So, I started doing some research and found out how completely incredible word walls really are because, when used correctly, they help students learn vocabulary words!
The Benefits of Word Walls for All Grade Levels
At first glance, you might not think a word wall is useful for your kids in upper grades, but, let me tell you, they love it, too! There are many benefits to using word walls for kids in upper grades:
What I Changed
Color Coding & Labeling: After doing my own research about word walls, I have decided to jump on the ban wagon and color code my words by week using colored paper. I was going to use colored markers, but I think the colored paper allows the words to stand out more. So, each week, I will use a new color of paper for that week's words. Since each week, we will have 5-6 vocabulary words and I teach 7th and 8th grade, I will be responsible for putting up 10-12 words per week. Since our vocabulary words come from the texts we will be reading in class, obviously 7th and 8th graders will have different words, so I am going to write a 7 or 8 in the right corner of the paper with the word to distinguish which words are for which grades. I hope the kids know, but in case I get confused, this will help me remember.
Alphabetical Order: I am going to put the words on the wall in alphabetical order to make it easier for my kids (and me) to look for certain words on the wall.
Students Have a Personal Dictionary: This year, I am having my kids make a personal dictionary out of a folder with a pocket on each side and the 3 prongs in the middle. They will put paper in the prongs and this will be their personal dictionary. They will include the word, the part of speech, the definition, and a sentence for each vocabulary word in their dictionary. We will have one page per letter and, although the dictionary won't be able to be in perfect alphabetical order, they will at least have all the A words together and so on. Since they have a folder with prongs, it is easy to add paper when they need to add more words.
Accessibility: Make sure your word wall is easily accessible to you and your students. They need to be able to see the word wall and interact with it. That's right interact with it! There are several games that they can play with the word wall and that is why it is beneficial for vocabulary development.
Once I get my new word wall set up in my classroom for this school year (in just a little over a week), I will update with some pictures of my word wall. Even better, I will update with some photos of my kiddos playing games as they #interact2learn those vocabulary words!
Here is a list of games that you can play with your word wall. The games are in more detail at the link below by Jennifer Cronsberry and I will also be blogging more in the future about vocabulary games with word walls.
Vocabulary Games That Can Be played With Word Walls
Whole Class Activities
I will update you soon with a current picture of my own word wall once I get it into place.
Testing Vocabulary
My vocabulary test will be each Friday and the color codes will be very helpful when testing. My goal is to help students actually learn how to use the words, so I will have them use the words in a short writing task. The task will call for them to use the words I choose and the mentor sentence of the week. (Click here for more on mentor sentences.) I intend to use the color codes to tell the students which words will be tested that week. So, I could say that they will be tested on any green word on the word wall and then they are responsible to know the green words on the word wall. After a few weeks of words, I could tell them that the test will be on any green, blue, or yellow words, which helps to ensure that they are truly learning words as the weeks go on instead of just for the Friday test.
Works Cited
Cronsberry, Jennifer. Word Walls: A Support for Literacy in the Secondary Classroom. 2004.
Click here to visit this PDF for more information about the games.
You can also check out my friend Ashley's blog post about word walls here
She has some incredible posts that you will want to check out, especially if you teach high school English!
The Benefits of Word Walls for All Grade Levels
At first glance, you might not think a word wall is useful for your kids in upper grades, but, let me tell you, they love it, too! There are many benefits to using word walls for kids in upper grades:
- Provide meaningful vocabulary teaching with student engagement
- Daily contact with the words each day
- Help improve spelling
- Provide visual cues for students
- Allow for interaction with the words through games
 |
| This is a word wall that I like that I found online. |
 |
| This is how my word wall will look after the first week of school. |
 |
| Getting ready for my own word wall. The word cards will have the number 7 or 8 to show which grade level the word is for. |
What I Changed
Color Coding & Labeling: After doing my own research about word walls, I have decided to jump on the ban wagon and color code my words by week using colored paper. I was going to use colored markers, but I think the colored paper allows the words to stand out more. So, each week, I will use a new color of paper for that week's words. Since each week, we will have 5-6 vocabulary words and I teach 7th and 8th grade, I will be responsible for putting up 10-12 words per week. Since our vocabulary words come from the texts we will be reading in class, obviously 7th and 8th graders will have different words, so I am going to write a 7 or 8 in the right corner of the paper with the word to distinguish which words are for which grades. I hope the kids know, but in case I get confused, this will help me remember.
Alphabetical Order: I am going to put the words on the wall in alphabetical order to make it easier for my kids (and me) to look for certain words on the wall.
Students Have a Personal Dictionary: This year, I am having my kids make a personal dictionary out of a folder with a pocket on each side and the 3 prongs in the middle. They will put paper in the prongs and this will be their personal dictionary. They will include the word, the part of speech, the definition, and a sentence for each vocabulary word in their dictionary. We will have one page per letter and, although the dictionary won't be able to be in perfect alphabetical order, they will at least have all the A words together and so on. Since they have a folder with prongs, it is easy to add paper when they need to add more words.
 |
| This is going to be my personal dictionary. |
 |
| We will put notebook paper inside for each letter of the alphabet to put our words in for our own personal dictionary. |
Once I get my new word wall set up in my classroom for this school year (in just a little over a week), I will update with some pictures of my word wall. Even better, I will update with some photos of my kiddos playing games as they #interact2learn those vocabulary words!
Here is a list of games that you can play with your word wall. The games are in more detail at the link below by Jennifer Cronsberry and I will also be blogging more in the future about vocabulary games with word walls.
Vocabulary Games That Can Be played With Word Walls
Whole Class Activities
- Mystery Word
- Visiting Word
- Missing Word
- Quick Definitions
- Looking at Spelling
- Word Pictures
- Word Relationships
- Word Cards Partner Game
- Parts of Speech
- Drama
- Plurals
- Word Ad
- Categories
- Musical Words
- Prefixes and Suffixes
- Contextualization
- Word Origins and Roots
- Names for Musical Groups
- Definition Bingo
- Words in Writing
- Maximum Words in a Story
- Word Searches
I will update you soon with a current picture of my own word wall once I get it into place.
Testing Vocabulary
My vocabulary test will be each Friday and the color codes will be very helpful when testing. My goal is to help students actually learn how to use the words, so I will have them use the words in a short writing task. The task will call for them to use the words I choose and the mentor sentence of the week. (Click here for more on mentor sentences.) I intend to use the color codes to tell the students which words will be tested that week. So, I could say that they will be tested on any green word on the word wall and then they are responsible to know the green words on the word wall. After a few weeks of words, I could tell them that the test will be on any green, blue, or yellow words, which helps to ensure that they are truly learning words as the weeks go on instead of just for the Friday test.
Works Cited
Cronsberry, Jennifer. Word Walls: A Support for Literacy in the Secondary Classroom. 2004.
Click here to visit this PDF for more information about the games.
You can also check out my friend Ashley's blog post about word walls here
She has some incredible posts that you will want to check out, especially if you teach high school English!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)