Strategy of the Month (June)
You can help your child understand testing vocabulary! (Part 2) One of the best test taking strategies I know is this: a relaxed and confident test taker is a more successful test taker! And an excellent way to help your child relax and gain confidence before the test is to sing - yes, I said SING! Music and lyrics are wonderful memory devices - that lively tune or catchy word is the perfect trigger to help your child remember important vocabulary and key definitions that may appear on an assessment. Check out the video below and be sure to share it with your child: http://www.flocabulary.com/test-taking-vocabulary/ |
Strategy of the Month (May)
You can help your child understand testing vocabulary! We know that the North Carolina end-of-grade testing will be in full swing next month and we are all familiar with the standard list of best strategies to prepare students for testing day: positive attitude, sufficient sleep, nutritious breakfast, minimal pressure. However, recent research has shown that students who understand that standardized tests have their own unique format, organizational structure and vocabulary are generally more successful when they take the assessments. This special testing vocabulary is different from the academic content language that is specific to each subject area. In fact, these words can appear on any subject area test and are important to understand because they often help the test taker to know what he/she is being asked to do in order to find the answer to the question. The best way for children to learn vocabulary is through frequent exposure and usage. You can help your child by using this vocabulary as you work with him/her to review and practice the skills, strategies and content that we have worked on in fourth grade this year. Creating flash cards or a testing vocabulary dictionary is another way to reinforce these words. Or you and your child can take turns designing tests for each other that use the vocabulary in the questions. As you practice, have your child highlight or circle the unique testing vocabulary that he/she encounters. Remember that practice sessions are more effective if they are short and repeated several times each week. Keeping things relaxed and fun is the best way to prevent stress and to maintain your child's interest and engagement. I have provided some links below to help you get started. Remember that your own positive, encouraging attitude toward testing will significantly affect your child's confidence and self-esteem. http://www.linkstolearning.com/key_terms_for_standardized_tests.htm http://www.neshaminy.k12.pa.us/Page/431 http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/top-10-terms-students-need-know-be-successful-standardized-tests |
Easily confused vocabulary - homonyms, homophones, homographs
Children are fascinated by new words and they love sharing their knowledge with others. But as exciting as vocabulary acquisition can be, it can also be very confusing - especially when we encounter words that sound the same but have different meanings or spelled the same with different meanings. The big category for these types of words is homonyms. The two types of homonyms are homophones and homographs. Homophones are words that sound the same but are spelled differently and have different meanings - example: see and sea. Homographs are words that are spelled the same but have different meanings, and sometimes, different pronunciations - example: bass (with short a sound) and bass (with long a sound). There are many ways to have fun with these kinds of words. You can create a card game with one word from each homophone or homograph pair on a card. When a player draws the card, he/she must name and spell or pron the corresponding homophone or homographs . If it is named correctly, then the player keeps the card and scores the point. For example, the drawn card might read "here". The correct answer would be "hear". You can use the links below to find a sample list of homophones and homographs. http://www.firstschoolyears.com/literacy/word/other/homonyms/resources/homonyms.pdf http://www.firstschoolyears.com/literacy/word/other/homonyms/resources/Homophones.pdf Silly story writing is another great way to encourage your child to practice with these types of words. Simply brainstorm a list of homophones and homographs that you and your child will use to write the silly story. Then, take turns by either alternating sentences or paragraphs. How many homophones and homographs can you include in your story? Can you make this activity even more challenging by competing against one another? The link below has some sample sentences to help you get started. http://englishforeveryone.org/PDFs/Homonyms,%20Homographs,%20Homophones.pdf Finally, after all that practice with homonyms, test your skills with an on-line game. Use the link below to play a homophone game that requires you to match the word to the correct definition. Good luck! http://www.ezschool.com/Games/English/Homonyms/Homographs.html |
Strategy of the Month (March)
You can help your child discover historical vocabulary! Our language grows and changes on a daily basis. New words for new ideas and technologies appear so quickly it is sometimes hard to keep up. But what about the words that are left behind by these changes? This 'historical' vocabulary can be very important when your child is reading literature and historical fiction. Often, historical vocabulary is closely linked to specific cultural or ethnic groups who may have lived in certain regions of the country during different historical periods. To create an engaging history lesson and learn some new vocabulary, here's what you can do. Choose a room in your house (the kitchen works great for this activity!) and use index cards to label the common kitchen items with the names we use for them today. Example: refrigerator, stove, sink, faucet, cabinet. Now have your child help you do a little research to discover what these same objects were called in the past. Example: refrigerator used to be called an icebox. Write the historical vocabulary on index cards and put these labels on the items as well. Remember to discuss with your child why the items may have had those names in the past so they can make some solid connections to the vocabulary. Now have some fun with the words. Can you and your child spend the day using the historical vocabulary in conversation? Perhaps your child can help you to prepare dinner or clean up the kitchen as you refer to the words for the items. Associating the vocabulary with activities and specific actions will help your child to own these words and make them a part of their growing vocabulary base. Here are some of the historical words I found: Refrigerator - icebox, freezer chest Stove - stew stove, Castrol stove, cook stove Sink - dishpan, basin Faucet - spigot, tap Cabinet - cupboard, pantry |
Science Vocabulary - Roots and Affixes
Content science vocabulary is often extremely challenging for elementary students. There are many reasons for this including lack of background knowledge about the topic, complex nature of the subject material, multi-syllabic nature of the words and limited understanding of scieintifci affixes and root words. Many of our science vocabulary words come from Latin and Greek roots. Encourage your child to expand their knowledge of these words by creating a Scientific Affixes and Root Word scrapbook. This is an activity that the whole family can participate in so its great for rainy days! First, help your child to gather a list of common scientific affixes and root words. The links below can provide a starting point for this. You will need to supervise and support your child so that he/she chooses a manageable number of affixes and root words. http://www.quia.com/jg/296829list.html https://academic.cuesta.edu/acasupp/as/506.HTM http://www.biologycorner.com/worksheets/language.html Second, using the list of affixes and root words, search the Internet or old magazines for photos, drawings or pictures to go with the words. Finally, organize the words and pictures in a way that makes sense to your child. For example, alphabetically or by category. Paste the pictures and affixes/root words into a scrapbook or album. As with any vocabulary acquisition activity, it is very iimportant that your child makes use of the scrapbook regularly. You can review the pages periodically or play games with the words and use the scrapbook as a reference. It is also helpful to point out real-world uses of the vocabulary in newspapers, magazines or in on-line texts. Seeing the words used in context will further incorporate them into your child's vocabulary bank. Here is an on-line game to use to review and practice the vocabulary: http://www.vocabulary.co.il/context-and-definitions/intermediate/science-word-definition-game/ And here is a fun rap song to help your child remember some of the more common root words and affixes: |
Strategy of the Month (February)
You can help your child use vocabulary gradients! Can you think of other words in our language that have the same meaning as "happy"? Do you think the word(s) you identified differ in their meanings in any way? For example, if you thought of "exuberant" and "excited", would you say that "exuberant" is more or less happy than "excited"? These slight differences are called shades of meaning. You can help your child understand these shades with the following activity. Go to the paint section of your local hardware store. Choose several of the rectangular paint samples that show several shades of a color. Then, with your child, pick a starter word (like "happy" in our example above). It is usually best to choose a simple word that describes a feeling. Work together to brainstorm a list of synonyms for the word you have chosen. Sort through the list of words and put them in order from least to greatest degree of feeling. Using our word "happy" as an example: which words are more or less happy that others? Once you have your list in order, use the paint sample rectangles and write the words - one in each color- to show lighter (less) to darker (more) shades of meaning. These sequenced sets of words are called vocabulary gradients. They are wonderful tools for helping students learn a wider vocabulary, match synonyms and distinguish between shades of meanings in words. Students can also use these gradients to improve the words they use in their speaking and writing. |
Root Word Vocabulary
This quarter in our historical fiction unit we are learning about many different periods in history. We have also discovered the many different cultures and ethnic groups that have come to our country as immigrants throughout these time periods. In addition to traditions and celebrations, these immigrants have brought a wide variety of languages to our country. We have incorporated many of the words from other languages into our own. Understanding the roots of our language can help us to better understand the meanings of the many new words we encounter in our reading. Here's a game you can play with the whole family to help your child become more aware of the root words in our language. Using index cards or sentence strips, write one root word on each card. Place the cards in the center of a table. Each player takes turns drawing a card and naming as many words as possible that use that root word. One point is scored for each word named. To keep the game moving along you will probably want to set a time limit. If you would like to make the game more challenging, you can award extra points for giving the meaning of the root word. You and your child may even want to research the countries and cultures where the root words originated! Here is a website with some common root words for elementary students: http://www.aasd.k12.wi.us/staff/boldtkatherine/readingfun3-6/readingfun_prefixessuffixesroots.htm |
Strategy of the Month (December)
You can help your child to use accurate content vocabulary! Content vocabulary is often the most difficult type of vocabulary for elementary students to master. These words are not often used in daily conversation or found in reading materials outside the classroom. However, this type of vocabulary is definitely appearing more and more frequently in the standardized assessments being used in school. In addition, middle and high school students encounter this type of vocabulary on a daily basis in their textbooks. Building a solid foundation of these words is a great way to prepare your child for success throughout his/her school career! Using some of the websites listed below, gather content words for a particular subject area with your child. For example, the fourth grade math curriculum has a large number of terms that are challenging for many students. Using the list of words you have gathered, work with your child to create an electronic picture dictionary. Make a separate page for each term and be sure to include not only the definition, but a picture or illustration as a visual aid. You may also want to separate the dictionary into sub-topics such as measurement, geometry, or algebra. Be sure to re-visit the dictionary often to review and practice with the terms. This is the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction link with the list of Common Core 4th grade math vocabulary: http://mathlearnnc.sharpschool.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_4507209/File/Instructional%20Resources/GlossarySP.pdf Here are some additional links: http://www.mathsisfun.com/definitions/line-symmetry.html http://www.math.com/school/glossary/glossindex.html |
Listening and Speaking Vocabulary
It is sometimes difficult to know how to choose words as we try to increase our students' vocabulary base. After all, there are thousands of words that may be encountered in the textbooks, articles and conversations they engage in on a daily basis. Some of this vocabulary is learned through context, but other more complicated terms require other strategies for students to successfully add them to their vocabulary box. Here is a great idea to arouse your child's interest in learning new vocabulary. Start a family project to create a music video using excellent descriptive vocabulary. You might consider some of the words you have been gathering throughout the year with the vocabulary projects and strategies from our website. Or you can use cool vocabulary from a favorite book that your child is reading. As far as the music goes, you can use the tune to a familiar song and write the lyrics to go with it or you can try to compose your own original tune and lyrics. Then, get the family together and film your own vocabulary video! Here is an example of a video using some awesome 4th grade vocabulary: |
Strategy of the Month (November):
You can help your child use more precise vocabulary in his/her writing! This is a great vocabuary building activity that we use in class, but it can be easily adapted to use at home. Its called a "word splash". Here's the idea: Gather as many family members as possible and choose a topic for a story. It could be a character like a princess or an ogre. Or it could be a setting like an alien world or wintertime. Then, using a whiteboard, chalkboard or large sheet of paper, have the group members brainstorm words that go with the topic and "splash" the words all over the paper. Brainstorm for about 3 minutes then each group member has to tell a story using as many of the words as possible. The stories could be oral or written - whatever works best for group. You could even co-author by working with a partner. Maybe you will even want to illustrate and publish the stories in a family book! Happy Writing! |
Content Vocabulary
Our second quarter text focus is non-fiction. This type of text is challenging for students in a variety of ways. In addition to complicated concepts and complex structures, the vocabulary found in content area (math, science, social studies) texts is often specific to that subject and therefore, unfamiliar to most students. In class we target this vocabulary on our word walls, in our note taking and in our small group discussions. We use concept mapping in which students write definitions, draw pictures, identify synonyms and provide examples to solidify important vocabulary and provide multiple opportunities for students to use it. You can support your child's vocabulary learning by encouraging him/her to use these words when speaking or writing about any of the content subjects. |
Strategy of the Month (September):
You can help your child love words and use them more in writing and speaking! Start a "Word of the Day" project that the whole family can participate in. You can collect the words on index cards, sticky notes, or even in a notebook. By using different colored cards, notes or dividers you can help your child sort and categorize the words you are collecting. Challenge your child and other family members to use the word throughout the day. Create weekly opportunities to review and use the words in different ways. Being a word detective can be exciting and fun! |
Vocabulary in Context
This year we will be using vocabulary units that increase your child's vocabulary base through reading non-fiction texts and identifying context clues that help with determining meaning of important words from the texts. Each unit lasts for two weeks and students have many opportunities to practice using the vocabulary during this time. Students wil also take a multiple choice quiz and complete a writing assignment to demonstrate their understanding of the vocabulary from each unit. They will keep the units in their Tadpole Binders throughout the year for easy reference. Scored quizzes and writing assignments will be kept with each unit so that students can monitor their own progress. Please check on your child's homework each day so that you can continue to support vocabulary acquisition skills that will strengthen your child's reading and writing abilities in all content areas. |
Here are some helpful resources if you need a little guidance to find new words for the "Word of the Day" project:
http://www.flocabulary.com/4th-grade-vocabulary-word-list/
http://www.readingkey.com/demo/Files/vocab/Grade4/Voc4new.pdf (be careful not to get overwhelmed by this one!)
http://www.superkids.com/aweb/tools/words/middle/ (this one actually posts a new word each day - simple!)
http://www.flocabulary.com/4th-grade-vocabulary-word-list/
http://www.readingkey.com/demo/Files/vocab/Grade4/Voc4new.pdf (be careful not to get overwhelmed by this one!)
http://www.superkids.com/aweb/tools/words/middle/ (this one actually posts a new word each day - simple!)
Think left and think right and think low and think high.
Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!
― Dr. Seuss
Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!
― Dr. Seuss