Foster opportunities for students to think while reading

One of the strategies readers need to develop is the ability to think while reading. For some this does not come naturally; this needs to be fostered by the teacher. In order to get students to think about their reading, teachers need to build in deliberate opportunities for them to think while they're reading.    read more...

Parent involvement for literacy

We would all agree that the more involved a parent is in a child's life, the more likely that child is to succeed in school. But parents don't always know what to do. Many parents struggle with how best to help and would love some simple ways they could come alongside.    read more...

Simple acrostic poems encapsulate word meanings

When teaching students new vocabulary words in the content areas or in language arts, one thing you could do, beyond just talking about definitions, is to have students develop an acrostic poem for that term.    read more...

Targeting vocabulary using visual clues

In addition to needing multiple ways to work with a word, the research also shows that one of those ways must be visual. There must be a visual connection between the word and its meaning.    read more...

Spice up subject area writing with “point of view”

To add a little life into your content-area writings, students may appreciate playing with voice. Beyond just writing explanatory pieces to the teacher, develop a writing task that allows students to use their content knowledge by writing as if they were a particular object.    read more...

Developing core vocabulary for each academic area

When most you attended school, you probably had the same type of vocabulary study I did --- a list of 10-20 words a week that each required a dictionary/glossary definition and a sentence using the term. After a little discussion and maybe some matching games, we'd take a test over the terms at the end of the week. I don't know about you, but I would then proceed to forget each term over the weekend, because I knew I was inheriting a new list of 10-20 words come Monday morning. This cycle produced little retention for most of us.    read more...

Broaden word choice with the online thesaurus

A class thesaurus is a great resource, but a more up-to-date resource is the very user-friendly Merriam-Webster website.    read more...

Daily references build comprehension

Students master vocabulary words after interacting and applying them in various contexts over time. That said, the more often you infuse your current vocabulary terms throughout the day/class period, the more quickly students master them.    read more...

Maintaining vocabulary notebooks

As you introduce content-area vocabulary terms to students, remember Dr. Robert Marzano's research that explains 4-14-40.    read more...

Noticing great word choice — even at home

Students quickly become more choosey of their word choice within their writing, looking to get more purple highlights on their next piece. They even become more aware of strong word choice (purple words) within their everyday life.    read more...