Posting for this chapter was a little like deja vu. For the past three years, I've used a similar system in the classroom. From the beginning of the school year, students are encouraged to post on our interactive word bulletin board.
Good Super Dynamite Antonyms
dream desire aspire hopeless
Using pre-cut sentence strips, the students would find words to fit the columns. The goal was to find "dynamite" words from our reading to use in our writing. This was a lot like finding "Velcro and Juicy Words".
One of our classroom discussion this summer included when to use various levels of vocabulary. For example, when explaining things to a first grader, we wouldn't use a lot of dynamite words. It would be much like a doctor going home and talking to his family using large medical terms. A sign of mastery in vocabulary is to know when and how to use it.
Many of the students in class this summer went home to discuss new words with their parents/grandparents. It was great to hear about the discussions that the kids brought home. As the author suggested, I plan to keep a list of our vocabulary words to publish in our weekly newsletter.
What areas of the reading caught your attention? What do you plan to improve upon or implement in your classroom next year? I'd love to hear your ideas!
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