Independent Vocabulary Work - Freebie included

Are you interested in effective independent vocabulary activities for your class?  There are many skill specific vocabulary activities available for teachers, but what do I do with my weekly vocabulary words from my shared reading story?

I created this vocabulary journal card (FREEBIE) that has been so effective at raising vocabulary test scores,  that I wanted to share it with you!  Before students even start to work on their vocabulary independently, we always have a Monday review.  Here is my routine for my vocabulary Monday.  We review each word with this routine.

• Go over the definition
• Give an example sentence (7 words or more)
• Talk about synonyms
• Talk about related words (add and subtract prefixes or suffixes)

Then, I ask students to give me an example sentence for the vocabulary word.  Students love this part of the routine!  When they make up their own sentence, it really helps them to understand and own the word.  If the student doesn't use the word correctly, I can quickly correct the way they have used the word.   It is amazing to see all the students' hands pop up because they want to participate.  It is even more amazing to watch their vocabulary tests as they master these words. 

When we use the vocabulary journal card, students use their glossaries to look up the word.  From the glossary, they write the definition and part of speech.  On their own they will need to finish the rest of the card.  We spend several weeks doing this worksheet together before I ask them to do this independently.   In the synonym/keyword area, if you have 6-7 student thesauruses, they can try to find a synonym.  If students want to just write in a keyword, they can pick one or two words to help them remember the vocabulary word.

For related words, students try to make a related word by adding ( or subtracting) prefixes and suffixes.  Students realize that if they know root words, they can also add (or subtract) prefixes and suffixes to find create new words.  In the 7-up sentence part of this sheet, I ask of my students to write sentences with 7 words or more.  Several times a year, we have a 7-up party to celebrate our 7-up sentences.  I just ask a parent to donate the 7-up and cups, and we have a drink treat before recess. 

The last part of the card is a picture.  I love this part!  Students love this part!  Drawing a picture helps students to really understand and memorize the meaning of this word. 

I hope you love this vocabulary FREEBIE and activity as much as I do!

http://www.teachersnotebook.com/product/teresa.eldredge/vocabulary-journal-card 

 

Reading Graphic Organizer for Retelling a Story

Hello Everyone,

This is my very first blog.  I am so excited to be a part of this new world of blogging.  Teachers, I hope you find some ideas that you love and can use in your classroom. 

My first idea to share is a graphic organizer that I designed.  It is a retelling graphic organizer.  I used this graphic organizer before my class took their midyear state required DIBELS Next Test.  It was extremely successful! My student's scores for the retelling portion of this assessment were excellent. 

In using this form, we took the weekly reading story and completed the retelling graphic organizer together.   I modeled how I wanted the students to retell the story using the graphic organizers.  I explained that I wanted students to touch each part of their hand as they described the characters, setting, problem, events, and solution for the story.  Then, I called on several students to retell the story just as I had modeled.  They did a wonderful job!  My students enjoyed presenting their retelling of our story.   The best part of this lesson is that students remembered how to retell the story without looking back to the graphic organizer. 

I plan on using this retelling strategy all year long for DIBELS Next, guided reading, and Fountas and Pinnell assessments.  

Click the link below for a FREE download of this graphic organizer from my Teacher Notebook Store.

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