Teaching Vocabulary: 50 Creative Strategies, Grades 6-12

A lack of vocabulary development affects students' reading comprehension and their writing skills. This can be particularly damaging as students move through middle and secondary grades, when content area reading requires so much vocabulary learning, influencing future success and career choices. Vocabulary learning particularly affects the success of English learners; but when vocabulary instruction is done well, it can help close the gap in reading and writing performance. Teaching Vocabulary: 50 Creative Strategies, Grades 6-12 was developed by middle and secondary master teachers involved n the San Joaquin Valley Writing Project, including literacy expert Dr. Gail Tompkins. This text shares 50 classroom-tested strategies demonstrated to improve vocabulary skills in 6th through 12th graders in classrooms where 92 percent of the school population are English learners. Clear-cut steps for implementing each strategy, specifics on how the strategy fits within the curriculum, and information on how students responded to the instruction offer valuable tools for you as you help your students develop their vocabulary skills and their overall competence in literacy." "The volume contains a great many practical, useful, and feasible ideas, which would be a welcome set of additions to the busy teacher's repertoire of practices." "Margot Kinberg, National University ""This is the best book on how to teach vocabulary that I've seen in years. This book is a smorgasbord of lesson plans with a large and varied menu. We see a variety of teaching styles and methods, all grounded in solid theoretical underpinnings." "Joseph Geunther, University of Wisconsin, Platteville ""One great strength is thatthe strategies often accommodate more than one learning style." "Jackie Glasgow, Ohio University

This book fills the gap for specific learning needs. It is an entire volume devoted to the time-tested, classroom-proven ideas that "really work" with elementary, middle, and high school students-including ESL and other students who have a limited vocabulary and few literacy skills. Each strategy has been successfully used by master teachers who participate in the San Joaquin Valley Writing Project, and authentic student feedback is included. With written-in adaptability and grade-level indicators so that users can address their own specific goals in the classroom, this book comprehensively covers: teaching vocabulary correctly, collecting words, discovering definitions, working with meanings, expanding writing vocabulary, investigating word origins, and word play. An obviously valuable tool for educators, this book is especially appropriate for new or future teachers, teachers of ESL and continuing education, and other curriculum planners. Can also be used by parents who wish to enhance their child' s home study.