Vocabulary
Power of Language
“The limits of my language are the limits of my world.” – Ludwig Wittenstein From the desk of Leigh Ann . . . When we are equipped with capable language skills, we possess the power to communicate. I know – power is a strong word (no pun intended), but here are a few of its synonyms: capable, competent, dynamic,…
Read MoreAre You a Logophile?
From the desk of Leigh Ann . . . I am a logophile – a lover of words. I marvel at those who possess the quick verbal gifts of wit and wisdom. Alas, as much as I love words, I am not one with that lyrical gift. That’s why I love to soak in the literary…
Read MoreLevels of Word Knowledge
“The sequence of learning the meaning of words does not reside in innate human development; that is, our brains are not wired to acquire words in any given sequence. The order of learning words resides in children’s environments and experiences.” – Building Words for Life There is great importance in the meaningful and direct instruction of…
Read MoreKeep Teaching
To do test prep or not to do test prep…to keep with my literacy routine or not…those are the questions on most teachers’ minds. The good news is you don’t have to choose. You can keep with your regular routine and teach test prep. Just as you teach fiction, biography, and poetry as different genres,…
Read MoreGood Books, Good Times
Reluctant readers…they can be hard to reach…hard to instill in them a love of reading. You’ve tried introducing them to novels, informational books, magazines, and nothing seems to work. These students read what is assigned, and that’s it. What can we do to inspire these kids? Poetry is not necessarily something you would pick up…
Read MoreWhat Makes a Favorite?
From the tens, hundreds, thousands, millions of children’s picture books, how does someone pick a favorite author or a favorite book? It’s an almost impossible task. Sometimes though it’s fun to reach back in time and find a book that was written 20 plus years ago and had almost been pushed aside, but as it’s…
Read MoreEnlarge Your World
From the desk of Leigh Ann . . . “There are many ways to enlarge your child’s world. Love of books is the best of all” – Jacqueline Kennedy One of the most important things we can do to help instill a love of learning in our students is to read to them every day.…
Read MoreTeaching Vocabulary is Important
From the desk of Carol C… Vocabulary…something I’ve always taught because I knew my students needed to know the meanings of words in all areas of our studies. They had to know the vocabulary to understand the concepts they were to learn. However, I didn’t look at the larger picture. I didn’t think how vocabulary…
Read More