A to Z Vocabulary Builders from Mrs. P

By now many of you know how important I think communication is, especially if we have had a Skype together. My mantra to students is the importance of: collaboration, creativity and communication. And that is why I created my Vocabulary Builder playlist. Without a solid understanding of words students can’t understand others or express their own ideas.   
I like to think of my vocabulary as my very own communication toolbox. The more words I know, the better the chances of having the right tool when I need to communicate. Every time I learn a new word, I end up with a new tool. My new words also help me understand the ones I know better.

In my new playlist I have a word or two for every letter of the alphabet, from A to Z. Students can see the word, hear the word, get the definition of the word, and also hear it used in a sentence. Having the words used in context is much more effective than merely memorizing a word list.

Here are 8 tips to also help improve vocabularies:

1. Read, Read, Read - remember reading should be a pleasurable activity too, and if you come across a word you don’t know - look it up (see why I recommend #2)
2. Have a Dictionary close by - make friends with the dictionary. It’s probably the most indispensable resource to improve your vocabulary. I find words all of the time that I need to look up. I have a dictionary on my bookshelf, and one online.
3. Play word games - Honestly, what’s more fun than playing a game? The bonus is that you are learning and it’s just happening naturally. Scrabble and Boggle are great ones to play to learn new words. Crossword puzzles are also amazing vocabulary builders. But you can also make up your own games. For example: Take an old magazine and cut out words and hand them out. Each person reads their word and makes up 3 definitions for that word, and everyone else had to guess which is the real one.
4. Learn a Word a Day! - I once got a calendar and on it each day was a different word. I would try and use that word in a conversation each day too so it really stuck in my brain. You can randomly open the dictionary to get a new word each day. If you learn just one new word every day, you’ll be amazed how quickly your vocabulary will grow.
5. Listen to audio books - listening really helps in learning new words. Students can listen to books that are at a higher grade level and this increases their vocabulary. Here is a good article from Tales2GO.
6. FREE online resources of books and music - Try a story time video from Cantata Learning, as students usually love to sing along and this also helps the build new vocabulary words.
7. Get good book recommendations - Try the I Want to Read website from Mackin Educational Services which has a list by grade of books for students.
8. Watch my FREE Vocabulary Playlist and write a story - here you can learn 31 new words. Take these words and write a story using these new words. This will help the words stick.

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