Word of the Day - Adding Vocabulary into Your Daily Routine

I started using a daily vocabulary word when I worked in pull-out in grades 2-5. I worked with accelerated readers in the computer lab and they struggled when presented with new words in their reading passages.

I wanted to find an easy way to provide them with a new word and definition each day, while also reinforcing the concept of using context clues to solve words independently.

In the beginning, I displayed the word on our reading strategies bulletin board and we would talk about it before they began our workshop.

After awhile, I wanted to make it more impactful, so I added in a notebooking component. I would have only the word written on the board, and during the transition between Writers and Readers Workshop, they would record it in their notebook and discuss what it meant with their peers.

Then, I would uncover the poster and we would discuss it as a class. They would share out their predictions and then record the definition in their notebook. Some students would copy the context sentence I used, and others would challenge themselves to use it in a new sentence.

The year I taught 5th grade, I decided to go digital with the word of the day. We recently had projectors and Apple TV's donated to us, and I wanted to utilize them to save time - plus it saved me having to print and display the word each day!

When it appears on the screen, the word is covered in the context sentence and the definition is covered as well.

I would give them several minutes to read the context sentence and predict what the word might be. At first I had a lot of random guesses, but with time, they began to predict more accurately.

Once they were ready to move on, the animation takes away the the word on the center of the slide and from the context sentence.

It does not fade away until you click, allowing your class to discuss the sentence as long as attention holds.

After they have reread the context sentence, they would then predict what the definition might be. I found they were much more successful at solving the definition when they were only presented with an image and a context sentence.