Word Collector Activities
Objectives:
- Students engage in finding and “collecting” words from reading materials & the Word Bank Lists of Words.
- The teacher chooses lists of these words (from Subjects in the sidebar to the right) and supports students in transferring these vocabulary words to their writing.
Materials:
- The teacher must pre-select the vocabulary words from the Word Bank Lists of Words located in the Subjects (in the sidebar to the right).
- The teacher selects either a read aloud or a reading selection that is about the same topic as the List of Words.
Explicit Support & Scaffolding for English Learners:
Every day, in every classroom, there are multiple opportunities to learn and use new words. The teacher and students simply need to become aware of this myriad of opportunities. How do we best develop our consciousness? The great Buddhists talk about becoming mindful of what is right in front of us. To take these teachings and apply them to classrooms is develop a word conscious classroom. For all learners, and especially ELS, this is a great gift: to pay attention to the words all around us – by noticing the words, talking about them, reading them, and using these words in writing.
Brief Description:
Students engage in becoming Word Collectors as they search for interesting words in the Word Bank Lists of Words as well as in reading materials. They will also transfer these words to their writing.
Instructions
The teacher can either pre-select 20 words from the Lists of Words, a reading selection, or have students find the interesting words.
Teacher Pre-Selects Words
If the teacher pre-selects the words, she/he would choose a list of 20 words from the Lists of Words located under the Subjects. The teacher can set the words up in a table, or write them on chart paper or a white board. Students can do a number of activities with the words. Working in pairs or small groups, students can do the following:
- Students read the list of words.
- Students cut the words up and do a Word Sort with them. ( See Word Sort lesson for more information.) They can organize the words into categories.
- Students write a paragraph with the words.
After the students work with the words, then the teacher either reads the reading selection aloud or students can read the materials in pairs or silently.
- After completing the reading, ask students to share what their 2 favorite words are and explain their preference.
- The teacher writes these words down on chart paper.
- Students use these words to complete a writing assignment. They can use them in Writer’s Workshop or complete a creative writing activity such as creating a brochure, cartoon, user’s manual, commercial, advertisement, or some other creative writing endeavor.
Teaching Tip:
- This strategy works well for both narrative and expository reading materials.
- This strategy works best if students are working in pairs or small groups. They need to talk about the words and work jointly to create categories or a collaborative piece of writing.
Students Select Words
If the students select words, the teacher must frontload the activity by having a class discussion about what it means to be a “collector.”
- What would a “word collector” do”?
- Why would they collect words?
- What kind of words would you collect?
- Where could you find valuable words?
- The teacher either reads the reading selection aloud or students can read the materials in pairs or silently.
- Students can work individually or in pairs. Each student or pair of students has 2 post-its. They are going to be Word Collectors – looking for, listening for, and then writing down 2 interesting words or phrases from the reading.
- After the reading, have a class discussion where students get to share their words or phrases and put the post-its up on a chart paper.
- Ask students to explain why these words are interesting or valuable.
- Students use these words to complete a writing assignment. They can use them in Writer’s Workshop or complete a creative writing activity such as creating a brochure, cartoon, user’s manual, commercial, advertisement, or some other creative writing endeavor.
Teaching Tip:
- This activity works best with reading materials that have interesting, lively, and colorful words. It is then easier for students to explain their word selections. For example, an expository piece of reading material that explains geometric angles may not be as interesting as an article with vivid descriptions about marine plant life.
Subjects
Subjects
Assessments: Generic Vocabulary Walk
Generic Assessments on Lesson Resources page
Other Assessments:
Pre-Assessment:
The teacher will need to do one of the pre-assessment activities to determine which words are most important to highlight. This might be using a Word Rating Guide test or a KWL chart. This KWL Chart should go under the main list of Activities.
Post-assessment:
The teacher has the option of giving students a traditional follow-up vocabulary quiz. The teacher can also create a performance-based assessment by doing one or more of the follow-up activities listed below.
Extensions: Vocabulary Walk
Follow-Up Focusing on ELs and Word Learning