New York • Toronto • London • Auckland • Sydney Mexico City • New Delhi • Hong Kong • Buenos Aires Minutes a Day to a Colossal Vocabulary © Barh & Hughes, Scholastic Teaching Resources Scholastic Inc. grants teachers the right to photocopy the reproducibles from this book for classroom use. No other part of this book may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Professional Books, 557 Broadway, New York, NY, 10012.
Cover design by Norma Ortiz Interior design by Grafica, Inc. Interior art by Mike Moran ISBN 0-439-20576-X Copyright © 2003 by Kathleen Bahr and Lisa Hughes All rights reserved. Printed in the U. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 40 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 15 Minutes a Day to a Colossal Vocabulary © Barh & Hughes, Scholastic Teaching Resources Table of Contents Introduction .5 How to Use This Book .6 Getting Started With Wild Words .7 Setting Up the Classroom .7 Planning and Scheduling .7 Student Booklets and Display .7 Directions for Making Student Booklets .7 Student Booklet Masters .8 Selecting a Wild Word .10 Sample Wild Word List .12 Introducing a Wild Word .14 Wild Word Displays .15 Wild Word Activities Wild Word Chant .20 Book Break: Double Trouble in Walla Walla Watching for Wild Words .22 Wild Word Connections .24 Wild Word Basketball .26 Wild Word Charades .28 Draw a Wild Word Game .29 Wild Word Bingo .30 Wild Word Twenty Questions .32 15 Minutes a Day to a Colossal Vocabulary © Barh & Hughes, Scholastic Teaching Resources Wild Word Part-of-Speech Sort .33 Wild Word Challenge Game .34 Wild Word Riddles .36 Wild Word Silly Sentences .38 Top Ten Wild Words .39 Wild Word Party .41 Wild Words Certificate .42 Additional Vocabulary Activities Create an Eponym .46 Book Break: Guppies in Tuxedos: Funny Eponyms Slang Interview .48 Uncommonly Good Words Game .53 Noah Webster Mini-Book .59 Book Break: Miss Alaineus: A Vocabulary Disaster Dictionary Puzzlers .62 Invent-a-Word Mini-Dictionaries .64 Book Break: Frindle Guess-the-Definition Game .69 Book Break: Color Additional Resources and Activities .71 15 Minutes a Day to a Colossal Vocabulary © Barh & Hughes, Scholastic Teaching Resources lntroduction during the past act ivities greatl y enh anced Benjamin’s education “ Several learni ng uce new words to the fav orite wa s ‘Wi ld Wo rds.
Hughes would introd year. My rd used out- h tea chi ng the def initions. When my son heard the wo students along wit a small treat. My son class, he wa s to wri te the word down and take it in for side of each time we sive new voc abu lary this way.
He stood a little taller gained an impres used a ‘Wild Word,’ and he was able to recognize and def —Merlene Pagel, Parent ine it. ” S entiments like these have been expressed over and over by parents throughout the ten years we have been using Wild Words in our classrooms. Wild Words is a program we designed to enrich students’ vocabularies over the course of the school year. And it takes just 15 minutes each day to help students build a colossal vocabulary.
We developed this vocabulary program in order to transform the “dull” subject of vocabulary into something exciting, interesting, and challenging. Instead of memorizing word lists week after week, students participate in activities involving the construction of word meaning in context. Playing Wild Word Basketball, creating and performing the Wild Word Chant, and nominating words to “banish” from the classroom are a few examples of these enjoyable, engaging activities. Students are so enthusiastic about the program that many share the daily Wild Word with family and friends and practice the Wild Word Chant at home.
Wild Words is one of our students’ favorite activities, as well as one of ours. This book will provide you with everything you need to establish a complete independent vocabulary program, supplement an existing program, or reinforce content-related vocabulary instruction or language arts skills. Wild Words can be used with all student populations, including special education and gifted and talented students. In as little as 15 minutes each day, you will see tremendous growth in your students’ vocabularies.
If you’re looking for a way to enhance your vocabulary instruction, Wild Words will provide you with a number of exciting options! 5 15 Minutes a Day to a Colossal Vocabulary © Barh & Hughes, Scholastic Teaching Resources How to Use This Book Wild Words can be used as a complete independent vocabulary program or as a supplement to your existing program and your language arts instruction. In the first half of the book, you’ll find activities designed to be used with Wild Words or any vocabulary list. For example, Watching for Wild Words encourages students to identify Wild Words (or other vocabulary words) outside of school (see p. The second half of the book contains additional activities to enhance your students’ study of vocabulary and related language arts skills.
For example, students create Invent-a-Word dictionaries containing words that aren’t in the dictionary but should be (see pp. Games included throughout the book add to the fun! Each activity includes a description, materials list, and step-by-step directions. You will also find reproducible activity sheets, book breaks, display ideas, tips, variations, and extensions. The Additional Resources and Activities section contains summaries and activity suggestions for more books relating to vocabulary building (see p.
6 15 Minutes a Day to a Colossal Vocabulary © Barh & Hughes, Scholastic Teaching Resources Getting Started With Wild Words Setting Up the Classroom Planning and Scheduling Set aside 15 minutes each day for the introduction of a Wild Word. This is a great way to begin the day or class period. On a regular basis, select Wild Word vocabulary activities (see pp. 19–43) and additional vocabulary activities (see pp.
45–71) to reinforce and extend your vocabulary instruction. Student Booklets and Display Before beginning the program, make a Wild Word booklet for each student, and display the Wild Words so that they are visible to the entire class. 15–18 for display ideas.) Directions for Making Student Booklets 1. Make one copy of the cover (p.
8) for each booklet. Use brightly colored paper and laminate it, if possible. sure to copy the pages front/back. Determine how many internal pages This will save paper and make the you will need for each booklet, and copy books more manageable.
the desired number of pages (p. Assemble the cover and pages. Add a back cover and staple. (You’ll need a heavy- duty stapler if you’re making books for daily use.) Write each student’s name on the cover If possible, make the booklets ahead of time in permanent ink.
so you can start the program on the first day of school. 7 Minutes a Day to a Colossal Vocabulary © Barh & Hughes, Scholastic Teaching Resources W i ld Wo r d s Name ___________________________________________________________________________ 8 15 Minutes a Day to a Colossal Vocabulary © Barh & Hughes, Scholastic Teaching Resources Word __________________________________________________ Part of Speech ________________________________________ Definition _____________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ YTYU Y T Y U Y T Y U Y T Y UY T Y UY Word __________________________________________________ Part of Speech ________________________________________ Definition _____________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ YTYU Y T Y U Y T Y U Y T Y UY T Y UY Word __________________________________________________ Part of Speech ________________________________________ Definition _____________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ YTYU Y T Y U Y T Y U Y T Y UY T Y UY Word __________________________________________________ Part of Speech ________________________________________ Definition _____________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ YTYU Y T Y U Y T Y U Y T Y UY T Y UY Word __________________________________________________ Part of Speech ________________________________________ Definition _____________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ 9 15 Minutes a Day to a Colossal Vocabulary © Barh & Hughes, Scholastic Teaching Resources Selecting a Wild Word The most important thing to keep in mind when selecting a Wild Word is that it must be meaningful to your students. Keep a running list of Wild For example, the Wild Word might relate to a subject your Word ideas so that you will class is studying or to an upcoming sporting event. It might always have a Wild Word ready.
be a word that is amusing or a word that comes up Be on the watch for Wild frequently in conversation or print. As you select Wild Words.You never know where Words, be sure to consider your students’ developmental you’ll find a great word! level and interests, and include different parts of speech. Ideas to Help You Find Wild Words Current Events Students are naturally curious about the world around them, and they enjoy participating in discussions about current events. Select words that relate to stories of interest to students.
Use them as a springboard for discussion in the classroom. Examples: incumbent, entrepreneur, mogul Content Areas/Literature Use a Wild Word to introduce or reinforce material you’re covering in class. This works especially well when presenting concepts that are challenging to master. Examples: photosynthesis, longitude, metaphor Holidays Take advantage of students’ excitement surrounding the holidays by selecting Wild Words that enhance their understanding of the celebrations.
Examples: blarney, commemorate, ritual 10 Minutes a Day to a Colossal Vocabulary © Barh & Hughes, Scholastic Teaching Resources Weather Tie Wild Words to news about local, national, and international weather. This is an opportunity to integrate science, geography, and map skills. Examples: tsunami, intermittent, sporadic Specials Teachers Ask the art, music, and physical education teachers to share interesting vocabulary words they’re using with students. This is a great way to demonstrate how words can be applied in different ways across a variety of disciplines.
Examples: motif, staccato, stamina Synonyms Enhance students’ awareness of the power of word choice by providing them with more precise, interesting words to use in place of familiar, overused words. Examples: adhere, commence, plausible Your Students Encourage students to look for words they think would make good Wild Words. Suggest places for them to look, including books, magazines, newspapers, billboards, etc. When you select a student’s word, acknowledge the student to the class.
Have the student explain how the word was found. OPTIONAL: Have the student who provided the Wild Word lead the class through the daily routine.