English is a mix of several languages including French, Italian, Greek and Latin, Vietnamese and so on. This makes the number of words linguists estimate the English language to have extremely large…approximately one million words. About 170,000 of these words are in current use. The average adult English speaker has a vocabulary between 20,000 to 35,000 words. Ninety-five percent of everyday writing and speech in newspapers, most books, movies, etc. use only about 3,000 words. So…how do we prepare our students for college entrance exams when everyday life exposes them to such a narrow list of vocabulary words? —- We teach students prefixes, suffixes, and Greek and Latin roots. Continue Reading
During this time of social distancing, how do I get novels to my students? The challenges of distance learning are immense. As teachers dive into a plethora of new computer programs and resources that haven’t been tried in the past, frustration builds. One question that comes up repeatedly is…how do I get novels for distance learning? Students can’t run out to the shops and purchase them. The answer is free eBooks.
Won’t purchasing eBooks be expensive? No, several websites provide eBooks that are completely FREE. So, take a deep breath and see if any of these sites will work for you.Continue Reading
Educational trends seem to change almost yearly. One year ‘this method’ is the best thing ever invented. The next year ‘this method’ has lost its appeal, and a new idea is a must try. However, the one trend that has remained constant year after year is higher order thinking skills (HOTS). HOTS encourages learners to go far beyond the memorization of facts. Students analyze, evaluate, and create. So, where do you begin? First, help students understand what HOTS is.
What are Higher Order Thinking Skills?
Bloom’s Taxonomy is as popular today as it was when Benjamin Bloom created the method in 1965. Teach students the six levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Also, go over what each level means.Continue Reading
Teaching students to summarize text can be one of the most difficult skills you tackle the during this school year. This post offers six summarizing strategies to try. It also contains some general rules for students to follow as well as stem questions to look for on tests.
Be sure to download the free printable resources to teach summarizing strategies. The link can be found at the bottom of the post. Continue Reading
Two great activities are provided to help students learn about genres. Genre Flash Cards contains 21 pairs (picture cards with matching fact cards) in a ready-to-use printable format. These are a free download at Teachers Pay Teachers.
Genres, a 40 card deck of interactive task cards from Boom Learning, is sure to be a hit with your students. Continue Reading
Academic vocabulary consists of words that are not commonly used or frequently encountered in everyday conversation. These words include specialized content vocabulary for specific subjects such as reading/language art, science, social studies, or math. Academic vocabulary also includes terms found on standardized tests. When students understand testing vocabulary, test scores go up. By teaching test vocabulary and how the words look in different forms on a test, students feel better prepared and more confident on test day.
When to Teach Words
When preparing units of study such as novel studies, add four to five academic vocabulary words in with the novel specific words. Select words based on the skills taught during the unit of study. Continue Reading
