Using Word Referents

Practice any vocabulary list of up to 20 words with this graphic organizer. Class members write down the words, their definitions, and sentences that use the words.

Putting word parts together to make compound words is kind of like working on a puzzle; when two pieces fit together, you just know! Invite your kids to play with these word puzzle pieces to create 12 different compound words. They...

Ansible. Hegemony. Candor. Readers of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game create word squares for vocabulary words drawn from this award-winning science fiction novel.

Strengthen and enhance your class's vocabulary with a guided instructional activity on word relationships. Focusing on synonyms and antonyms, the instructional activity demonstrates ways to compare and define different words, including...

Study the importance of word choice in informational text. Middle and high schoolers locate unfamiliar words and phrases in newspaper articles of their choosing, and use online word sites to explore the definitions and histories of each....

Groups or pairs choose ordinary objects from a bag and rename them based on traits, so that a stapler becomes a "paper cobra." Then they connect this exercise to the way authors use language to emphasize certain traits through word...

After reading Love That Dog by Sharon Creech (and possibly shedding a few tears), middle schoolers work on their own sixteen-word poems with a Six Trait writing activity. They focus on word choice in this activity to capture an...

Could your sixth graders use some help finding the mood in a poem? Show them how to determine mood using word choice. A seven-minute video guides learners through poetry analysis and identifying the mood in "The Wind's Visit." The video...

Reinforce important reading skills with a set of vocabulary lesson plans. Middle schoolers complete sentences, play word games, finish analogies, and build their growing vocabulary with a packet of helpful and applicable graphic organizers.

Zoom into text to understand how just one word adds to the meaning or tone of an entire text. The video demonstrates how to do just this with the article "The Little League World Series' Only Perfect Game" by Jim Morrison. The narrator...