1st Edition

Words, Words, Words Teaching Vocabulary in Grades 4-12

By Janet Allen Copyright 1999

    Do you spend hours creating word lists and weekly vocabulary tests only to find that your students have forgotten the words by the following week? Janet Allen and her students were frustrated with the same problem. Words, Words, Words: Teaching Vocabulary in Grades 4-12' describes the research that changed the way she and many other teachers teach vocabulary. It offers educators practical, research-based solutions for helping students fall into new language, learn new words, and begin to use those words in their speaking and writing lives. This book offers teachers detailed strategy lessons in the following areas: Activating and building background word knowledge Making word learning meaningful and lasting Building concept knowledge Using word and structural analysis to create meaning Using context as a text support Making reading the heart of vocabulary instructionWords, Words, Words provides educators with a strong research base, detailed classroom-based lessons, and graphic organizers to support the strategy lessons. At a time when teachers are struggling to meet content standards in reading across the curriculum, this book offers some practical solutions for meeting those standards in ways that are meaningful and lasting.

    Chapter One: Diaphragming Sentences: A Case for Word Control; Chapter Two: Larger Contexts: Meaningful, Connected, and Rich Uses of Language; Chapter 3: Alternatives to, Look It Up in the Dictionary!; Chapter 4: Reading as the Heart of Word-Rich Classrooms; 5: How Do We Know It's Working?

    Biography

    Janet Allen is one of the most prominent and outspoken literacy advocates in the country. A former elementary school teacher and university instructor, hundreds of teachers attend her seminars each year. Her books Words, Words, Words: Teaching Vocabulary in Grades 4-12 and Yellow Brick Roads: Shared and Guided Paths to Independent Reading have been praised by elementary and secondary school teachers, education professors, adult literacy advocates, and ESL instructors. Dr. Allen lives in Orlando, Florida.

    "Her ideas are practical, easy to apply in real classrooms, and even promise to be fun. There are almost too many good ideas in this book." - Reading Teacher
    "Teachers will find this book indispensable." - Voices from the Middle
    "A dynamic, practical guide that can be used by teachers of all grade levels, whether they are experienced or inexperienced." - English Journal
    "Any teacher who is interested in exploring new ways of teaching new words should read this book." - Education Book Review