Word of the Day

So I don’t know about you and where you teach, but here’s something about me and where I teach.

We have to write two professional learning goals every year. And we have to write them as S.M.A.R.T goals. I can’t think of what each letter in SMART stands for right now because I’m on summer vacation, but let’s just pretend I know, and that I am, in fact, SMART. (I know it has something to do with measurable and attainable 😉)

My team and I usually write our goals together because four brains working together beats just one, especially when one of them is mostly thinking about snacks and the next reality TV show she wants to watch.

This year, we made vocabulary a goal because our i-Ready data showed that we need to work on vocabulary. We tried a bunch of different things to tackle this, but we always fell off the bandwagon. Vocabulary IN AND OF ITSELF fell to the wayside. That’s not to say we didn’t teach it within something else, but I’m just saying it fell to the wayside as its own separate dedicated lesson at a specific time of the day.

BUT THEN!

I started working on something this past Spring, and I *FINALLY* put it all together, and have it in one place. AND I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT IT!

We started using bits and pieces towards the end of the year and OH MY.

GAME CHANGER!

I call it WORD OF THE DAY because that’s what it is. Our WORD of the day.

This resource is a 36 week program with 144 words total. Teach one word a day for four days, and then review the words on Friday.

Each and every word is linked to a short video clip on You Tube from a popular kids TV show! My kids LOVE the videos and beg to watch them again and again. 🙂 Talk about ENGAGING! Each clip is between 60 seconds and 3 minutes long which is PERFECT for introducing the word. Not to mention, the video does the talking instead of me.

I’ve created word cards, definition cards, and picture cards for each and every word, as well.

And . . . I’ve got two versions of quick checks depending on what my kids need/what time of the year it is/etc.

Sometimes, we apply our new word knowledge and write the words in sentences.

And other times, we will use a word map.

We never do it all!! I just pick and choose according to the time we have. But we ALWAYS watch the video clip and I always have the word cards displayed.

A couple of fun things I’ve tried and the kids absolutely love:

1. I put the word cards, definition cards, and picture cards in a pocket chart. Sometimes, starting on Wednesday or Thursday, I’ll just mix them up without telling the kids. It’s hilarious when the kids figure it out. I also do it on purpose, but when I mix those cards up without the kids’ knowledge . . . too funny!!
2. I love to do call and repeats! But instead of Macaroni and Cheese – Everybody Freeze or Class, Class – Yes, Yes!, we use the word of the day and the definition. For example: I’ll say “VERY BEAUTIFUL AND SPECIAL” and my kids will come back with the word of the day “EXQUISITE!” Or we’ll do the opposite and I’ll say the word “CLING!” and my kids will respond with the definition “TO STICK TO!”
3. Sometimes, I make it our “movement word” for the day. If I’m giving directions (we are going to line up, we are going to head back to our seats, we are going to get our whiteboards out, etc) my kids can’t move until I say the word of the day.

Here are a few video clips for you to check out to see what all the fuss is about!! Click on the words below! (All links go to You Tube so please be sure you have access to it at your school site)

EXPERIMENT

PREPARED

TICKLISH

FAMILY

I’ve had a few people ask me how I chose the words and let me tell you . . . I started by watching every single video clip that was available. I chose the ones that I thought would best benefit my own kids. Some are familiar, some are not, some are considered tier one words, while others are tier two words.

I think ALL words are important, especially in the primary grades as we develop readers and writers! And even though you might think “family” is too basic, kids already know that word, I want to review it. I want my kids to be able to have a working definition for the word (and other familiar words). I want them to be able to write it in a sentence, as well as pronounce it correctly. I want them to be able to write or draw pictures of examples and non-examples for the words, too.

I’m so excited to BEGIN the year with this new resource, and have everything I need all in one place!

For every day ease, I made a separate file of all of the video links. I saved just that file to the desktop on my classroom computer. Now I just scroll to the week we are working on, click the word, turn on my projector, and BAM! We’re ready to watch and learn our new Word of the Day!

Now I know I’m ready to write at least one professional goal for next year! Hooray!

🙂