The Making Meaning program is designed to help students build their reading comprehension and social skills. The students hear books read aloud and discuss them with partners and with the class. The following week from the story, 4 new vocabulary words are introduced. In the vocabulary lessons, they learn useful and interesting words selected from those books. Children of all ages enjoy learning new words, and research shows that learning words boosts children's speaking, reading, and writing skills.
Students are also taught strategies for unlocking word meanings when they read independently, such as using context clues and recognizing synonyms, antonyms, words with multiple meanings, and shades of meaning.
Below you will find the words we will be teaching along with the book they come from. If you click on the link on each set of words, you will be able to download picture cards with the meanings of each word. You'll be amazed at how rich your child's vocabulary is already becoming!
Week 1: No new words
Week 2: Quick As Cricket- rapidly, delighted, bold, timid
Week 3: When I Was Little- memory, independent, disgusting, scrumptious
Week 4: People in My Neighborhood & Places in My Neighborhood- neighborhood, neighborly, spot, rush
Week 5: It's Mine!- quarrel, rumble, tremble, peaceful
Week 6: Matthew and Tilly- rescue, crabby, stomp, wonder
Week 7: McDuff and the Baby- arrive, admire, hope, squint
Week 8: Chrysanthemum- miserable, possession, humorous, beam
Week 9: Curious George Goes Camping- curious, wander, odor, odd
Week 10: Angelina and Henry- twirl, moan, howl, flash
Week 11: Peter's Chair- mutter, arrange, collapse, resent
Week 12: Did You See What I Saw? (Poems about School)- glide, thrilling, bob, tug
Week 13: In the Tall, Tall Grass- munch, dart, glow, lunge
Week 14: Sheep Out to Eat- appetite, chomp, commotion, pout
Week 15: The Snowy Day- frigid, pile, firm, adventure
Week 16: An Extraordinary Egg- ordinary, extraordinary, exclaim, astonished
Week 17: George Washington and the General's Dog- hero, track, persevere, respect
Week 18: The Bumblebee Queen- wriggle, snuggle, cooperate, underground
Week 19: Down the Road- wobble, meadow, fond, sob
Week 20: Using Your Senses- audible, inaudible, faint, earsplitting
Week 21: Sleep Well: Why You need to Rest- essential, relax, trust, nervous
Week 22: Dinosaur Babies- evidence, discover, protect, gigantic
Week 23: An Ocean of Animals- habitat, shallow, future, predator
Week 24: Big Blue Whale- gulp, store, feast, journey
Week 25: Chameleons are Cool- ridiculous, surroundings, prey, bad-tempered
Week 26: Birds: Winged and Feathered Animals- migrate, dine, amazing, hover
Week 27: Throw Your Tooth on the Roof- adult, match, powerful, crush
Week 28: Velociraptor- ferocious, pack, disappear, study
Week 29: A Day in the Life of a Garbage Collector- contents, inspect, dump, destination
Week 30: An Elephant Grows Up- popular, gather, vegetation, remain
Week 31: Julius- affectionate, impolite, untidy, tidy