Vocabulary

One of my main focuses throughout the school year is vocabulary. At the beginning of the year we discuss the three tiers of vocabulary - everyday vocabulary, academic vocabulary, and technical vocabulary. I tell the students that growing our academic vocabulary will allow them to read harder books as well as make more connections with their reading. 

Word of the Day - everyday we have one new word we learn together. It is posted on the board for them to record in their Writer's Notebooks.  We say the word together, part of speech and the definition. I use the word in a sentence to foster connection with the word. 

Greek and Latin Roots - every week we focus on a set of roots and/or affixes. On Monday I provide 10 roots with a common connection and we focus on them for the week. We discuss the words, the origin, and the meaning. I also have them come up with at least 5 other words with the same root. On Friday, we will have a short quiz over the words we have studied for the week.