As a tradition that my mentor teacher started her first year, I participated in providing the Word of the Day for her classes. Each day, a new word was selected for students to learn and try to incorporate into their every day vernacular. Different words were provided which included weird words, good to know words, colorful or expressive words, archaic words, elegant, clever, extended, foreign, extravagant, qualitative, and quantitative words. Most words were chosen due to the content being taught for that day while others were chosen to brighten an otherwise mundane day. My mentor teacher usually started the year off with her own words, however, students were soon asked to select a day where they would present their own Word of the Day. 

This is an example of how to incorporate independent learning that could extend beyond the classroom. Not only can students connect the word to their current learning situation, they can also expand their knowledge and usage of the word outside of the classroom by incorporating it into their everyday language. This is an entertaining way to incorporate vocabulary learning into the classroom without making  the act of learning new words tedious or daunting. Many vocabulary workbooks can become repetitive and non-incentive for students to utilize the vocabulary. This method not only caters to the students on their level of comprehension as a high schooler, but it also transform the activity into a low stakes experience to encourage less anxiety associated with expanding their vocabulary. 

Especially when students are involved in choosing, reading, or applying the word, the learning experience is made into a whole-class activity where students lift each other up while they all learn. Starting the year off by choosing and demonstrating how Word of the Day works, students have multiple models of how and what to do when it comes to their choice and demonstration of Word of the Day.