Word Play: Building Vocabulary Across Texts and Disciplines, Grades 6-12

by Sandra R. Whitaker, Carol Ann Tomlinson (Foreword by)

I could have done a much better job of empowering my students with language had I had this book as a young teacher. Carol Ann Tomlinson Author of The Differentiated Classroom Vocabulary is keyto comprehension, to deep academic understanding, to communication. But with so many words and so little instructional time, how can teachers ensure that students do more than merely memorize word lists? That they make words their own and use them well in all their reading, writing, and speaking activities? In Word Play , Sandra Whitaker, a National Board Certified Teacher, leads the way to effective, meaningful vocabulary instruction that helps students in every subject area. With Word Play youll teach so that students dont just what know what words mean, but how they convey meaning and what their appropriate uses are. Three aspects of learning must work together for successful vocabulary instruction, and Whitaker details what they are and how to teach Whitaker makes the theoretical practical, presenting the theory and research behind high-quality instruction, then following up with engaging, interesting ways for students to practice all three aspects of vocabulary. Youll replace monotonous memorization with enjoyable activities that capitalize on adolescents natural interest in words and language. Illustrating her strategies with student samples and stories from real classrooms, Whitaker even presents ideas for differentiation that make vocabulary instruction accessible for all students. Give the gift of language. Put away the boring word lists and teach in ways that promote usage, not memorization. Youll encourage a deeper understanding of texts across the curriculum and provide avenues for students to express their thinking more precisely. Put joy into words with Word Play.

Genres: Teaching, Education, Professional Development

208 pages, Paperback

First published March 3, 2008

Reviews

[Craig Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was hoping for more, obviously. The vocabulary games were often overly ambitious (involving cutting out word sets for entire classes, purchasing a variety of old dictionaries (!), etc., and even more often, not worth the time and energy in a time-limited period (yes, vocabulary development is important--that's why I read this book--but to take time away from reading/writing/discussion for word games that require lots of set-up and would have negligible impact on development seems highly questionable). I think there's more of worth in the vocab chapter of Kylene Beers' When Kids Can't Read.

[Ken · Rating 5 out of 5]

Want to boost your vocablulary teaching (and your kids' working vocabulary)? Whitaker shows you how no matter what age your kids. This book is divided into sections and each one has first the theory behind her ideas, then practical applications through concrete strategies you can use in the classroom. Furthermore, she has sideboxes called "Step Into a Classroom" so you can see an actual example of what happened when a teacher tried the strategy. Finally, there are differentiation sections to make the strategies easier (for IEP or ELL students) or more difficult (for Honors or Gifted & Talented students).

Best of all, Whitaker advocates fun and the joy of playing with words. Many of the activities are akin to "games" only with a sound educational basis. I'll be using a lot of strategies this year, putting WORD PLAY into play, as they say...

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need to sit back down with the book with paper and pen to extract from it some of the ideas I would like to use next year. This book would make an excellent foundation tool for the course I hope we can have on SAT vocabulary building and general word play.

[Lesly Bruner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Word Play offers the why and the how for vocabulary instruction in a way that is instantly useful to teachers. It is the first book I've read on vocabulary instruction that has allowed me to change my instruction for the better, instantly.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eager to implement this during the fall at dinner