“For there is no doubt that I have lots of words inside me; but at moments, like rush-hour traffic at the mouth of a tunnel, they jam” (John Updike). Some students are like Updike, with lots of words inside them. Others may not have as many inside them or may lack the tools to free up the traffic jam of words. Playing with words and developing word lists help students increase their vocabulary, add strong image or feeling to their writing, and strengthen their thinking skills.
Word lists have been a foundational component of the Structure and Style® method since Anna Ingham and Dr. Webster first began. With her Sound City interactive bulletin board, Mrs. Ingham created a classroom environment where sight words became phonetic tools her primary students could employ to read and spell. When Dr. Webster developed The Blended Structure and Style in Composition course, he trained teachers to cover the walls with word lists that developed throughout the year.
As IEW grew from the first teacher training seminars, Andrew Pudewa continued this foundation by encouraging parents and teachers to create posters as well. He knew that students would look away from their work periodically. By covering the walls with ever growing word lists, student vocabulary can grow almost without trying. Additionally, word lists provide another avenue for seeing words spelled correctly. If students are struggling to remember how to spell a word, having a word list will help them continue to write without stopping to ask for help. For those who aren’t able to cover their walls with words, the Portable Walls products were created. The Portable Walls™ for Structure and Style® Students is a tri-fold reference packed with unit models, style illustrations, extensive word lists, and a critique thesaurus.
Enhancing and enriching vocabulary is not hard, but it does require being intentional. Reading and memorizing poetry is an excellent place to begin since poets play with words and wrestle their thoughts into words that might be unfamiliar to your students. Read a poem and point out the words the poet chose. Another way to build word lists is to watch for words your students use repeatedly. Create a list of synonyms and discuss their definitions and the nuances of meaning between them. For example, my students like to use the word quickly in their writing. We looked up synonyms and found these alternatives: swiftly, rapidly, speedily, expeditiously, madly, directly, shortly, abruptly, suddenly, promptly, momentarily. We wrote sample sentences and discussed the differences in meaning and context.
Reading aloud or listening to audio books is another way to add sophisticated vocabulary to a student’s repertoire. Often students skip over words in their own reading if they are unsure of their meanings. Listening to an audio book forces them to slow down and listen to all the words. Intentionally commenting on the vocabulary in books, poems, and other media will help your students to become word collectors and better thinkers. Provide your students with a journal, lapbook, or notebook to record their favorite words and phrases.
In addition to books and poetry, sources for vocabulary lists and word studies abound. Find a dictionary of idioms, a phrase or expression whose meaning cannot be understood from the literal meanings of its individual words. Students enjoy decoding the secret meaning of phrases such as “down to the wire” or being a “stick in the mud.” Look up international idioms, which IEW’s social media regularly features, to see how other cultures use words to convey meanings that are not literal. Play games such as Apples to Apples® or the dictionary game. Challenge your students to bring in vocabulary words that might be unfamiliar to you as the teacher and see if they can stump you. Learn regional words and phrases that are unique to your neck of the woods. (That’s an idiom.)
Vocabulary is integrated into nearly every IEW course. We encourage students to collect words to replace the banned words. Each daily passage in Fix It!® Grammar includes a vocabulary word to define. Word lists are included in student materials for most courses as well as on the Portable Walls™ for Structure and Style® Students. For even more word options, many students enjoy using A Word Write Now, IEW’s thematic thesaurus that provides words for character qualities and the behaviors associated with them. Do you need a word for what feet might be doing or perhaps words for the five senses? This book has it all. If you are looking for a mobile option, the IEW Writing Toolbox is the perfect solution. It includes the IEW structural models and stylistic techniques, clearly explained and easy to apply. The search for a word features a focused thesaurus, helping students find -ly adverbs, strong verbs, and quality adjectives to enhance any composition.
When you purposefully plan and pursue vocabulary activities, your students’ stock of words, phrases, and ideas will expand.
by Danielle Olander
