Vocabulary Unplugged: 30 Lessons That Will Revolutionize How You Teach Vocabulary K-12

VOCABULARY UNPLUGGED's goal is to share neurocentric ways to unplug vocabulary and spelling instruction so that words are not merely memorized in the name of the most current curriculum, but rather truly learned and owned by students. Vocabulary Unplugged will help teachers and students learn new and varied ways to make words actually permeate students' speech as well as their writing. Recent brain research about student's ways of learning is the primary basis for the 30 lesson plans in the book. The book has been so popular among schools throughout the country that the Reader's Digest Word Challenge competition has declared Vocabulary Unplugged an official book of the Challenge's upcoming national event.The strategies proffered in Vocabulary Unplugged are not bound to a specific age or grade level, as they draw on accepted knowledge of the brain, memory and learning, whether the learner is five, fifteen, or seventy-nine.So slip inside these pages and unplug the lists, the passivity, and the overhead. Get out of the dark classroom, and discover the energy that emerges from the thirty activities and variations herein as we plug in color, movement, poetry, history, music, and numerous other ways of exploring words within meaningful contexts.Quotables!?Awesome strategies! Classroom connections are endless! Activities are brain-based, interactive, and applicable to all levels!!?-Rhonda Clark, Teacher, Camey Elementary, Lewisville, TexasI was teaching one of Alana's vocabulary lessons that I called "Vocabulary Charades." Not only did the students shine, but my administrator was very impressed with the (activity), which demonstrated the difficult vocabulary word."-Linda Toner, Grade 5 teacherThe 30 brain-appropriate activities will revitalize your hope that ALL students can improve their vocabulary, reminding everyone that learning doesn! t have to be banal, dull or without energy.You will discover information and lessons on:?Helping students remember the words they learn?Using music to explore words?Guiding students! success through meaningful instruction?Playing with Words to engage learning?Using movement to enhance vocabulary?Improving memory and vocabulary acquisition through color?Understanding the importance of history in vocabulary development?Harnessing the power of poetry to build word knowledge?Exploring patterns to create dynamic vocabulary lessons?Including context for assuring success in word study?And much moreSteven Pinker (1994), cognitive psychologist and leading expert on language, says we begin using words around twelve months of age. !?Therefore, high school graduates, who have been at it for about seventeen years, must have been learning an average of ten new words a day continuously since their first birthdays, or about a new word every ninety waking minutes.!? He goes on to explain that preliterate children are !?lexical vacuum cleaners,!? learning a new word every two waking hours. This means our student are already plugged in!Xhaving learned numerous words before they ever set foot in our classrooms. !?There! s a strategy for everyone! All of my kids love doing The Syllable Squat, and you should have seen the parents giving it a try!!? -Marc Venegas, 4th grade teacher, Alief ISD, Houston, Texas!?Alana consulted in Round Rock I.S.D. several times and energized teachers in her research-based, hands-on workshops. Her interactive, engaging strategies have impacted student success in our district!!?Gloria Amescua Lead Curriculum Integration Specialist Secondary Language ArtsAlana Morris is the author of 'Vocabulary Unplugged: 30 Lessons That Will Revolutionize How You Teach Vocabulary K-12', published 2007 under ISBN 9781931492119 and ISBN 1931492115.