Word Nerds Book Study Part 4

Chapter 4- Squeezing the Juicy Words- Adding Synonyms and Antonyms 

Here are my thoughts on Chapter 4 of Word Nerds: Teaching All Students to Learn and Love Vocabulary. Make sure you stop by Leslie Ann's Life in Fifth Grade to see her thoughts.

As much I love Word Nerds, Chapter 4 is where the fun really gets going! In the first couple chapters it talks about choosing words for each vocabulary cycle. They recommend choosing 6-10 vocabulary words because in this chapter they share the importance of teaching students synonyms and antonyms to help them understand and really grasp a word's meaning. If you teach 1-2 synonyms and antonyms for each word, your students are going to be studying 18-30 words each week! Phew! Let's talk about some awesome conversations we can have with our students and how much growth they expand their vocabulary like that! 

One of the steps in the plan that Word Nerds shared is having students use tools such as dictionaries, thesauruses, and technology to investigate words on their own to find antonyms and synonyms. The class then comes together and shares what they found, choosing only the best to put on an anchor chart. This may push some teachers out of their comfort zone a little bit, but DO NOT complete the chart for them. The learning experience is diminished if the synonyms and antonyms are assigned to them instead of them having word conversations to determine them on their own or with peers. 

I also create a quick printable freebie vocabulary journal. I am planning on printing these double sided and binding them together for my students, or I might just get lazy and print them single sided and have them glue them into their notebooks for a few weeks until they get used to how they look and then they can create them on their own. Click HERE for your copy! 

Stop back by tomorrow for thoughts on Chapter 5!!!!