Day 3 - Classroom Tips from Vegas

It's Day 3 of Classroom Tips from Vegas. In case you missed it, I just returned from and education conference in Las Vegas where I met some awesome teachers.   I am excited to share with you what I learned from them!

Day 3 - Jen from Hello Mrs. Sykes

Jen was one of my favorite teachers I met in Vegas.  She is so down-to-earth and "real" that I can only imagine how awesome it must be to be a student in her classroom.  Reading through her blog is like opening a treasure chest of literacy loot.  Where do I start?

Jen has created an engaging way to introduce vocabulary to your students every day, called Mystery Word of the Week.  It is a strategy that she has created to encourage students to discuss words, their meanings, and share their reasoning.  

Each day, the students receive a clue to the mystery word.  

Day 1 - first letter, number of letters, and part of speech
Day 2 - synonyms
Day 3 - antonyms 
Day 4 - context sentence
Day 5 - The Reveal! including the definition and a context sentence.

How brilliant is that?   Let's try one of Jen's examples:

Day 1 - i _ _ _ _ _ _ _, adjective
Day 2 - bright, radiant, lustrous
Day 3 - dull, lackluster
Day 4 - The campers moved swiftly through the darkness, guided 
             _________ glow of their lanterns.
Day 5 - luminous: glowing or reflecting light; radiant
             The luminous full moon was clearly reflected in the water. 

Vocabulary is so important.  I love how this strategy shows students the different ways to find the meaning of a word.  

Visit Jen's blog learn more about literacy strategies in your classroom!