2/28/07

A Periodical Reminder

I hope I'm not boring any of my faithful readers when I continue to extol the benefits of Periodical Pearls. Connecting students to the real world, the one that's outside their classrooms, is a win-win situation. The first win comes when a student notices one of his vocabulary words in any sort of publication. The second win is when a student actually begins looking for objects defined in his vocabulary lessons.

Let me share the occurrence that awakened me to this win-win state of affairs. I had recently moved into an historic district of late 19th Century houses in Maryland when I became aware of their distinctive features. I began learning the names of these elements: Doric, Ionic and Corinthian columns, pilasters, roof styles, pediments, egg-and-dart molding and so on.

Fortunately, I decided to use my new found knowledge with my 7th and 8th grade students by including two of these a week with two other weekly words. I certainly never expected the results that followed. Think about some of your own students, the ones who never quite seem to make the grade (pardon the pun). Students you feel could be doing better than they are, but you haven't been able to bring them to the learning level where you sense they ought to be. Now, suppose you found the key that would turn them on, light them up, and excite them.

That's the dream of every teacher, and when it happened to me I was as ecstatic as I could be. A breakthrough occurred! These turned-off students liked my challenge of finding two different roof styles, running them by their oblivious parents and relishing the experience of knowing something they didn't know. That's surely a turn-on for teenagers! Naturally, I built on this success, adding all sorts of words that appeared in the "real world."

Since we lived near a large city, hazmat signs appeared on our roads leading to a long tunnel. I challenged my class to tell me what hazmat meant. Once they "got" that, we were on to other newly-created words such as Sunoco, Amoco, and the many acronyms you find in Chapter 1 of your Word Web volumes. Actually, almost all the Real World Words had their origins in that classroom, where I taught for many years. Once my languishing students began meeting success and enjoying the process, it was not a big leap to get them more involved with their regular studies. Success feeds upon success.

Now perhaps you understand my constant referral to what I now call Periodical Pearls. When students can be successful in the relatively simple task of scanning a newspaper's headlines or hearing the day's news and noticing "their" words, this will most likely lead to a favorable outcome.

Today's politics can play right into teachers' hands. Have students look and listen for "dark horse," "lame duck," "grass roots," and "a flash in the pan." Encourage them to cut these from newspapers and bring them to the bulletin board you've prepared for these. Take the first step yourself, if necessary. Set five minutes aside each day for discussions of these words. I'm sure you'll get the same results I did so many years ago: Success that will lead to a more eager attitude toward learning.

One more thing, please let me know how working with Periodical Pearls affect your classes.  Contact me elinormiller@seepub.com.

If you do get in touch I'll even explain what I mean when I say that the main difference between Word Web Vocabulary and all other programs is that students become immersed, not just exposed to, word study.

That's my word this time.

Ellie

Word Web Vocabulary - recommended on Heidi Hayes-Jacobs' website - Moving vocabulary from the edge of language arts to its center