10/18/2004
READING AND WRITING AND … ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES
When we get right down to it, the language arts umbrella covers mainly reading and writing, both of which have several branches. A recent Associated Press article stated, "A majority of US employers say about one-third of workers do not meet the writing requirements of the positions."
A timely survey by the College Board’s National Commission on Writing found that for today’s fast-paced workplace "accuracy, clarity, spelling, punctuation, grammar and conciseness ranked among the most sought-after skills." We all knew that, didn’t we? But do our students understand how important proficiency is in these areas? Do they connect their classroom work with the real world work that’s waiting for them?
The College Board says the responsibility "lies with grade schools and universities" — and presumably all grades in between. The president of the West Virginia Coal Association said, "Writing skills are necessary for such varied groups as electricians, engineers and foremen, who often draft proposals for government agencies and regulatory bodies." He added, "There’s a great need to translate the technical to the practical." I suggest that you read and print the whole article and share it with your students. It makes a lot of good points that should catch their interest. You’ll find it at www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6000685/.
Those of you who are working with Word Web Vocabulary have a program that focuses on the mastery of industry’s most sought-after skills within the context of learning new words and how often they relate to one another. I have designed Word Web to enhance any classroom’s language arts program by building a writing requirement into each lesson, the specific amount being dependent upon the age and abilities of the students.
If you do not have our curriculum in your classroom, you can still utilize some of the free classroom support material that we provide our subscribers. Use the "Teachers’ Enter Here" link when you log on; then click on student enrichment. You’ll find three activities there; each is not only fun for the students but also opens their eyes to the world around them.
Our "Large, Larger and Largest" comes in three parts with a teacher’s guide and is filled with graphics and examples. Part I discusses behemoth, colossal, colossus and cyclopean. Part II covers gargantuan, gigantic, goliath and jumbo, while Part III describes leviathan, mammoth, massive and titanic. Ever since I wrote these, I keep coming across references to most of those words, so students should be on the lookout for them. Here’s my most recent "find": Titan Industries, India’s leading manufacturer of watches, will make and market over 7 million watches this year.
The other two enrichment activities are the full-color versions of Lessons 23 in both volumes, the colors of green (Volume I) and blue (Volume II). Treating colors as vocabulary increases students’ observational skills and knowledge of words, which, in turn, should improve their writing.
In these color lessons, I ask teachers to encourage students to bring in sample paint color strips (obtained wherever paint is sold) with their creative names and other items of color and to share these with the class. I suggest activities for cooperative learning groups and the idea of making students’ writing more colorful with many short writing assignments during the week. Remember, figures of speech (similes, metaphors, personifica- tion) fit well with these colors!
If you do utilize any of these in your classroom, please email me your comments (emiller@seepub.com). I’d really love to hear from you!
Please contact me (emiller@seepub.com) with questions or comments. I'd love to know how you are making out with Word Web and how your students are doing!
That's my word for this time, Ellie
Word Web Vocabulary - recommended on Heidi Hayes-Jacobs' website, moving vocabulary from the edge of language arts to its center
