Word Walls are such a valuable tool for teaching content vocabulary. You will love this resource featuring 52 Science vocabulary words for the States and Properties of Matter. Read on to learn more, then hop over to TPT and grab it today! Be sure to read all the way to the end to see the FREE video that you can use to teach five of these terms to YOUR students!
This resource includes more than 50 full color Word Wall cards – each with an important term related to the States and Properties of Matter and a kid-friendly definition.
It’s perfect for grades 4 – 7!
The video teaches five of the important terms from the Word Wall, and uses the same images to reinforce students’ understanding of the concepts. The five Science vocabulary words featured in the video are: solid, liquid, gas, evaporate and precipitation.
Read on to learn more!
What is Included in this Science Vocabulary Words Resource?
This set includes 52 Word Cards – each with a definition and a high-quality photo to teach important Science vocabulary words related to the States and Properties of Matters. The photos add context to the definition, and often feature diagrams and scientific situations that bring the word to life! Your students will quickly master the important Science concepts with the help of these vocabulary cards.
Each Word Wall card is half a page, which makes them a perfect fit for a pocket chart or a teaching bulletin board. The font is large and easy-to-read so that students can access this Word Wall from anywhere in the room!
This resource includes these 52 Science Vocabulary Words. The * marks the terms included in the FREE video!
(If you click on the link and make a purchase, as an Amazon affiliate, I may earn a small amount at no extra charge to you. Win win!)
Why Teach Science Vocabulary Words?
Building a strong vocabulary increases reading comprehension as well as understanding of the key Science concepts. This Word Wall will help you improve reading AND Science understanding – win win!
Teaching vocabulary explicitly can be a quick routine that pays off with big results. These Word Wall cards make it easy to teach these Science terms. No prep needed, just grab a card and teach! Consistent, easy routines that you weave throughout your day, in multiple content areas, will help you explicitly teach the vocabulary your students need to know.
Want a FREE e-book with vocabulary routines? Grab this one today – it’s always FREE!
And check out these other posts for more tips and information on vocabulary instruction.
When my daughter was little, she had long hair. Every morning as I would comb it, part it, and put it in pigtails or clips, I would tell her the same joke.
“Stand still,” I would say. “We don’t want your hair to be catawampus!”
And she would invariably giggle and wiggle and we would have to start the combing all over again.
Hm….. So cute, and just a little catawampus!
So, it totally made sense for me to start using that word in my kindergarten class, and predictably, it always finds giggles there too! Which makes it a perfect word for Word Wise!
Be sure to read on to learn about this crazy word and to grab your free resource! This post will feature:
The History of Catawampus
Catawampus may tickle our funny bone now, but it has not always amused. According to WordOrigins.org, catawampus is a nonsense word that doesn’t have a fixed meaning. It can mean “askew”, “ill-tempered”, or even be used as the name of a fanciful monster. I have to admit, I do love a word that means whatever I want it to in the moment!
Most sources agree that the word first appeared in the 1830’s, so this is a fairly new word to English. The earliest reference I could find used the word to mean “excessive”, but in my experience, and in more recent usage, it generally means “askew” or “off-kilter”. That is certainly the way I used it to describe my daughter’s hair. Incidentally, it has different spellings too, and some of them help you make connections to other words. For example, the spelling “cattywampus” clearly points us to “catty-corner”, which means diagonally across from something. It’s pretty easy to see how that relates to catawampus, meaning “askew”.
I do love a good graph, and the OnlineEtymologyDictionary tells us that catawampus was fairly popular in the 1880’s, and then fell into disfavor, only to rise in popularity again over the past 15 years. So, of course, I asked myself why. Apparently, neither Google nor Alexa know, so I really can’t say. But Green’s Dictionary of Slang shows that Dickens used catawampous in Martin Chuzzlewit in 1843. Maybe people have started to read Dickens again….?
Examples of Catawampus Across Time
“After some very catawampus chawing of the Philadelphia Vade Mecum (a rival sporting paper), the Editor gives a programme of “The Day!”—thus: Epitome of News for Saturday.” — United States Telegraph (Washington, DC), 23 Jul. 1835
Catawampus chawing sounds very unpleasant, and I would hate to be the editor of the rival newspaper!
“There air some catawampous chawers in the small way too, as graze upon a human pretty strong; but don’t mind them, they’re company. It’s snakes,’ he says, ‘as you’ll object to…” – Martin Chuzzlewit, by Charles Dickens, published in 1844
I think it’s so interesting that these two early quotes both place catawampus next to chawers or chawing. It seems like early uses of the word focused on eating, or chewing, and the word seems to mean excessive. It’s also interesting to me that both quotes spell the word differently – see, it’s not just your students who can’t spell!
“So when news gets out that the Super Saver Dollar Store chain plans to set up shop and run the Bottom Dollar out of town, things go catawampus.” – from the book description of Bet Your Bottom Dollar by Karen Gillespie, published in 2004
There definitely seems to be a Southern connection with catawampus. I found it on blogs about Southern living, books about Southern life (like this one), and in Southern newspapers. I live in the Northwest, so that doesn’t explain why I love the word….
“She looked back, and saw that the catawampus was growling on the brink, unable to catch her here.” -from a Roc and a Hard Place by Piers Anthony, published in 1996
…. but, in the 1990’s, I devoured every book Piers Anthony wrote, so I’m certain I read this one. Maybe that explains my continuing delight with the word. This book uses the less common definition of catawampus as a fierce, mythical beast. I still love a word that’s versatile enough to fit my mood!
Teaching Catawampus to Your Students
Are you ready to help your students discover this comedic gem? Anytime you can get them laughing, you will get them learning! So, download this FREE resource today. It includes everything you need to teach your students this word. You will get a lesson plan with a student printable covering the basics of the word – definition, spelling, picture….. The lesson plan includes two ways to use the printable – try both to see what works best in your classroom. And there is a class discussion protocol that encourages students to play with language. I use Examples and Non-examples in my classroom all the time, and it is a fun way to get students to use the target word and really deepen their understanding of the word.
Be sure to check back often as I have lots more fun WordWise plans. If you are a logophile, I think you’ll enjoy this journey with me.
And if you can’t wait, I recommend these books, which are invaluable resources for me as I explore the wacky world of words!
Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day – Full of short descriptions and eye-catching illustrations! This book is perfect to share with upper grade students.
Once Upon a Word – This is more extensive, but still great to share with kids. Also, just fun to sit down, open to a page and delight in the craziness of English.
Dictionary of Word Origins – This one is best for adults. It includes more than 8,000 word histories, and can really take you down a rabbit hole if you’re not careful!
Happy Teaching!
Susan
Let’s Connect!
You can find MsCottonsCorner in various corners of the Internet – TPT, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube. See you there!
This is the second in my series on inspiring Civil Rights Leaders. Today we are going to focus on Thurgood Marshall, but make sure you check out my previous post on John Lewis. It’s one of my best sellers for a reason – John Lewis was such an inspiring Civil Rights Leader!
Thurgood Marshall is often overlooked in the history books, but students who are passionate about justice and about solving problems democratically really resonate with Thurgood Marshall. His persistent approach of arguing for equal rights for all eventually earned him a seat as the first Black Supreme Court Justice. That story of persistence and determination is a great one to share with students.
And if you need even more inspiring biographies, be sure to check out this bundle of 12 biographies about Civil Rights Leaders. Each biography is short – just one page – and focuses on comprehension and vocabulary skills so you can meet your standards AND inspire kids! Win win!
Read on to learn more about this biography resource about Thurgood Marshall and how to use it in your classroom.
Table of Contents
Why Teach About Thurgood Marshall?
Thurgood Marshall had a passionate, lifelong committment to justice that many fifth and sixth graders find relevant. One year I taught this passage to my fifth graders, and I will never forget one girl’s response. Cute as a button, and knee high to a grasshopper, people often underestimated her intelligence and her committment. When she read the passage about Thurgood, she felt such a kinship with him that she went on to read more biographies and do more research about his life. When I asked her what made him so special to her, I will never forget her response. She said, “He’s just like me, Ms. Cotton. Because he was Black, people didn’t think he could do things, or be things. But he could. And he makes me know that I can too.” This student is White and has the blondest hair I’ve ever seen, but she felt a real connection.
And that’s why I continue to teach about Thurgood Marshall.
Ideas for Teaching About Thurgood Marshall
I like to introduce Thurgood by first introducing the key vocabulary term, segregation. I usually introduce the term with M&M’s. In the morning, I give each student either a yellow M&M or a red M&M. I also give each student a colored dot that matches the color of their M&M because they will almost immediately eat the candy! Then, I tell them the rules for the day. No yellow M&M kid can talk to, sit with, play with, or interact in any way with a red M&M kid. We move the desks to opposite sides of the room, and begin our day.
At first, the kids think it’s funny. Then, I pass out the math papers. Oops! Somehow I only have enough copies for the kids on the yellow side of the room. No worries! I give the red candy kids a piece of paper, and tell them to copy the work from the document camera. See? Everything is the same. Everything is equal. Everyone gets to do the same math assignment.
The day continues, and I deliberately favor the yellow candy kids in any way I can. They are usually sitting on the side of the room with the drinking fountain, and if a red candy kid wants a drink, they can’t cross into that territory. Too bad, no drink for you! And so it goes.
At the end of the day, I give each kid a red and a yellow candy, and we have a talk about segregation. How did it feel to the red candy kids? How did it feel to be a yellow candy kid? And what would happen if it continued for many, many years? And then finally, I show the image of Thurgood Marshall, and ask, “How would you feel if this man came to say segregation was wrong, and everything had to change?”
We finish up the introduction by biting the red and yellow candies in half, and talking about the differences on the outside, and the similarities on the inside. And then we complete the vocabulary practice page about segregation, and I promise that the students wil learn more about Thurgood the next day.
I’ve written a lot about the importance of teaching vocabulary. If you need a resource to help you teach the vocabulary in this biography, and in the other biographies about Civil Rights Leaders, be sure to check out this Civil Rights Word Wall! It is low prep, and makes a great teaching bulletin board in minutes!
And check out these other blog posts for more ideas.
This resource includes Google Slides, Google Forms, and PDF Printables so that you have the maximum amount of flexibility. Personally, I prefer to have my students work on the vocabulary as a printable. This allows them to add the pages to their Word Work notebook, and makes it easy for them to find and use the words later. But, I prefer the Google Slides text and Google Form comprehension questions practice. There are two reasons.
Reading online text is an important skill and students need practice. This resource is formatted so that students read a paragraph, and take notes right on the Google Slide. The slides also include highlighting bars so that the students can easily highlight important information.
Google Forms are so easy to grade, and that saves me time! Want to know more? Check out this video where I walk through my process of grading a Google Form, and you will see how easy it is! The Google Form in the video is from my John Lewis resource, but follows the same format as the Google Form in the FREE Thurgood Marshall resource.
What Do Teachers Say About this Resource?
This resource will inspire your students, and help you meet goals in reading, comprehension and vocabulary. Plus, it’s versatile and easy to use! But don’t take my word for it. Here is what other teachers are saying!
“Students loved the lesson. I will be using this resource again in my next school year.”
-Yvette P.
“Great Resource! Helpful to students. Well made. Thank you!”
-Brittney V.
Next Steps
This resource will help you inspire your students as they learn about this amazing Civil Rights Leader. Ready to download this FREE biography resource about Thurgood Marshall?
If you want to dive into Civil Rights more deeply, you will want to check out these resources that make a perfect companion to this resource.
This Civil Rights Activists resource includes the Thurgood Marshall resource featured in this blog post AND features biographies about 11 other Civil Rights Activists, including John Lewis, working for equality for women, blacks, hispanics, farm workers…. This resource is perfect for introducing students to many Civil Rights Leaders across time and a great jumping off place for a research project. Click the image to grab it now!
Future blog posts will go into greater detail about each of these resources. Check back soon!
And this Civil Rights Word Wall makes teaching important vocabulary terms easy and fun! Click the image and grab it today!
I hope these resources help you inspire students to be leaders as well as learners. And I hope they help make your teaching life easier.
Let’s Connect!
You can find Ms. Cotton’s Corner in various corners of the Internet – TPT, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube. See you there!
Check these places to ensure that you don’t miss a thing!
Update: This Giveaway has passed, but you can still grab this resource on TPT. Missed the FREEBIE? Be sure to follow this blog, and follow MsCottonsCorner on Instagram and TPT so you never miss a FREEBIE again!
And if you need a similar resource, that is always FREE, be sure to check out this blog post about Thurgood Marshall and download the FREE resource today!
Today’s featured FREE Resource is a biography of John Lewis. This inspiring Civil Rights activist worked for social justice from the 1960’s until his death in 2020. This biography is simple to teach and includes everything you need to help your students grow their vocabulary and increase their comprehension of non-fiction while learning about this amazing leader.
This one-page biography features John Lewis, a long-time Civil Rights activist. His leadership began as a Freedom Rider, and took him to the United States Congress as a Representative. Your students will be fascinated by this true life story. You will love how easy this resource is to use – just print and teach!
This is part of my 12 Days of Giveaways in December. Want to get more freebies? Follow me so you don’t miss a single one! Just click the black button to the right, and the blog posts will be delivered to your inbox. Or, find Ms. Cotton’s Corner on Instagram – the daily freebies will be posted in both locations!
Do your teacher friends like free resources? Be sure to forward this to them – they deserve free resources too!
What is Included in this Biography?
The one-page text is leveled for 5th and 6th grade, and includes comprehension and vocabulary activities. As students read, they take notes on an included notetaking sheet, and there are additional online resources for helping students do more research if they want to. The resource also includes text dependent questions and Frayer diagrams to help students learn the key vocabulary – discrimination, segregated, and nonviolent. And of course, there are answer sheets to support you!
This short biography about this amazing Civil Rights Activist won’t take much time, but it is time well spent. Students will be inspired, and you’ll love watching their eyes light up as they explore the life of this amazing civil rights leader.
Why Teach about Civil Rights activists like John Lewis?
Across the US, only an average of 10% of the day is spent on Social Studies in elementary classes. I have been an elementary teacher since the mid-1990’s, and I have seen the decrease in focus during my time in the classroom. But, one area of strong consensus across party lines is the need for more civics education in our schools. (See this article by the American Bar Association for more about that.) Integration is one strategy that can help teachers bridge the gap. This biography will help you teach your students about civil rights and leadership, and also help them grow as readers.
Not only will integrating content and literacy help students directly, it also helps them build background knowledge, which results in stronger comprehension in the long run. The Knowledge Gap by Natalie Wexler is a marvelous book that explains that the Knowledge Gap and the Achievement Gap are the same thing. If American schools spent more time teaching students about science and history content, their reading comprehension would soar. This resource gives students basic background knowledge about John Lewis, and the additional resources set them off on a journey of exploration, fueled by their curiosity!
What do Other Teachers Say About this Civil Rights Resource?
“My students loved using this resource! It was very engaging and convenient to use! I will definitely use this again in the future.”
Hollye O.
“My students enjoyed the challenge of this activity. It was engaging and allowed students to show what they know.”
Corinna H.
“I used this with our week of learning on activists and our focus on the Selma march. I was looking for a resource to support my students’ ability to read more about John Lewis on their level. This was so helpful, thank you!”
Lindsay D.
Love this Biography? Check out these Civil Rights activists, and more!
This John Lewis biography is part of a bundle of 12 biographies about Civil Rights activists. Grab it today and you will have all the resources you need to teach about leadership across American history! The leaders feature little known activists like Jeanette Rankin (A US Congresswoman BEFORE women had the right to vote!) and famouse activists like Harry Belafonte. He is well known for his music and film career, but this biography focuses on his civil rights work, something that was part of his life for over 60 years.
The bundle includes the same format for each biography, plus BONUS Student Sheets!!!
Double Venn Diagram
Word Search with the key vocabulary about civil rights
Triple Venn Diagram
Somebody Wanted But So Then Summary Sheet
The BONUS file has the ENTIRE LINKED unit in it so that you can print easily without opening multiple files. OR, get the resource from the individual files. Do what works best for you!
Make sure you don’t miss a single FREEBIE this December! Follow this blog by clicking the black button to the right, and follow me on Instagram and TPT too! While you’re at it, forward this post to your teacher friends and share the love. Everyone deserves free resources this December!
I hope this biography about this amazing Civil Rights Activist, and the 11 other free resources I’m giving away in December help you have a wonderful holiday season, and your students too. Grab it today!
Let’s Connect!
You can find Ms. Cotton’s Corner in various corners of the Internet – TPT, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube. See you there!
Check these places to ensure that you don’t miss a thing!
This was one of my favorite Word Wall sets to create. There were so many amazing photos and diagrams to choose from – it was hard to narrow it down to just 82 space terms! You will love these beautiful Word Wall cards – download them today fm Ms. Cotton’s Corner on TPT!
This resource includes 82 full color Word Wall cards – each with an important term related to Space and the Solar System and a kid-friendly definition.
This is part of my 12 Days of Giveaways in December. Want to get more freebies? Follow me so you don’t miss a single one! Just click the black button to the right, and the blog posts will be delivered to your inbox. Or, find Ms. Cotton’s Corner on Instagram – the daily freebies will be posted in both locations!
Do your teacher friends like free resources? Be sure to forward this to them – they deserve free resources too!
This set includes 82 Word Cards – each with a definition and a high-quality photo to teach space terms. The photos add context to the definition, and often feature diagrams and scientific situations that bring the word to life! Your students will quickly master the important Science concepts related to the Solar System/Space with the help of these vocabulary cards.
Many of these photos are from NASA – they are full resolution and eye catching! Create a beautiful bulletin board in minutes – that is also a terrific teaching tool.
(If you click on the link and make a purchase, as an Amazon affiliate, I may earn a small amount at no extra charge to you. Win win!)
Why Teach Science Terms?
Building a strong vocabulary increases reading comprehension as well as understanding of the key Science concepts. This Word Wall will help you improve reading AND Science understanding – win win!
Teaching vocabulary explicitly can be a quick routine that pays off with big results. These Word Wall cards make it easy to teach the space terms. No prep needed, just grab a card and teach! Consistent, easy routines that you weave throughout your day, in multiple content areas, will help you explicitly teach the vocabulary your students need to know. Want a FREE e-book with vocabulary routines? Grab this one today – it’s always FREE!
And check out these other posts for more tips and information on vocabulary instruction.
Make sure you don’t miss a single FREEBIE this December! Follow this blog by clicking the black button to the right, and follow me on Instagram and TPT too! While you’re at it, forward this post to your teacher friends and share the love. Everyone deserves free resources this December!
I hope this Science Word Wall, and the 11 other free resources I’m giving away in December help you have a wonderful holiday season, and your students too. Grab it today!
Let’s Connect!
You can find Ms. Cotton’s Corner in various corners of the Internet – TPT, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube. See you there!
Check these places to ensure that you don’t miss a thing!
Update: This awesome deal has passed. You can still grab this terrific resource on TPT. Be sure to follow MsCottonsCorner so you don’t miss future freebies!
This Number Prefixes Unit is one of my best sellers – and today you can grab the entire unit for FREE!This resource has a full week of lesson plans and activities to teach these Greek and Latin Number prefixes – uni, mono, bi, tri, quad,quint and penta. Click here and grab it!
This is part of my 12 Days of Giveaways in December. Want to get more freebies? Follow me so you don’t miss a single one! Just click the black button to the right, and the blog posts will be delivered to your inbox. Or, find Ms. Cotton’s Corner on Instagram – the daily freebies will be posted in both locations!
Do your teacher friends like free resources? Be sure to foward this to them – they deserve free resources too!
This Number Prefix Unit includes detailed lesson plans and 5 days of activities. The Lesson Plans include Background Information, Prep Steps, and clear suggestions for teaching each lesson. All you have to do is print and teach! You will love how easy this is to prep and your students will love the engaging activities.
The unit opens with a silly story that will get your students giggling as they read and discover words using prefixes in context. Activities include a sorting activity, Would you Rather Task Cards, three student printable practice sheets, one student reference sheet, a review activity called Beat the Clock and an assessment. And of course, there are Answer Keys and Lesson Plans to support you.
Everything you need to teach uni, mono, bi, tri, quad, quint and penta is included – just print, teach, and enjoy!
Why teach Greek and Latin Number Prefixes?
Greek and Latin has given us as much as 30% of the words in English, so learning Greek and Latin Prefixes will help unlock the meanings of many words for students. These number prefixes are especially useful because they unlock key vocabulary used in math, science, and in life. When students understand that the prefix uni means one, they not only understand why a unicorn has one horn, they also understand why we use the word unit to describe a single measurement. As students progress through this Number Prefix Unit (whoa, there is a word with the prefix uni!), they will grow to understand not only the featured words, but new words that they encounter with the same prefix.
What Do Other Teachers Say About This Resource?
“This was the perfect resource that I needed! It was very easy to use, and made my teaching life easier!”
-Turney
“Great resource to use with your class that will help them understand root words.”
Gay
Love this Number Prefix Unit? Check out these resources!
Click to check out these units, and many, many more in my TPT store.
For more blog posts on vocabulary, check these out! Vocabulary instruction is a passion of mine and a frequent blog topic!
Make sure you don’t miss a single FREEBIE this December! Follow this blog by clicking the black button to the right, and follow me on Instagram too! While you’re at it, forward this post to your teacher friends and share the love. Everyone deserves free resources this December!
I hope this Number Prefix Unit, and the 11 other free resources I’m giving away in December help you have a wonderful holiday season, and your students too. Happy teaching!
Let’s face it. Instructional time is precious. There is never enough time to teach the content students didn’t quite master last year, to teach the skills and standards they need to master this year, and to maybe throw in a little something, just for fun. So, why “waste” time intentionally teaching vocabulary?
First, let’s make sure we are talking about the same thing. There are actually four different ways a student can master a given vocabulary term: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Listening and speaking are both oral language, and reading and writing are both written language. Children begin to develop oral language skills long before they come to school, but for most students, written language skills begin to develop around the time they enter school. Generally speaking, a student’s largest vocabulary is listening. Students can understand words before they can use them in their own speaking, but the two are connected. In the same way, most students have a larger reading vocabulary than written vocabulary, but the two support each other. More on that in later posts.
Later we’ll get into specific strategies for improving language skills in the four areas. For now, the reasons for teaching vocabulary explicitly mostly overlap.
Knowing the correct word helps students express themselves clearly and be understood – in both speaking and writing. Have you ever witnessed a two-year old’s temper tantrum? Likely, they are expressing their frustration in the only way they know how. They have an idea in their head but they don’t have the word. Then, an adult caregiver comes along and asks, “Would you like me to read this book to you?” The two-year-old calms down, and repeats, “Read.” Now they have the word they need and the frustration passes. Older students may not have temper tantrums, but they still feel frustration when they can’t make themselves understood. Vocabulary instruction helps them have the words to express their ideas and knowledge. Vocabulary = Being Understood
The reverse is also true. When we teach complex concepts (like equivalent fractions), explicit teaching of the term leads to greater understanding of the concept. When students understand that equivalent is similar to, but different from, equal, they begin to grasp the nuances of equivalent fractions. Vocabulary – Greater Understanding
Explicit vocabulary instruction increases reading comprehension. That has been well documented in study after study. And it makes common sense. Obviously, students cannot comprehend a text if they do not know the meaning of key words. It has also been well documented that students LEARN new vocabulary through consistent reading. Wide reading = Higher Vocabulary, and Higher Vocabulary = Wide Reading.
So, the Oxford English Dictionary defines about 600,000 words. But, that’s not all of the words in English. Some estimates say there are over a million words in English, and it’s ever growing. Do you remember a time you didn’t know the word meme? I do. It was invented after I was born, but I’m pretty sure the first time I heard it was out of the mouth of my 14 year old son – probably in 2020. English is a living language – one of the beautiful things about it.
This causes a problem for teachers. Even if we stick with the 600,000 words in the Oxford English Dictionary, and forget all the new words being created, we could never hope to teach them all. The good news is, we don’t have to. In 2002, Beck, Kucan and McKeown published Bringing Words to Life. In the book, they explained that teachers should focus on teaching Tier Two words. Check out these blog posts for more in depth information on Tier Two words.
Tier One words are commonly found in oral language. They are typical words that most native speakers learn to understand easily. Because they are learned through spoken language, they might make great spelling words, but they should not be targets for vocabulary instruction for native speakers.
Tier Two words are generally not used in spoken language, but they are encountered in written language, so they are key for students to learn. These are the words that unlock comprehension, advance reading skills, and bring writing to life. Many content words fall into this category. Because these words have the ability to be useful in many different contexts and domains, instruction on these words can have a huge impact.
Tier Three words are only used in a specific domain, and don’t cross into other content areas. They also might be very rare words. These are the words that students need to unlock key concepts in science and social studies, and should be explicitly taught as needed.
There are about 7,000 Tier Two word families. If you teach a word from each word family, and help students make connections to the other words in the word family, the whole process becomes more manageable. 7,000 divided by 13 years of schooling is 538.46 word families a year. Still lofty, but doable. And as you unlock the meanings of words, remember, you are also opening the door so your students will comprehend text better. And that means they will read more. And that means they will learn more vocabulary from the texts that they read….. And just like that, you have a literate child!
From Theory to Practice
Now we’ve come full circle. You understand why explicit vocabulary instruction is important, but I’m sure you’re asking yourself the question we started with. Where do I find the time?
The answer is simple. Consistent, easy routines that you weave throughout your day, in multiple content areas, will help you explicitly teach the vocabulary your students need to know. This FREE e-book gives you details on 10 EASY to implement strategies. Click the image to grab it for FREE today!
Grab the book and then implement these strategies in your classroom today!
To increase oral language, use these routines:
Capture the Word
Fist of Five
Examples and Non-Examples
Hot Seat
To increase written language, use these routines:
Interactive Notebooks
Capture the Word
Word Wonder
Word Detective
Catergories
Tic-Tac-Toe
Pictionary
These simple routines take little to no prep, and can be implemented in math class, science class, social studies…. Grab the FREE e-book today and give it a try!
One of my favorite holiday traditions is giving away a resource on my TPT store. This is my third year of doing it – just my little way of saying thank you to other hard working teachers! This year, I have a problem – I can’t decide which resource to give away! So, I’ve decided to give away twelve resources – one a day for twelve days! I’ve chosen a good variety of Math, Reading, Vocabulary and Escape Room resources – something for everyone (and not a single Partridge in a Pear Tree – hee hee!)
I’m giving away twelve resources in twelve days – plus a bonus sale on Day 13!
I’m sure you want to know how to get your hands on all these free resources. Several will be revealed here on this blog and others only on Instagram or TPT. Here is what to do to get them all!
Follow me on my blog (if you don’t already!) – Just enter your email on the side of the screen
Share this blog post with your teacher friends so they get in on all the goodness. Sharing is caring!
And if you love the FREE resources, leave me a review on TPT so that other teachers know what you loved!
Which Resources Will Be FREE and included in the sale?
Click the image to put these resources in your cart today! Then, wait for the day they go on sale to checkout, and get them for FREE! Remember, each resource is free for 24 hours, and each resource will be announced on this blog, TPT OR Instagram!
These are 11 of the resources. There will be one mystery resource so stay tuned! Get these in your cart today, and watch for the first one to be free on December 1! And if you missed them, the are all on sale for one bonus day – today!
Click the image to check out the resource, and put it in your cart!
I hope this gift helps you get through the holiday season with your sanity intact, and your kids learn something along the way. Have a wonderful holiday – you deserve it!
Update: This awesome giveaway is over, but you can still grab this terrific Christmas Comprehension Activity on TPT. Be sure to follow MsCottonsCorner so you never miss a FLASH FREEBIE again!
Today’s FLASH FREEBIE is The Legend of the Poinsettia – an engaging Christmas Comprehension Activity based on a traditional tale from Mexico! It is FREE for 24 hours! Grab it on TPT right now before the price goes back up! And be sure to follow me on TPT and Instagram to get all 12 FREEBIES in December!
Are you looking for a retelling of a beautiful story to engage and inspire your students? This Christmas Comprehension Passage, written at a 4th grade reading level, tells the story of a miracle in Mexico and is full of heartwarming details. The story will inspire you and your students, and your kids will have a great time with the poinsettia craft. You’ll appreciate the text dependent questions which keep the focus on learning!
What is included in this Christmas Comprehension Activity?
This is a traditional Christmas tale from Mexico. It tells the legend of the poinsettia and shares a simple message – a gift from the heart is always the most beautiful. It comes with a poinsettia craft activity that helps students practice synonyms and also with text dependent questions.
The story is included in the Winter Tales from Around the World, a Google Forms Escape Room. This download includes additional comprehension and vocabulary activities and is perfect to use before the Escape Room. Grab both and keep students busy and learning in this build up to Winter Break time!
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Rating: 5 out of 5.
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Do you need more easy-to-use resources?
You can grab this resource, and three other Reading Comprehension Passages to celebrate Winter Holidays Around the World in the money-saving bundle, or just grab the resources you need.
Gryla and the Yule Lads – Christmas traditions in Iceland – Reading Comprehension Passage with text dependent questions and Idiom Task Cards.
Christmas Down Under – Non-fiction Reading Comprehension passage from Australia with text dependent questions and parts of speech practice
The Hanukkah Candle – fiction and non-fiction paired text with text dependent questions and a vocabulary Word SearchThis resource includes a heartwarming story from Mexico about a gift from the heart. The text is written at a fourth grade level, making it accessible for most intermediate students. They will love this charming tale! The resource also comes with text dependent questions to help students practice inference and summarizing, and a Synonym Craftivity to build vocabulary!
To extend the learning, grab The Legend of the Poinsettia by Tomie de Paula. His charming retelling of the same legend will give you opportunities to use the resource activities for a Shared Reading Activity OR have students compare and contrast the two versions. You have options! (As an Amazon Affiliate, if you make a purchase from clicking this link, I may earn at no cost to you. Win win!)
Follow for more FREEBIES!
There are still 6 MORE FREEBIES in the month of December! Watch for more postings about them on this blog and at MsCottonsCorner on Instagram! And one brand new resource will be revealed in my TPT store. Follow me all three places to ensure that you don’t miss a thing!
We are about half way through our focus on Matter in Science, and I am feeling pretty good about how things are going. I can tell that my students are beginning to understand the important concepts of the unit because they are using the key vocabulary in their speaking and writing, which means they “own” those words. As you know, if a student has a word for the concept, they likely also have the concept! In this blog post, I’m going to take you through some of the bends in the unit that have gotten my kiddos to this point.
What are the Three Tiers?
The three tiers are a way of thinking about the function of language as you choose vocabulary words to teach your students. Beck and McKeown outlined the tiers in their book “Bringing Words to Life”. For more in depth information on that, be sure to check out this blog post. One important thing to remember is that learning the vocabulary words involves learning to use the words, but not necessarily how to spell them. That is a different goal and different words should be chosen for spelling instruction.
Definition of each Tier
Tier One words are commonly found in oral language. They are typical words that most native speakers learn to understand easily. Because they are learned through spoken language, they might make great spelling words, but they should not be targets for vocabulary instruction for native speakers.
Tier Two words are generally not used in spoken language, but they are encountered in written language, so they are key for students to learn. These are the words that unlock comprehension, advance reading skills, and bring writing to life. Many content words fall into this category. Because these words have the ability to be useful in many different contexts and domains, instruction on these words can have a huge impact.
Tier Three words are only used in a specific domain, and don’t cross into other content areas. They also might be very rare words. These are the words that students need to unlock key concepts in science and social studies, and should be explicitly taught.
Words to Teach
So, the bulk of vocabulary instruction should be Tier Two and Tier Three words, with the majority of time spent on Tier Two Words. The best time to teach Tier Three words is right before a student needs them. For example, if a word is going to be useful in a science lab or a non-fiction text, teach it that day, right before students need it. Word Cards are awesome for that! With our Matter unit, we spent two days on property of matter stations. Many of the target vocabulary words are Tier Three, so I put the Matter Word Cards on the whiteboard and introduced them and also put them at the property of matter stations. By the end of the two days, the kids were using the vocabulary pretty comfortably in their conversation and lab books.
These pictures show some of the Word Cards on the whiteboard and at the stations.
Examples of Tier Two Words
You may be wondering which of the words in the pictures are Tier Two, and which ones are Tier Three. Because I was introducing lab stations, most of the words pictured are Tier Three. In the Matter unit, I am focusing on these Tier Two Words: solid, liquid, gas, states, property, flow, texture, matter, particle, dense, compress, conditions, material, substance, volume, mixture, contract, expand, capacity, sift, filter, and dilute. Interestingly, several of the Tier Two words fall into that category because they are used in cooking, making them more common, and increasing the likelihood that they will be found in a written text.
In the Matter unit, I am focusing on these Tier Three Words: evaporate, buoyancy, condensation, melting point, boiling point, freezing point, plasma, atom, diffusion, concentration, molecule, insulate, conduct, reaction, dissolve, soluble, physical change, chemical change, solution, saturation, magnetism, precipitation. I’m sure you noticed that most of these words are specific to Science, and rarely found outside of a Science text. These words are essential for students to learn so that they can unlock key Science content. Direct vocabulary instruction is the way to teach these words.
Tier Three Words: evaporate, buoyancy, condensation, melting point, boiling point, freezing point, plasma, atom, diffusion, concentration, molecule, insulate, conduct, reaction, dissolve, soluble, physical change, chemical change, solution, saturation, magnetism, precipitation
Instructional Strategies
Now that we’ve defined the words to teach and categorized them, let’s dive into instructional strategies for helping students LEARN them! This part of the blog is going to focus on the ways I’ve been teaching Tier Two words because you’ve already seen how I weave Tier Three instruction into the Science labs, introducing the key vocabulary as the students need it.
First, I used some of the images from the Matter Word Cards to plant seeds of curiosity about the content and vocabulary with a Gallery Walk. This picture is one of the stations, involving several photos, some with text, and students responded with their Noticings and Wonderings. Some of the target vocabulary began to emerge, but not much, so this activity served an an informal assessment, helping me know that direct vocabulary instruction was going to be essential in helping students master the content of the unit.
Next, students read “Everything Matters”. This article contains the foundational knowledge about States of Matter that students should have learned in third grade. To make sure that the foundation is strong, we used a Close Reading Protocol. The directions for the Close Reading protocol are included in the resource, but I did add explicit vocabulary instruction after the first read. I asked students to find, and highlight, these words in the text: mass, volume, substance, molecules, material, conditions, exist, density, compressed, states. We then used the context to predict the meaning of each word. Finally, I showed the students the Word Cards with the definitions and images on them, and we compared the definition with their prediction. Students completed the Comic Strip Performance Task from the resource, which gave them a great opportunity to use some of the words authentically in their writing!
Another strategy I use frequently is making Flapbooks in their Science notebooks. Students fold a page of the notebook in half, and then cut to the fold, making a flap. On the front of the flap, they write the word. Then I ask them if they have heard it before. Next, I ask them to predict the part of speech. Finally, I show them the definition and picture on the Word Card. Students copy the definition inside the flap. Later, they will make their own drawing on the other side of the flap to show their understanding of the word.
Additional Practice Strategies
I hope this has given you some ideas to try in your own classroom. As students learn the words, it’s important that they continue to practice them in a variety of contexts. Games such as Vocabulary Dominoes or I Have, Who Has? are fun ways to practice the target vocabulary. Crossword Puzzles and Word Searches are also fun ways to engage students with target vocabulary. And whole class games like Hot Seat can be a fun way to focus students on vocabulary too (the directions for that are in the resource!). And of course, frequent opportunities to read the words, hear the words and use the words orally and in writing are key!
Resources You Will Love
Check out these resources to help your own students master Matter! Just click!
Be sure to check out these blog posts for more resources and insights to grow your Vocabulary instruction!
