TeachersFirst's Vocabulary Development Resources
This collection of reviewed tools and resources from TeachersFirst promotes vocabulary development and skills for students to improve and master daily vocabulary, subject matter terms, speech/language vocabulary, and ESL/ELL language. Some are tools for study and practice of terms in any class--including world languages, while others focus specifically on written and spoken English. Be sure to check "In the classroom" for ways each resource might help in your teaching area. Share your favorites on a free TeachersFirst public page for students and parents to use for vocabulary practice outside of class.
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Twitter Chat: Tech-Infused Vocabulary Strategies - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12tag(s): twitterchatarchive (175), vocabulary (237)
In the Classroom
Find resources and information about tech-infused vocabulary strategies. Share this chat with your colleagues looking for strategies and resources on tech-infused vocabulary strategies.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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OK2Ask: Tech-Infused Vocabulary Strategies - TeachersFirst
Grades
1 to 12Engage students...more
Engage students and get them excited to jump into learning with tech tools to support direct instruction for vocabulary. Learn to implement direct instruction based on Marzano's strategies to expand vocabulary in all subject areas and increase success in school and on achievement tests. Using the six-step approach, we'll explore tech tools to help bring vocabulary from short-term memory into long-term memory. Discover how to choose tech tools you can use to increase student collaboration and provide data for formative assessments. As a result of this session, teachers will: 1. Review Marzano's strategies for vocabulary instruction; 2. Explore tools for vocabulary instruction; and 3. Understand how to use tech tools to create formative assessments for vocabulary. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.
tag(s): professional development (402), vocabulary (237), vocabulary development (87)
In the Classroom
The archive of this teacher-friendly, hands-on webinar will empower and inspire you to use learning technology in the classroom and for professional productivity. As appropriate, specific classroom examples and ideas have been shared. View the session with a few of your teaching colleagues to find and share new ideas. Find additional information and links to tools at the session resource page. Learn more about OK2Ask and upcoming sessions here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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FCRR Student Center Activities - Florida Center for Reading Research
Grades
K to 6tag(s): fluency (25), phonics (50), preK (261), reading comprehension (142), science of reading (36), vocabulary (237), vocabulary development (87)
In the Classroom
Bookmark this site as a helpful resource for finding research-based and teacher-tested activities to develop literacy skills for students. Be sure to visit the Teacher Resource Guide to understand all of the information included with each activity and understand the specific skills targeted.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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WordsTool - Wordstool
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): flash cards (42), vocabulary (237), vocabulary development (87), word study (58)
In the Classroom
Share Wordstool with students and ask them to create an account for use with any new vocabulary. Use during science lessons to build knowledge of new terms, during social studies activities to enhance understanding of words such as sovereignty by including examples and images, or reading novels such as those written by Shakespeare that may consist of unfamiliar language. At the end of your teaching unit, ask students to share their learning using tools found at Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here, and include their new vocabulary terms. For example, have students create an infographic sharing science vocabulary or retell events in history by creating a short video that includes highlighted vocabulary.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Educandy - Educandy
Grades
K to 5tag(s): assessment (149), DAT device agnostic tool (148), game based learning (179), preK (261), quizzes (91), vocabulary (237)
In the Classroom
Use Educandy to create games and practice activities to reinforce vocabulary for any subject. Embed your activities into your website or learning platform for students to use at home. Turn the quiz creation around and ask students to create a list of vocabulary terms and definitions to use within the games. Introduce new vocabulary using Educandy to assess student knowledge at the start of any new unit. Extend student learning after vocabulary practice by having them create infographics, posters, social media posts, or guides with tools found at Canva Edu, reviewed here, using the new vocabulary and your topic of study.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Academic Word Finder - Achieve the Core
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): multilingual (69), parts of speech (40), vocabulary (237), vocabulary development (87)
In the Classroom
Use the Academic Word Finder to introduce difficult portions of text before reading. Display the results on your interactive whiteboard or with a projector to review with students. This site is perfect for use with special needs or ENL/ESL students to break down difficult content into smaller, understandable portions. Use this site to identify vocabulary words then create online games for student practice. Bamboozle, reviewed here, offers several options for creating games for two teams. Use the Word Finder to choose vocabulary to include when creating interactive lessons for students. MoocNote, reviewed here, includes tools for creating interactive video lessons with embedded documents and quizzes.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Root Word and Prefix Study Pages - myvocabulary.com
Grades
2 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): grammar (133), grammar review (31), prefixes (9), root words (10), spelling (97), vocabulary (237), word study (58)
In the Classroom
Include these activities as part of any lessons on prefixes. Use words found on this site as a starting point, then challenge students to find additional words with the same prefixes.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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TextProject - TextProject, Inc
Grades
K to 9tag(s): commoncore (75), literacy (110), multilingual (69), reading comprehension (142), reading lists (78), reading strategies (100), vocabulary (237), vocabulary development (87), word study (58)
In the Classroom
If you teach reading or are an ENL/ESL or resource teacher for students with special needs, you will want to bookmark this site! Take advantage of all of the free downloads on the site, including forms, checklists, lessons, and reading passages. Share this site with parents to help them understand the process of learning to read and finding materials for their student. Share this site during professional development sessions when discussing reading instruction and alignment to Common Core Standards. Be sure to sign up for TextProject's monthly newsletter to stay up to date with all new additions to the site.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Newswordy - Josh Smith
Grades
K to 12tag(s): media literacy (102), news (227), vocabulary (237), vocabulary development (87)
In the Classroom
Newswordy is perfect for use on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Display the word of the day as students arrive in class as a great warm up for current events lessons. Share a link to the site on your class webpage. Tweak your students' interest in what is happening in the world by reading the excerpts of the articles and tweets at Newswordy. Have students bring in examples they find on the Internet or when watching T.V. Next, students can create a word cloud of the important terms they learn from this site using a tool such as WordItOut, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Games to Learn English - Owen Dwyer
Grades
K to 8This site includes advertising.
tag(s): game based learning (179), multilingual (69), preK (261), sentences (22), sequencing (17), spelling (97), vocabulary (237), vocabulary development (87), word study (58)
In the Classroom
Although created for English language learners, this is an excellent site to develop vocabulary (and computer skills) for younger students. It also helps with speech/language vocabulary development and grammar reinforcement for special ed. Share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Complete the activities as a class with a student operating the board. Create a link on classroom computers and challenge students to increase their speed in completing games.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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TV411 - Vocabulary - Education Development Center, Inc.
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): antonyms (13), dictionaries (47), prefixes (9), reading comprehension (142), root words (10), spelling (97), suffixes (8), synonyms (16), thesaurus (21), vocabulary (237), vocabulary development (87), word study (58)
In the Classroom
Any vocabulary development unit needs to include lessons about how dictionaries and thesaurus' work. View videos on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) as part of your dictionary/word-study unit. Use on an as-needed basis to address classroom deficiencies in particular areas. Have students complete the web lessons on their own during computer center time. Create links to particular videos on your class website or blog for students to view at home. Check out the Teachers portion of the site to find activities for specific skills along with ideas for using the videos in the classroom. Challenge students to create a talking avatar using a photo or other image (legally permitted to be reproduced). The avatars can be used to provide suggestions on improving vocabulary and writing skills. Use a site such as Blabberize, reviewed here, to added audio and annotate the image.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Word Hippo - Wordhippo.com
Grades
2 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): antonyms (13), dictionaries (47), spelling (97), synonyms (16), vocabulary (237), vocabulary development (87), word study (58)
In the Classroom
Use this site for vocabulary development and word study assignments, such as writing sentences, paragraphs, or essays using new words. Since the site permits translation, this would be a valuable tool in world language classes, ENL/ELL classes, and more. Introduce this site on an interactive whiteboard and elicit examples to show the class how quickly it works. Have students create their own word walls with synonyms, antonyms, sentences, and more for their latest vocabulary words. Try a tool such as Padlet, reviewed here, for each student to create an online "wall" with words aligned to color coded stickies for synonyms. antonyms, etc. Alternatively, have students create class challenges for their peers with color coded matching activities for the interactive whiteboard matching words to synonyms, antonyms, and an appropriate fill in the blank sentence. Share this as a favorite on your teacher public page for handy reference any time students encounter an unknown word. Even subject area teachers such as science and social studies will find this tool handy for students with weaker vocabulary levels.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Knoword - Trevor Blades
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): game based learning (179), vocabulary (237), vocabulary development (87), word study (58)
In the Classroom
Try this activity at the start of class on your interactive whiteboard or projector; it's perfect for vocabulary development with a lively twist! Offer this site to your students who are trying to assess and/or improve their vocabulary for standardized tests such as the ACT or SAT. ENL/ELL students may also enjoy the challenges and additions to their vocabulary. Share this site on your class webpage or blog for students to access (and practice) at home.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Learning Chocolate - learningchocolate.com
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): chinese (44), japan (56), japanese (48), spanish (105), vocabulary (237), vocabulary development (87), word study (58)
In the Classroom
Save/bookmark this site on your classroom computers to serve as a vocabulary resource for ESL/ELL and also world language students. Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then have students explore this site independently or in small groups. Share this site with Chinese, Japanese and Spanish teachers as well as with special needs professionals for help with vocabulary development and articulation. You could also have students create their own narrations of photos (similar to this site) using a site such as Google Drawings, reviewed here. Google Drawings allows you to annotate an image with links to videos, text, websites, and more. Not familiar with Google Drawings? Watch an archived OK2Ask session to learn how to use: OK2Ask Google Drawings, here.Comments
This is one of my favorite resources! Works great with ESL students from 4-104!Marina, VA, Grades: 0 - 12
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WordSift - Stanford University
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): dictionaries (47), reading comprehension (142), reading strategies (100), thesaurus (21), vocabulary (237), vocabulary development (87), word clouds (13), word study (58)
In the Classroom
This is a classic tool to promote "before reading" strategies and vocabulary development. Use WordSift to preview text to be used in class and define vocabulary before reading to increase reading comprehension. Have students use WordSift with different portions of text to identify key words and vocabulary for class presentations. Use WordSift to discuss different meanings of words using images presented through the site. This site isn't only for English teachers, share with Science and Social Studies teachers to use in their classrooms with reading texts in their content areas. ENL/ELL and learning support teachers will want to share this as a support for any reading assigned in regular classes. Be sure to show students how to copy/paste to WordSift texts from informational web pages and news stories on the web, as well. Share this link as a Favorite on your public page so students can use it anytime.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Select and Speak - Google Chrome
Grades
1 to 12tag(s): listening (86), text to speech (21)
In the Classroom
Use Select and Speak as your teacher's helper. Be sure to test it out on classroom computers and devices before using it with students. During research or computer explorations, allow students to use this read aloud feature. Honor the students who heavily rely on hearing as their preferred form of comprehending material. In lower grades, research on computers now becomes an easier task. This extension is perfect for ENL/ELL or learning support students to help with vocabulary development, comprehension, fluency, and repetitions.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Lexipedia - Vantage Linguistics
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): antonyms (13), dictionaries (47), mean (19), synonyms (16), vocabulary (237), vocabulary development (87), word clouds (13)
In the Classroom
Explore this site on interactive whiteboard or projector to show students how to improve writing with descriptive words. Consider allowing students to share a favorite word of the day for 30 seconds on your interactive whiteboard at the start of class. Use this in a word study unit by covering up the original word.Students will then try to discover the word based on the word relationships found around the word. Build understanding of parts of speech through this tool every time you look up a word. Reinforce these concepts for visual learners continuously by using the same colors every time you highlight on your interactive whiteboard. World language teachers can also type in words to demonstrate and expand vocabulary in Spanish, French, German, Dutch, and Italian. Special ed teachers, especially those in speech/language will love this tool to help students SEE relationships between words. Encourage your language-delayed students to look up words and build "word sense" even when they are familiar with the word's meaning. Make this site available as a reference on classroom computers and on your class web page.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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English Exercises - Vocabulary - Viktor Gayol
Grades
K to 5tag(s): game based learning (179), puzzles (143), vocabulary (237)
In the Classroom
Use this for a center with vocabulary review activities in any primary classroom or with speech and language or special ed students for vocabulary development. Using it in ENL classes will also be great, even on an interactive whiteboard with a small group. Students can also use the games on their own to practice vocabulary outside of class, so be sure to include the link on your teacher web page.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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