Vocabulary Reboot

Bulletin boards add color and fun

It's no secret: teachers work in the summertime. In addition to catching up on their "real lives," they attend training, revamp lessons or units, and redecorate their classrooms. In July they hit the back-to-school sales with their classroom supply money, which never seems to go as far as they would like. And summer never lasts as long as they would like, either.

This summer, one of my projects is to reboot a home-grown Greek and Latin root vocabulary program I inherited from the teacher before me, who inherited it from the teacher before her. I want to find research-based practices that engage the students with words and word parts in more meaningful ways.

What are your favorite vocab strategies?

Tis the Season for Review

If you teach high school, it's that time of year again, when the semester is winding to a close and all of your classes need great review activities to help kids finish strong during finals. My absolute favorite review is a game I found on To Engage Them All. It's called Grudgeball, and it works for any subject and requires minimal prep. All you need is a white board and markers, some masking tape, and a Nerf hoop and ball. In my class, we've played it in the gymnasium, too, using a basketball. Students keep engaged, the competition is intense, and everyone reviews the material.

If you have a review game or activity you love, please share it!