TITLE: Words, Words, Words Teaching Vocabulary in Grades 4-12

AUTHOR: Janet Allen

PUBLISHER: Stenhouse Publishers York, Maine ISBN: 1-57110-085-7

Janet Allen, an internationally known literacy expert with a solid public school teaching background, has written a book that balances practicality and theory. In the first chapter, "Diaphragming Sentences: A Case for Word Control", Ms. Allen reviews pertinent research on vocabulary acquisition – a must for teachers to read to better understand the urgent need for a renewed emphasis on vocabulary development in the classroom. In subsequent chapters, Ms. Allen continues to reference research with an emphasis on practical strategies for vocabulary acquisition. In fact, she shows a sense of humor and an awareness of the language students bring to the classroom as a vital component of vocabulary acquisition. For example, her reference to an "adolescent Dolche word list" that includes "puh-leez", "wassup?", and "true-dat" makes this book a lively and entertaining resource for teachers.

Ms. Allen points out frequently throughout the book that there is no substitute for extensive reading as the best way to ensure high levels of students’ vocabulary acquisition; however, she has many suggestions for strategies to build vocabulary through meaningful, connected, conceptually rich, explicit vocabulary instruction. Suggestions and activities for instruction cover the more traditional - but, nevertheless, important - aspects of study such as affixes, roots, word structures, and word relationships (e.g., antonyms, synonyms, and analogous relationships). Information and bibliographic references are also offered on topics such as idioms, word histories, and developing vocabulary across the curriculum.

Each strategy for vocabulary development highlighted in the book, such as "Concept Attainment" or "Words in Context", offers information on how to instruct students using the strategy, an accompanying graphic organizer, and authentic student-generated examples using that organizer. These organizers are suitable for reproduction for classroom use; you might consider making transparencies for whole and/or small group instruction.

This book was provided to teachers attending the July 2000 Project CLEAR Language Arts Summer Institute. Ask the Language Arts Project Clear representative at your school to see a copy. This resource provides many "I can use this right-now!" ideas. This book would also be an excellent choice to select for a study group focus.

Happy reading!