Despite Chicago’s wretched spring weather to date (a frost last night in the suburbs!!) summer will be here soon! Help your students anticipate the words they will need while enjoying their summer activities. Are they going to camp? Swimming or playing soccer, baseball, softball. or tennis? They will be using words they haven’t needed to retrieve since last summer. Help them anticipate vocabulary that is unique to their favorite activities.
Some ideas to get started:
soccer – shin guards, forward, defender, goalie, dribble, penalty;
softball/baseball – batter, catcher, baseman, fielder, shortstop, coach, manager, base hit, bunt, pinch hitter, inning;
tennis – forehand, backhand, ace, love, deuce, volley, lob, rally, fault, ad in/ad out;
swimming – dive, float, stroke, breath, belly flop;
And there are all-purpose words such as sunscreen, shade, shadow, flip flops, humidity, muggy, showers, swelter, voyage, counselor.
Remember to have your students say the words ALOUD 5 times, make up a sentence using the word, then earn a “high 5.” Link a similar-sounding “easy” word as a mnemonic for the “hard” word. Remember, ease of word retrieval is largely determined by frequency of use and recency of use.
Share your favorite word finding story! Has your student provided you with a fun anecdote? Have you laughed all the way to the teachers’ lounge with a great comment by one of your kiddos? Have you embarrassed yourself with your own word finding faux pas? We can all laugh at ourselves. Please share!