Literacy Bin Activities to Build Vocabulary and Word Skills

The Literacy Bin Activities presented in this chapter are examples of
ideas you could use to build vocabulary and word skills. Many activities
may also help reinforce other objectives, such as constructing background
knowledge or developing fluency (and may appear in those chapters, too),
yet their emphasis here is on working with words, their meanings, and their
structure. A general description of each activity and suggestions for ways
in which it could be modified are provided. Information you might wish
to place in the Literacy Bin compartment, such as instructions or student
materials, are also listed (see Appendix A for examples). Use the activities
featured here, modify them as you wish, or create your own using these as
models. As you review the activities, you might also consider materials you
have available or can readily locate to use with an activity.
Imaginative Phonics
Students take a word list from the Literacy Bin
and read each word very slowly, pronouncing
each sound (see Figure 30). This comical
activity encourages students to apply their skills
with letter–sound relationships to unfamiliar
content words. Including the names of
significant individuals related to your theme,
such as explorer Giovanni da Verrazano, and
places of historic significance, such as the
Caribbean, will help students tackle these tricky
stumbling blocks. Students can perform in front
of an audience, invite classmates to recite words
with them, use technology to record their
presentation, or even dress in character.
Figure 30. Literacy Bin
Activity Game Board Square
for Imaginative Phonics64
Syllabification Snap-Alongs
Students use a word list from the Literacy Bin
and create a rhythmic performance by breaking
words into syllables (see Figure 31). Encouraging
students to break apart multisyllabic words
will help them with many other commonly
used word-attack skills. Students can create
an instrument or use one they already have.
They can also group words with similar syllable
patterns or be whimsical. You might wish to
display each student’s word list during the
performances.
Imaginative Characters
Assuming the role of a comical character, the
“Pronunci-ator,” students practice pronouncing
words from a vocabulary list in the Literacy
Bin (see Figure 32). This activity helps students
master difficult, multisyllabic words. Also,
including words that stray from the standard
rules of pronunciation may be a good way to
clarify some of these troublesome words and
challenge students as well (i.e., a Literacy Bin
featuring the science theme electricity could
include the word solder, pronounced “sodder”). Students may want to work with others
and stage a comical competition. Students can
listen to words using an online audio dictionary.
Imaginative Word Games
Students use a vocabulary list from the Literacy
Bin and locate root words and prefixes (see
Figure 33). This activity is good if you’ve
provided instruction in Greek and Latin roots,
and your keyword list includes appropriate
words. Other word-attack skills, such as those
that uncover word derivatives, are also good
choices for this activity (e.g., government,
Figure 32. Literacy Bin
Activity Game Board Square
for Imaginative Characters
Figure 33. Literacy Bin
Activity Game Board Square
for Imaginative Word Games
Figure 31. Literacy Bin
Activity Game Board Square
for Syllabification SnapAlongs65
govern, governor). You might have students use letters in a word to make
new words as an alternative or a challenge.
Spelling and Word Close-Ups
Students use a vocabulary list and rewrite words in a fancy style. Encourage
students to carefully craft every letter for those troublesome and tricky
words (see Figure 34). This activity helps build
students’ spelling skills within a content area
and strengthens their word consciousness,
too. You might want students to select five
tricky words from the list and feature them in
one picture. Using computers and any word
program that has fun fonts is another way
to engage students. Another variation of this
game is to have students create a flag or poster
for the time period or theme featured in the
Literacy Bin (e.g., prehistoric times, dinosaurs)
and decorate the flag with appropriate
vocabulary words.
Drawing Activities
Students create pictures of the words on their
vocabulary list (see Figure 35). Encouraging
students to attach a visual image to the new or
unfamiliar word may help some students create
a memorable connection to the word. This
strategy works well in the early elementary
grade levels as well as at the upper elementary
levels. You might wish to have students create
digital books and incorporate photographs or
other visual technology.
Drama Activities
In “Casting Call!” students act out words from a keyword list (see Figure
36). Suggesting that students use simple props may help them with words
that are difficult to demonstrate through actions. Recalling the comical ways
Figure 34. Literacy Bin
Activity Game Board Square
for Spelling and Word CloseUps
Figure 35. Literacy Bin
Activity Game Board Square
for Drawing Activities66
in which students may perform content words
often enables others to remember the meaning
of the word. Students may wish to work alone
or in small groups. Suggesting that students
consider three different ways to convey a word
meaning may encourage a deeper level of
understanding.
Use of Online Websites
Students are provided with websites to visit
and are asked to locate specific words or
other targeted categories of words related
to the thematic Literacy Bin (see Figure 37).
This activity helps students develop their
online reading skills while also strengthening
their content vocabulary. Many educational
sites also include links that may help students
with difficult content words (i.e., many sites
highlight words that link to definitions provided
in a dictionary or other resource). You might
wish to include some type of web or chart for
students to use as they search online.

Effective Ways To Build Your Vocab

Building vocabulary is a powerful way to enhance your life and career

Learning how to build a better vocabulary can be a pleasurable and profitable investment of both your time and effort. At least fifteen minutes a day of concentrated study on a regular basis can bring about a rapid improvement in your vocabulary skills, which in turn can increase your ability to communicate by writing, conversing, or making speeches. Acquiring a large vocabulary can benefit you in school, at work, and socially. It will enable you to understand others' ideas better and to have the satisfaction of getting your thoughts and ideas across more effectively.
Of course, you already know thousands of words, and you will continue to learn more whether you work at it or not. The fact is that many of the words you know were probably learned simply by coming across them often enough in your reading, in conversation, and even while watching television. But increasing the pace of your learning requires a consistent, dedicated approach. If you learned only one new word a day for the next three years, you would have over a thousand new words in your vocabulary. However, if you decided right now to learn ten new words a day, in one year you would have added over three thousand to what you already know, and probably have established a lifetime habit of learning and self-improvement.

Four basic steps to a better vocabulary

While there are not any magic shortcuts to learning words, the larger your vocabulary becomes, the easier it will be to connect a new word with words you already know, and thus remember its meaning. So your learning speed, or pace, should increase as your vocabulary grows. There are four basic steps to building your vocabulary:

1. Be Aware of Words

Many people are surprised when they are told they have small vocabularies. “But I read all the time!” they protest. This shows that reading alone may not be enough to make you learn new words. When we read a novel, for instance, there is usually a strong urge to get on with the story and skip over unfamiliar or perhaps vaguely known words. But while it is obvious when a word is totally unknown to you, you have to be especially aware of words that seem familiar to you but whose precise meanings you may not really know.
Instead of avoiding these words, you will need to take a closer look at them. First, try to guess at a word's meaning from its context—that is, the sense of the passage in which it appears; second, if you have a dictionary on hand, look up the word's meaning immediately. This may slow down your reading somewhat, but your improved understanding of each new word will eventually speed your learning of other words, making reading easier. Make a daily practice of noting words of interest to you for further study whenever you are reading, listening to the radio, talking to friends, or watching television.
2. Read

When you have become more aware of words, reading is the next important step to increasing your knowledge of words, because that is how you will find most of the words you should be learning. It is also the best way to check on words you have already learned. When you come across a word you have recently studied, and you understand it, that proves you have learned its meaning.
What should you read? Whatever interests you—whatever makes you want to read. If you like sports, read the sports page of the newspapers; read magazines like Sports Illustrated; read books about your favorite athletes. If you are interested in interior decorating, read a magazine like House Beautiful—read it, don't just look at the photographs.
Often people with very low vocabularies don't enjoy reading at all. It's more of a chore for them than a pleasure because they don't understand many of the words. If this is the way you feel about reading, try reading easier things. Newspapers are usually easier than magazines; a magazine like Reader's Digest is easier to read than The Atlantic Monthly. There is no point in trying to read something you simply are not able to understand or are not interested in. The important idea is to find things to read you can enjoy, and to read as often and as much as possible with the idea of learning new words always in mind.
3. Use a Dictionary
Most people know how to use a dictionary to look up a word's meaning. Here are some pointers on how to do this as a part of a vocabulary-building program:

• Have your own dictionary

Keep it where you usually do your reading at home. You are more likely to use it if you do not have to get it from another room. At work, there may be a good dictionary available for your use. At home, most people do not have a big, unabridged dictionary; however, one of the smaller collegiate dictionaries would be fine to start with.

• Circle the words you look up

After you have done this for a while, your eye will naturally move to the words you have circled whenever you flip through the dictionary. This will give you a quick form of review.

• Read the entire entry for the word you look up

Remember, words can have more than one meaning, and the meaning you need for the word you are looking up may not be the first one given in your dictionary. Even if it is, the other meanings of the word will help you understand the different ways the word is used.

Also, the word's history, usually given near the beginning of the entry, can often give a fascinating picture of the way the word has developed its current meaning. This will add to the pleasure of learning the word as well as help you remember it.

4. Study and Review Regularly

Once you have begun looking up words and you know which ones to study, vocabulary building is simply a matter of reviewing the words regularly until you fix them in your memory. This is best done by setting aside a specific amount of time each day for vocabulary study. During that time you can look up new words you have noted during the day and review old words you are in the process of learning. Set a goal for the number of words you would like to learn and by what date, and arrange your schedule accordingly. Fifteen minutes a day will bring better results than half an hour once a week or so. However, if half an hour a week is all the time you have to spare, start with that. You may find more time later on, and you will be moving in the right direction.
In order to review words effectively, all the information on a word should be kept in one place—in a notebook, for example, or on an index card. Index cards are convenient because the words can be placed in alphabetical order, which makes them easy to find when reviewing; and the cards can be carried around with you, so you can study them anywhere. You should try to be systematic about studying, so that you are sure to review each word at least once every couple of weeks.
Do not throw cards away, though; you can get a great feeling of accomplishment by looking at the growing stack of words you have learned and by occasionally glancing at an old card and thinking, “Once I actually didn't know the meaning of this word!”

Other vocabulary building materials

The steps we have just discussed do not involve the use of vocabulary-building aids such as books, tapes, or CDs; all that is required is a dictionary. But what about such materials? Are they worth using? We say yes.
The first advantage of vocabulary-building books is that they present you with words generally considered important to know, thus saving you time. Another advantage of many of these books is that they will use the words in several sentences, so that you can see the words in different contexts. A third advantage is that they usually have exercises that test what you have learned, which gives you a clear sense of progress.
The major disadvantage of many of these books is that the words in them may sometimes be too difficult for the person who does not have a large vocabulary. Such a person would have a hard time learning these words and could quickly become discouraged. We suggest, therefore, that you scan the materials you are interested in before buying. If most of the words are totally unfamiliar to you, you will probably not get very much out of it. If, however, you recognize many of the words but do not quite know them, then the material is probably at the right level for you.
Many books approach vocabulary building by teaching you word parts—prefixes, suffixes and roots—and showing you how these parts can go together to form many different words. You might find this approach useful, because it will make you sensitive to how words are formed, and this can often be a help in figuring out a word's meaning from its context.
The important thing to keep in mind is that these materials are not a complete substitute for the process we have been talking about. One book will not give you all the words you need to know. Besides, you are establishing a lifetime interest in building your vocabulary, and just selecting one way to approach it may not be enough. However, the use of vocabulary-study materials as a supplement to the “Four Basic Steps” will reinforce your learning and speed your progress immediately.

Motivation

Perhaps the most important factor in a successful vocabulary-building program is motivation. It will be very difficult for you to study words month after month without a strong feeling that it is worth doing, that a larger vocabulary will help you in school and on the job, and that it can well lead to a more exciting and fulfilling life. We certainly feel that this is true, for nothing we measure at the Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation contributes more to success in life more than vocabulary. Your time could not be better spent.
We know you can expand your vocabulary almost as fast as you wish. There are countless examples of people who have done so. Remember, you started out in life knowing no words, and now you know thousands. You can learn many more. Why not start today?

Vocabulary Wordbooks

The Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation offers a vocabulary development program of 1,440 words selected based on the results of studies of over 15,000 public and private school students. To learn more about this fantastic and fun way to learn new words, visit theWordbook page.

 

Useful Vocabulary

Where We Live

cottage(s)	detached house(s)	semi-detached house(s)	bungalow(s)	terraced house(s)
	block of flats		high-rise flat(s)

!Note - no matter what kind of building you live in, it's your home.

Where We Work

	office(s)	factory (factories)	skyscraper(s)

Miscellaneous Places

	tower(s)	mill(s)	windmill(s)	castle(s)

Build Up

Special Buildings

	Airport
	Art Gallery
	Bank
	Bus Station
	Church
	Cinema
	Fire Station
	Garage
	Hospital
	HOTEL
	Mosque
	Museum
	Police Station
	Railway Station
	Restaurant
	School
	Synagogue
	Theatre

Naturally Speaking

Talking to a builder / developer.

Can you provide references and examples of your previous work?	(Here references are comments on the abilities and character of a candidate organisation for a position or job.)
Are you able to provide a bank reference?	(Here a bank reference is a statement regarding the financial standing of an individual or organisation.)
Will you provide a list of all the materials you'll use and provide samples?	(Here a sample is an amount of something that shows you what the rest is or should be like.)
Do you use sub contractors?	(A subcontractor is a person or organization that performs work for the main contractor, but is not on their payroll and does not receive company benefits.)
What warranty do you offer, and what is the time period of this warranty?	(A warranty is a written guarantee of the integrity of a product and of the maker's responsibility for the repair or replacement of defective parts. In the UK the NHBC is the UK's leading warranty provider for new homes. 'Buildmark' is the name of their 10-year warranty.)
We will be using a snagging company. Is this ok?	(Here snagging means to write a list of defects at the end of a build process/phase/stage (a "Snag List" or "Snagging List"). A snagging company goes through a house to find faults and ensures the developer puts them right within a reasonable time.)

Dialogue

Here is a conversation between Mrs Smith (Joan) and her husband Steve.

It's Saturday morning and something is happening next door.
Joan:	Steve, what's all that noise outside?
Steve:	Just a minute, I'll have a look. ....... Oh! It looks as if the new next door neighbours are moving in.
Joan:	It's a bit early, isn't it? Ah well I guess we'd better get up.
Steve:	It's amazing how quickly the houses are selling round here, the Browns only put theirs on the market about a month ago.
Joan:	Where did they move to in the end?
Steve:	I think he told me they were buying a detached house in Surbiton.
Joan:	Sounds nice. I hope the new neighbours are nice.
Steve:	Well, I was speaking with Mr Brown last week. He told me they were a young couple with two daughters. They liked the house because the school here has a good reputation.
Joan:	Two daughters! That will please John.
Steve:	Maybe we'd better pop next door and say hello.
Joan:	Yes, and maybe we'd better start thinking of selling as well. I fancy a detached house in Surbiton too.
Steve:	Hmm?

 

- See more at: http://www.learnenglish.de/vocabulary/buildings.html#sthash.IjwUuyZk.dpuf

VOCABULARY

Everyone—from beginning learners in English to veterans in journalism—knows the frustration of not having the right word immediately available in that lexicon one carries between one's ears. Sometimes it's a matter of not being able to recall the right word; sometimes we never knew it. It is also frustrating to read a newspaper or homework assignment and run across words whose meanings elude us. Language, after all, is power. When your children get in trouble fighting with the neighbors' children, and your neighbors call your children little twerps and you call their children nefarious miscreants—well, the battle is over and they didn't stand a chance. Building a vocabulary that is adequate to the needs of one's reading and self-expression has to be a personal goal for every writer and speaker.

Several quizzes have been connected to this section as vocabulary muscle builders. In addition, a javascript pop-up lexicon, A YEAR'S WORTH OF WORDS—with a word for every day of the year—is available. See the hyperlinks at the bottom of this page.

Making It Personal

Using some durable piece of paper—white construction paper or the insides of the ripped-off covers of old notebooks—begin to write down words in small but readable script that you discover in your reading that you can't define. Read journals and newspapers that challenge you in terms of vocabulary. Pursue words actively and become alert to words that you simply overlooked in the past. Write down the words in one column; then, later, when you have a dictionary at your disposal, write down a common definition of the word; in a third column, write a brief sentence using the word, underlined.

Carry this paper or cardboard with you always. In the pauses of your busy day—when you're sitting on the bus, in the dentist's office, during commercials—take out the paper and review your vocabulary words until you feel comfortable that you would recognize (and be able to use) these words the next time you see them. The amazing thing is that you will see the words again—even "nefarious miscreants," and probably sooner than you thought. In fact, you might well discover that the words you've written down are rather common. What's happening is not that, all of a sudden, people are using words you never saw before, but that you are now reading and using words that you had previously ignored.

Using Every Resource

Most bookstores carry books on building a more powerful vocabulary, some of them with zany names such as Thirty Days to a More Powerful Vocabulary. If you've got money to spare or if they're on sale, buy them and use them; they can't hurt. Books that group words according to what they have in common—more in meaning than in spelling—are especially useful.

Newspapers often carry brief daily articles that explore the meanings of words and phrases. These articles often emphasize peculiar words that won't find themselves into your working vocabulary, but they can still be fun. Often you'll find that learning one new word leads to other new words, little constellations of meaning that keep your brain cells active and hungry for more. Make reading these articles one of your daily habits, an addiction, even.

Play dictionary games with your family in which someone uses the dictionary to find a neat word and writes down the real definition and everyone else writes down a fake (and funny) definition. See how many people you can fool with your fake definitions.

Two trucks loaded with thousands of copies of Roget's Thesaurus collided as they left a New York publishing house last Thursday, according to the Associated Press.

Witnesses were aghast, amazed, astonished, astounded, bemused, benumbed, bewildered, confounded, confused, dazed, dazzled, disconcerted, disoriented, dumbstruck, electrified, flabbergasted, horrified, immobilized, incredulous, nonplussed, overwhelmed, paralyzed, perplexed, scared, shocked, startled, stunned, stupified, surprised, taken aback, traumatized, upset. . . .

— joke circulated on the Internet
December 2003

A thesaurus is like a dictionary except that it groups words within constellations of meaning. It is often useful in discovering just the right word you need to express what you want to say. Make sure you correctly understand the definition of a word (by using a dictionary) before using it in some important paper or report. Your bookstore salesperson can provide plenty of examples of an inexpensive thesaurus. The online Merriam Webster's WWWebster Dictionary has access to both an extensive dictionary and a hyperlinked thesaurus. Links allow you to go conveniently back and forth between the dictionary and the thesaurus.

If you have a speedy computer processor and a fast hookup to the internet, we recommend thePlumb Design Visual Thesaurus. Once the program is entirely loaded, type in a word that you would like to see "visualized," hit the return key, and a construct of verbal connections will float across the screen. Click on any of the words within that construct and a new pattern of connections will emerge. Try the Visual Thesaurus with several different kinds of words—verbs, adverbs, nouns, adjectives—and try adjusting some of the various controls on the bottom of the window. We do not recommend this web-site for slow machines; in fact, the bigger your monitor and the faster your computer and connection, the more satisfying this experience will be.

When people use a word that puzzles you, ask what it means! You'll find that most instructors, especially, are not in the least bothered by such questions—in fact, they're probably pleased that you're paying such close attention—but if they do seem bothered, write down the word and look it up later, before the context of the word evaporates.

Knowing the Roots

At least half of the words in the English language are derived from Greek and Latin roots. Knowing these roots helps us to grasp the meaning of words before we look them up in the dictionary. It also helps us to see how words are often arranged in families with similar characteristics.

For instance, we know that sophomores are students in their second year of college or high school. What does it mean, though, to besophomoric? The "sopho" part of the word comes from the same Greek root that gives us philosophy, which we know means "love of knowledge." The "ic" ending is sometimes added to adjectival words in English, but the "more" part of the word comes from the same Greek root that gives us moron. Thus sophomores are people who think they know a lot but really don't know much about anything, and a sophomoric act is typical of a "wise fool," a "smart-ass"!

Let's explore further. Going back to philosophy, we know the "sophy" part is related to knowledge and the "phil" part is related to love (because we know that Philadelphia is the City of Brotherly Love and that a philodendron loves shady spots). What, then, is philanthropy? "Phil" is still love, and "anthropy" comes from the same Greek root that gives us anthropology, which is the study ("logy," we know, means study of any kind) of anthropos, humankind. So a philanthropist must be someone who loves humans and does something about it—like giving money to find a cure for cancer or to build a Writing Center for the local community college. (And an anthropoid, while we're at it, is an animal who walks like a human being.) Learning the roots of our language can even be fun!

Some common Greek and Latin roots:

	Root (source)	Meaning	English words
	aster, astr (G)	star	astronomy, astrology
	audi (L)	to hear	audible, auditorium
	bene (L)	good, well	benefit, benevolent
	bio (G)	life	biology, autobiography
	dic, dict (L)	to speak	dictionary, dictator
	fer (L)	to carry	transfer, referral
	fix (L)	to fasten	fix, suffix, affix
	geo (G)	earth	geography, geology
	graph (G)	to write	graphic, photography
	jur, just (L)	law	jury, justice
	log, logue (G)	word, thought, speech	monolog(ue), astrology, biology, neologism
	luc (L)	light	lucid, translucent
	manu (L)	hand	manual, manuscript
	meter, metr (G)	measure	metric, thermometer
	op, oper (L)	work	operation, operator
	path (G)	feeling	pathetic, sympathy, empathy
	ped (G)	child	pediatrics, pedophile
	phil (G)	love	philosophy, Anglophile
	phys (G)	body, nature	physical, physics
	scrib, script (L)	to write	scribble, manuscript
	tele (G)	far off	telephone,television
	ter, terr (L)	earth	territory, extraterrestrial
	vac (L)	empty	vacant, vacuum, evacuate
	verb (L)	word	verbal, verbose
	vid, vis (L)	to see	video, vision, television

Authority for this chart: The Little, Brown Handbook by H. Ramsay Fowler and Jane E. Aaron, & Kay Limburg. 6th ed. HarperCollins: New York. 1995. By permission of Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc.

Learning Prefixes and Suffixes

Knowing the Greek and Latin roots of several prefixes and suffixes (beginning and endings attached to words) can also help us determine the meaning of words. Ante, for instance, means before, and if we connect bellum with belligerant to figure out the connection with war, we'll know that antebellum refers to the period before war. (In the United States, the antebellum period is our history before the Civil War.)

Prefixes showing quantity
	Meaning	Prefixes in English Words
	half	semiannual, hemisphere
	one	unicycle, monarchy, monorail
	two	binary, bimonthly, dilemma, dichotomy
	hundred	century, centimeter, hectoliter
	thousand	millimeter, kilometer
Prefixes showing negation
	without, no, not	asexual, anonymous, illegal, immoral, invalid,irreverent, unskilled
	not, absence of, opposing, against	nonbreakable, antacid, antipathy, contradict
	opposite to, complement to	counterclockwise, counterweight
	do the opposite of, remove, reduce	dehorn, devitalize, devalue
	do the opposite of, deprive of	disestablish, disarm
	wrongly, bad	misjudge, misdeed
Prefixes showing time
	before	antecedent, forecast, precede, prologue
	after	postwar
	again	rewrite, redundant
Prefixes showing direction or position
	above, over	supervise, supererogatory
	across, over	transport, translate
	below, under	infrasonic, infrastructure, subterranean,hypodermic
	in front of	proceed, prefix
	behind	recede
	out of	erupt, explicit, ecstasy
	into	injection, immerse, encourage, empower
	around	circumnavigate, perimeter
	with	coexist, colloquy, communicate, consequence,correspond, sympathy, synchronize

Authority for this table: The Little, Brown Handbook by H. Ramsay Fowler and Jane E. Aaron, & Kay Limburg. 6th ed. HarperCollins: New York. 1995. By permission of Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc.

Suffixes, on the other hand, modify the meaning of a word and frequently determine its function within a sentence. Take the noun nation, for example. With suffixes, the word becomes the adjective national, the adverb nationally, and the verb nationalize.

See what words you can come up with that use the following suffixes.

• Typical noun suffixes are -ence, -ance, -or, -er, -ment, -list, -ism, -ship, -ency, -sion, -tion, -ness, -hood, -dom
• Typical verb suffixes are -en, -ify, -ize, -ate
• Typical adjective suffixes are -able, -ible, -al, -tial, -tic, -ly, -ful, -ous, -tive, -less, -ish, -ulent
• The adverb suffix is -ly (although not all words that end in -ly are adverbs—like friendly)