Word of the Week Routine to Enhance Vocabulary + FREE Worksheet

Vocabulary acquisition is essential to improving students reading and writing skills. The question is, how can we expose students to more grade appropriate words and make sure it sticks, so:

• they feel confident using it in their oral and written communication?
• it becomes part of their personal vocabulary word bank and they are able know it's meaning when it shows up in a text?

A few years ago, after reading about the benefits of implementing Robert J. Marzano's Six-Step Process to help students master new vocabulary words, I introduced the Word of the Week as an addition to the other vocabulary acquisition opportunities we had going in our classroom. I also developed a Word of the Week organizer to help my students routinely implement the first 3 steps of Marzano's process with ease when working with the Word of the Week. (1. Provide a description, 2. Provide an example, and 3. Construct a picture of the term). 

What Easy-to-Implement Word of the Week Routine Can You Implement in Your Classroom?

Every year, this process becomes part of our classroom morning routine through the Word of the Week (as well as with other vocabulary terms we learn). It has been a great way to help increase students' vocabulary acquisition, and has quickly become one of our favorite (and most competitive) vocabulary activities. 

To help the routine run smoothly, we following the schedule below: 

• On Mondays, students write down the word of the week, the part of speech, and its definition. (This covers step 1.)
• On Tuesdays, I share with them the use of the word in a sentence and they write their own sentence. I then walk around and read their sentences, as well as have a few students share their 'elaborate' sentence.  A couple of the best sentences get chosen to be posted up in the classroom on an index card. (This covers step 2.)
• Wednesday mornings, students illustrate their sentences.  

                          According to Marzano, 'this third step in the process  is crucial - having

                          students represent their understanding of a new term by drawing a 

                          picture, pictograph, or symbolic representation. When students do this

                          step well, achievement soars.'

• Thursdays, they look up, or discuss, synonyms, antonyms and rate their understanding of the word. Having them find synonyms and antonyms helps them to expand their vocabulary even further, and having them rate their understanding helps me get an idea of who is feeling confident about being able to use the word and who still needs extra exposure.
• Lastly, on Fridays, they share their worksheets with a partner. Giving students a chance to share is a form of best practice since we know students tend to do their best work when they know that they will be sharing their work with more than just the teacher.

Would You Like to Receive the Worksheet?

The worksheet I am sharing with you today is the Word of the Week worksheet that my students work on each morning. It is part of a Word of the Week year long resource available for grades 2-4 and 4-7. You can sign up below to receive this free worksheet in your inbox and start using it in your classroom immediately.

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Would You Like to Check Out the Resource that has Helped Us Easily Implement Word of the Week in Our Classroom?

If you are interested in seeing the complete grades 4-7 resource we use in our class which includes posters and quarterly quizzes, just click HERE or on the picture below. 

You can find the same resource developed for grades 2-4 by clicking HERE. 

You may also be interested in checking out this Prefixes and Suffixes Blog Post that includes a FREE worksheet your students can fill out as you introduce a new Prefix and Suffix to them. 

Happy Teaching,