Earlier this week, we interviewed Anne H. Charity Hudley and Christine Mallinson about their new book, Understanding English Language Variation in U.S. Schools. One intriguing section of the book discusses how students from culturally diverse backgrounds can be assisted in developing academic vocabulary. Here we present an excerpt describing how one creative student approached learning SAT vocabulary via rap.  Continue reading...

"Survival of the Fittest" is just one example of the many slam-dunk vocabulary activities that Janet Allen offers to teachers of all content areas in Inside Words: Tools for Teaching Academic Vocabulary. Check out how this activity could play out in the science classroom in our lesson plan, "Vocabulary Bursting With Energy."  Continue reading...

In this selection from Inside Words: Tools for Teaching Academic Vocabulary, Janet Allen presents a great instructional activity to make words come alive for students, encouraging them to see how vocabulary relates to real-world context.  Continue reading...

In this opening chapter of Vocabulary at the Center, veteran teachers Amy Benjamin and John T. Crow explain how words can function as "gateways" to student knowledge and academic achievement.  Continue reading...

If "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally" saved you in learning the order of operations in mathematics, then you should check out what Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher have to say in Learning Words Inside and Out about using keyword mnemonics to help commit words to memory.  Continue reading...

In this excerpt from his new book Beyond Cut and Paste, ed-tech guru Jamie McKenzie explains why having your students turn their backs on you may be a good thing in the laptop classroom!  Continue reading...