http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/booknook/?utm_source=rss Good reads for educators Copyright 2013, Thinkmap Inc. All Rights Reserved. en Thu, 13 Dec 2012 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/images/common/logo_on_white.gif http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/booknook/?utm_source=rss Book Nook http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/booknook/sketch-to-stretch-visualizing-vocabulary?utm_source=rss In this excerpt from Vocabulary Strategies That Work — Do This, Not That!, Kent State professor of education Lori G. Wilfong brings a visualization strategy called "Sketch to Stretch" to vocabulary study. Thu, 13 Dec 2012 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/booknook/sketch-to-stretch-visualizing-vocabulary Book Nook http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/booknook/receptive-vs-productive-vocabulary?utm_source=rss In Vocabulary at the Core, Amy Benjamin and John T. Crow assert that word study should play a more significant role in English class and across the curriculum — as emphasized by the Common Core State Standards. In this excerpt, Benjamin and Crow explain the difference between receptive control and productive control of words and why our students' receptive vocabulary remains considerably larger than their productive vocabulary. Thu, 11 Oct 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/booknook/receptive-vs-productive-vocabulary Book Nook http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/booknook/jamie-mckenzie-on-finding-the-best-words?utm_source=rss Ed-tech guru Jamie McKenzie has published a fascinating new book entitled Lost and Found: A Guide to Discovery Learning through Purposeful Wandering. In this excerpt adapted from the chapter "Finding the Best Words," McKenzie explains how tools like the Visual Thesaurus can "expand our thinking palette." Wed, 16 Nov 2011 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/booknook/jamie-mckenzie-on-finding-the-best-words Book Nook http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/booknook/dameons-rap-a-creative-approach-to-vocabulary-learning?utm_source=rss 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. Thu, 20 Jan 2011 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/booknook/dameons-rap-a-creative-approach-to-vocabulary-learning Book Nook http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/booknook/survival-of-the-fittest?utm_source=rss "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 (http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/lessons/2063/), "Vocabulary Bursting With Energy." Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/booknook/survival-of-the-fittest Book Nook http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/booknook/i-spy-a-word-scavenger-hunt?utm_source=rss 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. Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/booknook/i-spy-a-word-scavenger-hunt Book Nook http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/booknook/words-as-gateways?utm_source=rss In this opening chapter of Vocabulary at the Center (http://www.eyeoneducation.com/prodinfo.asp?number=7124-9), veteran teachers Amy Benjamin and John T. Crow explain how words can function as "gateways" to student knowledge and academic achievement. Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/booknook/words-as-gateways Book Nook http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/booknook/mnemonics-memory-builders?utm_source=rss 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 (http://www.heinemann.com/products/E02612.aspx) about using keyword mnemonics to help commit words to memory. Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/booknook/mnemonics-memory-builders Book Nook http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/booknook/the-landscape-of-the-classroom?utm_source=rss In this excerpt from his new book Beyond Cut and Paste (http://fnopress.stores.yahoo.net/becu.html), ed-tech guru Jamie McKenzie explains why having your students turn their backs on you may be a good thing in the laptop classroom! Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/booknook/the-landscape-of-the-classroom Book Nook http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/booknook/using-word-maps-to-introduce-concepts?utm_source=rss Teachers, are you wondering how you can use Visual Thesaurus word maps to introduce new concepts to your students? Check out this excerpt from Sharon Walpole and Michael C. McKenna's Differentiated Reading Instruction (http://www.guilford.com/p/walpole2) for some ideas. Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/booknook/using-word-maps-to-introduce-concepts