Student Materials: Key Features
Words
in Context:
Every lesson provides all the vocabulary words in the context of a high-interest
nonfiction or fiction selection. This allows you to encourage students
to use the Word-Learning Principle and Vocabulary Building Strategy
to determine the meaning of the vocabulary words, while you guide them
and record their thinking on a transparency. The steps to do so are
described in the Teacher's Edition.
Be a Word Architect:
Featured in Words and Their Parts, this special section called
“Be a Word Architect” provides you with the opportunity
to show students how words are built and have them use the parts of
a word (prefixes, suffixes, roots, etc.) to determine the word’s
meaning.
Connect Words and Meanings:
Every lesson provides the definitions of the vocabulary words in an
interactive format. This helps you to make mastery of these definitions
an active learning opportunity, since students have to choose the meanings
that match the words.
Purposeful Activities:
Engaging activities help students deepen their knowledge of the meanings
of the vocabulary words by using these words in meaningful ways. Students
connect the vocabulary words to their own lives and experiences and
apply them to meaningful situations. As they interact with the vocabulary
words, they make inferences about each word’s meaning and explain
their reasoning.
Review and Extend Activities:
These activities provide an opportunity for students to review what
they have learned and to extend their understanding. The activities
expand students’ knowledge because they teach related language
concepts or related words. They deepen students’ understanding
of the lessons words and they broaden their acquisition of similar words.
Independent Activities:
Activities at the bottom of workbook pages invite students to use the
vocabulary words independently in a variety of contexts. These activities
help students move beyond definitions as they process meanings and interact
with the words.
Check Your Mastery:
Check students’ word mastery at the end of each lesson through
a short test. This assessment provides practice using a variety of standardized
test formats and includes self-assessment.
