The More Lived-In Classroom

When I was first becoming a teacher - that short summer of education classes before I entered my baptismal flames - and we were reading Janet Allen's Words, Words, Words, I couldn't fathom what a "Word Wall" was actually good for. Since then, my uses and adaptations of the instructional strategy have changed many times. Some uses are documented on this blog, but each year I make new decisions and innovations. Here are the ways I'm using my Word Wall this year to help my students improve their vocabulary.



The so-called "Highfallutin Words" are words that are not in my students normal vernacular, but they are the words found in the new common core state standards, as well as what will no doubt appear on the standardized tests policy makers are busily hammering out. One of our first learning targets was "I can distinguish between connotation and denotation." Here you can see the words and definitions two students wrote and hung on the word wall.

Next to the Highfallutin words, are the "Spicy Words." These are possible replacement synonyms for dull and boring words my students may commonly use in their writing. These words came from a word sort activity on tone (related to connotation and denotation.) We'll use this section of the word wall to a greater extent when we write our first piece on heroism.



Finally, we have the "Bad Words." Because of our code-switching lessons, my students know that these aren't really "bad" words; just words that aren't appropriate for the language arts classroom. They're informal words better suited for texting or casual speech with friends and family.



In addition to the word wall, evidence of my students' presence can be seen on the chalk board I'd once envisioned to be my timer wall. Now, it's a place for students to claim the lost articles middle schoolers are so apt to forget: books, nameless papers, agenda planners, notebooks and the like. You can also see evidence of our classroom structure: we had to revisit expectations last week and it had a positive affect on the classroom climate. When the kids know exactly what's expected of them, it's much easier to maintain a calm and safe environment, even when hormones are raging.