Vocab, Vocab, Vocab!

So on Saturday I ran my first half-marathon.
Scratch that.
On Saturday I ran the most I’ve ever run in my life-ever.
I didn’t tell many people just in case the slow bus had to come and get me. Then I would have had to tell them that I didn’t finish. But these legs surprised me. I finished and ran the entire time! Today is the first day I could finally walk again without looking like I couldn’t bend my knees. Here’s a picture. I’m smiling. I look like I’m not in pain. Don’t let me fool you. Oh, and yes, I did fist-pump when I crossed that finish line.

Okay, now onto important matters. Vocabulary takes center stage in today’s post. In my district, vocabulary is a big deal. I have kiddos that come to kindergarten having no idea what a banana or horse is. I teach in a very rural area so I know there’s a problem when a student doesn’t know what a horse is.

With that said, I’ve been busy creating and posting some new products that target vocabulary I think you will like.

First, I made a freebie math vocabulary visual. “What?!” You say?….”With all that is on our plate, now speech therapists are supposed to teach math?” With vocabulary…Yes! My language kiddos struggle across all of their curriculum. If they don’t know that “difference” or “deduct” means to subtract, they’ve already missed the problem even before they attempt the operation.

So, I created a visual that lists the operation and then other possible key words that mean the same thing. When I’m teaching this to my students, I have them highlight the key word in the math story problem and then tell me what operation they are supposed to do. I’ve included flashcard-size as well as poster-sized. I hope you enjoy! Please let me know if you have any visuals or tricks you use to teach vocabulary across the curriculum! Grab it for FREE in my TPT store HERE.

My other product I wanted to share with you is “Sweet Synonyms and Antonyms-Leveled.” I practice synonyms and antonyms a lot with my kiddos to improve vocabulary. However, I always found it difficult to practice these skills across my grade levels having only with one set. Some word pairs were way too difficult for my younger kiddos and likewise, others were super easy for my older kids. That’s why I’ve created this leveled set of synonyms and antonyms. In this pack, Level 1 Synonyms and Antonyms are designed for grades K-2. Level 2 Synonyms and Antonyms are designed for grades 3-5.

And….because all the followers on this blog are so “sweet” (get it?-with my candy shop theme?), I am offering this pack for FREE as well only to my followers on this blog. All I ask is that you spread the love by being really, really nice to a fellow co-worker tomorrow :). Enjoy! Grab it HERE.

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Comments

Rebecca says
October 4, 2012 at 4:13 am

Very cute antonyms/synonyms game. I have worked with a lot of very low socioeconomic status students, and vocabulary has always been a huge problem. I’m constantly drilling my kids on new vocabulary and what things mean in context.

Rebecca
Talking With Rebecca

Karen says
October 5, 2012 at 1:57 am

Congratulations on running your first half-marathon! That’s no small thing! And thanks for sharing the game. It’s a very handy resource.

Karen
http://www.afvslp.blogspot.com

Angelene Malek says
October 5, 2012 at 11:20 am

Congratulations on your half-marathon! I have started running 5Ks and I love it. Thanks for sharing the game. I love your blog!

Karlie says
October 6, 2012 at 4:00 pm

That is soooo awesome that you ran a half-marathon! After my mudrun this fall I started thinking about a half-marathon. Not sure I could do it, but it sounds like a great goal! Congrats:)

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