Doing Something Different with Vocabulary This Year: Updated

Update - Well, the year is over for me and I think this was a great way to do the vocabulary for AP Lit. I think I may try it a bit with my English III class I have next year, but for them I would want to go over each word. Maybe I can make it a recurring activity they have to do or something.  That might would work better for honors than regular.  Something to think about over the summer.  I encourage you to try some version of this in your classes.

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With my regular level classes, I spend more time on vocabulary terms, but with my AP classes, I used to spend little time and expect the students to learn the words for themselves with a little vocabulary.com and such.  After attending a workshop on teaching reading, one of the time said there sparked me thinking and I've decided to try something a little different. 

This is still an AP class and I do not feel the need to review the definitions of the each word on the list like I would my English II class, but if what I am trying for AP works, I can see myself adapting some of this for the other classes.  Warning - this does take time to prep (though it could be adapted into a lesson where the students do the legwork instead).

The Plan

I want my students to understand the words better - inside and out.  I am going to use my established lists - each of which consists of ten new words plus a selection of words from previous lists plus a few literary terms just to keep those in constant rotation in their minds.  What I am going to do will focus only on the new words and potentially a literary term if it just works extra well.  The first Tuesday of each two week vocabulary list lesson, I will single out about 5-6 words to focus on.  I will focus on wither word parts, connotation, etymology, or Visuwords.

Word Parts

This speaks for itself.  Some words break into word parts quite easily while others do not.  Early in my teaching career we had a program put on us by the district to teach words only in context of word parts.  I dislike one-size-fits-all programs, but I was a young teacher and I did my part.  It worked well sometimes and not so well others - especially when the word meaning changed over time.

Learn That Word has a good list of prefixes and roots and a good list for suffixes, but sometimes it helps to know exactly where those word parts kick in.  Wordsmith is a good site to go to to see not only a definition, but some word parts and background as well.  

As good as they are, I found myself using plain old Google even more.  When you Google the word "definition" and whatever word you are looking up, say, "innate" for example, and you click the SHOW MORE option, this is what you get:

The origin does a fine job quickly showing you the different word parts and gave me a quick chance to see if I wanted to pursue that word for the word part segments.

Connotation

I was really hoping to find a connotation dictionary, but those don't really exist, or at least not in the way I was hoping for.  The idea here is to showcase one or two words and show that while their definition is _____, when it is used, it typically means _____.  These words are great for discerning tone (just think of the difference between "kill" and "slaughter").  One word from our list is "loquacious" and while it means using a lot of words or talkative, the understood meaning is using too many words.  Or think of the difference between "pithy" and "terse" - they both mean using few words, but being pithy is a good thing (short and too the point) while being terse usually means the speaker is angry. 

Etymology

Some words have fun backgrounds that have changed the meaning of the word over time.  There is a good dictionary for that called The Online Etymology Dictionary.  I'll do one to three words from the list.  This takes time to find the words that are going to be interesting enough for me to talk about.  The easy way is to just type the words in the above dictionary until you find a good one.

I like the idea of egregious being used ironically so much it lost its original meaning.  Also, the word "supercilious" spins off from a Latin word for eyebrows, so "supercilious" literally means "haughty eyebrows" which is so fitting for a word that means "looking down on others as inferior to your status".  Don't tell me that kids won't remember "haughty eyebrows"!  While looking for these words I found several that I am looking forward to talking about, such as "pristine" and "simpleton".

Visuwords

I'll use Visuwords for one or two words in the list.  It is a fun site to play with.  When you type in a word, it bubbles out to other words related.  The words and bubbles have elasticity, which is fun to move around a little, but they also help you to see the definition and also sometimes the connotation.  Like "haughty" (sans eyebrows this time):

Here you can see both "disdainful" and "proud" to help students see the word's more complex meaning.

Parting Comments

As for the remaining words on the list, the students are on their own.  I am thinking we will see a better comprehension of what the words mean which will hopefully translate into better retention of the words.  I also think the students seeing the variety of ways we look at a word's meaning will add value to the words we are learning.  

If you have a unique way of introducing your words to your students, share it in the comments!  Or just say "Hi!" in the comments!  I might just say "Howdy" back to you.

Heads Up - Teachers Pay Teachers Sale May 5th and 6th

 In what I can only assume is TPT paying homage to Revenge of the Fifth and Revenge of the Sixth (always two there are, no more, no less), there is a sale site-wide for 25% off.

Use this code: THANKYOU26

And if you'd like, feel free to start with my site.  😊

Maui Fact Check - A fun research activity you can do with Mythology, American Lit, World Lit, or just English class in general

 Disney has had it's share of criticism for not staying accurate in movies like Pocahontas and Hercules, among others.  However, when they set out to make Moana, they did bring in several people from Polynesian culture to make it stay on track.  We are going to see how good of a job by fact checking Maui's claims in the song "You're Welcome!"

Now, before I give you all the details of how to run this assignment, you need to know who this lady is:

In the 1920s, if you studied mythology, you studied Greek and Roman, or maybe you dabbled in Germanic fairy tales and folk lore.  Beckwith, though, believed all cultures deserved to be studied and became fascinated by Hawaiian and Polynesian mythology.  There were no books on this, so she traveled to these islands and talked to the story tellers to record their mythology.  This was quite dangerous as many of these cultures had little contact and interactions with the rest of the world.  Nevertheless, this complete boss did so and wrote a comprehensive book - no, THE comprehensive book on Hawaiian mythology.  It was cleverly titled Hawaiian Mythology.  You can buy it on Amazon.

It is the source that all other mythology books that cover anything Hawaiian or Polynesian cite as their source.  It is also rather dry, sort of like Edith Hamilton's Mythology, but a bit dryer.  Rick Riordan hadn't been born yet, much less show everyone that you could actually write mythology in a fashion that is enjoyable to read.  

Fun fact - she got kicked out of a theater once because they were doing an act with "authentic hula dancers" and she stood up, halted the show, and lectured them on what they were doing wrong and suggested the crowd demand their money back.  :)

What you need:

• Martha Beckwith's chapter on Maui
• "You're Welcome!" lyrics and worksheet

Tell students about Beckwith (she deserves it) and then break them into pairs or trios to work together.  Then show them the song video and let them enjoy it and sing along with it.  Now they will need to scour the Beckwith chapter to look and see if Maui actually did those things.  If the answer is no, have them figure out who did it instead (may need a Google search for that).  

Depending on your students, this takes around 45 minutes or so of class time.

You're welcome!

Change Your Students' Responses to Text Using the Three Book Approach

One thing that inhibits student discussion at all levels is the fear that they did not come to the correct answer.  We, as English teachers, know that there is simultaneously a correct response and a validation of practically all responses, but students have a difficult time compressing that information in to trust that they can give their thoughts and epiphanies on a reading passage.

In my AP class, we do this first week, when we take "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" and break it apart using as many different literary criticism as possible.  In my regular inclusion English IV class, we use this in our first book, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time when we discuss the chapter where Father hits Christopher.

I draw this on the board, stopping to explain before drawing the next image:

Once I draw BOOK 1, I say this is the author and the book he wanted to write.  It is what was in his head as he envisioned the plot, characters, setting, etc.

Then I draw BOOK 2 and explain that this is the book that was written.  We all know that the ideas in our head does not always come out clearly in our writing.  Plus, this has undergone revision, editing, advice from trusted readers, publisher mandates, and many other things that changed the original idea.

I wrap up with BOOK 3 - this is the book we read in our head.  Everyone in the classroom read the same text, but because we all have different life experiences, different relationships with parents, friends, neighbors, different cultural backgrounds, and different environments in which we read (some of us were distracted, others hyper focused) - all these things lead to different feelings, different interpretations, different focuses.  In the "Woods" poem, our experience with snow and nature and possible previous interactions with Robert Frost impact out reading.  In Curious our relationship with our own father (or lack thereof) and our connection to someone on the spectrum will determine if we can forgive Father after this.  All these reactions are legitimate and part of the reading process.

It's why some people can (wrongly) enjoy the Star Wars sequel movies - they don't have the same baggage I bring with me to the movies.

Of course, just because we have certain reactions to characters and situations that differ from everyone, that doesn't dismiss the intention of the author and that can lead to a discussion of whether or not Shakespeare was successful in his intent to create an intense scene or Twain's ability to get his point across.

This discussion carries through my entire year and we often reference that third book.  It has increased participation in class discussions tremendously for me.

Characterization - Two Questions to Spark Discussion

I saw a quick interview video clip of author Matt Dinniman (Dungeon Crawler Carl) talking about character creation. He has the ability to create rich characters and supporting characters that feel like they have their own stories independent of the protagonist. He was asked how he does it and his reply is two questions - ones that I think our students would benefit from when analyzing characters:

1. What do they want?
2. What are they afraid of?

He says once he knows those two things about a character, it informs everything they do - whether it be shopping or fighting. 

If you've read the book, you get why the cat is wearing a tiara, sunglasses, and is riding a velociraptor. 

I will be using this today in my discussion with my students on the characters of Brave New World. Two simple questions that should spark quite a bit of discussion. Or maybe it won't. Who knows?

Here is the clip if you want to use it in class (it is less than a minute long): https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQk2M7IDOv2/

Famous Last Words

 I don't know how much you know about this guy:

His name is Thomas de Mahy and he was the Marquis de Favras during the French Revolution.  He was arrested and condemned to death on the testimony of two men, but without corroborating evidence.

So why does he get his own post on Extreme English Teachers?  Because of his last words.

Upon reading his death warrant, his only response was, "I see that you have made three spelling mistakes."

Ha!  THAT is AWESOME!  If you've got to go, might as well go out in style.

Encoding

 One of the things on my PDP this year is to connect back to current theories and research in the field of education in general and English specifically.  It's to varying degrees of success.  One of the things I did do is to subscribe to a few email publications in these areas.  

I've given up on many of them because they are pushing hard for using AI to develop lesson plans.  I have strong feelings on that.  One email that I still have coming is Peps Mccrea.  It's not that I am in love with this weekly email, but it seems to be focused on how kids learn and think and while I know this, it's always a good reminder.  When I see something, I can look at my current practices to make sure that I am still doing it the way it needs to be done.  Take this week's email, for instance:

Big idea  The best teachers use lots of quick activities during their explanations. Choral response, turn-and-talk, MCQs. We tend to think of these as ways to check for understanding, or to sustain student attention. Both are super important… but there's something even more fundamental going on. Every time we ask our students to briefly use an idea we've just introduced, we're catalysing encoding: the process by which learning gets embedded in the brain. When we just explain, our students have to try to encode by listening alone. It's a bit like trying to press a shape into hard clay without actually pushing down. The information touches the surface, but doesn't leave much of an impression. This is weak encoding. Which is why, when we explain lots of new ideas back-to-back without encoding along the way, most of it gets forgotten. It's like someone reading out a long string of numbers and expecting us to remember them all. So why does actively using knowledge make such a difference? When we have to produce an answer (rather than merely receive it), our brain treats it as a much more valuable thing. Even something as brief as a true-or-false question forces our students to rehearse and reorganise the idea. That creates a much deeper neural impression than merely listening alone. And further: brief encoding moments don't just strengthen what came before... they also improve our students' ability to encode what comes next. Retrieval seems to clear working memory and reset attention, making the brain more receptive to new information. So when we pause to encode after introducing each new idea, we're not just consolidating existing knowledge: we're prepping for more. In short, if we think of these moments primarily as checks for understanding, we’re likely to underprice and so underuse them. But if we see also them as vital encoding opportunities, we'd do them far more often. Which would be a very. good. thing.  For more, check out this paper on retrieval practice.

Summary Effective teachers frequently use quick activities to check understanding, often catalysing encoding without realising it.  When learners actively use knowledge, learning is strengthened. Encoding moments both consolidate prior knowledge and prepare the mind for what comes next.

Little updates  Study on praise → finds mixed impact on motivation & performance depending on setting. Paper on psychological needs → links need fulfilment to improved motivation & resilience. Research into curiosity → suggests it may drive science learning more than intelligence, once prior knowledge is considered. Paper on long-term memory → suggests retrieval depends on similarity, not storage location.

You are doing this, I know.  But it helps to serve as a reminder when I am looking at materials that I am creating and ask myself if I can be doing this more.  I would be remiss if I used their content without providing a link (no, I am not getting anything from this - I use their free service only): https://snacks.pepsmccrea.com/subscribe?ref=ynYI2eKayJ