Vocabulary Posters for Common Class Times

Word Consciousness, an awareness of words and how they work, seems to be the gateway into developing a students' vocabularies.  Michael F. Graves, Susan Watts-Taffe in "For the Love of Words: Fostering Word Consciousness in Young Readers" (2008) promote a six part framework for Fostering Word Consciousness:

1. Create a word-rich environment

2. Recognize and promote adept diction

3. Promote wordplay

4. Foster word consciousness through writing

5. Involve students in original investigations

6. Teach students about words

In the beginning of the year, my focus is on #1, creating a word-rich environment.  To begin addressing vocabulary acquisition in my classroom, I try to use posters like the one below (there are five) during my daily routines in order to remind me to use "spicy" words during common class times or transitions.  I hang them up in non-prime location spots because they are just there for me to use orally so that students are exposed to rich vocabulary at all times of the day. 

You can download this file here:  Vocabulary for Common Class Times

I don't recall where I got this list, but a while ago, I typed it up and hung it in my classroom.  Please let me know if you have any other words to suggest and I will revise the file and repost.

I hope everyone has gotten off to a good start this year!

Happy Teaching!

Anna