Word Wizard

Have you been teaching vocabulary, but you're not really seeing your students actually USING the words you've taught? Are you looking for an easy, fun way to get students excited about using new words? Try a "Word Wizard" contest in your classroom:

1. Put up a poster labeled "Word Wizard" in your classroom with spaces for stickers or stars to go on. It could be any layout or configuration. Check out this one from Mr. Blakely's class:

2. We've found that students get more excited about this when you DON'T explain it. Therefore, just let the poster sit there and let kids wonder about it and ask you about it until someone uses a vocabulary word during class. Then, you can slyly ask them to put a sticker on the Word Wizard chart. The students will feel that they have suddenly discovered an exciting world of actually using words they've been taught.:)

3. Use the poster as you wish. You may want it to be a competition between classes. You may want to offer some reward, like a 30-second dance party, when the chart is full. You may find that you need to impose a few rules, like "No repeat vocabulary words will earn stickers during the same lesson." You may also wish to reward students who use words in writing or find them in their reading. It will depend on your class.

4. Let your students impress you with how much vocabulary they really did learn!