Transformed by Vocabulary

How often do we take for granted the art of words? It is the very foundation by which we have the ability communicate. Letters have sounds that make words when they are put together. Those words make sentences and those sentences make paragraphs. Those paragraphs make stories thereby giving individuals the ability to comprehend and understand the different aspects of events and plot.

I must ask the question, how important is our ability to communicate? Moreover, how important is our ability to communicate effectively? As a teacher, I have always believed in the power of communication, the power of our words and the power of vocabulary. While vocabulary is not WHO I am, it does play a role in my identification of who I am. While words are a tool, they are powerful tools, that when used appropriately, can bring change to a room, a mind, or a circumstance. Not only that, your words have the power to heal, demonstrate love and influence others. We can find a great example in the man Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. himself. He did not mince words, nor did he need to. Instead he was creative. He utilized his tools in order to construct moving and life-changing messages that he would go on to deliver and transform the lives of everyone, and not just in his life, but years after his departure.

The Power of your Words

In Journey to the Y in You, chapter 9, it says, and I am quoting myself, “Words are like paint in which the writer becomes the artist and creates a masterpiece.” Truly, words have the inherent ability to paint a picture for the reader such that one can read and understand what is and is not written.

Word of the Day - My Students

For the past 5 years, I have embraced an area of teaching that I am literally fallen in love with and don’t know where I or my students might be without it. What started as an introduction to words and tools in which to speak and write has turned into a major motion picture of learning. I challenged them to use or identify use of their words of the day and earn ‘word wizard points’ that I would let them redeem for eating lunch in the classroom or other celebrations at the end of each marking period.

Well, not only did students grab hold of the idea with great tenacity, their parents have told me time and time again how much they utilize the words outside of school, habitually, almost to the extent of aggravation! Ha! I say mission accomplished. What more is that parents have addressed how much they have learned from the experience, whereby students are learning advanced words that are not always known by their parents and siblings. Parents too, have been transformed by the renewing of their minds..through the explicit and intentional teaching of vocabulary. Students have turned this into spontaneous Word of the Day debates, word of the day stories and creative projects. Most recently I had the opportunity to challenge students to create an environment in Minecraft that demonstrates their comprehensive understanding of their words. They were challenged to include at least 25 words and visually represent them. Ultimately they would act as tour guide, navigating us through the city as they explained their use and interpretation of their selected words.

Not only are these words taught explicitly with accompanying discussion and examples, they are challenged to use the word in context and respond to brief questions for application. Nevertheless, the true application of these words is that they use them and do so often so that these are words for life, not just for an academic year. When you establish high expectations, students will strive to meet them. Thus, these words are spoken and identified daily, by the students and myself to keep us all o our toes. They are utilized in writing and they are practiced orally on the daily, cementing these words to their lives. Not only have my students been ‘transformed by vocabulary, but so have their parents and quite frankly, so have I!