Build a Word-Rich Environment for Your Students Label Everything in Your Classroom In the vocabulary workshops I've done, I will often suggest that teachers label everything in their classrooms as one of the many ways to create a word-rich environment for their students. The kindergarten teachers, of course, knew all about labeling (chair, table, door, etc.) because this is common practice. The teachers in the other grades (right on through high school) couldn't imagine how they would use labeling. Well.here are some new ways of thinking (all of which you can modify depending on the age and sophistication of your students as well as on the subject matter you teach. 1. Label yourself. Yes, label yourself - your clothing, the colors you're wearing, the shapes you display, your demeanor, etc. 2. Label the objects in the room. This would include items that students may know the less-sophisticated term for, but since you are working to enhance their understanding, you would label the object with a higher-level word. An excellent resource for this is one of the many visual dictionaries that are available. 3. Label the colors in the room. Aubergine, puce, violet, teal, etc. You and the students will have fun with this. Once you get them to start noticing colors, they will point out the colors of everything - in and out of the classroom. 4. Label the textures in the room. Grainy, smooth, rough, tiled, etc. The majority of your students have a strong kinesthetic sense and this is one way to engage that style. 5. What else? There's almost no limit once you let your mind expand beyond the typical concepts that are visually represented. Some additional suggestions: . Consider labeling items in English and in Spanish (and other languages, too if you have other languages represented among your students). It doesn't matter whether you teach a foreign language; in this day and age, we all need to be learning at least two languages. . Have the students investigate new concepts that can be labeled in your classroom and school. They will have some "ownership" when their ideas are the ones that prompt new labeling. . For labeling small items, use a Brother P-Touch Labeler or the like (there are many varieties). . For larger items, make sure you have plenty of sentence strips & markers. Students can also use the computer to create labels to put up around the room. The main idea is this: immerse your learners in a word-rich environment all day every day. One way is by labeling the concepts that are obviously - and not-so-obviously - represented in your classroom. And to access scores of free resources that you can use to build vocabulary in your classroom, including PowerPoints, PDFs, and Word documents, please go to. Owning Words for Literacy <http://www.owningwordsforliteracy.com> http://www.OwningWordsforLiteracy.com - and you can click on the Downloads tab. To get numerous articles with teaching tips (for free), just go to. Articles for Teachers <http://www.articlesforteachers.com> http://www.ArticlesforTeachers.com - and see what's there for you to use in your classroom. C 2009 by Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D., "The Ph.D. of Productivity"(tm). Through her company, Emphasis on Excellence, Inc., Meggin McIntosh changes what people know, feel, dream, and do. Sound interesting? It is!
