For the LOVE of Words

What has happened to our vocabulary? In the past few years, maybe due to an increase in technology, or the fact that fewer and fewer people spend time reading for enjoyment, I have noticed that the use of fabulous vocabulary in our society is dwindling. It is a scary sight for sure. My ultimate goal with my homeschool students, and all of my students for that matter, is to instill in them a love for reading and a curiosity for new words. One of the ways that I can do this, is to ensure that my kiddos are allowed to read a book that is interesting to them, meaningful, and even fun. I want to build up life-long readers. This week, my elementary homeschool students are tearing through their favorite chapter books. On Monday, I asked that each of them give me a list of five to ten books that were of interest to them. We came up with everything from Hank the Cow Dog to The Hobbit. In deciding on the most appropriate book to read, I met with each one, made sure the book was on each child's reading level, and then handed them sticky notes and a marker. The sticky notes are being used to write down any new, exciting, interesting, or even weird words that they come across in the book that they chose. My goal is to allow them to discover how easy it is to learn new words even when reading something that they previously read. I have enjoyed watching them tell one another a new word as they come across one, or the giggles when they find a word that sounds "silly". Next week, we are going to fill the room up with word webs using the new words that were discovered in old favorite books. I look forward to the creativity, and love even more, that they are reading with smiles on their faces. To be continued...