When my principal announced several years ago that our new focus was academic vocabulary, I may have rolled my eyes. Ugh! One more thing added to our list to do, right? Well, I was wrong. Implementing academic vocabulary instruction made a huge difference in my classroom. I saw (and heard) students begin using the language […]
Why We Reteach Parts of Speech Every Year
Every year, it happens without fail. Some adorable little newly-minted seventh-grader will look up at me with big innocent eyes and ask, “What’s a verb, again?” Then I quietly walk over to the closet and bang my head on the door. Actually, it’s not so quiet–there may be a noise like moaning and gnashing of […]