Cool Word Vocabulary

Students create visual vocabulary cards that fill a word with an image to provide a visual cue to the meaning of the term.

Engage

Let students know they will create a set of Visual Vocabulary trading cards for a unit vocabulary list.

Share the vocabulary list with your students. As a class, explore the meaning and spelling of each word. Provide definitions or have students research them on their own. Have students practice their fluency by writing sentences that contain the word.

Work together to explore the sentences the students have written for keywords to help determine the meaning of the word. This models the strategy of using the context of a sentence to help decode unfamiliar vocabulary terms.

Create

Distribute vocabulary words to each student or divide them into small teams and assign terms. Each student or team should write or locate a definition for their vocabulary word and brainstorm synonyms and antonyms. Next, have them write a sentence that uses the word in context.

Looking back at their definition and sentence, have students brainstorm ideas for pictures that represent the word or provide a visual clue to its meaning using a cluster organizer.

Cluster Organizer

Students can create their vocabulary cards from a blank canvas and use the Image Library to locate an appropriate image for their words.

Blank Canvas

Students can use the Cool Word feature to see the image as color for text. If there is still room on the page, ask students to add a definition, sentence, and even synonyms and antonyms.

Share

Print student work to display in your classroom or embed your website. With print options, like trading cards, you can print multiple copies on the same sheet of paper so students can print, cut out the images, and trade them with the rest of the class for a full set.

Print the page full size to make it part of a word wall or classroom vocabulary list. Collect all finished terms into one project using the Project Wizard to run as a slide show students can watch when they arrive at class in the morning.

Standards

English Language Arts - Grade 6-12

Reading Theme

Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
>6. Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases (grades 3-7).