Last month I had the pleasure to be a spectator at Wyandot Run Elementary's "Vocabulary Parade". What is a "Vocabulary Parade" you ask? Well I asked Heidi Wolfer (Literacy Specialist at WRES) if she could share more details and here's what she shared:
The idea came from another school in the district, Scioto Ridge Elementary School.
The Vocabulary Parade is linked to Olentangy's academic Word List (OaWL). Each grade level has a word list that was created by the district. The words are difficult and pop up in each grade levels curriculum.
With the support of an OEF Grant, each grade level at WRES received new vocabulary picture books that promote vocabulary.
Starting in January, the school started truly focusing on vocabulary. During a Professional Development session in February, teachers shared how they encouraged kids to be inspired by vocabulary words, or how vocabulary is showcased in the classrooms.
Teachers started discussing the parade and sharing ideas. For example, every day the WRES Kindergarten teachers dressed up as a new word from the OaWL and they would us a microphone to announce something special with that word.
By the end of February and beginning of March, the school was in vocabulary mode. They had announcements from their students, words spread on walls and teachers were consistently talking about new and interesting words.
They decided to spread the parade over 2 days so each grade level could watch others and learn new words! It was exciting to watch the students cheer for each other.
Most importantly, the students were inspired. They really brought their A game!
I can share as a mother of a 4th grader at Wyandot Run, it was all that my son could talk about for a month leading up to the day! I was so impressed with how engaged the students were and how creative they were with their words. Whether it was a student dressed up as a sorcerer, a principal dressed as a train conductor, or a literacy teacher dressed as a large penguin (AKA Aptenodytes), the students had a wonderful time and learned new vocabulary without even realizing it. Great job to Mrs. Wolfer and the team at Wyandot Run for creating a fun and engaging way for students to learn. The students are already talking about what words they want to be next year!
Mary Lorenz
Executive Director, OEF