Text Set: Word Study and Vocabulary

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We want to have joy and inquiry at the heart of our word study and vocabulary work. This week, I'll share a set of books that will celebrate words in various ways. Word study cannot happen without understanding the power and impact of words. 

The Great Big Animal Search Book is a fun book, and at first glance I had no idea all that was in here connected to words and vocabulary. This is a giant search book with really fun illustrations and so many facts about animals. It is a book readers can spend hours and hours with. AND it ALSO introduces readers to a variety of collective nouns (a WADDLE of penguins, a HERD of cows). Such a great way to discover the fun in collective nouns and to explore new vocabulary in the process. 

The Invisible Alphabet gives readers a unique way to think about words. This book is full of words that are invisible--things you don't see (such as AIR).  Reading through this book and then playing with other types of alphabet lists you could create based on a unique category like invisible would be great fun!

I love Ambitious Girl and they way that it takes a single word--ambitious-- and defines and expands on the definition through the whole of the book. Thinking deeply about the perfect word and all that it can be in descriptions and actions is worthy of conversation. 

This book could be used throughout the year for so many things. Just as the previous book explored one word, Dictionary for a Better World explores and deeply digs into several words using poems, quotes, and more. And each word fits under the topic umbrella of a better world. I want young readers to go beyond a dictionary definition of a word and to really think beyond a one-phrase definition. This book invites readers to think about powerful words in a variety of ways to build understanding. Discussing each word as well as its inclusion in the book's theme will add to any word study conversation.  

Of course you'd have to spend weeks with Have I Ever Told You Black Lives Matter before you brought it into word study. The book is powerful and says so much. The fact that there are only words and no illustrations is powerful. The way the words are set on the page is powerful.  So many Black voices are shared in this book.  A perfect book for talking about the power of words, the word we remember, the power of quotes, whose words have power, whose words do we study and remember, etc. could all be important conversations using this book as an anchor. 

This week's books were linked at Cover to Cover Children's Bookstore. If you are looking for a fabulous children's bookstore to support, this is an amazing one. We are lucky to have them in Central Ohio!

You can find a downloadable pdf of this list at frankisibberson.com.