Vocabulary Plus K-8: A Source-Based Approach

Grounded on the Nilsens' source-based approach, students and teachers are led through explorations of how over the centuries words have been enlarged and given additional meanings both through lexical extensions and metaphorical processes. Capitalizing on the basic concept of a source-based approach that words have “natural” connections to each other, the Nilsen's provide ample applications to demonstrate how these words can be taught through what are variously called gestalts, webs, or ladders. The abundance of materials provide students with ample practice in using contextual clues, not so much to figure out a meaning as to exclude the meanings of a word that are inappropriate.

Take a look inside:

• Ready-to-photocopy workshop pages in every chapter are easy to use and serve as conversation topics and as a way to refocus students' attention after they have been engaged in the more free-flowing parts of each lesson.
• Photographs of student work and of students at work at the beginning of each chapter provide a quick glance at the possibilities for hands-on, multi-sensory activities.
• Background reading for the teacher in each chapter present an almost-painless introduction to morphology, the part of linguistics dealing with word formation, and provide teachers with background information and “extra” examples, giving them confidence both in the material and in their ability to present it through the Workshops for students.
• Open-ended End-of-chapter activities in every chapter constitute the PLUS part of the text, by providing tested suggestions for activities that go far beyond the typical “memorization” of word meanings and include writing, speaking, and art activities.
• Suggestions for eliciting participation from students in each chapter help students internalize the meanings of new words and gain a sense of owenership over the material by exploring techniques other than rote memorization.
• Connection of word study with the development of higher order thinking skills in each chapter facilitate the preparation of students in passing the vocabulary section of the high-stakes tests given at the state level by teaching the thinking skills that will enable students to figure out meanings of words they have not met before both on tests and in real life.

What Readers Are Saying

"I didn't intend to read Vocabulary Plus as carefully as I did. Once I got into the material I found the information too much fun to miss."

-Professor Eileen E. Moore, Birmingham-Southern College

"Vocabulary Plus is interesting, engaging, and a logical way in which to teach vocabulary."

-Professor Mary Catherine Sableski, University of Dayton/Kettering City Schools

Meet the Authors

Alleen and Don Nilsen have a long history of working with words and their meanings. Their books include LANGUAGE PLAY and THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF 20th-CENTURY AMERICAN HUMOR, which was chosen as an "Outstanding Reference Source, 2001" by the American Library Association. At Arizona State University, Alleen is a professor of English Education and Don is a professor of linguistics. They draw on their respective areas of expertise in these two books which will breathe new life into the teaching of vocabulary.