My students need 25 thesauruses and 25 dictionaries to improve their oral vocabulary and writing skills which will in turn help them master their CA State Standards.
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My Students
"The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say."~Ana's Nina
My students need the tools to say what they are unable to say. We share 10 thesauruses and 2 dictionaries between 24 students.
My students live in one of the most densely populated cities in California.
We were on a Year-Round schedule until this school year. In the last 33 years, most of the students in our community had not experienced a summer vacation. Their breaks often occurred at odd times throughout the year. They are of lower socioeconomic status which has not limited their enthusiasm for school. We have many English Language Learners who have limited oral and written language skills. We are a Title 1 school and most of our students qualify for a free or reduced lunch. Our school has over 1,100 students who share a small learning environment. We have to have 3 separate recesses/lunches in order to accommodate all our kids. We do not a have functioning library because of our state budget cuts.
My Project
We have two dictionaries that are shared among our classroom. Since dictionary skills have to be taught explicitly, many of my students shy away from using dictionaries. If we had an individual copy for each student, it would allow them to become familiar and I would be able to teach them more effectively. They would be able to look up meanings of unfamiliar words using their guide words, check on syllabication of words, see illustrations of unknown words, and read a word in the context of a sentence.
Our students overuse many words in their writing such as "said" and "happy". With a thesaurus, they will be able to find synonyms for commonly overused words and apply it in their oral and written language. We have many vocabulary activities that require students to look for synonyms and antonyms of words. It is also in our CA state standards for students to know these skills. Both of these books will be stored on top of their desks for immediate and daily use.
Although we have technology to help us with reference skills such as word meaning, synonyms, and antonyms, I feel it is important for my students to learn these skills with physical dictionaries and thesauri because it will carry over in their ability to research topics in their future education.
This will make a difference in their future especially in college where reference skills are vital to their success. My students are very excited about learning new words or synonyms for overused words.
Nearly all students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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