Jeff for America

Many of my best ideas are not my own.

Teachers, as it goes, are thieves. We borrow and steal ideas – attributing them when it’s fitting and modifying them to be our own when it’s working. Then, when it makes sense, we share what works and it becomes part of our collective practice.

Through my three years teaching, I’ve taken a lot. Paying close attention to my mentors and their classrooms, my ears perk up when I hear a good idea. Familiar with the ins and outs of a middle school classroom (at my school, anyway), I can tell what will work and won’t. I pass on the ideas that seem short term and artificial, knowing my students will ignore it or feel limited by its use.

But when I hear an idea that stands out, you’ll see me writing it down for later reference and, after some deliberation and forethought, making it happen. Everything is an experiment. Sometimes it works like I imagine, other times it fails - unsalvageable. But most often, it just needs some adjustment to work for me and my students.

Such was the case with a recent acquisition. It was an idea I heard during my first year teaching, but it took a while to integrate into my classroom. It required space and some front-loaded time and patience to create. Like the refrigerator magnet poetry that made its way into every college dorm/20-something’s kitchen in the 90′s, this was an attempt to make words, and putting them together, fun.

At this age, a student’s vocabulary is expanding at the rate of nearly 7 new words a day. They aren’t writing these words down or repeating them in new sentences. They are hearing them used in dialogue, without definition. My school learning group recently read an article that made clear “people develop vocabulary effectively and almost effortlessly as long as they see words in meaningful contexts.” Adopting a more robust vocabulary is not something that needs to be done through repetition (although that might work at first).

Based in this research, most schools require teachers to post their content words in the classroom. Called a “word wall,” this space is meant to expose students to vocabulary that fills their classroom discussions. These word walls are usually bland things, written on index cards and stapled to the wall. So in an effort to accomodate my school’s word wall requirement, and add a level of meaning (and even fun) to the process, I took on this new idea.

The picture really tells it all. Basically, white index cards are cut to size for a variety of general and commonly used words and conjunctions. Once the common words are ready, just apply magnetic tape (get a role from a craft store for $2.99). Then, as your vocabulary list grows, just add colored index cards, cut to size, with the new words written on them. Suddenly, you have a life size word wall, fit for a kitchen fridge but applied to a classroom whiteboard.

I call it Playing with Words, and the kids love it. During the morning free time or after a test is done, or when I need a kid to refocus, they get to play. Some of the sentences are poorly crafted, others just plain inappropriate. Every now and then, though, I notice a new sentence and it makes my day.

It was a great idea that I took and made a reality and I’m glad I did. On a small scale, it made the words we use in class more accesible and fun.

By now, you’ve decided if this idea is something you like. If you do, take it. You can steal it, change it, try it and scrap it. Then share it.

- Jeff