Wordly Wise!

By now, Room 20 students are familiar with Wordly Wise.  We'll be using this vocabulary acquisition program in place of spelling lists / tests this year.  The goal of each weekly packet is to learn word usage and meaning.  Each week's packet will feature 5 exercises (A, B, C, D, E).  Typically, Monday night will be exercise A, Tuesday night B, Wednesday night C, and Thursday night D.  Exercise E is optional (for now...) and students who complete it with their best effort will be awarded a red chip!  The weekly exercises are the same for each week, so even though the word list changes, the directions for the exercises will become increasingly familiar as we progress through the packets.

My 3 best pieces of advice regarding Wordly Wise are:

1. Remind your child to use the word list when completing nightly exercises.  Usually, the answers will jump right out to them if they refer back to the word list.  We spend time in class highlighting and discussing the word list, so they should be familiar with it.
2. Try to familiarize yourself with a few of the words each week so you can pop them into conversations.  The more contexts in which children hear and see these words, the more they are likely to use them on their own!
3. Be patient.  Within a couple of weeks, the exercises will seem routine and your child's vocabulary will be extraordinary!

Here is a link to Wordly Wise's website: http://www.wordlywise3000.com/games/book04.cfm.  We are using Book 4.  The website has word lists, sample sentences, and games to help students learn and practice the words.  Be aware that some of the games require knowledge of multiple lessons' words, so these may have to wait until we've progressed further.