Vocabulary Lists and Activities for the PreK-2 Classroom

Susan E. Israel is an independent researcher, writer, and literacy consultant and currently serves as President and Director of Reading Alliance for Catholic Education in Indiana, where she works with small and large corporations to enhance literacy products. Her special research interests are in the areas of reading comprehension, writing, and child-mind development as it relates to literacy processes. Israel served as assistant professor at the University of Dayton, and in 2005 she was awarded the University's Panhellenic Council Outstanding Professor Award. She has also served on the national faculty at the University of Notre Dame Summer Program, where she taught reading and language arts methods. A former elementary teacher, she was awarded the 1998 teacher-researcher grant from the International Reading Association (IRA). Having been an active member of the IRA for over a decade, she has served on a number of IRA committees and interest groups and recently was president of the History of Literacy Special Interest Group. In addition, she has been active with the National Reading Conference. Israel has authored, coauthored, or edited over 15 books and volumes and is the senior editor of the recently published comprehensive volume, Handbook of Research on Reading Comprehension (Israel & Duffy, 2008). Other recent publications include Teachers Taking Action: A Comprehensive Guide to Teacher Research (with Cynthia Lassonde, 2008), Reading First and Beyond (with Cathy Collins Block, 2005), Collaborative Literacy (2006), Shaping the Reading Field (2007), Poetic Possibilities (2006), and Quotes to Inspire Great Reading Teachers (2006).

Preface Acknowledgments About the Author About the Guest Contributor Introduction: Vocabulary Words for Primary Grade Students Part I. Vocabulary Voices I Hear: Development of Vocabulary Through Oral Language Literacy 1. School Success #1: Back to School #2: People I Know #3: Kindness Counts #4: My Favorites #5: Classroom Jobs #6: Understanding Directions #7: School Themes #8: Parent Volunteers 2. Oh, the Words We Know! #9: Witty Words We Know From A-Z #10: Words We Use When We Go Places #11: Dr. Seuss Fun #12: Name Games #13: My Word Wall #14: ABC Books Resource List 3. Phonics and Team Work #15: What to Say Instead of "Sound It Out" #16: Words With R-Controlled Vowels #17: "H" Brothers #18: Cow Words Part II. Read to Me Words: Building Rich Vocabulary Through Storybooks and Other Print-Rich Materials 4. New Genres #19: What Are You Thinking? #20: Books With Lessons #21: We Are Special #22. Wired Words #23: Words I Know Web 5. Informational Storybooks by T. Lee Williams #24: Nonfiction for Everyone #25: Cookbook Fun #26: Bugs and Brains #27: Factual Fun #28: Cultural Curiosity 6. Celebrations #29: Happy Birthday #30: Celebrating the 100th Day #31: Holidays #32: Seasonal Fun #33: Literacy Day Part III. How I Use Words I Can Read: Developing Vocabulary Literacy Through Writing 7. Writer's Learning New Words #34: Writer's World Words #35: Ideas for Writing #36: Writing Prompts #37: Creative Writing Connections #38. Vocabulary Word List From Israel and Fry's Research #39: Writing Responses #40: Books to Help Children With Writing Resource A: Vocabulary Self-Assessment Resource B: Readings About Vocabulary Resource C: Web Sites for Teaching Phonics and Learning to Read Resource D: Science Vocabulary and Web Sites to Increase Critical Thinking Resource E: Poetry Learning Centers Resource F: Home-School Connections References Children's Book References Index

"Offers an organized resource for teaching vocabulary, and provides word lists, literature connections and extensions, journal prompts, and additional resources for teachers. The book's organization allows a teacher to pick and choose where to start and what to include." -- Anita Barnes, Literacy and Math Specialist "A valuable resource for teachers who want to increase their students' vocabulary. The author provides a guide for integrating vocabulary, writing, and other components of the writing process." -- Gustava Cooper-Baker, Principal