High Definition: Unforgettable Vocabulary-Building Strategies Across Genres and Subjects

“This is kids’ ticket into an utterly different kind of vocabulary learning—an energy-juiced, falling in love with words. I wish I were back in school again, and my teacher had read this book.” —Ellin Oliver Keene

Any teacher who has challenged a sunny day with the phrase "vocabulary lesson" only to see a dark cloud descend over the room knows that students can be downright word resistant. Break out of the vocab doldrums once and for all with High Definition, a whole new approach to vocabulary instruction that’s not just effective, but energizing, sociable, and fun.

When kids envision a word as if it were a real person, with a unique voice and personality, they forever imprint the meaning of the word into their memories. Vocabulary lessons become anything but dull, and still blend seamlessly into your writing objectives. Veteran teacher-authors Sara Holbrook and Michael Salinger offer a powerful formula for getting even the most reluctant kids into the act:

Well-chosen Words + Collaborative Discussion + Genre Writing + Performance = Strong Vocabulary

Students are first given a choice of vocabulary words, then collaborate with their peers in small- group brainstorming discussions that lead to writing exercises in a variety of genres. Finally they share their work aloud, building community and understanding throughout the classroom.

Everything you need to put High Definition into action is included:

• Sample word lists give you an immediate starting place for choosing vocabulary words

• Collaboration Cheat Sheets offer instant pre-write organizational help

• Clear explanations of each genre include ways you can build on what kids already know in their lives

• Student samples throughout provide inspiring examples of how students take the definition of words way beyond what’s offered in dictionaries

• Lesson Process Plans show you how to use writing, collaboration, and performance across genres and content areas.

Help your kids build strong and lively vocabularies. Teach with High Definition and discover how to make words unforgettable.

Sara Holbrook is the author of eleven poetry books for children, teens and adults. She has performed for audiences across the US and abroad, for children and adults, in schools, teacher conferences, and bars and once in a boxing ring in Stockholm. According to acclaimed author and poet Jane Yolen, "she does not speak a poem or say a poem or even perform a poem, she sticks her hand down the poem's throat and pulls it inside out. She makes you laugh, cry, feel." Her poetry book for teens, Walking on the Boundaries of Change, won the Parent's Choice Award. She is the author of two poetry books for adults, Chicks Up Front (Cleveland State University Press) and Isn't She Ladylike, (Collinwood Media, distributed by Bottom Dog Press). Her work has been included in many anthologies, including Slam and The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry, and she appeared in the documentary SlamNation. Her most recent publications are Outspoken! How to Improve Writing and Speaking Through Poetry Performance (Heinemann 2009), coauthored with Michael Salinger, and Practical Poetry, A Non-Standard Approach to Meeting Content Standards (Heinemann, 2005). Visit Sara's web site at www.outspokenlit.com.

Michael Salinger is founding curriculum director of the Slam U program at Playhouse Square Foundation and the founder of Poetry Slam Inc. and SUNY Oneonta's Poetry Cross Training Conference. He is the coauthor (with Sara Holbrook) of Outspoken! How to Improve Writing and Speaking Through Poetry Performance (Heinemann 2009). Visit Michael's web site at www.outspokenlit.com.