A popular way to teach vocabulary is to issue a list of words and then instruct kids to look them up, write them in a sentence, record the part of speech, and complete a variety of other related tasks.  Often we give them blanket tasks to perform for all the words even when the tasks can’t be applied to some of the words.  (Adjectives with very specific meanings like “indentured” that don’t really have antonyms, for example.  I heard a child suggest “someone who has to work for their own servant?”)

Kids mostly glaze over at this kind of assignment.  Particularly if it’s a regular part of their school or homework, they just slog through it.  Kids who can’t make sense of the definitions, and this is a lot of them, come away with at best a vague understanding of a few of the words, at worst thorough but inaccurate understandings.  Dictionary definitions are not written for people who have been reading for only a few years.  They’re written with great formality, and by formula, so as to be consistent.  Unfortunately the form renders them nearly unreadable to young readers.  (Not to mention that it exposes a great hypocrisy.  Kids are told not to use a word in its own definition, but the dictionary, it’s OK for the dictionary to do that (and don’t try to tell them that what we meant was they couldn’t use the exact form of the word in its definition; they know that’s not different).) The dictionary ends up feeling like just another club kids aren’t invited to be a part of.

But I digress.  I went looking for an online dictionary that might be written such that it conveyed for at least some words a degree of meaning that could be ascertained by a typical 10 year-old reader.  Here’s the best I found, Scholastic Word Wizard.  Pronunciations, definitions, synonyms, antonyms (where possible), and often a sample sentence.  The pages are mostly unencumbered by advertisements, which can’t be said for most online dictionaries I’ve found.  If you’ve found a better one, please let me know and I’ll pass it on.

A recent New York Times article apparently inspired some chatter about book choice for young people. Here’s Nancie Atwell’s clarification of her approach and her response to some of the criticism.

I was recommending a couple of math books today and realized that Marilyn Burns’* The I Hate Mathematics Book and Math for Smarty Pants make a good team.  The material is similar - offers a wider view of math than many publications and party lines - but the titles invite their readers to adhere to much different attitudes and standpoints about the whole business.  I don’t tend to encourage people to go around saying they hate math, but for those who are already saying it, or things like it, The I Hate Mathematics Book is a good way to find out otherwise.  A pairing with Math for Smarty Pants offers an opportunity to play with the love/hate relationship math can inspire, but also to inspire all kinds of intelligence and brilliance.

* Marilyn Burns is actually one of three authors on The I Hate Mathematics Book (Linda Allison and David Weitzman are the other two); I used her name there not to be disrespectful to the other two but because she’s well-known for other related work.

I was reminded today of the Lawrence Hall of Science publications.  I haven’t tried anywhere near all that they offer, but their math and science materials lean in the direction of exploration and adventure.  In the shopping area on their website you’ll find lots of things to actually do, which is always a good sign when it comes to science and math. In particular I recommend looking through the topics available under GEMS (Great Explorations in Math and Science).

Well, a city council meeting, at least.  We had a hearing last night on a proposed ordinance that would allow local residents to keep laying hens in backyard coops. Fortunately for me and my ongoing education, I didn’t think to read the agenda for the council meeting ahead of time and as a result was present not only for the hearing but also for lots of other reading, commenting, moving, and voting.

I got a long overdue education on city politics.  I’d like to think that not everyone is as ignorant as I when it comes to the workings of government, but I fear I am not even close to alone.  I’m sure I “learned” it all at some point along the line, but I don’t remember a stitch and what I experienced at the meeting was nothing short of wonder. Furthermore, I couldn’t help thinking that such an experience might have a similar effect on several of the young people I know.  So the purpose of this little snippet is only to suggest, in case you haven’t thought of it already, that a city or town meeting might make a worthwhile excursion.  I’d recommend taking care to choose one with at least some content of interest to your family so it’s not just an educational exercise.

I’ve made several failed attempts over the years to get myself fluent in Spanish. I learned a bit when I was eight, and periodically decide that it’s high time I went ahead and finished learning to speak it. So what do I keep doing? Buying learn-it-yourself programs. I don’t buy the expensive ones, because I don’t usually trust myself to stick with it. A few times, my frugality has been costly and I gave up perhaps sooner than I might have, thanks to the poor quality of the materials. Most recently, however, I discovered a series of materials which may well-suit those of us who are tight for time and hesitant to sink too much money into a program we’re at high risk for abandoning: Berlitz Rush Hour Spanish. It’s also available in French, German, and Italian (all for English speakers) and in English for Spanish speakers.

As the title suggests, the CDs are designed to be learned during a commute or other drive. The heart of the program is the silly songs which, though they may annoy you, will stay with you, which is what you want. If you like learning by ear, or your child does well with this kind of learning, these are worth a try. There’s a book that accompanies the CDs, so if you want to use the discs when you’re not driving, you can follow along.

It’s a low-cost program and really only enough to get your learning off the ground - it won’t get you all the way to fluent. It’s great, however, if you’ve got a young one who wants to learn a language and isn’t sure which one, or just thrives with playful/silly but content-rich materials.

You can get these new or used from amazon.  Here’s a link to the Spanish version.

I also stumbled upon a free online word game which is associated with the series. You’ll also find that there are several different versions of the program. (One comes with headphones, another is an audio download, another is designed to complete in an hour…)

I hung on to a daily math practice book from my last classroom teaching job, and it’s proven a good keep.  It’s published by Great Source, and is set up as a quick review for a range of math concepts (place value, fractions and decimals, etc.).  It’s called Practice Counts, and comes in several different grade level versions.  (It can be tricky to find - it’s available on amazon but you have to check with the vendor to be sure you’re getting the level you want; you can also order it through a retail store.  The publisher only sells them several at a time.) Read more