word association game lines connecting words

#Word association game lines connecting words series

Professor Personal helps learners to unlock personal links with new language and ideas: what does this word make me think of? What associations can I make?Ĭaptain Connector, on the other hand, helps learners springboard associations beyond the target word: what other words can I connect that mean the same, the opposite, share a root word or share a visual pattern? Which other words can I link to help me communicate more effectively about this idea? Two special members of this lexical band of heroes are focused on helping children forge stronger connections both inwardly and outwardly. The teacher’s role here is to help learners to be more aware of word learning strategies to activate in order to connect their own, unique pathways, and forging roadmaps of linguistic connection within the mental library.Īs part of the approach to vocabulary instruction I outline in my book Word Power, children can enlist the help of the dynamic team of superheroes to ‘power-up’ learning strategies.Įach superhero of the Word Power League has been designed for learners to zoom in on different features of language such as listening to sounds in words, spotting visual features, exploring word history, investigating meaning, and uncovering root words (including prefixes and suffixes). When learning new words, our mental library highlights pathways – akin to a lexical motorway – connecting language, concepts, experiences and memories. These links are powerful in the process of language development. Word learning is personal we are all unique in our connection capacity. Alternatively, you may relate to opposite words, for instance sadness, gloom, discomfort or displeasure.Īdditionally, you may be reminded of a specific time when you felt comfort – enjoying a favourite meal, spending time with a loved one or reading a favourite book. Does this make you think of a place, a thing, a person or an experience? How do you connect the dots around this word by activating personal links? As it lights up in your mental library, you may also think of associated words, contexts and memories.įor instance, you may link comfort to similar words such as contentment, safety, warmth or wellbeing. Let’s exercise these mental library muscles by thinking about the word comfort.

It’s this connection between the new and the known that will help strengthen pupils’ word knowledge and aid them in building word depth over time. The bespoke, personal nature of these connections invites new words into our mental libraries of language (our ‘word hoard’) in different ways, as we organise and reshuffle to connect the dots between new and known knowledge. The images we create with language are crafted from our own unique experiences, identities and interests. Just as we connect the numbered dots in the pictures, we also use our lexicon (or language) to paint a picture of the world around us – connecting the vocabulary dots to unlock what we know about words and the world. I spent many hours on car journeys working to uncover these images.

#Word association game lines connecting words series

Do you remember them? They involved a series of numbered dots that, when connected, revealed a hidden picture. As a child, I loved ‘connect the dots’ games.