Students become vocabulary investigators, hunting for new words, discovering their meanings, and building a personal word collection to expand their reading and writing toolkit.
Word Detectives transforms vocabulary learning into an exciting investigation! Students search for interesting, unfamiliar, or "juicy" words during reading activities, then work together to discover meanings using context clues, pictures, and dictionaries. This activity builds word consciousness, expands vocabulary, and develops strategies for understanding new words independently.
For each treasure word, complete:
For students who need additional support:
For students who need additional challenge:
Observe and note students' abilities to:
"The magnifying glasses make such a difference! Students really get into character as detectives and take the word hunt seriously."
- Ms. Williams, Grade 2 Teacher
"I keep a 'Word Jar' - when students catch me using a treasure word, they get a point. It keeps vocabulary alive beyond the activity!"
- Mr. Thomas, Grade 2 Teacher
"Celebrate words from Home Languages too! When a student shares a Kweyol or Patois word, we add it to our Word Wall with its meaning."
- Mrs. Lewis, Grade 2 Teacher
