Giving a new meaning to the phrase "acting out in
class"
November 2, 2011
Sixth-grade students in Lisa DiBella's ELA class have been giving a whole new meaning to the phrase "acting out in class." Trying out a new twist on teaching vocabulary words, DiBella decided to fully engage her students by having them act out their vocabulary words.
First,
students were required to select a new and interesting word from a provided list
or to select their own word from the dictionary. Then the students had to dress
up and literally "become" the vocabulary words they selected.
During class, students worked together to figure out what word the others were portraying. The students then had to define the word and its part of speech and use it in a sentence. Once everyone--or word--was defined, students broke into small groups where they wrote a story using all of the new vocabulary words.
"The kids really seemed to enjoy this project," says DiBella. "I thought it was a great way to get my students both interested and invested in new vocabulary words. I believe this project will leave an impression and actually encourage students to start using these new words in their writing and during daily conversations."
Can you guess what word the students in these pictures were acting out? (Answers: The boy on the left is illuminate. The girl on the right is ferocious.)