Want to guarantee that students are learning rich vocabulary all day, everyday—and, by doing this, improving their reading and writing? In this lively, research-based book, based on successful classroom practice, the authors offer dozens of strategies, mini-lessons, units , and activities that increase students' exposure to and appreciation of sophisticated language.

A sampling of the vocabulary-focused strategies and tools include:

• Using daily read alouds and think alouds during shared reading to gather powerful language from literature

• Organizing literature circles with one student serving as the “word hunter”

• Engaging in whole class and small group lively games such as gift of words bingo and ricochet

• Using mentor texts as models for writing class books

• Appointing all students to be “word catchers” and “word coaches” for each other

• Establishing a classroom community where it is considered normal to ask about word meanings and experimenting with language

• Collecting and displaying words in the “Bank of Powerful Language”

• Offering rubrics for word learning assessment

In addition, the authors offer lively ways to enhance word consciousness by linking reading and writing through step-by-step units on poetry, memoir, stories, and research writing. For use with Grades 4-8.