We know that teaching vocabulary explicitly is important. But what are some engaging ways to do that? Reading aloud books with rich vocabulary to your students. One problem I have had is knowing what vocabulary words are in the read-alouds I like to use. This is where vocabulary planning sheets come in.

Vocabulary Planning

Over the years of teaching, I have gathered words that I like to teach each year. Oftentimes these words can be found in multiple read-alouds. There is no way I am able to remember which books have the specific words that I want to teach, so I have come up with a system that may help you.

I started a vocabulary binder many years ago where I keep track of words I teach throughout the year.

In this binder, I have put alphabet dividers inside. Next, I fill out a vocabulary planning page for each word I want to teach or save for later. This planning page includes an area to write a kid-friendly definition, synonyms, and antonyms.

As you can see, there is a place to write down books that I find the word in. When I am reading aloud to my class and I find a word in the story that I know is in my vocabulary binder, I add it to the vocabulary page.

When I am planning my vocabulary lessons, I pull out my binder to see what books or activities I have with that particular word. I choose 1-2 books to read interactively with my class.

If a vocabulary planning sheet is something you think you may use, download it here.