A Nook Vocabulary Idea

You probably already know you can look up words on the Nook as they come up in the reading. For all my literature classes, I like having students point out words from the text they think are sophisticated, interesting, and/or ACT-level. This most certainly includes words they had to look up to understand. With the Nooks, my students could easily highlight such words and have a ready list when we talked in class.

So, here I am, catching up on this blog just having stapled our first round of words from Life of Pi to a bulletin board.

Now what should I do with these words? I think. They can use these words in an upcoming essay, or I can have them write funny sentences using them correctly. Typical vocabulary work I've employed in the past. I can take my Nook class a little further. Here's my idea:

1. Choose 3 words from the board.
2. With your first word, SEARCH for it on your Nook. Read the sentences around this word.
3. LOOK UP this word to make sure you understand it.
4. List synonyms for this word.
5. Explain why you think the author chose to use this word instead of other words similar in meaning.
6. Repeat steps 2-5 with your other two words.

Depending on time, I could have students write sentences with the words too.

Okay, not a lot of wow factor, but it's certainly a way to encourage deeper understanding of the words and of the author's intent. I can also do this with my other non-Nook classes. It'll just be a little easier on the Nook.