Literacy
Understanding the Word ChoiceTrait in Writing
Highlighting the Word Choice Trait in Writing
At Vermont Primary School, one of the core elements we focus on in our writing curriculum is the Word Choice trait. This essential aspect helps students choose words that accurately convey their meaning, making their writing more vivid, clear, and engaging.
What Is the Word Choice Trait?
The Word Choice trait refers to the careful selection of words that best express ideas in a way that enhances the overall quality of writing. It involves using precise, vivid, and specific language to create clear meaning, evoke emotions, and paint pictures in the reader’s mind. Strong word choice ensures that every word carries weight and meaning, contributing to a richer, more powerful piece of writing.
How We Develop Word Choice in the Classroom
In our classrooms, we employ several strategies to help students enhance their word choice and strengthen their writing:
Expanding Vocabulary: We encourage students to explore new words and build their vocabulary by reading widely and engaging with different types of texts. This helps them discover more precise and expressive language to use in their writing.
Word Exploration Activities: Through activities like word banks, synonym hunts, and thesaurus challenges, students practice choosing more vivid and appropriate words for their writing. We teach them to avoid overused or vague words and opt for language that adds depth and clarity.
Sensory Language: We guide students to incorporate sensory words—those that describe sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and feelings—to make their writing more immersive and engaging for the reader.
Modeling Effective Word Use: Teachers model effective word choice by showing how specific words can change the tone, clarity, and emotional impact of writing. We use mentor texts to demonstrate how authors make deliberate choices about words to enhance their storytelling or message.
How Parents Can Support Word Choice Development at Home
Parents can play a vital role in helping their child develop strong word choice in their writing. Here are some ways to support this growth:
Encourage Word Play: Engage in word games like Scrabble, Boggle, or crossword puzzles that challenge your child to think creatively about word usage. This can help expand their vocabulary in a fun way.
Read Aloud Together: Share books with rich, descriptive language and discuss how the author’s word choice contributes to the mood, imagery, and meaning. Ask your child to point out words they find interesting or powerful.
Build a Word Bank: Help your child create a personal word bank of interesting or unusual words they encounter in reading or conversation. Encourage them to use these words in their writing to make it more dynamic.
Use a Thesaurus: When your child is working on writing, show them how to use a thesaurus to find synonyms for commonly used words. Encourage them to select words that are more specific or expressive without overcomplicating their writing.
Discuss Word Choices: When reviewing your child’s writing, ask them to explain their word choices. Encourage them to think about whether the words they’ve used are the best fit for what they’re trying to express.
Celebrate Strong Word Use: Praise your child when they use vivid, specific, or creative words in their writing. Highlight how their word choice helps make their writing more interesting and effective.
Fortnightly Segments
Writing Challenge
If your child enjoys their writing and is keen to write for enjoyment at home, below is a prompt that you could ask your child to write about.
You’re the mayor of a new town, and now you want people to move there. How will you convince them to join you?
Comprehension Question
This fortnight’s questions are:
- Can you think of another title for this book? Why would it be a good title?
- Is there anything that you have learned while reading this book?