Flocabulary Lessons that Rock!
I work in a school with a high ESL population. When I moved to 4th grade I realized that my ESL students struggled with their vocabulary. When writing a composition, it was hard for them to describe what they were writing about with anything other than basic English words. So, I began my quest to find a solution that would meet their needs. As I searched the web, I stumbled upon Flocabulary.com. This site immediately got my attention. Flocabulary is educational Hip-Hop. While they have songs for all subjects, I was mostly interested in the elementary Flocabulary lessons. The songs are great. A lot of elementary educational songs are a little too “baby” for my kids. However, these are not. They sound like rap songs off the radio! I even had a parent ask if the words were appropriate because it sounded so “authentic”.
How does it work? Each week, students are introduced to 10 new words. The words and their definitions are embedded in the rap song of the week. As the kids learn the songs, they learn the definitions and how to use the word properly. Each song comes with activities to help build the students’ knowledge of each word. At the end of the week, students can be assessed with the unit test provided.
From the moment I started using it, I noticed a difference. First off, my students literally beg to hear the song each day. When it is time to do Flocabulary lessons, they cheer. It is, by far, their favorite part of the day. Plus, they are so excited about the songs and the vocabulary that they immediately begin trying to use the words in their speaking and in their written compositions. Word such as “good”, “big” and “sad” have been replaced with “extraordinary”, “vast” and “tragic”. It has been exactly the tool I needed to get my kids’ to the next level.
Check out one of their songs here:
Happy Teaching!
Betsy
