Vocabulary Development

Resource guide. By Natasha Ambriz-Villela & KaLa Keaton. In collaboration with Carolyn Streets.

Monster, written by Walter Dean Myers, centers a teenager awaiting trial for a murder and robbery. This book is a way to discuss racial disparities in the criminal justice system.

These resources aim to increase literacy by targeting vocabulary development. The project consists of two parts: a vocabulary workbook resource for teachers and a unit plan with extending lessons for a novel study on Monster by Walter Dean Myers. 

The workbook consists of summaries for eleven vocabulary acquisition strategies and accompanying supplemental materials, such as graphic organizers and examples. The strategies come from teacher resource websites, mainly the National Council of Teachers of English. The activities are rooted in research about vocabulary instruction and deepening learning by incorporating art, students’ prior knowledge, and higher-order cognitive skills such as categorization and making connections.

The coinciding unit plan acts as a guide for teachers as well as provides extending lesson plans for before, during, and after reading Monster without diverting the intentions of a deep novel study. Teachers are encouraged to pick from these options and incorporate, mix, and modify them in a way that makes sense for their own classrooms.