Building Vocabulary Summer Camp - Session 1

In this two-week summer camp, students will build their vocabulary by mastering five new words each day. We will practice these words through games, illustrations, discussion, and collaboration. Vocabulary words are chosen from Common Core Standards for 5th through 8th grade and gradually include an increasing number of middle school level words. We will define each term, identify its part of speech (i.e., noun, verb, adjective, adverb) and relevant affixes, brainstorm synonyms and antonyms, practice applications of each word, and choose images that illustrate their meanings. This is a condensed schedule for the same class I teach weekly throughout the year. Below is a list of class themes and the words we will focus on in each lesson of Session 1.

Week 1
Day 1: Math - congruent, equivalent, product, calculate, symmetry
Day 2: Feelings - melancholy, cringe, anxious, furious, hostile
Day 3: Character Traits - exuberant, diligent, genuine, obedient, courteous
Day 4: Story Elements - narrate, chronological, viewpoint, recount, conflict 
Day 5: History - historic, decade, civilization, origin, heroic

Week 2
Day 1: Investigate - evaluate, hypothesis, evidence, conclude, suspense
Day 2: Research - analyze, declare, identify, summarize, contrast
Day 3: Spooky - revolting, inhospitable, peculiar, tremble, ferocious
Day 4: Argue/Debate - argument, claim, persuade, debate, support
Day 5: Animal Adaptations - instinct, migration, hibernation, mimicry, habitat