Welcome to JOYcabulary!
Ready to make vocabulary learning joyful and stress-free? These quick-start guides show parents and teachers exactly how to begin. Explore simple, no-prep vocabulary games, free printable lesson plans, and grade-specific activities that help kids build strong word skills at home or in the classroom. Whether you’re teaching your first lesson or refreshing your routine, these step-by-step tips will help children fall in love with new words.
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Launch Books
Launch books celebrate word learning and establish word consciousness-- the awareness and interest in words and their meanings.
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Warm Up Poems
We start each lesson with a warm up poem because poetry exposes our children to word play, alliteration, metaphor, and simile— all parts of word learning.
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Book Pairings
Just like you might pair a fine wine with a gourmet meal, we pair together read aloud books. Posted monthly.
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Lesson Plans
We use a 7-step process to develop lesson plans that are effortless to implement and proven effective in raising the level of word acquisition in students.
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Tip of the Month
Short, easy-to-implement tips that ratchet up your instructional practices and foster word learning. Posted monthly.
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Caregiver Corner
JOYcabulary is not just for teachers! We also offer super simple tips to help with the nightly bedtime reading routine and to support word building with kids. Posted monthly.
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Games and Extensions
Increase word exposure and vocabulary learning without the use of boring old worksheets, workbooks, and flash cards.
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Word JOY! for Grades 3-6
NEW MARCH 2025! Tools, tips, and resources for Grades 3-6, including chapter books and other intermediate reading.
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Resources
A collection of some of our favorite tried-and-true reference books and other resources we've come to love and rely on over the years.
