Woodford County High School is experiencing a new WOW factor this school year with its new Word of the Week (WOW) initiative! Each week, the entire school will focus on the same word and participate in different activities focused on that word throughout the week.
This initiative was developed by the English department and their hopes to help students better prepare for the SAT in the spring. So each week, the new word will be repeated over the announcements, posted around the school, and integrated into the classroom through numerous activities.
Over the course of the week, each day has a different objective and activity to help integrate the WOW into the classroom and into student life. The days’ themes are as follows:
- Mondays: Students and staff are challenged to restate the definition of the WOW in their own words.
- Tuesdays: Students and staff are challenged to depict the WOW without the use of words.
- Wednesdays: Students and staff must engage in an activity with the WOW, like using it in a conversation.
- Thursdays: Teachers may ask students to discuss the WOW with other students.
- Fridays: Teachers may have a game for students to play with the WOW.
Each of these daily activities and practices helps students to retain information about these common SAT vocabulary words while also broadening their vocabulary as a whole.
Students can even be rewarded for their participation in the WOW activities. Teachers and staff hand out tickets throughout the week whenever they see or hear students using the WOW and doing the daily practice based on that week’s word. The tickets can then be entered into a drawing for some great gift cards!
Kicking off the first WOW was ambivalent, and I have to say, I was slightly ambivalent about this whole “word of the week” thing, because who likes to do extra vocab? But as I went through the week at school, I really enjoyed the small projects, activities, and conversations that were all centered around the WOW that week.
This new initiative has certainly been a fun, engaging, and beneficial WOW factor experience at WCHS. Many students can’t wait to see what words will continue to come in the future!
