Sample Activities and Schedule

Teachers in all content areas work together to implement brief activities about an important weekly topic. 

Word Generation Weekly is a supplementary curricular resource that offers a series of discussable dilemmas designed to promote students’ academic language and argumentation skills. Each of the 72 brief one-week units is focused around a social or civic dilemma designed to be of interest to young adolescents. Fifteen- to twenty-minute activities focused on the week’s dilemma take place in ELA, science, social studies, and math classes, and five target academic vocabulary words are incorporated into each of those activities. Students read, discuss, debate, and write about each weekly topic, using the newly taught vocabulary words.

Most middle schools using the WordGen Weekly have all students in grades six through eight working through the same series concurrently. This provides opportunities for whole-school engagement with the topic and creative reinforcement of the target vocabulary. For example, principals can reinforce the vocabulary by using it in announcements or at assemblies. Some teachers also communicate with parents about WordGen Weekly topics and focus words so that parents can discuss the issues and use the words at home. 
Sample Schedule for WordGen Weekly

A WordGen Weekly Week:

(Unit 16 from Series 2)

WordGen Weekly Unit 2.16, Day 1

Day 1: Monday

English-Language Arts
This Week's Issue and Use the Focus Words
Two activities - 15-20 minutes total
  • Introduces controversial topic and focus words in context
  • Provides discussion questions to check for understanding and encourage students to share personal experiences and beliefs
  • Explores focus word definitions and guide students to use them verbally in conversation with turn and talk prompts.
WordGen Weekly Unit 2.16, Day 2

Day 2: Tuesday

Math
Do the Math
One activity - 15 minutes
  • Relates topic to two levels of math problems, with focus words embedded
WordGen Weekly Unit 2.16, Day 3

Day 3: Wednesday

Science
Think Scientifically
One activity - 15 minutes
  • Relates topic to a scenario in science class, with focus words embedded
WordGen Weekly Unit 2.16, Day 4

Day 4: Thursday

Social Studies
Debate the Issue
One activity - 15-20 minutes
  • Guides students to develop a position on the topic and compile reasons and evidence
  • Encourages students to use academically productive talk to discuss/debate positions
WordGen Weekly Unit 2.16, Day 5

Day 5: Friday

English/Language Arts
Take a Stand
One activity - 15-20 minutes
  • Prompts students to write an argumentative essay, outlining evidence and reasoning to support a position
  • Guides students to use the focus words into their writing
WordGen Weekly Sample Schedule

Teacher Edition

Vocabulary Cards

Focus Words Cards/Slides

Development of Word Generation was led by Catherine Snow (Harvard University) and Suzanne Donovan (SERP). Major SERP contributors to program development include: Claire White, Alyse Krantz, Halley Wheeless, Matt Ellinger, David Dudley, and Patrick Hurley. Boston Public Schools and other districts in Massachusetts and Maryland collaborated with SERP to develop Word Generation.


Support for Word Generation was provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Noyce Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, the Leon Lowenstein Foundation and the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education through grant numbers R305A090555 and R305F100026. The information provided does not represent views of the funders.