The Reading Warehouse

Making Words Stick shows you how to move beyond spelling lists and rote memorization to make words both meaningful and memorable for all your students. It builds on the connection between vocabulary and comprehension and guides teachers in their most important task-- building a strong literacy foundation.

Full of efficient, effective, and engaging strategies, this useful guide explores innovative ways to organize vocabulary instruction in the grade 1 to 8 classroom. It demonstrates how to: create a positive, student-centered environment for the concept-based, multi-layered learning of words;teach vocabulary during shared reading, guided reading, and independent center time;incorporate visual displays of read aloud/picture study vocabulary to develop important conceptual knowledge;introduce think-and-search prompts and stretch charts to expand word knowledge during shared reading;build reading and writing independence with a wealth of fun small-group, and word-play challenges.

From the role of semantics and syntax to original classroom-tested activities, this imaginative guide helps you give your students the lifelong gift of words and language.

Kellie is currently a consultant for early literacy with a specialty of teaching writing. She also teaches first grade in the Delta School District in British Columbia, and consults with schools in the United States and Canada.

"I love teaching because I believe that, along with its being one of the most important, complex, and extremely demanding calls to service, it is fun, challenging, and interesting," Kellie says. "It is somehow always different. No matter how long you teach, you are always learning, always being refreshed and renewed, especially when you team up to accomplish what one teacher could not do alone. With our teaching, we create an important legacy that binds us all together."

During her long teaching career, Kellie has been an elementary school teacher, an instructor at Simon Fraser University, and an instructor at Douglas College and University College of the Fraser Valley, and has coached competitive swimming and basketball.

She believes that it is very important to bring passion to teaching. "I feel that it is imperative that we make learning situated, social, and active enough for students to become deeply involved."

Her approach to professional development is similar: "Teachers learn by doing, just as our youngsters do."

"Writing a book," Kellie says, "requires us to carry our story with us as we move through the day. Writing a book is an 'out of desk' experience. We collect our ideas as we witness life and commit ourselves to a disciplined practice of recording our noticing. We write best when we write from abundance, allow the rewriting to be the essential component of the writing."

Kellie has been married for thirty years and has three children. Her hobbies include tropical water gardens, scuba diving, and flying. She is a licensed private pilot.