“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—’tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” ~Mark Twain

All great writing begins with singular words. Vocabulary development begins in infancy. Babies move from babbling to utilizing whole words during the first year of life. Before entering Kindergarten, they are understanding and using a lexicon of around 5,000 words! As students begin to read, this vocabulary will increase exponentially.

Unfortunately, vocabulary development exercises often become disconnected from purpose. Words are singular, possessing significant specificity.

“I know nothing in the world that has as much power as a word. Sometimes I write one, and I look at it until it begins to shine.” ~Emily Dickinson

Challenging our students to actually use new words in their written ideas will guarantee that these new words are etched into memory. Actively igniting words—reading, speaking, and writing—is the art of communicating.

Over the course of the school year, Operation Lexicon will grow your student’s lexicon. Each week your student is presented with four words ABCeDarian style—four A words, four B words, four C words and so on—from the lexicon of a significant author.  Students will not only explore the words being used in the context of exceptional writing, but will employ the words in new ways. Setting your student on an adventure with words, not just any words, but the words great writers use, will help them understand just what words are worth.

Of course students will be using new words to construct sentences. But, perhaps more importantly, students will construct narrative passages using the new words presented each week. One Crafting a narrative passage can be fiction or non-fiction, or, it can be something in between. Narration is a significant genre of writing where the goal is to tell a story. Story details can unfold in a linear or non-linear manner. Practicing this art form is a significant goal for students throughout all of education. Operation Lexicon provides an ongoing opportunity to practice this work simultaneous to acquiring a rich vocabulary.

Four Words from the Work of E.B. White

inquires, irksome, idyllic, injury

Set the Stage

Offering students a setting to spring from is a great way to begin. Here students were presented with information about pistachio groves and a little bit of pistachio lore. The lesson didn’t take long, just long enough to spark an idea.

Pistachio trees were introduced to the United States in 1854. Did you know most pistachios produced in the US are grown in California? Pistachios need a mild winter chill and healthy warm breezes to thrive. But coastal regions are not ideal. The pistachio is a small tree that begins to produce fruit during the fifth year after planting and only reaches full maturity after fifteen years. April frosts will kill flowers and cool summers won’t promote good kernel development. Favored by the Queen of Sheba, known as the smiling fruit, from the hanging gardens of Babylon, to the Venetian court, these bright green nuts have a rich history.