Vocabulary Plus K-8: A Source-Based Approach

by Alleen Pace Nilsen, Don L. F. Nilsen

Grounded on the Nilsens' source-based approach, students and teachers are led through explorations of how over the centuries words have been enlarged and given additional meanings both through lexical extensions and metaphorical processes. Capitalizing on the basic concept of a source-based approach that words have “natural” connections to each other, the Nilsen's provide ample applications to demonstrate how these words can be taught through what are variously called gestalts, webs, or ladders. The abundance of materials provide students with ample practice in using contextual clues, not so much to figure out a meaning as to exclude the meanings of a word that are inappropriate. Take a look What Readers Are Saying "I didn't intend to read Vocabulary Plus as carefully as I did. Once I got into the material I found the information too much fun to miss." -Professor Eileen E. Moore, Birmingham-Southern College "Vocabulary Plus is interesting, engaging, and a logical way in which to teach vocabulary." -Professor Mary Catherine Sableski, University of Dayton/Kettering City Schools Meet the Authors Alleen and Don Nilsen have a long history of working with words and their meanings. Their books include LANGUAGE PLAY and THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF 20th-CENTURY AMERICAN HUMOR, which was chosen as an "Outstanding Reference Source, 2001" by the American Library Association. At Arizona State University, Alleen is a professor of English Education and Don is a professor of linguistics. They draw on their respective areas of expertise in these two books which will breathe new life into the teaching of vocabulary.

240 pages, Paperback

First published July 20, 2003

About the author

Alleen Pace Nilsen is in the Humanities Division of Arizona State University's Emeritus College. Together with Don L.F. Nilsen, she has authored an abundance of books including Literature for Today's Young Adults (2012), Pronunciation Contrasts in English (2010) and Encyclopedia of 20th-Century American Humor (2000). She is one of the leading pioneers in humor studies, and has received a lifetime achievement award from the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor and the International Society for Humor Studies.