Do you want a FREE app that will make learning vocabulary words fun? Well, that’s what I’m sharing with you today! I’ll even share a little video of what you can do with this app and a freebie for your students.
I happen to love words. I remember reading Anne of Green Gables and loving the quirky phrases like “kindred spirits” and the way L.M. Montgomery strung words together in a way that made you want to bask in the beauty of the words. Or reading Charlotte’s Web and being captivated by the marvelous first sentence and in awe of quotes like this:
“The crickets felt it was their duty to warn everybody that summertime cannot last for ever. Even on the most beautiful days in the whole year – the days when summer is changing into autumn – the crickets spread the rumour of sadness and change.”
When I discover a new word I find it exciting and can’t wait to use it. I’m finally getting around to reading the Fault In Our Stars and discovered the word hamartia. I’m not sure how I will put “fatal flaw” into a conversation, but it is going to happen!
My students are not quite as enthusiastic to discover words. Of course, a teacher who is excited about words is a good first step, but they need something more. Tech to the rescue!
I searched for an app that would do filters like snapchat, but wasn’t part of a social media. I found one! The app is MSQRD (masquerade). It can link up to Facebook, but you don’t have to do that. You can just download the videos directly to your device. It’s available in the app store and google play store.
I’m planning on using the app to have my students read a vocabulary word and the definition. Once we have videos of all the words that I want the students to work on then I will merge them into a single video (I used imovie for this). The students will watch the video a few times and then they will have some vocabulary activities. They will write the words in their vocabulary notebook with a space between each word. They will use the vocabulary spinner to select an activity for each word – draw a picture, write a sentence, write a synonym, or write an antonym. I may need to put a max or min for each choice if the spinner is ALWAYS landing on their favorite activity. I’ll figure out the details of that as we start using it. I think they will love seeing the video though. Hopefully, it will help some of these words to “stick”!
A few quick tips for this app:
1) Choose to not link it to Facebook
2) Click on the heart to add a filter to favorites. Tell the students they can only use the ones that you have marked. Some of the filters are too distracting – music in the background and/or yucky themes.
3) Combine the individual videos into a single video
4) Provide the students with a way to respond to what they’ve learned – you can use the freebie below!
Here is a little freebie for you to use with this app. It includes 2 cover options – Vocabulary Fun, Spelling Fun. These can be glued onto the front of a spiral notebook. It also has a spinner. You can print this onto cardstock and glue to the inside cover of the notebook. Students can take a paperclip and pencil to use the spinner and select a response form for each word. You may need to specify some guidelines to make sure they are doing a mix of activities. Click on the picture to download the freebie.
I hope you enjoy using this app to help your students learn and appreciate new words!
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