Summer is HERE. School has finished for the year, camp is getting started, pants have been swapped for shorts, and no matter what effort I put into cleaning my car, there will be a reliable trace of sand until the fall - at the earliest. That means it’s time for my post on summer vocabulary.
This post is a compilation of summer words. Here are a few ideas on how to use them:
Choose several words to alphabetize. This is a skill that ALWAYS needs some practice. For younger students that need extra support, choose only a few words that begin with different letters. With students that need less support and are up for more of a challenge, choose words that begin with the same letter, encouraging students to alphabetize by second and third letters.
Choose a few nouns from the list and ask students to list as many adjectives as they can think of to describe each noun.
Pick 8-10 words and ask student to write a short autumn story using all of the chosen words. For students needing more support, they can write a descriptive sentence for each word.
Choose several words and write each one on a separate scrap of paper. Fold the papers and put them into a bag or container. Students take turns choosing a paper and describing the word on the paper for others to guess.
What words may students not know? Choose a handful of words that might be new. Discuss the meaning of the word and have them use it in a sentence, and illustrate it. Have them discuss with a partner how each word relates to summer.
A: adventure; air conditioning; amusement park; anchor; August
B: barbecue; barefoot; bathing suit; beach; bee; bicycles; birds; blackberries; blistering; blueberries; boardwalk; boating; boats; bonfire; bucket; buoy; butterfly
C: campfire; camping; canoe; cap; capris; carnival; cooler
D: dew; diving; diving board; dragonfly
E: explore; enjoy
F: fair; farm; fireworks; flashlight; flip flops; flowers; Frisbee; fruit
G: garden; gardening; goggles; golf; grass; grasshopper
H: hat; heat; hike; hot; humid; hummingbird
I: ice cream; iced tea; Independence Day; insects
J: jellyfish; July; jump rope; June
K: kayak; kick board
L: Labor Day; lake; lawn; lawnmower; lemonade; life jacket; lifeguard; life vest; lightening
M: mosquito; mower; muggy
N: nap; nest; nostalgic
O: oar; ocean
P: paddle; paddle board; pail; peaches; picnic; plums; pool; popsicles; postcard
Q: quench
R: raft; rash guard; raspberries; rays; reading; repellent; roller blades
S: sailing; sand; sandals; sandcastle; sandpiper; scorching; seagull; September; shade; shorts; shovel; sleeping bag; s’mores; spade; starfish; stargazing; sting; strawberries; summertime; sunblock; sunburn; sundress; sunflower; sunhat; sunny; sun rays; sunshine; sun shower; suntan; surf; surfboard; sweltering; swim camp; swimsuit; swimming
T: t-shirt; tank top; tennis; tent; thunder; thunderstorm; tomatoes; towel
U: umbrella; underwater
V: vacation; vegetable garden
W: wading; wasp; water; water bottle; water slide; watermelon; waves; wildflowers; wheelbarrow
X: eXplore
Y: yacht
Z: zap; zinc oxide
Are there any other words you’d add to this list?