In-School Vocabulary Parades - Debra Frasier (2024)

What is aVocabulary Parade?

In the book, Miss Alaineus, AVocabulary Disaster, our heroine, Sage, enters her school’s 10th Annual Vocabulary Parade where students design acostume for aschool parade. The costume describes avocabulary word they have selected or been assigned by ateacher.

Join the thousands of schools who have implemented this project, now completely re-formatted for online classrooms! First, hear author / illustrator Debra Frasier read the book, then select from awide range of activities from the Vocabulary Parades Downloads page.

Boost vocabulary retention while creating athome!

TEACHERS: All the resources youneed
can be found in our Vocabulary Parades Downloads page.

1. Define “Miscellaneous”

2. Read thebook

3. What words will your students use?

4. Make acostume

TOOL #1

“Let’s Make aVocabulary Parade Online” is a43-image video slide show presentation to SEND DIRECTLY TO YOUR STUDENTS. This presents the Vocabulary Parade project in one place to your students and their parents. The information is read from the screen. You can add avoice-over, if youlike.

In this presentation you will find an array of simple to complex ways to make avocabulary costume out of things you can find athome.

This slide show is available in three formats:

• Video Slide Show: (same as the video above.) The images automatically advance every 10seconds.
  (Note: you can download and edit these files and add your own narration.)
• PDF (Put in full screen mode to automatically advance the images. The images advance every 10seconds.)
• Powerpoint. This can be upload to Google Drive and either be converted to Google Slides or remain as aPowerpoint slideshow.

TOOL #2

This video slide show of costumes is available from the Vocabulary Parade Downloads page.

(These are primarily full-body costumes andhats.)

TOOL #3

Visit Debra Frasier Books Vocabulary Parade on Pinterest for hundreds of more costume ideas.

There are only TWO RULES for making acostume:

1. Show your WORD on the costume.
2. Write the definition on the costume.

5. The Presentation

2020 – 21 update for In-School Parades

Collect costume photos from students

• Students will need to take apicture of their finished costume or prop and send it TO the teacher. The teacher can also take ascreen shot of astudent if no home phone is available. Use this photo assignment as ateaching moment: The students are the Director as they will be IN the picture: They give directions to the photographer to: make the costume fill the frame, take several pictures and select the best, pay attention to light, (let light fall ON the subject, not come from behind the subject), add amotion if it helps the definition, fill the frame. You might ask for aFRONT view, BACK view, and adetail so you have more to choose from for yourshow.
• Make sure the WORD and the DEFINITION appear on screen in your presentation. Type below the image if you can. Can you narrate the parade, introducing each student and definition in avoice over or live showing?

• Staff joins the fun! Your students will LOVE seeing you in the Vocabulary Parade. Invite your principal to participate, or other staff members: custodial team, cooks, front office, etc. We are learning words and being creative but just as important is the work of knitting the circle of our continued joy of being agroup, TOGETHER, despite the physical separation.

Building your slide presentation

• Sharing will depend on the platform your school is using. Ahost of platforms are in use around the USA: including SeeSaw, Google Classrooms, Canvas, and more. If you need other tools for your platform, let us know. These programs allow for building digital slideshows in various ways. One teacher starts her link-included lessons in Google Slide, then publishes it to the web where it is assigned aURL, which can then be added to aSeeSaw lesson. First, find out how your program allows you to build apresentation. Then how will you save the link for later distribution to your students and families?

Sharing your Vocabulary Parade

• Try “hosting” the first showing of the parade at acertain time, like it would be in aclassroom event at school. Not all will be able to be present but some will — and there will be afeeling of “watching together”. Make invitations? Have alink that permits reviewing multiple times. This will greatly improve vocabulary retention. Play some music in the background to add liveliness.
• Consider THREE parades, or even TWO, where the level of costume escalates: Start easy: Invite only drawn costumes at first? Next, suggest hats found at home for abase. Lastly, encourage full scale costumes out of what you find at home. OR Let students select how to build their costumes, leaving as much room as possible for varying home situations. (Ideas are everywhere: Once astudent in aFlorida was late for the Vocabulary Parade and he arrived with his bed sheet wrapped around him for the word, COVER-UP! It was ingenious!)
• Remember to let students watch their Parade over and over with their own link. This is how words are reviewed and community is strengthened.

Easy Photo Parade

Look at these simple words and actions for aPhoto Wall Parade:

An Author Study can easily be added to your Vocabulary Parade project? Below are six two minute-plus videos about the making of Miss Alaineus that could be added throughout the week following the reading. I’ve also included a4.5minute sample video of asecond grade Vocabulary Parade that is quite lively!

Author Biography: The “Debra Frasier Biography” has been made into an audio file so you can easily send to your students and they can use it as aListening Lesson. (10minutes). Aprintable transcript will be available soon.

Print the Comic Biography if you want to strengthen listening skills.

Two additional videos (about 17minutes) present the steps to making your own Comic Biography — all you need is paper, pencil, and markers!

Biography AudioFile

Comic Biography

Make YOUR Comic Biography

The Idea (1:55)

Writing (1:28)

Editing (1:22)

Imagining (2:21)

Illustrating (3:03)

Voice (1:06)

(4:25)