321 Learning

Welcome to Word of the Week, brought to you by 321 Learning and 321 Fast Draw (an award-winning animation and video company). We are teachers, animators, and logophiles who believe in the power of words. We’re on a mission to expand vocabulary and invite you to help us spread the word - all the words!

What we do: In one nice, neat package, we deliver the following each week: -One short, engaging video clip from our bank of Tier two words. -Four short, turnkey activities to bring the word to life (one activity Monday - Thursday). - One aligned, editable, four question quiz on google forms to assess student mastery on Friday.

Why we do it: Most standardized vocabulary instruction programs rely on rote memorization of a weekly laundry list of twenty words. After one week of drill and kill, the vocabulary words are pushed aside and rarely used in daily conversation. 321 Learning believes in depth over breadth. Deep word knowledge is more than just definition; it includes understanding the connotation, nuances, and word forms. Through our engaging and memorable animations, your students will not only internalize the definition of a new target word, they will also be able to apply and actively integrate each word into conversations, all while having fun! Our program will move each word from students’ short term memory into working memory. Our words are classified as Tier two words. Tier two words are robust, high frequency vocabulary words that students are likely to encounter across all topics and content-areas. The term was developed by Beck, McKeown, & Omanson in 1987. Tier two words are the impressive, sweet spot words. When heard, they cause the listener to perk up a bit and think, how eloquent! You know the feeling when you hear someone say a formidable* word, it puts them on a new level. *formidable: tending to inspire awe, wonder, or fear

Who it’s for: Teachers, parents, word lovers unite! While we are designed for classroom use, please use our resources if you want to expand your vocabulary in an effective, engaging way! This program is built for fluent readers. Emergent and transitional readers are a bit too early for these high level words. In grade level terms, this roughly aligns to 4th grade and up (we truly mean ‘up’- adults will benefit from reminding themselves what “loquacious” means). At the end of the day, you know your kids best. Download our free “Word of the Week Scope and Sequence” to see if our word bank fits your students’ needs. So, take a deep dive into words with us! In 10 minutes per day, you will have a lexicon that will last a lifetime!