Imagine if words had a value and could be bought and sold by children, says award-winning teacher Adam Parkhouse.
This lesson involves a flexible vocabulary bartering activity in an imaginary marketplace that encourages and inspires children to be outrageous and courageous in their use of vocabulary.
The idea was sparked by the city of Dictionopolis which features in Norman Juster’s fantastic 1961 novel The Phantom Tollbooth, but if you haven’t shared the book as a class, the activity will still work just as well.
In the story, main character Milo is reunited with a lost love of learning and curiosity, an allegory to which any teacher can relate.
What they’ll learn
- Look at new words in a different light
- Know that words have different values and classes and increase knowledge of these
- Take turns to elicit information
- Expand vocabulary range