Students at Grand Avenue Elementary School turned words into wearable works of art as part of a schoolwide literacy celebration, combining research, creativity and family collaboration in a unique vocabulary parade.
In honor of Pick a Reading Partner Week, students in grades two through five selected vocabulary words, studied their meanings and parts of speech and worked with their families to design costumes that visually represented their chosen terms.
The result was a lively, colorful presentation in which students modeled their creations while their words were read aloud to the school.
“This is a way of spanning the children’s vocabulary, really getting them thinking about words in a different way,” said Viviana Fixman, reading and literacy teacher noting that the activity pushed students beyond basic language to more descriptive and precise word choices.
The initiative, now in its second year, has evolved to encourage more advanced vocabulary. Principal Samantha Dias said while last year’s words were simpler, students “really stepped it up” this year, choosing more complex terms and diving deeper into their meanings.
The project also emphasized foundational literacy skills that can sometimes be overlooked in a digital age. Students located words alphabetically, wrote them in sentences and identified their parts of speech — all while preparing to present them publicly.
The process began by flipping through traditional dictionaries with Melissa Tallis, the librarian — not digital devices — to find and refine their words. In many cases, they explored synonyms with a thesaurus to elevate their choices, moving from simple descriptors like “injured” to more nuanced terms such as “impairment.”
Dias said students learned skills to not rely on their iPads to quickly search a word up. They used the skill to find specific words alphabetically, accessing those regions of the brain that require them to transfold and transcribe.
“It’s to easy to type it on the iPad, so they had the full experience of what it’s like to research a word,” Fixman said.“They had to research it. They had to do the work at home with their family, design the costume and then come in, they did a lot of work – it’s amazing.”
The event itself unfolded like a fashion show, with students individually taking center stage preparing in the hall entering the general purpose room, class by class as Noelle Iconis served as master of ceremonies, announcing each word while classmates and teachers applauded.
Words ranged from “perplexed” and “majestic” to “camouflage,” “radiant” and “illuminate,” reflecting both creativity and growing vocabulary skills.
“They’re building up their vocabulary words where it’s not just ‘flower’, ‘villain’ ‘good’ or ‘bad’ anymore,” Fixman said. “They had to get different shades of meanings and vocabulary to convey that.”
The activity was inspired in part by “Miss Alaineus: A Vocabulary Disaster” by Debra Frasier, a children’s picture book that highlights the importance of understanding and confidently using new words.
For many students, the experience was both educational and exciting — especially when encountering unfamiliar words. They also built confidence as they learned and presented their meanings while fostering strong family involvement, when parents either helped with the design and assembly of costume at home with a range of materials or it was purchased.
One student, Alize Pile chose the word “combust” and worked with her mother to bring it to life through a flame-themed costume.
“Before, I thought it meant something exploding, but it actually means to be consumed by fire,” she said.
With the help of her mother, Alize’s costume reflected that definition, featuring flames as a headpiece and red and orange cloth to illustrate the concept held together by a hot iron to press it together.
“My mom was surprised because last year I did a bumblebee,” she said.
Students also learned from one another, picking up new vocabulary simply by watching.
Another student, Azili, selected the word “opulent,” describing it as “fancy” and “wealthy,” and designed her costume to reflect luxury, even incorporating money into the look with her own purse. For Azili, who is still mastering English, the project represented significant progress.
Azili, now in the fifth grade said she initially struggled to pronounce the opulent correctly but learned that making mistakes is part of the process. As she adapted to a new language she said the experience helped build her confidence in both speaking and understanding English.
“What is also interesting about Azili is she came here speaking no English – a couple of years ago,” Dias said. “Now she’s speaking fluently in English and will be one of our TED speakers – we’re so proud.”
When Azili arrived in the district with little to no English coming with Creole-French as her native tongue. But she has since developed strong language skills, making her ability to define and present an advanced vocabulary word especially meaningful. Soon she will participate in a TED kid talk next month led by Paul Weiss, STEAM Pre-K teacher.
“Learning doesn’t just take place in a book,” Dias said. “It’s a never-ending process and being able to connect it with their families — that’s what makes it stick.”
Educators said the goal of the activity is not just to teach vocabulary in the moment, but to create lasting memories tied to language and learning.
“Now they have a full experience how to research a word,” Fixman said. “And those words they chose are going to be with them forever.”
