Debra Frasier herself offers a vocabulary parade guide designed to support classroom teachers in conducting such events with their own students, and the activities in the guide can be easily adapted for use in more informal settings. Schools and libraries are both great platforms to use for creating a word parade event.

No matter the amount of depth with which you choose to explore definitions, the best way for children to show off their hard work is by parading around in their vocabulary-inspired duds. Try working on a word like “dinosaur” – sure, making a T-Rex costume would certainly convey what a dinosaur might look like, but we might also say that a corded rotary phone is a dinosaur, or that a DOS computer is a dinosaur. Searching for meaning other than a dictionary definition can help add depth to the activity, too. Even words with definitions that seem simple to understand (or simple to dress as) can become complex, well-though-out projects costumes. Working to determine what a word would look like if its essence could be worn challenges young readers and writers to think critically about what it is that a word truly means. Just like in Frasier’s story, kiddos can use new words as inspiration for a creative costume.

Looking for ways to support children in adding new words to their vocabulary? Dress up your child’s inner dictionary – literally! Inspired by children’s author Debra Frasier’s story Miss Alaineus: A Vocabulary Disaster, children everywhere have been creatively solidifying their understanding of big, new, and necessary words by dressing up as a definition and joining together for a Vocabulary Parade!

–“This celebration is a great way for children to expand their vocabulary, and gives them words they can use in their Writer’s Workshop,” said Principal Megan Coburn. Students at Littleville Elementary School in Huntington, MA, created costumes that sent hundreds of words marching through the building just before school let out this summer! Over 250 students, teachers and staff took part in this year’s parade.

Miss Alaineus by Debra Frasier