Students from Wilmore Elementary dressed up as various vocabulary words and paraded down the halls on Friday.

Words such as puzzled, nighttime, metaphor, entomologist, royal and supermarket were displayed in various ways on students from all grade levels in the elementary school.

Students were allowed to pick which vocabulary word they would like to represent in the parade.

This is the first year Wilmore Elementary has conducted this event, and Principal Dawn Floyd said it was a fun way for students to learn vocabulary and the entire school had a ball.

“Their costumes were great,” Floyd said. “They really did describe them well.”

Floyd said the school has been following the work of speaker, trainer and educational researcher Robert Marzano.

“He’s like the guru of our teaching instruction,” she said.

Marzano’s research found that vocabulary knowledge is directly linked to student achievement.

“Our focus this year has been academic vocabulary,” Floyd said. “And strengthening that has been our focus because research has shown that working with vocabulary increases success for students.”

Teachers at Wilmore Elementary have engaged in numerous trainings to learn effective ways to teach vocabulary. These included allowing students to march down the hallways dressed up as a word they want to remember.

To prepare for the parade, teachers reviewed with students the various vocabulary words they have learned throughout the year. Then, students picked which one they wanted to be.

“I think teachers found it helpful and students were more engaged,” Floyd said.

Floyd said the event was so fun and beneficial to the students, the school plans on doing it again next year.

“There’s so much that can be done,” she said.