Stressing language development as the prime component of all learning, this resource book presents suggestions to teachers to aid them in developing children's descriptive language. Basic to the described activities is the concept that vocabulary development is essentially concept development, requires a variety of experiences, and results from the contribution of all elements of communication. Teaching vocabulary requires a planned, systematic presentation such as (1) prereading/writing/speaking/listening; (2) modeling the pattern and developing one as a group; and (3) producing and sharing. Nine ideas for making words come alive in the classroom are listed, as are five suggestions for creating an exciting visual environment. Each activity presented is supplemented with examples and ideas for implementation. Discussed first are some possible uses of paradoxes, including simple, direct, and personal metaphorical questions, conflicting couplets, and opposing and symbolic metaphors. Second, the use of the structured format of many kinds of poetry is encouraged, such as cinquains (targeted and traditional), limericks, couplets, quatrain, triplets, haiku, and diamante. Activities involving word opposites, word pictures, morphology, etymology, acronyms, mixed-up comics, and tall tales are presented and a list of miscellaneous suggestions, challenge activities, and more vocabulary ideas are also included. (JD)