Reading to Learn Lesson
Vivid Vocabulary
By: Miss Sara Mann
Rationale: The goal of this lesson is to help students practice their vocabulary development as a way to increase reading comprehension. If one does not understand the words that they are reading, they will not be able to comprehend the meaning of the text as a whole. A large working knowledge of the meaning of words is essential to comprehending a text. The most effective to learn groups of words is to learn them in semantic groups in order to be able to actively compare and contrast connected words. In order to effectively expand their vocabulary, students must gain ownership of unfamiliar words and their meanings. Students will learn how to gain ownership of unfamiliar words by practicing finding the definition of new words, by comparing and contrasting vocabulary words, and by utilizing new words in context.
Materials:
Dictionary for each student
Copy of article for each student (link below)
Vocabulary Worksheet for each student (attached below)
Poster with list of words (Aquatic, Endangered, Extinct, Habitat, Nocturnal, Omnivore, Predator, Venomous)
Pencils
Procedure:
1. Say: “Today we are going to work on expanding our vocabulary. Why is it important for us to learn new vocabulary?” (wait for response) “Right! Learning new vocabulary means that we will be able to understand new words, which will help us understand more stories and texts. To be good readers, we must know what the words we are reading mean so we can get all of the information from whatever it is that we are reading.”
2. Say: “When we are reading and come to a word that we don’t know, what can we do?” (wait for response) “Yes, one thing we can do is use the rest of the sentence and context to figure out the word. Another strategy is to look up the word in a dictionary! Has anyone in here used a dictionary before?” (wait for response) Nice! Well, we are going to practice looking up new words in the dictionary.” (pass out dictionaries)
3. Say: “Can anyone tell me what they notice about their dictionary?” (wait for response) Right, all dictionaries are in alphabetical order which means that it lists all words that begin with A, then all words that begin with B, then C, then D, and so on until the end of the alphabet. Even with a dictionary, learning the meanings of new words can be challenging, so to make it easier we can look at words that are all related, so all the words that we are going to look up in our dictionary have something in common. All of the words that we are going to look up in our dictionaries have something to do with animals.”
4. Say: “The first word we are going to look up is ‘aquatic.’” (point to it on the board, place dictionary under overhead so students can follow along) “Dolphins, whales, and sharks are all animals.To begin we look at the first letter of the word, A.Turn to the first page where A words are listed.Then look at the word ‘aquatic’ again and look at the second letter.What is the second letter in ‘aquatic’? That’s correct! The second letter is Q, so find the page where it lists words that begin with ‘aq.’ Then look at the next letter, u.Look for words that begin with ‘aqu.’We repeat this process until we get all the letters in the word and find where the word is in the dictionary.”(finish process until the word is found)What does aquatic mean? Right! It means ‘growing or living in or near water’.”
5. Say: “Now that we have learned how to use a dictionary, I want you to try to find the next word on your own.The next word I want you to look up is ‘endangered.’ There are laws made to protect species.If you need help finding the word canine in your dictionary, raise your hand and I can come help you.” (repeat to find the definitions for all of the words in the list: Aquatic, Endangered, Extinct, Habitat, Nocturnal, Omnivore, Predator, Venomous.Write the definition of each word next to the word)
Dolphins, whales, and sharks are all aquatic animals.
There are laws made to protect endangered species.
Since dinosaurs are no longer alive, we say that they are extinct.
As a human, I consider my habitat to be my home.
Bats find food at night because they are nocturnal.
The small animal is an omnivore and feasts upon both plants and bugs.
The eagle is a predator that flies through the air stalking its prey.
The man had to go to the hospital after he was bit by a venomous snake.
6. Say: “Now that we have found the definitions for all of these words, we need to practice using them in context. I will pass out a worksheet that will have sentences on it. Each sentence has to do with one of our vocabulary words. Your job is to figure out which of our vocabulary words fits into the blank of each sentence.” (pass out worksheets)
7. After students complete the worksheet, give them a copy of the article to read. The article contains one vocabulary word from today’s lesson. Tell them to use their dictionaries to look up the words that they do not know, especially the ones that are highlighted. Tell them to raise their hands if they need help.
8. After each student has read the article and looked up unfamiliar words, discuss it. Say: “What word in this article did we already look up together as a class?” (wait for response) “Yes, that’s right! The word habitat was in the article. What type of animal are dolphins?” (wait for response) “Yes, they are aquatic animals! Or marine animals. Did anyone look up the word marine?” (wait for response) “Now let’s look at the highlighted words. Who found the definition for sanctuary?” (wait for response) “Yes, sanctuary means place of refuge or safety or nature reserve. How about the word barren?” (wait for response) “Barren means too poor to produce much or any vegetation or lifeless. And what about captivity?” (wait for response) “Yes, captivity means the condition of being imprisoned or confined.” Add all of these words to the vocabulary list on the board.
9. Say: “Okay, now we are going to talk about the information in the article.”
Ask the following questions and discuss them with the class:
Where do the dolphins in the article live now?
Where will they move the dolphins to?
How did the scientists learn more about dolphins?
Why can’t they just move the dolphins to the wild?
What are some things the trainers do to prepare the dolphins for the sanctuary?
10. The students will have the opportunity to participate in an activity called, “Word Wizard.” The students will look for any of the words from this lesson outside of the classroom. Each time the student sees the word in print they will earn one point. If the student hears it used in speech, they earn two points. If the student uses the word themselves (and it makes sense in context) they will earn three points. The points the students earn will be used to earn ranks. Each student will be ranked on a chart in the class. The lowest level is apprentice. As students earn more points they will move up to word journeyman and eventually to word wizard.
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Worksheet:
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Name: ____________________________
Date:______________________________
Directions: Fill in the blanks with the words from the vocabulary list. Each word will only be used once.
Words: aquatic, endangered, extinct, habitat, nocturnal, omnivore, predator, venomous
1. Animals that live in the water are called ______________________ animals.
2. Owls sleep all day and look for food at night. They are called ____________________.
3. Rattlesnakes are ________________________ creatures whose bite can cause extreme pain or even death.
4. When an animal no longer exists, we say that they are _____________________________.
5. An animal close to extinction is said to be _______________________________.
6. Fish live in the ocean. The ocean is their ________________________________.
7. A bear that eats fish, plants, and berries is an ___________________________.
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Article:
Maunz, Shay. A New Home.
https://www.timeforkids.com/g34/new-home-2/
References:
Avant, Shelby. Building Vocabulary.
http://savant1929.wixsite.com/msavantdapperdesigns/page5
Rice, Katie. Valuable Vocabulary.
http://www.auburn.edu/~ksr0009/RiceRL.htm
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