Literacy
CORE DECISIONS:
What: The purpose of this lesson is to equip students with comprehension strategies that will allow them to utilize context clues in order to infer and interpret the meaning of an unknown word as it is used in text.
Currently, both the 4th grade and 6th grade classrooms at Stanton use the workbook “Vocabulary Workshop” to learn new vocabulary. Each unit in this book first defines a list of words, provides example sentences using the words, and then includes practice pages for students use the new words by filling-in-the blanks, completing multiple choice activities, and finding synonyms/antonyms.
The standards that this lesson fits under are as follows:
PA Standards:
- Subject Area: Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening
- Grade 4:
- Standard: 1.1.4.C Use meaning and knowledge of words (e.g., homophones, homographs, root words) across content areas to increase reading vocabulary.
- Grade 6
- Standard: 1.1.6.C Use meaning and knowledge of words (e.g., root words, literal meanings, idioms, common foreign words) across content areas to expand reading vocabulary.
- Reading Literature
- Grade 4:
- 4.RL.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in text, including those that allude to significant characters found in mythology (eg., Hercelean).
- Grade 6:
- 6.RL.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone.
- Grade 4:
As the lesson progresses, we want to slowly reduce the amount of teacher support and increase the amount of student independence; the actual level of support will be determined by the students’ needs and responses, however.
Why: This lesson will offer students another way to strengthen their current vocabulary comprehension skills and practices. Hopefully strategies learned in this lesson will enable students to complete Vocab Workshop practice pages and unit tests with more efficiency and accuracy. But, perhaps even more importantly, this lesson will support students’ comprehension of new words as they encounter them in a more realistic manner (ie. students will not always have direct access to definitions when reading literature, as they do in their Vocab Workshop books).
We believe that Vocabulary instruction should not be taught in a vacuum, as it is in the case of Vocabulary Workshop instruction and practice. The words found in the VW books are completely independent from the vocabulary words emphasized in the students’ Language Arts “Trophies” textbook.
Ryan: My group will consist of three students who are higher-level readers in our class (though they are still behind grade level). I have heard each of them read a few times, and noticed that, although they have solid decoding skills, they run across a lot of unfamiliar words. I do not believe that they need to read easier text, since their fluency and accuracy are solid. Rather, I think they could benefit from continued exposure to and retention of new words. This lesson will provide them with a strategy for making meaning from unfamiliar words by using the clues from the context or even within the word itself. Ideally, this strategy will allow them to further develop their vocabulary by giving them some power to determine what new words might mean on their own, without having to pause their reading to look in a dictionary.
Katie: For the past couple of weeks my entire 4th grade class has been learning how to successfully transfer a venn diagram into a compare and contrast essay. During this lesson they were introduced to some compare/contrast transition words/phrases (ie. “Similarly”, “On the other hand”). Hopefully, this lesson will build on and extend students’ pre-existing knowledge. Students should be able to make connections between the transition words and compare/contrast clue words, and how they each function.
LESSON PLAN:
Objectives: Students will be able to use comparison and contrast words in a text in order to infer the meaning of unfamiliar words.
Materials needed: Guided reading journal, signal words list, example sentence(s) for instruction:
ARRANGEMENT AND MANAGEMENT ISSUES:
4th grade: I will take this group into the hallway so we can work at the small group table away from the rest of the class (as they would likely interject during the lesson). Before the lesson I will talk about my expectations of their behavior and participation. That is, they need to be silent and listening while I or a classmate is talking. They will be expected to justify their answers and then come to an agreement as a group. If any student misbehaves (as defined by not sitting at the table or not purposefully choosing not to work) beyond a few re-directions and correction, they may be asked to go back into the classroom. Students will not be permitted to go to the bathroom or water fountain. I will hand out materials before I explain the first example.
6th grade: This group will consist of three students, along with the instructor and two observers. The lesson will occur in the back of the classroom, at the table typically used for guided reading. Students will sit around the table in any order they choose. Other students will be in the classroom working quietly, but this is an established classroom norm and the students should not be distracted. I have worked with this group several times before, and they are focused students. The only management issues I foresee are discomfort with discussion. Students in this class are used to discussing answers with the teacher, but not with each other. I may need to employ a variety of strategies to foster discussion amongst the students, such as redirecting them to speak to their peers rather than to me.
Plan:
- Hook: We will introduce the lesson by stating that our goal is to have each student become a detective for inferring the meaning of unfamiliar words. The students must and record clues within the sentence in order to support their proposed definitions of a novel word.
- Direct Instruction: Using an example sentence that contains an unfamiliar word, we will model the strategy of using comparisons or contrasts with known words to infer meaning. We will perform a “think aloud” as we work through what the difficult word means. During the think aloud, we will also model use of the chart that the students create in their guided reading journals.
- Examples:
- My friend is very diligent, but her brother never finishes anything he starts.
- Examples:
Unknown word/Clue/Inferred Meaning/New Sentence/Remember: The meaning of the unfamiliar word is provided by contrasting or comparing it to another word, phrase or concept. Comparisons show the similarities between persons, ideas, things, etc. Some sentences use contrast to show clue words the differences between items.
Signal Words/Phrases (to be included with student chart)
Comparison: as well as, common to, compared with, like, similar to, similarly, same as
Contrast: although, but, different from, however, instead of, opposed to, unlike, yet, even though
- Guided practice: After modeling an example, we will guide the students through the first sentence on the (or more, depending on how comfortable they seem with the strategy). We want the students to carry the cognitive load, but we will facilitate the thinking process by asking guiding questions, and also allow space for students to work through potential differences of opinion. For example, we will begin by asking one student to read the sentence, and then ask “What is the unknown word in this sentence?” If a student already knows the vocabulary word, s/he will be asked to hold the answer to allow classmates to work through the strategy. We will then ask students to identify whether the sentence contains a comparison or contrast, and which word(s) indicated this (they can refer to the “signal words” list). We will continue to work through the chart as such, with the students doing the thinking while we guide the process. If students seem unsure or confused, we can model another example before moving back into guided practice.
The observer should record students’ verbal conversation (see chart below):
- when a specific child identifies a signal word
- if the child utilizes the signal word to correctly infer meaning
- which children are still confused and/or incorrectly inferring meaning
- Independent practice: Students will complete remaining sentences on their sheet. Instructor will be ready to answer any questions, but should avoid making the inferences for the student. Instructor will also refer students back to the “signal words” if students are having trouble locating a compare/contrast clue. If students are truly stuck, we will advise them to skip it for now, and reassure that it will be covered at the end when we go over the answers as a group.
- Closure: Instructor will facilitate a whole group recap. S/he will ask for the signal words and inferences that each student found and made. Instructor will let students know that s/he will call on them one at a time (perhaps in a certain order, ie., clockwise). After one student responds, the instructor should ask the others whether they agree. Instructor should revoice and/or rephrase each answer so that all students can note any needed corrections.
ANTICIPATING POSSIBLE RESPONSES:
- We anticipate that students might end up with an inferred meaning that is inaccurate. Using the example of “diligent” above, a student might write, “a good student.” While diligence may be one characteristic of a good student, they are not interchangeable. However, we can use these moments to better understand students’ reasoning by asking them to verbalize their thinking aloud. To foster discussion, we can ask peers to respond. If the group, as a whole, comes to a consensus on an inaccurate definition, we can provide a more accurate definition while still validating their reasoning, “A good student probably is diligent, right? You guys were really close!” This would be a good opportunity to explain that strategies such as this can be very useful, but they are not always perfect.
- We also anticipate that students may have difficulty comprehending a sentence, thus making it difficult to infer any meaning about the vocabulary word. In this case, we can guide the particular student through the sentence to help build this comprehension (e.g. “In other words, it’s saying…”)
- Students who finish early should try to use the unfamiliar words in new sentence. They should record this sentence in the “New Sentence” column of the worksheet.
- For students who seem to be struggling during the lesson, we can inform them when(ie. which sentences they will need to be responsible for/justify) we will call on them during the whole-group review at the end.
KATIE'S NOTES:
OBSERVATIONS OF STUDENT LEARNING:
My small group for the lesson ended up being a guided reading group with which I had worked a few times previously. This particular consists of the three students with the highest reading scores on the Gates assessment – not the original group I had in mind, particularly given my inquiry question. Furthermore, this unexpected switching of groups was the result of a sudden scheduling change, giving me no time to adjust the lesson plan before actually implementing it.
I still began with the direct instruction portion, although in hindsight I agree with my Penn mentor when she noted that it may not have been necessary. With this group of students, I could have begun directly with guided instruction. When I did move to guided instruction — beginning with the sentence, “I was feeling pretty good, but I could see that my older brother was in agony” — two of the students seemed to already have a confident grasp on what we were reviewing. The third student, however, needed some extra guidance. When I asked him which word was the ‘signal word’ in the sentence, he seemed uncertain. He scanned the sentence for some time without producing an answer, but he did not check the list of signal words, indicating that I may not have introduced that tool obviously enough. As Katie noted, though, one of the other students offered to help him. The other student produced the correct signal word, and we worked through the rest of the sentence together. From observing during this guided practice, I gathered that the first student might need some extra support, while the other two seemed to have a good grasp on what we were doing.
Not wanting to make assumptions, however, I gave the option to the students: did they want to do more guided practice, or did they feel ready to try some independent work? Unanimously, they opted for the latter. They set about filling in their charts as they worked through the next three sentences. I paid careful attention to the student who had difficulty during guided practice, but all three students appeared to understand the strategy and how to fill in the chart:
My small group for the lesson ended up being a guided reading group with which I had worked a few times previously. This particular consists of the three students with the highest reading scores on the Gates assessment – not the original group I had in mind, particularly given my inquiry question. Furthermore, this unexpected switching of groups was the result of a sudden scheduling change, giving me no time to adjust the lesson plan before actually implementing it.
I still began with the direct instruction portion, although in hindsight I agree with my Penn mentor when she noted that it may not have been necessary. With this group of students, I could have begun directly with guided instruction. When I did move to guided instruction — beginning with the sentence, “I was feeling pretty good, but I could see that my older brother was in agony” — two of the students seemed to already have a confident grasp on what we were reviewing. The third student, however, needed some extra guidance. When I asked him which word was the ‘signal word’ in the sentence, he seemed uncertain. He scanned the sentence for some time without producing an answer, but he did not check the list of signal words, indicating that I may not have introduced that tool obviously enough. As Katie noted, though, one of the other students offered to help him. The other student produced the correct signal word, and we worked through the rest of the sentence together. From observing during this guided practice, I gathered that the first student might need some extra support, while the other two seemed to have a good grasp on what we were doing.
Not wanting to make assumptions, however, I gave the option to the students: did they want to do more guided practice, or did they feel ready to try some independent work? Unanimously, they opted for the latter. They set about filling in their charts as they worked through the next three sentences. I paid careful attention to the student who had difficulty during guided practice, but all three students appeared to understand the strategy and how to fill in the chart:
By looking at the work of the three students, we can see that they correctly identified the vocabulary words and the signal word or phrase. Furthermore, their inferred meanings (with the exception of Student 2 on conspicuous) seem to indicate an understanding of how to use the signal words to help them make meaning.
As a final check for deeper understanding, I asked each student to write one new sentence using one of the vocabulary words. This last piece of assessment left me feeling that I could have used a bit more time. Student 1 used ‘retaliate’ in a way that hinted at understanding, but was ultimately incorrect. Meanwhile, Student 3 more or less copied the sentence that I had written for ‘conspicuous’ when he wrote his new sentence. If I had had more time, I would have liked to press them a bit more to see if they could use their new vocabulary words more flexibly. Unfortunately, time was something of an issue during this lesson, which I will write about in my analysis below.
FINAL ANALYSIS:
Katie and I are working at different grade levels, so when we sat down to plan our lesson together we wanted to ensure that the content would be useful for both of our classes. We eventually identified vocabulary as an area of focus that would serve our respective students. Due to the short and somewhat discrete nature of the Term III lessons, we wanted to really hone in on a specific strategy. We narrowed the focus to using context clues, and then further narrowed it to identifying specific comparison and contrast words that allow the reader to infer the meaning of a new word based on how it is set with or against a familiar word. We wrote our own sentences that were structured to give the students a chance to practice this specific strategy, and developed a graphic organizer inspired by one from Harvey & Goudvis (2007). To accommodate our different grade levels, we simply changed the vocabulary.
I taught the lesson first, using our original lesson plan (with some slight revisions based on Nancy’s feedback). I chose ten words from a sixth grade vocabulary list, and wrote ten sentences that included both the vocabulary and a compare/contrast transition word or phrase. I tried to ensure that the rest of the words in the sentences would be familiar to the students so that there was no confusion about which word on which to focus on. With the few exceptions cited above, the sentences seemed appropriately challenging for the students, while not over-burdening them.
In terms of the content of the lesson, things went smoothly. I did have to make some adjustments based on time and the composition of my group, however. Thirty minutes went by quite quickly, and we ended up only getting through five sentences rather than the ten I had put together. When reflecting on the students’ performance, however, I think that ten might have been too much, anyway. I would have liked to allow more time for writing new sentences, but I feel that the lesson was an overall success. Observations from Katie and my Penn mentor seem to validate that opinion. In fact, when I asked my Penn mentor if she would have done the lesson differently in any way, she said, “No, probably not.”
Thus, when Katie and I discussed revisions as she prepared for her lesson, they were only minor changes aimed at streamlining the lesson and accounting for the short amount of time; for instance, Katie only wrote six sentences and shortened the list of signal words and phrases. The basic structure of the lesson remained intact. I believe that one of the strengths of the lesson was its focus, as it worked effectively within the short and discrete framework of Term III.
PENN MENTOR NOTES:
As a final check for deeper understanding, I asked each student to write one new sentence using one of the vocabulary words. This last piece of assessment left me feeling that I could have used a bit more time. Student 1 used ‘retaliate’ in a way that hinted at understanding, but was ultimately incorrect. Meanwhile, Student 3 more or less copied the sentence that I had written for ‘conspicuous’ when he wrote his new sentence. If I had had more time, I would have liked to press them a bit more to see if they could use their new vocabulary words more flexibly. Unfortunately, time was something of an issue during this lesson, which I will write about in my analysis below.
FINAL ANALYSIS:
Katie and I are working at different grade levels, so when we sat down to plan our lesson together we wanted to ensure that the content would be useful for both of our classes. We eventually identified vocabulary as an area of focus that would serve our respective students. Due to the short and somewhat discrete nature of the Term III lessons, we wanted to really hone in on a specific strategy. We narrowed the focus to using context clues, and then further narrowed it to identifying specific comparison and contrast words that allow the reader to infer the meaning of a new word based on how it is set with or against a familiar word. We wrote our own sentences that were structured to give the students a chance to practice this specific strategy, and developed a graphic organizer inspired by one from Harvey & Goudvis (2007). To accommodate our different grade levels, we simply changed the vocabulary.
I taught the lesson first, using our original lesson plan (with some slight revisions based on Nancy’s feedback). I chose ten words from a sixth grade vocabulary list, and wrote ten sentences that included both the vocabulary and a compare/contrast transition word or phrase. I tried to ensure that the rest of the words in the sentences would be familiar to the students so that there was no confusion about which word on which to focus on. With the few exceptions cited above, the sentences seemed appropriately challenging for the students, while not over-burdening them.
In terms of the content of the lesson, things went smoothly. I did have to make some adjustments based on time and the composition of my group, however. Thirty minutes went by quite quickly, and we ended up only getting through five sentences rather than the ten I had put together. When reflecting on the students’ performance, however, I think that ten might have been too much, anyway. I would have liked to allow more time for writing new sentences, but I feel that the lesson was an overall success. Observations from Katie and my Penn mentor seem to validate that opinion. In fact, when I asked my Penn mentor if she would have done the lesson differently in any way, she said, “No, probably not.”
Thus, when Katie and I discussed revisions as she prepared for her lesson, they were only minor changes aimed at streamlining the lesson and accounting for the short amount of time; for instance, Katie only wrote six sentences and shortened the list of signal words and phrases. The basic structure of the lesson remained intact. I believe that one of the strengths of the lesson was its focus, as it worked effectively within the short and discrete framework of Term III.
PENN MENTOR NOTES:
WORKS CITED:
Harvey, S. & Goudvis, A. (2007). Strategies That Work: Teaching Comprehension for Understanding and Engagement, Second Edition. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.
Harvey, S. & Goudvis, A. (2007). Strategies That Work: Teaching Comprehension for Understanding and Engagement, Second Edition. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.