Focus Question: How do we extend our knowledge of new words to better understand jobs in the community?
Before the lesson, write cards that have job titles (e.g., mail carrier) and cards that have sentences about jobs in the community (e.g., I bring mail to your home). Make enough cards for each student to have one.
Give half the students a card with a job title. Have the other half of the class line up in front of the room with their backs toward you. Tape a card with a sentence about a job to each student’s back.
Say, “We are going to play a game. Some of you have a card with a job title. Others have a card on your back with a sentence about a job. When I tell you to begin, students with a job card will walk around the room and find the person who has a sentence that matches their job. Do not tell the person what the card on his/her back says. After you have found your partner, return to your seat.”
After students have returned to their seats, ask if anyone noticed anything about the jobs. (All are jobs in the community.) Have students with a job card tell the name of the job. Record the jobs on the board/interactive whiteboard.
Have students with the sentences on their backs try to guess what their card says. After a student guesses correctly, remove his/her label and write the sentence next to the job listed on the board/interactive whiteboard.
Part 1
Using the list of jobs, create on the board/interactive whiteboard a T-chart with the label “Community Workers” on the left and “Description” on the right.
Say, “What characteristics should a community worker have, or how should a community worker act? If you had one of these jobs, how would you act? Think of words that describe these workers.”
Have students share the words that describe workers in their community. Record the words on the right side of the T-chart. (examples: trustworthy, strong, intelligent, caring) If students give a definition of workers, such as “they make things” for “producers,” guide students to think of a word that describes the workers.
Say, “We will also learn some new words that describe the workers in our community. We are going to learn more about these words.”
Write the word reliable on the board/interactive whiteboard. Say, “Community workers should be reliable.”
Say, “We can use some of the strategies we learned earlier to figure out the meaning of this word. For example, the root word, or basic word, in reliable is rely, which means to put trust in or to depend on. You can rely on me to teach you about reading.”
Ask, “What is a suffix?” (a word part added at the end of a root word to make a new word) Say, “The suffix in reliable is -able, which means ‘can be’ or ‘capable of doing something.’”
Say, “Using the root word and suffix, I can figure out that reliable means ‘can be depended on or can be trusted.’”
Say, “We can also use synonyms and antonyms to extend our understanding of a word. What is a synonym?” (a word that means the same or nearly the same) “What is a word that means the same or nearly the same as reliable?”(trustworthy, dependable)
Note: You may introduce a grade-appropriate dictionary or thesaurus and model how to look up synonyms, or you may provide synonyms if students are unable to think of appropriate words.
Ask, “What is an antonym?” (a word that means the opposite) “What is a prefix?” (a word part added in front of a root word to make a new word) “What prefix could we add to reliable to make it mean the opposite?” (un-) Say, “Yes, unreliable is an antonym for reliable.”
Part 2
Display a copy of the Extending Vocabulary graphic organizer (L-2-1-3_Extending Vocabulary.doc).
Say, “We will use this graphic organizer to learn another strategy for extending our understanding of a word. Let’s continue to use the word reliable. What does reliable mean?” (dependable or trustworthy; can be depended on or trusted)
Model how to complete the graphic organizer for the word reliable:
Say, “Now picture in your mind someone who is reliable. For the bubble on the graphic organizer that is labeled ‘Sounds Like,’ we want to put something we hear that reminds us of reliable. For example, a reliable person says ‘I promise . . .’ and keeps that promise. Maybe footsteps make you think of reliable because that means the person is doing what s/he promised to do. I will write the words I promise and footsteps in the ‘Sounds Like’ bubble.”
Encourage students to think of other examples to write in the “Sounds Like” bubble. Have them share their answers with a partner.
Say, “Again, think of a person who is reliable. For the bubble that says ‘Looks Like,’ we can write a description of a person, such as ‘someone who wears a suit.’ We can write a person’s name, such as ‘Mom’ or ‘Dad’ because that might be the picture we see in our mind when we think of the word reliable.”
Model how to complete this part of the graphic organizer and encourage students to come up with their own ideas and share with a partner.
Say, “Look at the bubble labeled ‘Feels Like.’ Think of a word that describes how reliable feels. I think it feels safe because when someone follows through and is reliable, it makes me feel safe. How about you?” Have students suggest words for you to write in the bubble.
Say, “Now look at the bottom of the page. Remember all the ways we thought about the word reliable. I will draw a picture that shows the meaning of reliable.” Drawings do not need to be elaborate, but they should show something about the meaning of the word. Say, “Now I will complete the graphic organizer by writing a definition, or meaning, of the word reliable on the lines to the right.” (Example: Reliable means doing what someone says she or he is going to do.)
Explain that thinking of a word in many different ways helps us understand the meaning of the word and recall it easier.
Repeat the procedure with one or two additional words, and gradually release responsibility to students to suggest appropriate answers for you to write on the graphic organizer.
Extension:
- Use the following activities to provide practice for students who need additional opportunities for learning:
- Have students work in small groups to complete the graphic organizer with another word. Provide prompting and scaffolding as needed.
- Write the vocabulary words on index cards. Ask students to describe how a (community worker) shows s/he is (reliable).
- Have students work with partners to write or say the definition of a word. Then ask students to explain how they know what the word means.
- Use the following activity for students who are ready to go beyond the standard:
- Encourage students to use a grade-appropriate dictionary or thesaurus or an online resource, such as www.etymonline.com or www.dictionary.com to find definitions, synonyms, or antonyms for words. Work with small groups to model how to use these resources.
- Have students write a sentence in the box to describe their drawing on the graphic organizer. Tell students to include in their sentence a synonym for the chosen vocabulary word.
