Acquiring new vocabulary through book discussion groups
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=170
A lesson plan for Grades 3–5 English Language Arts
About this resource
- Appropriate grades
- 3–5
- Provider
- IRA/NCTE
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This ReadWriteThink lesson explores various ways in which the teacher can foster students' vocabulary skills through direct instruction and small-group discussions. While reading the text Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco, students identify words that are unfamiliar to them. Working collaboratively in small groups, they discuss the meaning of these new words using context clues from the text, prior knowledge, and print and online resources. They then apply their knowledge of the new vocabulary to further their understanding of the text.
North Carolina Curriculum Alignment
English Language Arts (2004)
Grade 3
- Goal 1: The learner will apply enabling strategies and skills to read and write.
- Objective 1.04: Increase sight vocabulary, reading vocabulary, and writing vocabulary through:
- wide reading.
- word study.
- listening.
- discussion.
- book talks.
- book clubs.
- seminars.
- viewing.
- role play.
- studying author's craft.
- Objective 1.05: Use word reference materials (e.g., dictionary, glossary) to confirm decoding skills, verify spelling, and extend meanings of words.
- Objective 1.04: Increase sight vocabulary, reading vocabulary, and writing vocabulary through:
- Goal 4: The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and visual texts.
- Objective 4.02: Use oral and written language to:
- present information in a sequenced, logical manner.
- discuss.
- sustain conversation on a topic.
- share information and ideas.
- recount or narrate.
- answer open-ended questions.
- report information on a topic.
- explain own learning.
- Objective 4.02: Use oral and written language to:
Grade 4
- Goal 1: The learner will apply enabling strategies and skills to read and write.
- Objective 1.03: Identify key words and discover their meanings and relationships through a variety of strategies.
- Objective 1.04: Increase reading and writing vocabulary through:
- wide reading.
- word study.
- knowledge of homophones, synonyms, antonyms, homonyms.
- knowledge of multiple meanings of words.
- writing process elements.
- writing as a tool for learning.
- seminars.
- book clubs.
- discussions.
- examining the author's craft.
- Objective 1.05: Use word reference materials (e.g., glossary, dictionary, thesaurus) to identify and comprehend unknown words.
- Objective 1.06: Read independently daily from self-selected materials (consistent with the student's independent reading level) to:
- increase fluency.
- build background knowledge.
- expand vocabulary.
Grade 5
- Goal 1: The learner will apply enabling strategies and skills to read and write.
- Objective 1.01: Expand and refine vocabulary through knowledge of prefixes, suffixes, roots, derivatives, and etymologies (word origins) to assist comprehension.
- Objective 1.02: Select key vocabulary critical to the text and apply appropriate meanings as necessary for comprehension.
- Objective 1.03: Increase reading and writing vocabulary through:
- wide reading.
- word study.
- word reference materials.
- content area study.
- writing process elements.
- writing as a tool.
- debate.
- discussions.
- seminars.
- examining the author's craft.
- Objective 1.04: Use word reference materials (e.g., glossary, dictionary, thesaurus, on-line reference tools) to identify and comprehend unknown words.
- Objective 1.05: Read independently daily from self-selected materials (consistent with the student's independent reading level) to:
- increase fluency.
- build background knowledge.
- expand and refine vocabulary.
