ABC bookmaking builds vocabulary in the content areas
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=276
A lesson plan for grades 6–8 English Language Arts
This lesson from ReadWriteThink engages and motivates students in building content area vocabulary through the creation of ABC books. Students select vocabulary words and terms based on a unit of study from their content area. They discover the meanings of the words and create an appropriate context for each word within their books. Additionally, illustrations accompany each word to further demonstrate full understanding of its meaning. At the end of the lesson, students share their ABC books with classmates and the books become a resource for the classroom.
North Carolina Curriculum Alignment
English Language Arts (2004)
Grade 6
- Goal 2: The learner will explore and analyze information from a variety of sources.
- Objective 2.01: Explore informational materials that are read, heard, and/or viewed by:
- monitoring comprehension for understand of what is read, heard, and/or viewed.
- studying the characteristics of informational works.
- restating and summarizing information.
- determining the importance and accuracy of information.
- making connections between works, self and related topics/information.
- comparing and/or contrasting information.
- drawing inferences and/or conclusions.
- generating questions.
- Objective 2.01: Explore informational materials that are read, heard, and/or viewed by:
- Goal 5: The learner will respond to various literary genres using interpretive and evaluative processes.
- Objective 5.01: Increase fluency, comprehension, and insight through a meaningful and comprehensive literacy program by:
- using effective reading strategies to match type of text.
- reading self-selected literature and other materials of individual interest.
- reading literature and other materials selected by the teacher.
- discussing literature in teacher-student conferences and small group discussions.
- taking an active role in whole class seminars.
- discussing and analyzing the effects on texts of such literary devices as figurative language, dialogue, flashback and sarcasm.
- interpreting text by explaining elements such as plot, theme, point of view, characterization, mood, and style.
- investigating examples of distortion and stereotypes.
- recognizing underlying messages in order to identify recurring theme(s) within and across works.
- extending understanding by creating products for different purposes, different audiences and within various contexts.
- exploring relationships between and among characters, ideas, concepts and/or experiences.
- Objective 5.01: Increase fluency, comprehension, and insight through a meaningful and comprehensive literacy program by:
- Goal 6: The learner will apply conventions of grammar and language usage.
- Objective 6.01: Demonstrate an understanding of conventional written and spoken expression by:
- using a variety of sentence types correctly, punctuating them properly, and avoiding fragments and run-ons.
- using appropriate subject-verb agreement and verb tense that are appropriate for the meaning of the sentence.
- demonstrating the different roles of the different parts of speech in sentence construction.
- using pronouns correctly, including clear antecedents and correct case.
- using phrases and clauses correctly (e.g., prepositional phrases, appositives, dependent and independent clauses).
- determining the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary words by using context clues, a dictionary, a glossary, a thesaurus, and/or structural analysis (roots, prefixes, suffices) of words.
- extending vocabulary knowledge by learning and using new words.
- exploring the role and use of dialects and of standard English to appreciate appropriate usage in different contexts.
- developing an awareness of language conventions and usage during oral presentations.
- Objective 6.01: Demonstrate an understanding of conventional written and spoken expression by:
Grade 7
- Goal 2: The learner will synthesize and use information from a variety of sources.
- Objective 2.01: Respond to informational materials that are read, heard, and/or viewed by:
- monitoring comprehension for understanding of what is read, heard and/or viewed.
- analyzing the characteristics of informational works.
- summarizing information.
- determining the importance of information.
- making connections to related topics/information.
- drawing inferences and/or conclusions.
- generating questions.
- Objective 2.01: Respond to informational materials that are read, heard, and/or viewed by:
- Goal 5: The learner will respond to various literary genres using interpretive and evaluative processes.
- Objective 5.01: Increase fluency, comprehension, and insight through a meaningful and comprehensive reading program by:
- using effective reading strategies to match type of text.
- reading self-selected literature and other materials of individual interest.
- reading literature and other materials selected by the teacher.
- assuming an active role in teacher-student conferences.
- engaging in small group discussions.
- taking an active role in whole class seminars.
- analyzing the effects on texts of such literary devices as figuarative language, dialogue, flashback, allusion, and irony.
- analyzing the effects of such elements as plot, theme, point of view, characterization, mood, and style.
- analyzing themes and central ideas in literature and other texts in relation to personal issues/experiences.
- extending understanding by creating products for different purposes, different audiences and within various contexts.
- analyzing the connections of relationships between and among characters, ideas, concepts, and/or experiences.
- Objective 5.01: Increase fluency, comprehension, and insight through a meaningful and comprehensive reading program by:
- Goal 6: The learner will apply conventions of application of grammar and language usage.
- Objective 6.01: Model an understanding of conventional written and spoken expression by:
- using a variety of sentences correctly, punctuating them properly, and avoiding fragments and run-ons.
- using subject-verb agreement and verb tense that are appropriate for the meaning of the sentence.
- applying the parts of speech to clarify language usage.
- using pronouns correctly, including clear antecedents and correct case.
- using phrases and clauses correctly, including proper punctuation (e.g., prepositional phrases, appositives, dependent and independent clauses).
- determining the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary words using context clues, a dictionary, a glossary, a thesaurus, and/or structural analysis (roots, prefixes, suffixes) of words.
- extending vocabulary knowledge by learning and using new words.
- determining when and where dialects and standard/nonstandard English usage are appropriate.
- applying language conventions and usage during oral presentations.
- choosing language that is precise, engaging, and well suited to the topic and audience.
- experimenting with figurative language and speech patterns.
- Objective 6.01: Model an understanding of conventional written and spoken expression by:
Grade 8
- Goal 2: The learner will use and evaluate information from a variety of sources.
- Objective 2.01: Analyze and evaluate informational materials that are read, heard, and/or viewed by:
- monitoring comprehension for understanding of what is read, heard and/or viewed.
- recognizing the characteristics of informational materials.
- summarizing information.
- determining the importance of information.
- making connections to related topics/information.
- drawing inferences.
- generating questions.
- extending ideas.
- Objective 2.01: Analyze and evaluate informational materials that are read, heard, and/or viewed by:
- Goal 5: The learner will respond to various literary genres using interpretive and evaluative processes.
- Objective 5.01: Increase fluency, comprehension, and insight through a meaningful and comprehensive literacy program by:
- using effective reading strategies to match type of text.
- reading self-selected literature and other materials of interest to the individual.
- reading literature and other materials selected by the teacher.
- assuming a leadership role in student-teacher reading conferences.
- leading small group discussions.
- taking an active role in whole class seminars.
- analyzing the effects of elements such as plot, theme, charaterization, style, mood, and tone.
- discussing the effects of such literary devices as figurative language, dialogue, flashback, allusion, irony, and symbolism.
- analyzing and evaluating themes and central ideas in literature and other texts in relation to personal and societal issues.
- extending understanding by creating products for different purposes, different audiences, and within various contexts.
- analyzing and evaluating the relationships between and among characters, ideas, concepts, and/or experiences.
- Objective 5.01: Increase fluency, comprehension, and insight through a meaningful and comprehensive literacy program by:
- Goal 6: The learner will apply conventions of grammar and language usage.
- Objective 6.01: Model an understanding of conventional written and spoken expression by:
- using a variety of sentence types, punctuating properly, and avoiding fragments and run-ons.
- using subject-verb agreement and verb tense that are appropriate for the meaning of the sentence.
- applying the parts of speech to clarify language usage.
- using pronouns correctly, including clear antecedents and case.
- using phrases and clauses correctly, including proper punctuation (e.g. prepositional phrases, appositives, dependent and independent clauses.)
- determining the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary words using context clues, a dictionary, a glossary, a thesaurus, and/or structural analysis (roots, prefixes, suffixes) of words.
- extending vocabulary knowledge by learning and using new words.
- evaluating the use and power of dialects in standard/nonstandard English usage.
- applying correct language conventions and usage during formal oral presentations.
- Objective 6.01: Model an understanding of conventional written and spoken expression by:
