I used an idea Leanne shared in her blog about the students
jotting down words they did not know as they read silently. We read a history about the Hunley yesterday
while working on comprehension skills. Today
we took the words students had written down and practiced our dictionary skills
by looking up the definitions of these words. (Thanks Leanne!)
I went looking on line to find some games to use in the
lesson plan and found a great site that shared fun ways to practice dictionary
skills: http://www.squidoo.com/Dictionary-Skills#module120015721. It was
a great resource.
One game on this site is called Unscrambling Stories: Arranging Words in Alphabetical Order. This
game covers the necessary dictionary skill of putting words in alphabetical
order. Students are given a list of words and told to put them in alphabetical
order. If they do it correctly, the
words make a fun sentence:
*I *
one *zebras *Allen *here
*or *come *need *twoAllen, come here. I need one or two zebras.
This game was a little hard for some students who are still struggling with this skill. I gave students an alphabet chart to help them with this project. This game was fun.
Students who finished early created new sentences for us to use!
After discussing guide words in a dictionary and how to use them, we played another game. With students working in pairs we identified guide words for given words. This was an imitation of an online game called Rags to Riches http://www.quia.com/rr/45806.html students earned money for correct responses.
Now we were ready for our dictionaries. Working in pairs students were given a dictionary and list of words. Students had to find the words in the dictionary and write down their guide words.
Now we were ready for our dictionaries. Working in pairs students were given a dictionary and list of words. Students had to find the words in the dictionary and write down their guide words.
We will tie this skill into our book reports. As students read their chapter book, they
will complete at least one dictionary sheet for a word they do not know the
meaning of. Hopefully this skill will
help them as they return to their classrooms in the fall.
This lesson was too long. It would be better to break it up into two or three lessons.
This lesson was too long. It would be better to break it up into two or three lessons.
This sounds like a nice lesson, and I like the idea of earning monopoly money. Great extrinsic motivation! You are a wonderful teacher!
ReplyDeleteI thought the money idea was great and I have used "money" successfully in my class. These all were great activities but as you said, breaking it up might have been better. I enjoyed watching your lesson!
ReplyDeleteWhat a cool lesson!! I loved how you used the dictionaries to look up the words they didn't know. I think that definitely encourages students to become more responsible for their education. Quia is also such a great resource! I love using it. :) I wish I could experience your class - maybe our kids can do an activity with yours next week? :)
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