1. Topic-
Vocabulary in Context
 
2. Content-
Being able to decide when context indicates that one word is more correct than a similar word.
 
3. Goals: Aims/Outcomes-
1.Students will be able to use context and supposed word meanings to assess what word would be best to fill in the blanks of context sentences or paragraphs.
2. Students will be able to convey their understanding of context expressively through speech and through writing.
 
4. Objectives-
1. 8th Grade Reading 1.3 - Use word meanings within the appropriate context and show ability to verify those
meanings by definition, restatement, example, comparison, or contrast.
2. 7th Grade Word Analysis 1.2 Use knowledge of Greek, Latin, and Anglo-Saxon roots and affixes to understand
content-area vocabulary.
 
5. Materials and Aids-
LCD Projector, Computer, PowerPoint
 
6. Procedures/Methods-

A. Introduction-

1. Remind students that in the last lessons we practiced context frames and morpheme meanings.
2. Explain to students that they will be practicing how to choose the word that is best when presented with words that seem similar.
3. Remind them vocabulary tests sometimes require them to do show this skill.
4. Ask them to prepare a note sheet
 

B. Development-

1. Project PowerPoint example fill-in-the-blank sentence with two word options, Sympathetically and Emphatically
2. Teacher will explain how the sample sentence indicates one word is more correct than the other.
 

C. Practice-

1. Teacher will show another sample sentence, this time calling for the other word in the word bank. Teacher will explain why that word fits better than the other.
2. Teacher will then project a paragraph full of blanks and a word bank of 5 of the words most frequently missed on the pretest. Students will try to put the correct words from the word back in the correct places of the paragraph.
1. Teacher will move around the room to monitor that students are working on producing answers for the paragraph.
2. Teacher will provide assistance to students who seem stuck or confused.
 

D. Independent Practice-

1. When class finishes the practice paragraph, teacher will discuss what context in the paragraph indicated why certain words are better on certain blanks than others.
2. Teacher will then project second paragraph with blanks and ask students to work completely independently this time. Teacher will not roam to monitor, as this one will be collected to be assessed. Students will be informed they receive only 5 minutes to complete this paragraph.
3. Teacher will request students to take out a red pen to make corrections, then review the correct answers.
 

E. Accommodations (Differentiated Instruction)-

1. Students who need access to the information aurally will be reminded they can ask the teacher to repeat their reading if it is necessary.
2. Students who need help focusing will receive reminders during teacher's roving. For the independent practice, the narrow time window will hopefully hold their focus.
3. Students who need to see the information have access to the PowerPoint projection at all times.
 

F. Checking for understanding-

1. Teacher will discreetly check for understanding while monitoring progress.
2. Teacher will check more closely for understanding by assessing the collected work.
 

G. Closure-

1. Students will be asked to discuss how they feel about a fill-in-the-blank assessment toward the words on the pre-test.
2. Students will be reminded that the strategies that have been practiced should help them considerably with both their class vocabulary and with their post-test on the vocabulary specific to The Giver.
 
7. Evaluation-
I have been telling the students throughout the lesson process that what is important is that they let me see what they're thinking, not that they get the answers right. By and large, it seems that most students were able to figure out what words went where, on average. Some of my more capable students, however, seemed to struggle with this lesson perhaps because of overconfidence. This step of the process requires careful thinking and to take your time to conceptually consider your answers, but perhaps the more confident students skipped straight to writing and this caused their errors?
 
8. Teacher Reflection-
1. Students seemed to not read through the entire paragraph before assigning words to the blanks. Several would not have missed what they did if they had saved a word until they read the entire paragraph and seen that the last blank had much better context. It occurred to me only after I noticed this pattern that I completely neglected to instruct them to read the whole paragraph first. It seems so intuitive to me that one would do this that I forgot to instruct it! I'm disappointed that I missed this step. I suppose I will see in the results of the post-test if it creates a negative impact or if they will be okay.
 

This Lesson Plan is available at (www.teacherjet.com)