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Lesson Plan

Grades

4 - 8

Lesson Plan Type

Standard Lesson

Estimated Time

Seven 50-minute sessions

Lesson Author

Publisher

Featured Resources From Theory to Practice
OVERVIEW

"I feel good." "It was nice." "That was bad." Students respond to teachers' questions with these generic descriptions all the time, leaving teachers to dig deeper to figure out what students are really trying to say. Second-language learners also struggle to use descriptive words in written and oral language and tend to overuse common words, such as good, bad, and nice, due to their lack of knowledge of specific synonyms. In this multisession lesson, word webs are used to expose students to synonyms for common words, to help students choose synonyms that are appropriate for a given context, and to encourage students to use more descriptive words in their speech and writing. Student pairs then use words from the web in a skit they present to the class.
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FEATURED RESOURCES
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Conversation Cards: Use these conversation cards to prompt students to use specific descriptions in response to engaging questions.

FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE

Schifini, A. (1994). Language, literacy, and content instruction: Strategies for teachers. In K. Spangenberg-Urbschat & R. Pritchard (Eds.), Kids come in all languages: Reading instruction for ESL students (pp. 158–179). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Vocabulary development can be challenging for second language learners. Students are expected to comprehend content vocabulary, idioms, words with multiple meanings, as well as everyday functional vocabulary.

Vocabulary instruction for second language learners should help them use familiar words to make connections to unfamiliar words. Instruction should also teach students how the words should be used. A word web is one tool that can facilitate this type of instruction.

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Nagy, William. 1988. Teaching Vocabulary to Improve Reading Comprehension. Urbana, IL: NCTE.

Semantic maps are useful when teaching a key word or concept in depth. Students can help brainstorm words that relate to the key word or concepts and, with the teacher's help, categorize the words.

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Using Word Webs to Teach Synonyms for Commonly Used Words - ReadWriteThink

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ReadWriteThink couldn't publish all of this great content without literacy experts to write and review for us. If you've got lessons plans, videos, activities, or other ideas you'd like to contribute, we'd love to hear from you. Find the latest in professional publications, learn new techniques and strategies, and find out how you can connect with other literacy professionals.

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ReadWriteThink couldn't publish all of this great content without literacy experts to write and review for us. If you've got lessons plans, videos, activities, or other ideas you'd like to contribute, we'd love to hear from you.

Find the latest in professional publications, learn new techniques and strategies, and find out how you can connect with other literacy professionals.

Teacher Resources by Grade

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More

Home › Classroom Resources › Lesson Plans

Lesson Plan

Featured Resources From Theory to Practice
OVERVIEW

Eight vocabulary words, all of which appear in the humorous picture book Sam's Sandwich, are introduced through American Sign Language (ASL). First the sign for each word is presented, emphasizing the connection between the word's meaning and the visual depiction of the concept. Then the text is read aloud, and students sign the vocabulary words when they hear them in the text. Students continue to practice the signs as they engage in a choral reading activity, which reinforces both comprehension and vocabulary. Extension activities increase students' understanding of the vocabulary words and encourage them to learn additional ASL signs.
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FEATURED RESOURCES
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Vocabulary Sign Sheet—Sam's Sandwich: This printout provides a visual depiction of the signs for the vocabulary for the flap book Sam's Sandwich. Students learn these signs to help them understand and remember the meaning of the words in the book.

Signing Savvy: This link is for an online ASL signing video dictionary that includes over 5000 words and phrases. There are many special features that work well in the classroom, including pause and speed controls, the ability to print signs for flash cards, and so on. Some features require a paid membership, but basic access requires only free registration.

Sign language increases sight word acquisition because it involves multiple modalities: kinesthetic, visual, and auditory.

Sign language links abstract concepts with pictorial symbols to increase schema for vocabulary acquisition.

Sign language is highly motivational, engaging, and interactive.

FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE

Wurm, T. (1986). Teaching sight words with sign language. The Reading Teacher, 39(7), 744–745.

Hafer, J., & Wilson, R. (1986). Signing for reading success. Washington, DC: Kendall Green.

Learning vocabulary, especially sight vocabulary, can be enhanced by using sign language as part of the reading process.
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Gardner, Howard. 1993. Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice. Basic Books.

Learning is enhanced when more than one modality is incorporated in the learning task.

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Using American Sign Language to Improve Comprehension and Vocabulary - ReadWriteThink

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ReadWriteThink couldn't publish all of this great content without literacy experts to write and review for us. If you've got lessons plans, videos, activities, or other ideas you'd like to contribute, we'd love to hear from you. Find the latest in professional publications, learn new techniques and strategies, and find out how you can connect with other literacy professionals.

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Making Connections

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Grades

K - 2

Lesson Plan Type

Standard Lesson

Estimated Time

Five 50-minute sessions

Lesson Author

Publisher

Featured Resources From Theory to Practice
OVERVIEW

How does the story connect to your own life, another text your have read, or the world around you? In this lesson, students will read books about families and make text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections using those books. Students gain a deeper understanding of a text when they make authentic connections. Beginning with a read-aloud of Donald Crews' Bigmama's, the instructor introduces and models the strategy of making connections. Read-alouds of The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats and The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant are followed by activities that help students learn to apply each type of text connection when responding to texts. After sharing and discussing connections in a Think-Pair-Share activity, students plan and write a piece describing a personal connection to one of the texts.
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FEATURED RESOURCES
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Planning Web: Students can use this printout to record details about the text connections they have made and use those details in their own stories.

As readers respond to text, they make connections. It is these connections to the text, to the world, to background information, and to experiences (schema) that make readers feel like the characters, connect to the story, or remember similar experiences.

Connecting to emotions and senses enhances comprehension skills because the reader can identify with the characters or situations in the text in extremely personal ways and make comparisons.

FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE

Teachers show students how to make text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world connections so that readers can more easily comprehend the texts they read.

Teachers model for students how to activate schema and make connections that help make meaning of a text.

Teachers help students understand basic story grammar (including plot, characters, and setting) and expository text structures such as sequence, description, comparison, and cause and effect.

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Ketch, A. (2005). Conversation: The comprehension connection. The Reading Teacher, 59(1), 8-13.

Pardo, L.S. (2004). What every teacher needs to know about comprehension. The Reading Teacher, 58, 272-280.

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Family Ties: Making Connections to Improve Reading Comprehension - ReadWriteThink

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Grades K - 2 Lesson Plan Type Standard Lesson Estimated Time Five 50-minute sessions Lesson Author Publisher Featured Resources From Theory to Practice How does the story connect to your own life, another text your have read, or the world around you?

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https://youtu.be/HCKwvlrh930

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Since this is a mnemonic device that is associated with dance movements, I included a youtube video link to give students who had never seen the dance before a reference point. It is also great for ADHD students to have the opportunity for movement while learning. Having a video is also good for deaf students, because they need the visual frame of reference.

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http://mollysreadingedblog.blogspot.com/

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For students identified as cognitively delayed, I would focus on making text-to-self-connections only. Rather than asking students to formulate complete sentences, I would have them to begin making connections through drawings. Once they are able to illustrate their thinking through pictures, we would move into developing oral language skills to tell about the picture.

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Making Predictions

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Reading Worksheets, Spelling, Grammar, Comprehension, Lesson Plans

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Guided reading is a popular and highly effective strategy for helping students become proficient and masterful readers. It's one component of an overarching shared reading block and it's power lies in providing strong support for small groups of beginning or struggling readers.

During guided reading the teacher introduces reading strategies such as making predictions , using contextual clues, recognizing sounds and letters, understanding word structure, and more - all designed to help students construct meaning from text. The ultimate goal is for students to internalize these strategies and become skilled, fluent, life-long readers.

There are three basic steps in guided reading: Before reading, during reading and after reading. For each step there are abundant strategies to help achieve it's purpose. For example, the purpose of the "before reading" step is to set the objective for reading, analyze new vocabulary, and make predictions.
Activities for making predictions:
Students make predictions all the time though they may not realize it. They predict what there friends will say when they score a winning point. They predict what's for dinner when they come home to warm smells from the kitchen. People are able to make predictions based on prior knowledge, or information they already have. Once you teach your students the predicting strategy, they'll be able to do the same with their reading.
Here are a few activities you can use in your classroom to help students become proficient at making predictions.
Use book or movie titles. Read students the titles of books they've never read before and ask them to make a prediction what the book is about. Then read the back cover or inside flap of the book out loud to see how close they came to the mark. You can do the same with movie titles and then read aloud a synopsis of the movie review.

Bring an unusual object to class. Show students the object and have them predict what it could be used for and how it works. While showing the object, point out structures or components that could be clues as to what it is without actually explaining how it works.

Read a section of text and then have students predict what is going to happen nex t. Have them write their predictions on sentence strips and place each prediction on the wall. Revisit the predictions once the action has been revealed in the story.

Explain to students that making predictions is like being a detective. They can find clues in the book title, the illustration on the front cover, as well as pictures inside the book to predict what the story is about. Students may be inclined to take the easy way out and say the book is about a princess or a dog but that's not good enough. Have them also predict what a character will do or an important event that may take place.

When student know how to make predictions and use this skill prior to reading, they not only have a reason to read, but this knowledge will improve their comprehension. By activating prior knowledge they can get at the deeper meanings, learn to read between the lines, and take the first steps for developing a love for literature.

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Guided Reading Activities - Making Predictions

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Guided reading is a popular and highly effective strategy for helping students become proficient and masterful readers. It's one component of an overarching shared reading block and it's power lies in providing strong support for small groups of beginning or struggling readers.

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To make sure that ESL/ELL or language delayed students understand the concept, I would start by bringing in a real world object. Then I would have students to describe the object as a class as I chart their responses. Based on their responses, I would have to them to help brainstorm better word choices to build vocabulary. We would also discuss shades of meaning in words using paint chips to discover the continuum of words.