Rachel Hendrick

October 30, 2015

ED434
Vocabulary How can we help students learn words?
What standards will this assignment meet?
Quality Standard II: Teachers establish a safe, inclusive and respectful learning environment for a diverse
population of students.
Quality Standard III: Teachers plan and deliver effective instruction and create an environment that facilitates
learning for their students.

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education

8.22 (2) (c) implement effective teaching strategies, which include a wide variety of linguistic experiences for
second-language students.
8.22 (3) The educator of linguistically diverse students is knowledgeable about language teaching methodology and
instructional techniques for teaching a wide range of linguistically diverse students, K-12, founded on scientificallybased research and proven and effective applications; content based strategies; identification, selection, evaluation,
design and adaptation of appropriate instructional materials; and child and adolescent literature from various
cultures, and is able to:
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education: 8.22 (3) (c) plan and implement instruction so that it is
systemic, sequential, well-articulated, and delivered in an engaging environment. 8.22 (3) (d) select and utilize
instructional materials and resources that are age, grade level, and language proficiency appropriate, aligned with the
curriculum, English language proficiency standards, and English language arts content standards, to maintain and/or
improve student achievement.

Grade level: 3rd grade

Content Area: Reading, Writing, and Communicating
Colorado Academic Standard:
Standard 2. Reading for All Purposes
Concepts and skills students master: 1. Strategies are needed to make meaning of various types
or literary genres
i.

Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how
their actions contribute to the sequence of events. (CCSS: RL.3.3)

WIDA Standard: Academic Language

Dimensions: Word Phrase
Performance Criteria: Vocabulary usage
Features: general, specific, and technical language

Vocabulary words chosen:

Tier 1- person
Tier 2- character
Tier 3- protagonist
Overview of Activity (explanation/instructions) - Be detailed enough for a substitute to use
this in your absence:
For the first word, the teacher will first model sound and initial beginning of the word, then
collaborate with the students in order to practice the meaning of the word together, and then the
teacher will allow the students to work independently on creating their own symbol or picture for
the word.
The teacher will begin this lesson by writing the following word on the board- /person/
The teacher will then start with the tier 1 vocabulary term by saying this word is person. It is 2
syllables. /per-son/The teacher will then imply that the students repeat it with me by saying the
word syllable by syllable. /per-son/The students will repeat: /per-son/The teacher will then ask
the students to repeat the word as a whole /person/ and the students will repeat. The teacher will
then instruct: a person is a human being regarded as a person can be described as a man, woman,
or child. For example, the person sitting next to you is an actual human being. The teacher will
then have the students repeat the word again, person. Another example could be, when I was
looking at my mom, I told her, You are the most important person to me. Teacher will then say
person and have the students repeat one more time, person. The teacher will then address to the
students, suppose you are your own dictionary, I want you to please write down how you would
define or explain this word. Person. After writing down your own meaning for the word person, I
want you to think of an example of a person. The teacher will then call on a couple of students

and have the students share the meaning and example they came up with. The teacher will then
visually show a picture of a person and explain that this picture helps me think about what the
word person means. The teacher will then inform the students, now I want you to draw an image
or symbol to represent your own definition of a person. Students will then draw images or
symbols to represent the word person. The teacher will then ask some of the students to share
their drawings with the rest of the class.
For the vocab words that are tier 2 and tier 3, the teacher will model some of the key aspects of
the vocabulary term but the teacher will have the students work in groups to complete an activity
on the tier 2 and tier 3 vocabulary term.
For the second word, the teacher will write the word character on the board. The teacher will
begin instruction by saying the second word is character. It is 3 syllables. /char-ac-ter/The
teacher will have the students repeat with me the word syllable by syllable, /char-ac-ter/The
students will respond with char-ac-ter. The teacher will then imply that a character is a person in
a novel, play, or movie. It also can be defined as the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an
individual. For example, in the previous book we read on Charlottes Web, one of the characters
in this novel was Charlotte. The teacher will then have the students repeat the word character.
Another example would be the character Fern, in Charlottes Web is very caring and kind. The
teacher will have the students repeat one more time the vocab word, character.
For the third word, the teacher will write the word protagonist on the board. The teacher will
begin the final instruction by saying the third word protagonist. It is 4 syllables. /pro-tag-onist/The teacher will have the students repeat with me the word syllable by syllable. /pro-tag-onist/The students will respond with pro-tag-o-nist. The teacher will then imply that a protagonist
is a leading character or one of the major characters in a drama, movie, novel, or other fictional

texts. It can also be defined as the main figure or one of the most dominant figures in a real
situation. For example, in the book Charlottes Web, the protagonist would be Wilbur. The
teacher will then have the students repeat the word protagonist.
The teacher will then hand out two word maps to each of the students to work on in groups of 2
to 3 in order to further their knowledge on the tier 2 and tier 3 vocabulary terms. The word map
provides 8 different instructions on the paper such as;
1. Vocab Word
2. A sentence using the word- teachers example
3. Definition of the word which can be both the teachers and students own meaning.
4. Synonym
5. Antonym
6. Other forms of the word
7. Picture/ Example of the word
8. Students very own sentence using the word.
Students will already have the key aspects of each of the two vocab words from the teacher
instruction and the students should already have previous knowledge of what a synonym and
antonym is in order to complete this worksheet. The students are also allowed to work in groups
in order to combine all their thoughts and ideas on each specific vocabulary term but they must
provide their own examples and writing for each aspect of the word map. When the students
have completed the word map for both the vocabulary terms, the teacher will then review each
number on the word map in order to check for the students understandings or further assist any
of the content that did not make sense.

AssessmentFor further assistance on this assessment, the teacher can encourage and require students to use
the vocabulary words such as person, character, and protagonist in their future writing
assignments. Students can underline or highlight any of these three words in their texts so that as
a teacher, you can easily see their use and check for the passages for student comprehension.
After the students have used the vocabulary words successfully in their writing, you can
encourage the students to meet a higher level of expectation such as using all three of these
vocab terms in each of their writings or try to incorporate two vocabulary terms into the same
sentence. By having the students use more than one new word in a sentence, allows students to
look for and understand the relations among the words.

Justification for the Activity (with citations from the readings)- Explain how this supports students oral
language development. Be detailed enough that it is clear that you have read the readings in depth. Be sure
to cite at least two sources.

Artifacts All materials and documents needed to deliver your activity (instructions for students, handouts,
photographs of realia, technology, examples, etc.):