Area/ aspect of literacy Vocabulary

Explanation of determining the need (vocabulary) After discussing with my

coordinating teacher, Ms. Johnson, regarding her third grade class and what small group
activity would best fit the needs of her class, we determined that a vocabulary activity
involving their new novel in their curriculum would be best. The class is currently
reading the novel I Survived: The Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 by Lauren Tarshis. The
teacher identified five students that are having a hard time comprehending the text due to
some of the advanced vocabulary. Due to the enriching classroom environment. during
the activity we will read the text and then when we come to the vocabulary word we will
mark it with a sticky note, describe the context clues, and describe what the author is
trying to say. After using the context clues, students will use dictionaries to look up the
vocabulary term to check and see if their definition is correct. Once they understand the
definition, they will write this down in their readers notebooks.
Vocabulary words that will be reviewed include: bellowing, spectacle, banister, and
telegram
Materials needed to implement instruction
o I Survived: The Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 by Lauren Tarshis (a copy for each
student)
o Sticky notes
o Pencil
o Writers/ readers notebook (composition book)
o List of vocabulary words
o Dictionary
Intended/ hopeful outcomes of this intervention: After this intervention, I hope that
students understand these vocabulary terms from their new reading in the curriculum
from the book, I Survived: The Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 by Lauren Tarshis. In
addition, I hope that students gain an understanding of how to figure out what words
mean by using context clues.
Reflection of the results: Overall this small group activity was very effective and the
students were able to gain an understanding of the vocabulary terms using context clues.
One challenge that I faced during this lesson was having the students focus their attention
on me and listen, because I am such a new presence in their classroom. However, I faced
this challenge by asking the students questions and calling on different students who I
knew were not paying attention. There were no other challenges that I faced in this
lesson. One notable success that I implemented during the small group intervention, was
that students were able to see exactly how to use context clues to find the meaning of an
unfamiliar vocabulary word. Through modeling with the novel, asking myself questions
out loud, replacing the word in the sentence with the definition that is given through
context, and using a dictionary to check the definition allowed students to see exactly
how to use the strategy and what was expected of them. For future lessons, I may have
the words on the board or somewhere in front of them so they can see me writing the
definition as well. Overall, I would say that the lesson was a huge success and I am very
happy with the students and their understanding of context clues after this small group
intervention.