LESSON ONE: Analyzing Unknown Words
LESSON DESCRIPTION
Students study and practice analyzing prefixes and suffixes and how these affect word meaning.
GRADE-LEVEL EXPECTATIONS
R1C, R1E The student will be able to develop and apply strategies to problem solve unknown words.
LESSON MATERIALS
§ Sources of literature
§ Supplies
o Paper and pen/pencil
§ Handouts provided
o A list of prefixes and suffixes
§ Words to Know
o affixes
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Using the prefix/suffix chart provided in guided practice, students create their own nonsense word from familiar roots and put each word in a sentence or brief paragraph context that explains the word’s meanings. Scoring guide provided.
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
1. Use a free writing prompt or Daily Oral Language question containing an unfamiliar word.
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Questions for Students
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When do you encounter words you don’t know? Why is it important to know the meanings of unfamiliar words in these situations? What strategies do you currently use to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words? What are some prefixes and suffixes that you recognize immediately? What does the position of a word in a sentence tell you about its meaning? |
2. Using “Jabberwocky” discuss how position of word part, part of speech of word, and context clues can help determine word meaning.
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Suggestions |
Review basic parts of speech and their placement in sentences. Review non-linguistic representations of words that they may see on stage, movies, or television show. Discuss etymology and evaluate the changes in word meanings. |
3. Using “cold readings” such as those from ACT tests and a prefix-suffix chart, students analyze the meanings of unknown words.
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Scoring Guide for Formative Assessment
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Scoring Guide for Context: 3 – meaning of nonsense word is clear from context sentence 2 – meaning of nonsense word is somewhat unclear from context sentence 1 – meaning of nonsense word in unclear 0 – Other
Scoring Guide for Prefix/Suffix: 3 – Created nonsense word makes sense based on prefix/suffix put together with root 2 – Created nonsense word has a few problems with prefix/suffix put together with root 1 – Created nonsense word is not logical 0 - Other |