lusive classroom. This approach could be improved by adding in blocks or puzzle pieces that need to be assembled and reassembled.
This lesson also provides an opportunity for vocabulary development by introducing such terms from mathematics as "thirds," "fourths," and so forth. The basic concept could also be applied, for example, to developing a timeline in social studies or history in which students divide a time period into related segments.
Lesson Plan: Vocabulary Development
Topic: Building Vocabulary through Dictionary Study
The objectives of the lesson plan are: 1) to enhance vocabulary acquisition for third grade students using an online dictionary to define new terms in a story; 2) to enhance understanding of dictionary use; 3) to increase fluency in reading, writing, and speaking; and 4) to further literal and interpretive comprehension.
Students in the third grade will be provided with a short story selected by the teacher which contains a number of terms such as homophones that the students are unlikely to be familiar with. The story will be read aloud by students and reviewed by the teacher. Students will be asked to underline on their copy of the story any terms with which they are not familiar or which they cannot define. Next, using the in-class, online dictionary, students will look up definitions for each of the terms they have underlined, writing those definitions in a journal. A take-home assignment will then be given to the students, asking them to create a sentence for each of the new terms they have defined. Assignments will be brought to class the next day and students will read aloud their new sentences. The teacher will grade the assignments with respect to the appropriate use of each term, grammar, sentence structure, and spelling.
When students were provided with this particular lesson, most found the online activity to be very interesting and fun. All students in the c...