- For words that cannot be found in the dictionary, I would have students use a “context clues checklist”
- “There was a low fog and I seen them step out of it on a sudden, almost like haints in the night.” – p. 9
- Students would then fill out the following checklist:
| Clue | Description | Yes/No - Answer |
| Definition | Try using the definition in the sentence to understand the unknown word. | Yes – something flying in the night |
| Example-Illustrations | Can you use an example or an illustration to understand the unknown word? | No – no illustration with text |
| Contrast | Is the word compared or contrasted with another word in the sentence? | Yes – compared to the word sudden … and also somehow related to fog |
| Logic | How does the rest of the sentence help you understand the unknown word? | Key context clues – low fog, sudden, night |
| Root Word and Affixes | Does the word have any root words or affixes that can help you understand its meaning? | No |
| Grammar | Can you tell what the function of the word is? What about its figure or speech? | Yes - noun |
- Having a word wall for words only found in
- It would be important to choose important or interesting words
- Segregated
- It is easier for students to learn a cluster of words vs. isolated words
- Can teach mini-lessons with some of the words
- Ex. sharecropping à tenants, acres
- Can have a word study activity (example – posters, maps, etc.)
- Creek (can draw picture of creek in story)
- Students can use tools to help define the word such as dictionaries or thesauruses
- Satchel
- Threatening
- WORD WALL (words can be organized alphabetically, by parts of speech, in sequential order to how the word is found, etc.)
| Womenfolks (7) | Creek (9) | Exchange (10) | Widow (11) | Mite (12) |
| Admiring (13) | Sharecropping (16) | Backlip’ (22) | Acres (24) | Tenants (24) |
| Satchel (29) | Burlap (29) | Threatening (33) | Sorrowful (33) | Prideful (37) |
| Creaking (39) | Ruckus (44) | Sprawling (47) | Snivelin’ (50) | Segregated (51) |
1 comment:
I really like your “context clue checklist”. I think that every student should be able to have a copy of this at their desk that they can always use when they are reading. You said however that you would give them the checklist for the words that are not found in the dictionary. What do you think about having them use the checklist before they look in the dictionary? I think that having them do it that way would make your lesson incredibly more effective. In the book I think it said that looking up words in a dictionary is highly ineffective if they aren’t followed up with further instruction. I also think that having your students come up with the meaning of the word by using their context clues checklist will help them remember the meaning of that word in the future much better as well. I also like your ideas on creating a word wall for the vocabulary in your book. After reading the readings, I have come to become a big fan of word walls. I think that all of the ideas that you wrote about were good ones, and every one would be effective with helping teach a vocabulary mini-lesson.
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