Education Portfolio
Receptivity Intelligence Knowledge Experience Expression
TREASURE HUNT - THE SEARCH FOR IDIOMS
Grade Five. Two Periods (35 min. each)
Main Points
- Definition: A phrase or expression that has a special meaning that cannot be understood from the normal or regular meaning of the words in it.
- Our oral and written language is enriched by the idoms we use.
- It is interesting to note the history behind our idioms.
Objectives for learning
- Students will appreciate idioms through the exploration of various usages.
- Students will be able to note when idioms are used throughout their day.
- Students will become more familiar with what different idioms mean.
Materials
- Dictionary of dioms - More Than 600 Phrases, Sayings and Expressions by Marvin Terban, Scholastic, Inc., 1966.
- List of Idioms assignment sheet - Write a story, or skit
- Idioms Grading sheet
Review - First class: Remind students of the interesting phrases teachers have been using all week such as rule of thumb, and up in the air.
Attention Step - English is a beautiful and rich language, but its' many idioms are often tough nuts to crack. This lesson should help make understanding these sayings easy as pie.
Wholeness - Idioms appear in every language and English has thousands of them. In order to understand a language, you must know what the idioms of that language mean. It is confusing if you try to figure out the meaning literally word by word. You have to discover its "hidden meaning."
Purpose - To help explain the meanings and origins of some of the most commonly confusing idioms in our rich and beautiful language of English.
Procedures
- Students will offer suggestions for idioms
- Teacher will give examples from book, with meaning and history
- Using a list of common idioms, students will play a game where they divide into pairs, plan and perform a skit about at least two idioms and then the class will identify which idiom they are portraying
Review - second class: Remind students what we did on first day with suggesting different idioms, reading about idioms and their history and then playing the Game.
- Students will finish their skits,
- share the idioms that they discovered
- turn in rough draft of idiom story/skit to be corrected
Fulfilment - Now that we are familiar with the concept of idioms, we will be better able to notice and appreciate them as they are used in our daily lives, in conversations, on TV or in the books we read. We may use them ourselves to enrich our own writing (keeping in mind to avoid the most commonly used ones that have become cliches).
Closure - You have been a very lively, enthusiastic and responsive class.
Homework
- Students will look for idioms and as an ongoing activity, will try to bring them in to share with the class regularly (Keep a list on your desk.)
- Students will write a short story/skit using as many idioms as possible (first day)
- Students will write final draft of story, in best handwriting, with correct punctuation and spelling.
Assessment Stratgies - Teacher will note participation in group exercises, and grade short story.
Name _____________________________Date____________________
Write story using as many idioms as you can.
______Content. Used ________ idioms in your satory.
______Correct spelling, punctuation and capitalization.
______Handwriting
______Creativity
Comments:
Key:
- * = Outstanding
- + = Good
- check = Needs Attention
Grade_____
LANGUAGE ARTS #2
JAN BRETT AUTHOR UNIT
"ENJOY AND ACCOMPLISH MORE"
Goal: Through their exploration of this author's texts and illustrations, students will be inspired to become life-long readers, strategic readers (with a full range of strategies for figuring out words and understanding text), and thoughtful writers.
Major Questions to direct the students' awareness during the unit:
1.What did you like about the book? How did it relate to your own life?
2. What are some of the different aspects of plot, setting and character in Jan Brett's books?
3. What are the main ideas, lessons or morals?
Prereading:
The background knowledge the students need including:
- The key concepts and vocabulary to be taught before reading
- Stimulating the students' interest for reading through book talks
Reading:
I want students to love to read.
Strategies to model or ask students to use which promote love of reading:
- Read aloud and shared reading - "Read aloud" provides opportunities to demonstrate comprehension strategies such as "stopping to think" about what you're reading (What do I think is going to happen, Why do I think this is going Ýo happen, Prove it by going back to the story
- Reading strategies: Stopping to think, using graphophonic and contextual cues, reading a lot makes you a better reader, previewing the back of the book, using picture cues
Responding:
- Use of reading logs, shared reading and grand conversations.
- Improve oral responses by providing time for responses, helping children interact and improving our questioning technique.
- Shared reading offers many opportunities for demonstration and response while providing support for readers who aren't yet fluent.
- Written responses can be done on response sheets, reading logs and response notebooks. Students can write about a favorite part, relate a book to their own life, summarize what the book is about, relate book to other books
Exploring:
- Word Wall, vocabulary activities,
- writing,
- drama activities to be used,
- information about author/illustrator.
Strategies to help children figure out unfamiliar words:
- Attend to the initial letter/s and the sound it represents,
- use the illustrations,
- look through the word to the end,
- look for a familiar spelling pattern,
- use "Skip and Run:,
- use meaning, structure, and graphophonic cues in combination;
- listen to themselves, that is monitor, cross check and self-correct.
Strategies to demonstrate for early stage readers:
- noting spelling patterns ("I can spell" sheet; "Words I want to Learn to Spell" sheet)
- monitoring and self-correcting
- using meaning, structure, and graphophonic clues together
- chunking words into phrases
- "Skip and Return":Guided Reading Planning Sheet for transitional Readers:
Strategies to demonstrate:
- "stopping to think"
- making a story Map
- making a character Map
- using a "Before and After" chart
- retelling chapters in writing -personal writing as a "response" to reading
- Modeling Writing after text you've read - reading like a writer, writing like a reader
- rereading to clarify meaning
Writing helps students understand what they've read. Help students use writing to think more deeply about what they are reading. Demonstrate writing about text. Demonstrate character mapping to help students focus on how the main character's personal traits often direct the action of the story. Demonstrate story mapping to help children think about how the different story elements - characters, setting, problem, main events, and resolution - work together
Applying: Projects such as writing sequel, writing to author, creating skits and plays.
Course Overview (see chart)
Resources: Multiple copies of Jan Brett's books
Assessment: Spelling/Poetry Folder:
- Section One- Poems, Songs, and Language-Experience charts;
- Section Two - "If I can Spell" sheets;
- Section Three - High Frequency words;
- Section Four "Words I want to Learn to Spell
Appreciation: Literature circle preparation and participation (checklist)
Comprehension:
- literature circle checklist,
- character cluster, story map, Venn diagram
- Guided reading Planning Sheet
"ENJOY AND ACCOMPLISH MORE
