Dunn, BYU, 2009

Where the Red Fern Grows Word Squares/Word Wall

Vocabulary Strategy

Purpose This is a pre-reading activity that will help students with both comprehension and fluency

as they read Where the Red Fern Grows. It will help create a visual picture of the many things on the farm and the surrounding countryside that were common in the country of the 1930s but that are not a part of most students’ lives today. Every vocabulary word is used at least once and most are used a number of times throughout the book. Context This strategy is best used after the students read Chapter one of Where the Red Fern Grows, after a discussion of what they think might be coming in the rest of the story. Chapter one takes place in a more modern time and place, a time the students are more likely to relate to. The rest of the story takes place over fifty years earlier on a farm in the country during the 1930s. This activity will help introduce students to some of the descriptive language used during that time.

Where the Red Fern Grows is set in the country during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Many of the words Wilson Rawls uses to describe the setting, the scenery and the animals are words that are not often used today. Students will be able to determine at least partial meanings for many of the words because they will be familiar with part of the word. For example:

· Canebreak is a combination of two words. The students will know the meaning of at least one of the words and may be able to determine the meaning - a thicket of canes.

· Civet cat (ring-tailed raccoon) and, · Gunny sack (burlap bag used to hold grain) also have one word in each that the

students will be familiar with. · Corn crib and coon hound combine words the students should know and from which

they may be able to determine a meaning. With these words students will be able to see that often, they can get an idea of what the

word means without knowing the exact definition. They will also find another definition for a word they should be very familiar with, game.

Most students would think a game is something they would play. In this novel it is a reference to the wildlife that is hunted for food. Directions Demonstrate the use of Word Squares using the word riffle. Riffle - a shallow stretch of a river or stream, where the current is above the average stream

velocity and where the water forms small rippled waves as a result. It often consists of a rocky bed of gravel or other small stones (definition taken from Wikipedia online, February 23, 2009, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riffle).

Dunn, BYU, 2009

Instructions for Word Squares Hand out copies of the blank word squares to each student. Give students the following directions. In Section A, write the word. In Section B, draw a picture of the object. In Section C, write a short definition of the object using your own words. In section D, use the word in a sentence with context clues to its meaning. Have five (5) copies of the Word Square to distribute to each student (one for every two words). Have one overhead of the Word Square Example ready for the demonstration. 1. Place the Word Square Example on the overhead. Have it completely covered. 2. Read the instructions for Section A. Uncover Section A (the word) on the example. 3. Read the instructions for Section B. Uncover Section B (the picture) on the example. 4. Read the instructions for Section C. Uncover Section C (the definition in the student’s own

words) on the example. 5. Read the instructions for Section D. Uncover Section D (the sentence using the word with

contextual clues) on the example. Students should take home the assignment and return with it completed the next day. Have students pull out their completed assignment. Go over every word, the meaning, what it looks like (have some students show their drawings) and its use in a sentence (again, have students volunteer to read their sentences) as a class. This should take about 10 minutes. Next ask students what they think the rest of the story might entail now that they know some of the vocabulary that will be used. Discuss. This should take another 5 minutes. Have them chose one of the words they defined and have them write another sentence using that word describing what they think the story might now be about. Collect their Word Squares. Assessment Students will be assessed on participation in the discussion about what they think this

book will be about, before the assignment and how, if at all, their opinions have changed after defining the words. They will also be assessed on the completion of their Word Squares and with the extra sentence written after the class discussion

Summary and Segue Students should have a better idea of the types of things they will be reading about

when they continue with Chapter two of Where the Red Fern Grows. They will also realize that they can figure out the meanings of words just by looking at the parts they do know within the word. When they are reading the story they will be able to check the word wall to remember the meanings of the words they defined and what they looked like.

A Word

B Draw It

C Define It

D Use It

Dunn, BYU, 2009

Word Square Example

Word

riffle

Picture

Definition A shallow place in a river where the current flows very quickly, usually over tiny rocks or stones.

Used in a Sentence We found a riffle where we could walk across the river without having to swim.

Dunn, BYU, 2009

Name______________________________

Word Squares Worksheet

Dunn, BYU, 2009

Where the Red Fern Grows Word Squares Instructions

In Section A, write the word. In Section B, draw a picture of the object. In Section C, write a short definition of the object using your own words. In section D, use the word in a sentence with context clues to its meaning.

Use the instructions above for each of the following ten words. Canebreak (spelled canebrake today)

Civet cat

Coon hound

Corncrib

Game (not the type you play)

Gunny sack

Pelts

Riffle

Sorghum

Sycamore

A Word

B Draw It

C Define It

D Use It

Dunn, BYU, 2009

KEY Where the Red Fern Grows

Word Square Definitions

Canebreak (spelled canebrake, today) – a thicket of cane.

Civet cat – an imprecise term that is used for a variety of cat-like creatures such as: The Ringtail or North American Civet Cat (Bassariscus astutus), related to the raccoons.

Coon hound – a sporting dog trained to hunt raccoons. Coonhounds can hunt individually or as a pack. Generally, hunters don't chase their quarry along with the hounds, but wait and listen to the distinctive baying to determine if a raccoon or other animal has been treed.

Corncrib – a type of granary used to dry and store corn. After the harvest, corn, still on the cob, is placed in the crib either with or without the husk. The typical corn crib had slats in its walls. These slatted sides of the corn crib allow air to circulate through the corn, both allowing it to dry initially and helping it to stay dry. The slats expose the corn to pests, so corn cribs are elevated above the ground beyond the reach of rodents

Game (not the type you play) – animals under pursuit or taken in hunting; especially wild animals hunted for sport or food.

Gunny sack – a bag made of burlap. Gunny sacks are traditionally used for transporting grains, potatoes, and other agricultural products.

Pelts – the hair, fur or wool that covers an animal's skin that has been stripped off the animal. Riffle – a shallow stretch of a river or stream, where the current is above the average stream velocity and where the water forms small rippled waves as a result. It often consists of a rocky bed of gravel or other small stones. Sorghum – a genus of numerous species of grasses, some of which are raised for grain. Sycamore – a very large spreading tree (Platanus occidentalis) chiefly of the eastern and central United States with 3 to 5-lobed broadly ovate leaves. Definitions taken from Wikipedia on-line, February 23, 2009, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki, and Merriam-Webster on-line search, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary.