wwfedu lesson plan 4 definition and meaning final · definition and meaning lesson plan page 1 ......

Definition and Meaning Lesson Plan of 10

Definition and Meaning Lesson Plan

Students use Words With Friends (WWF) EDU to determine or clarify the meaning of words.

Primary Objective Students will be able to determine or clarify the meaning of words by (1) consulting the dictionary feature in WWF EDU, and (2) identifying the best usage of words in the Power Word Bonus.

Secondary Objective Students will use the dictionary feature to understand pronunciation and the meanings of these words.

Aligned Common Core State Standards

L.4.4.c, L.5.4.c, L.6.4.c, L.6.4.d, L.7.4.c, L.7.4.d, L.8.4.c, L.8.4.d

Time 30 minutes

MATERIALS

• Student computers

• Student notebooks/digital notebooks

• Feature Walkthrough: Dictionary

• Feature Walkthrough: Power Word Bonus

• Projector


PREPARATION

1. Give students the opportunity to play WWF EDU before this lesson.

• Recommended practice time: at least 1 hour over a multi-day period or 3–5 game play sessions.

2. Give students the opportunity to consult reference materials to determine the definition/meaning of unknown words before this lesson (i.e., this lesson should not be the first time that they reference a dictionary tool).

3. Consider whether to teach this lesson in a large group or a series of small groups, depending on the resources that are available in your classroom (e.g., if you do not have a full set of student computers to facilitate a full-group lesson, this lesson may be taught in a series of small groups while other students are engaged in centers).

4. (Optional) Pair or group students together for practice with game board examples and/or game play.

PROCEDURE

1. Introduction

• Set the stage and activate existing knowledge (8 minutes)

o SAY: Today we will be working to develop our skills with using the dictionary as a reference tool and using context clues to determine words’ meanings.

o Remind students of resources in the room such as print dictionaries, thesaurus, etc.

o SAY: Let’s review some recognizable features of dictionaries:

§ SAY: They tend to list words in alphabetical order.

§ SAY: They tend to include information about how words are pronounced, their part(s) of speech, their origin, their variations, and their definitions.

§ SAY: Definitions tend to be ordered based on the frequency of their use.

o SAY: The dictionary feature in WWF EDU can serve as a reference tool for you when you’re playing the game.

o SAY: You don’t need to use the dictionary for every word, but it can be a useful tool when you want to see the definition of an unfamiliar word, or clarify the meaning of a word that you’re not confident you know well. You might even see that some secondary meanings of familiar words that you didn’t know before!

o SAY: Once you know the definition of a word, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you will you be able to understand it’s meaning in context. This is a challenge for all readers, so it’s important to seize opportunities to try to identify the meaning of a word based on its usage as well. WWF EDU provides this opportunity every time you play a Power Word!


o SAY: After you play a Power Word, you see a Power Word Bonus! The Bonus gives you three sentences with the Power Word, and you need to try to figure out which one uses the word correctly. This type of challenge serves to help you exercise your reading muscle and build academic vocabulary. Really strategic WWF EDU players will remember that the dictionary feature is available while you play the Power Word Bonus and you might choose to use it as a resource if you get stuck!

o SAY: Before we dive into WWF EDU game play today, let’s practice how to use the game’s dictionary feature and take on the Power Word Bonus challenge together.

§ Show the feature walkthrough for the dictionary on a projector. Follow the directions provided.

§ Show the feature walkthrough for the Power Word Bonus. Follow the directions provided.

§ (Optional, additional 5–10 minutes) Provide students with time to practice using the dictionary feature apart from game play. (One does not need to be playing WWF EDU in order to access the game’s dictionary feature.) Then, give students the opportunity to extend this practice to their own game boards. Help them identify game boards in their Moves List that they might use; they can choose to use ongoing game boards (under “Your Move” or “Their Move”) or recently “Completed” game boards. Encourage students to collaborate with a partner or in small groups to practice using the dictionary feature to enhance their knowledge of words on the board. Circulate around the room to support this practice.

• Set the intention for game play (2 minutes)

o SAY: Today, while we play WWF EDU, I want you to seize all opportunities to use the dictionary feature and play Power Words. Please write down at least two full definitions of words you play in your notebook/digital notebook. We will be using these words for a number of fun activities as we continue to use WWFEDU in our classroom. As always, I encourage you to look for the green light on the Power Word list that indicates that there is a Power Word you can play; seize those opportunities to grow your academic vocabulary and score some major points! Please also write down any Power Words you play along with their definitions/meanings. Take screen shots of any Power Word Bonus challenges that you encounter, because this will allow us to review them together at the end of the game play session today.

2. Practice/Play time (10 minutes)

• Circulate around the room as students play WWF EDU, focusing on using the dictionary feature and playing Power Words. Encourage, troubleshoot, and support students as they work/play. Publicly praise students when you see them playing challenging, or unique words, and Power Words. Remind them to use their notebooks/digital notebooks to take notes.


3. Closure (10 minutes)

• Lead students in a discussion that sums up the game play experience, noting what words students chose to play and define, along with Power Words. Discuss any tricky spelling moments and help students connect words played to their meanings by reviewing how they utilized the dictionary feature. Review any Power Words Bonus challenges that students might have encountered and captured. Help students make a connection between how using reference tools and showing a willingness to take on challenges helps us in game play, and, more importantly, how these behaviors help us become stronger readers and writers.

EXTENSIONS AND VARIATIONS

Use these ideas to further engage students in activities aligned to the learning objectives of this lesson. For those of you who may be searching for ways to provide more student-led activities in your classroom, we’ve labeled the activities that can be easily led by students with #StudentLed.

• Have students challenge each other with words and their definitions. One way is to break students into pairs or small groups. Half of each group takes a word and creates its own Power Word style trio of sentences (see board example below, ‘clue’), only one of which will be the correct one. Have the other group guess, and then switch roles. This will help reinforce the meanings of words and encourages students to continue to use the dictionary tool. #StudentLed

• Have students keep track of their predictions of meanings of unknown words using a worksheet. Encourage students to use the tiles available to them to explore possible words that they might be able to spell. This encourages their strategy during game play—by learning to attempt to spell words they might not know. #StudentLed

o Example of a table that might be part of such a worksheet:

Word Predicted Definition

Actual Definition

Use in a Sentence

• Do a feature walkthrough for definition hints to ensure that students are taking advantage of the great learning opportunities that feature offers as well!


FEATURE WALKTHROUGH: DICTIONARY

Prompt: Let’s walk through how to use the dictionary to learn about the word “exit,” which appears on this game board.


FEATURE WALKTHROUGH: DICTIONARY

(Zooming in) Prompt: Note how to access the feature and the various types of information you can gather by looking at a word’s definition.

Type the word here, then press enter, OR click the purple magnifying glass icon. If it were a Power Word, you could find it on the Power Word list and click on it.

Click the speaker icon to hear the pronunciation that is deconstructed to the right.

Read the definitions from most frequent use to least for each part of speech.*Notice all possible parts of speech.

Word origin/etymology.


FEATURE WALKTHROUGH: POWER WORD BONUS

Prompt: Let’s walk through how to take on the Power Word Bonus challenge with the word “CLUE,” which appears on this game board.

Prompts:

How would you go about tackling this challenge of identifying the correct usage of the word?

Can you identify any sentences that use the word incorrectly? How do you know?


FEATURE WALKTHROUGH: POWER WORD BONUS

Answer Key:


Aligned Common Core State Standards

STANDARD DESCRIPTION

L.4.4.c Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 4 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

c. Consult reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation and determine or clarify the precise meaning of key words and phrases.


c. Consult reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation and determine or clarify the precise meaning of key words and phrases.


c. Consult reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech.

L.6.4.d Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 6 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

d. Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary).


c. Consult reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech.

L.7.4.d Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 7 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.


L.8.4.c Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words or phrases based on grade 8 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

c. Consult reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print


and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech.

L.8.4.d Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words or phrases based on grade 8 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.


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