noteblog-vocab

A lesson on the novel Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, would be best directed towards sixth grade students. By this age, most students are very fluent readers where most words are sight words to the reader. However, some words may be new words for students in sixth grade. This may include very large words or perhaps, words having to do with the time period and segregation of the pre Civil Rights era. As the teacher, I would pre-read the book and pick out these words. I would put the words on the wall and as a mini lesson, I would have the students get into groups and each group will choose a word from the wall. The group would have to define it and use it in a sentence in a way unrelated to the story. Then they would have to tell how the word is related to and used in the story. This will give the students an understanding of words that they were not familiar with before which will increase their sight word repertoire and make them more fluent readers as they will not have to struggle with these words when they come up in the story or in future pieces that the students read.

Tomkins claims that there are five characteristics for effective instruction when it comes to learning new vocabulary. The first is "connections to background knowledge." By having the students use the word in a way that is unrelated to the story, they will have to use prior knowledge and think of a way that the word works relating to another aspect in their life. "Repetition" is the second. I would have the students use the word in many ways, defining it, using it in a way unrelated to the story, then explaining how it is related to the story. The third is "higher level word knowledge." The lesson is based around words that the students were unfamiliar with before and by using the words in several contexts, they are developing a knowledge and understanding of the word. The fourth is "strategy learning." Once the students learn that they can learn new words through these strategies, they will be able to use the strategies to learn new words on their own in the future. Finally, the last is "meaningful use." Through the three activities in the mini lesson, the students will develop an understanding for the word and be able to use it meaningfully in other contexts.