Teacher : Ms. L. Wells

Date:  Oct. 6, 2008

Subject:  Reading

Grade:  4^th

Objectives

Procedures

Material

evaluation

Students will

• Increase knowledge by defining adjectives and synonyms
• Demonstrate comprehension of adjectives and synonyms in a variety of ways—by using adjectives and synonyms to describe things that they see, by using alphabet organizers and webs to describe an object, and by identifying adjectives in a literary passage and replacing them with appropriate synonyms
• Apply what they have learned about adjectives and synonyms by writing form poems
• Practice working collaboratively to brainstorm and write their poems

Session 1( Introducing Adjectives)

• The teacher will read Apples by Gail Gibbons aloud to the class.
• The teacher will divide the class into groups of three to four students.
• The teacher give each group two apples of the same variety—one whole and one cut into enough pieces so that each team member gets one—and copies of the Describe Your Apples handout.
• Students will have 15 minutes to brainstorm and record words that describe their apples.
• The teacher will ask each teams to share words from their lists. Descriptive words might include: red, green, round, shiny, waxy, bruised, ripe, speckled, spotted, or wet.
• The teacher will record the class list on a board or flipchart.
• The teacher will explain to the class that they have created a list of words called adjectives to describe their apples. The list includes words that describe how the apples look, smell, feel and even taste
• Ask students to define adjective, working toward the definition that it is a word that describes a person, place, or thing (noun).
• The teacher will ask why are adjectives important. Questions for discussion include:
• How might adjectives be used in driving directions? (Take a right turn; follow the windy road for five miles; go through the flashing, yellow light; we're the second, blue house on the right.)
• How might they be used in a recipe? (An apple pie recipe may include the following adjectives: one tablespoon of brown sugar, one tablespoon of fresh lemon juice, two cups of white flour, and a glass pie plate.)
• Teacher will ask students to consider why adjectives are useful and helpful. What are some of their ideas? When do they use adjectives? Some ideas might include the following:
• Choosing drinks: white or chocolate milk
• Choosing breakfast: scrambled or fried eggs
• Selecting a team during physical education: blue team or red team
• Understanding weather and temperature: hot, cold, rainy, windy, snowy
• Describing one's own feelings or state of being: tired, scared, angry, happy

Session 2  Alphabet Organizer Project

·         The teacher will Read aloud to the students The Supermarket by Kathleen Krull.

·         The teacher will give students a blank Alphabet Organizer handout and ask them, with the assistance of an adult, to visit their local grocery store during the next week.

·         The teacher will instruct them to write an adjective in each box that describes an item found in the market. For example, in the Y box they might write "yellow bananas" and in the T box they might write "tangy tangerines."

·         By using a transparency, the teacher will show a Sample Grocery Adjectives Alphabet Organizer

Session 3: Said Web activity

·         Using a transparency the teacher will place an example of the Lemon Web to show an example containing first level, common words in blue circles and second level or more descriptive alternatives in green circles.

·         Teacher will ask students to define the word synonym

·         Teacher will use the class list of apple adjectives created in Session 1

·         Teacher will ask students to identify several common words to describe apples. Common words may include the following: round, red, shiny, and green.

·         Teacher will place students back into groups from Session 1. Instruct them to create a web by adding adjectives that are synonyms for the common words they have used to describe apples.

·         Students should work on their webs either on paper or using the ReadWriteThink Webbing Tool

·         Teacher will encourage teams to use a dictionary or thesaurus to assist in building and expanding their webs.

·         Teacher will select several groops to share their webs with the class.

Session 4: Form poem activity

• Apples by Gail Gibbon
• Handouts
• The Supermarket by Kathleen Krull.
• Transparency Overhead
• Read Write Think WebbingTool (Technology)
• Dictionary
• Thesaurus
•  

• Informally assess students' comprehension of adjectives and synonyms during class discussions and as you circulate while students are working in groups.
• Collect and review the webs, organizers, and literary passage revisions.
• Assess students' abilities to develop synonyms for adjectives as they complete webs, form poems, and literary passage revisions.
• Assess students' abilities to work collaboratively by observing how team members contributed to and participated in each activity