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TLED 408: Vocabulary Activity Assignment For this assignment you will develop activities to introduce, teach, and reinforce vocabulary for your unit plan for a specific grade level, discipline, and both content and literacy standards. Using your knowledge of vocabulary activities and their impact on vocabulary knowledge and student independence, clearly outline the activities you will use within your unit. Upon completing the unit, students should be independent users of the vocabulary words. Grade Level, Content Area, and Theme: This activity is for 3rd graders, the content is science, and the theme is the environment. Standards/Learning Objectives: 3.10 The student will investigate and understand that natural events and human influences can affect the survival of species. Key concepts include: b) the effects of human activity on the quality of air, water, and habitat; Vocabulary Words and Rationale: 1. Environment- The surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates. 2. Habitat- The natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism. 3. Keystone Species- A species on which other species in an ecosystem largely depend, such that it if it were removed the ecosystem would change drastically. 4. Investigate- Carry out research or study into a subject to discover the facts or information. 5. Organism- An individual animal, plant, or single-celled life form. 6. Air Quality- The degree to which the air is pollution-free 7. Human Impact- Changes to environments and ecosystems, biodiversity, and natural resources caused directly or indirectly by humans. 8. Extinction- The state or process of a species, family, or larger group being or becoming extinct. 9. Endangered Species- A species of animal or plant that is seriously at risk of extinction. 10. Pollution- The presence in or introduction into the environment of a substance or thing that has harmful or poisonous effects. 11. Contamination- The presence of unwanted harmful substances in the natural environment. 12. Solution- A means of solving a problem or dealing with a difficult situation. I decided to choose these specific words because they relate to the key concepts of the unit. This unit covers the different environments, key stone species, and human impacts to both which is an important thing to learn and be aware of because it affects everyone. Some of the terms above may be recognizable to 3rd graders which is good because that means they have some sort of prior knowledge about the topic. With having prior knowledge, I can further explain certain things like how certain habitats are becoming destroyed and why they are necessary to preserve.

Introducing Vocabulary Activity: In-Class Presentation •

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Activity Overview & Rationale: To introduce the vocabulary I will use the in-class presentation activity. The smartboard would be used for this activity along with the anchor text. The list of vocabulary words will be up on the board and I will have each student read a word and say their definition of it, doesn’t have to be correct. I want the students to become familiar with the terms and begin thinking about what they mean alone and in relation to one another. After going through the list on the smartboard, I will have the students read a few pages from the anchor text and observe and write how the words are being used and see if they had the right ideas for their definitions. o Rationale- I chose this activity because it gives the students a chance to get familiar with the words and test themselves to see what they know, it also ignites their prior knowledge. Materials: o Smartboard o Anchor text o Pencils o Paper Sample

The words would appear on the smartboard and for each word I would call on a student and give them the chance to think about what it means and share their definition with the class.

Organism Pollution Habitat Environment Keystone Species Investigate •

Instructional Steps: Outline the specific instructional steps for this activity. 1. Welcome the students and inform them that we will be starting a new unit

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2. Tell them that the unit is about the environment and the impacts humans have on it and on animals. 3. Introduce the new vocabulary with the in-class presentation activity, 4. Be sure that each student has a chance to read a vocab word and give their definition. 5. Have the students read a few pages from the anchor text 6. They will see if their definitions were right or close to being right by using the context clues in the story. 7. Repeat the in-class presentation activity with the new definitions (if they changed) 8. Make sure each student is clear on what each word means and has a working definition. Differentiation: Identify how you would differentiate within this activity. o I would differentiate this activity by providing struggling readers or ESL’s with more time with the terms, meaning give them to them before the in-class activity and after to ensure they understand each word.

Teaching Vocabulary Activity: Knowledge Rating •

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Activity Overview & Rationale: To teach the necessary vocab for this unit I will use the knowledge rating concept because it gives me the chance to see which words students are familiar with. The rationale for this activity connects to the idea of using their prior knowledge and making connections about things that have learned previously about the environment and what they have learned in other classes. Materials: o Chart of terms o Pencils/ Pens o Individual work time Instructional Steps: o Give each student a rating chart of the vocabulary terms o Explain that they are to fill out the chart according to the headings using the terms discussed earlier. o Give them time to figure out the words they don’t know. o Go over the charts as a group

Vocabulary Word Habitat Contamination Pollution Keystone Species Investigate

I have seen this word before

Sample I know this word

I don’t know this word

Definition

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Differentiation: I will differentiate this activity by giving struggling readers or ESL’s the chart ahead of time to give them more time with the terms and make deeper connections.

Reinforcing Vocabulary Activity: Four Square •

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Activity Overview & Rationale: To reinforce the new vocab words, the students will create a four-square using at least 4 words they need more practice with. This activity is helpful to the students because they will become more independent learners by defining the word and making their own cues or drawings to help learn the meaning. Materials: o Four square chart o Pencils/ Pens o List of terms

Term 1. Habitat 2. Pollution 3. Human impact

Synonym / antonym 1. Home 2. Clean-up 3. Human effects

Sample Four-Square Definition in students own words 1. A place where something lives 2. Making something dirty that used to be clean 3. How people affect things

Drawing or cue to help remember 1. (A picture of a house) 2. (A picture of a broom and dust pan or cleaning supplies) 3. (A picture or a person littering)

For my sample, each term is numbered in each square so #1 is habitat in each of the squares to make it easy to understand.

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Instructional Steps: o After the other 2 activities are completed and students are more familiar with the terms, the four-square will be completed o I will provide the four-square charts o They will decide which terms they want to focus on, preferably ones they need deeper understanding on. o They will then complete each square for the terms they chose. o They should do at least 3 words. Differentiation: I will differentiate this activity by giving the four-square charts to struggling readers and ESL’s early and explain what is expected and explain they can use pictures to explain the terms also.

Format: This assignment can be completed using the bold headings above. There should be no grammatical or spelling errors. It should be a typed word document written in 12 point font, saved and submitted as TLED 408.lastname.firstname.vocabulary. Vocabulary Activity Assignment Rubric Points Possible Grade Level, Content Area, Theme, and Standards

The student specifies the grade level, content area, and theme the unit will cover. The precise learning objectives that will be addressed by the unit are identified for both literacy and the discipline.

Vocabulary Words and Rationale Introducing Vocabulary Activity

The student lists 10-15 vocabulary words and their definitions. The student clearly explains the rationale for choosing these words. The student provides a clear overview and rationale for using this activity. The student clearly outlines the materials and provides a completed sample. The student outlines all of the steps for the activity. The student clearly explains differentiation options for this activity. The student provides a clear description of the materials used in this activity. The student creates all of the materials needed for the students to successfully complete the activity. The student outlines all of the instructional steps for the comprehension activity. There is a clear beginning, middle and end to the activity.

Teaching Vocabulary Activity Reinforcing Vocabulary Activity

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The assignment is presented using the bold headings provided. There are no formatting or spelling errors. It is written in 12pt black font.

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