Students Will Read Familiar Text in Order to Recognize and Reinforce Content Area Vocabulary

Reading Center 12

Content Area

Goal Students will read familiar text in order to recognize and reinforce content area vocabulary. Basic Center Materials  Content area texts  Alphabet grid (see appendix 6)  Pencil

Preparation Teacher will:  Discuss how to identify the most important words that carry the meaning during shared reading and interactive writing.  Demonstrate how to organize important words using an alphabet grid.

Procedures Students will:  Reread familiar content area texts and select key vocabulary.  Record important words or pictures alphabetically on individual grid (see appendix 6).  Read all the words/pictures and choose three words. Discuss the meaning of each with a partner. Students use the word in a sentence or act it out to convey understanding. Beyond the Basic Center Additional Center Ideas: 1. After repeated exposure to a story read aloud, record the text and place in listening center with puppets that represent the characters. Students listen to the tape. With a partner, students use puppets to retell the story using vocabulary from the text. 2. Prepare a variety of tongue depressors with a different cloze sentence (He is a ______. Do you want a ______? Where is the ______?) written on each. Provide picture dictionaries and content area texts for reference. Students choose and read the cloze sentence. They decide on a word to complete the sentence and record in a content area journal. Students exchange journals and read each other’s sentences. 3. Set up a “Clipboard Cruising” center. Provide students with individual clipboards and directions for a vocabulary search. Students “cruise” the room and read all available print (interactive writing, interactive editing, shared Vocabulary

reading) searching for specific word or word parts as indicated on the provided direction card (content words, synonyms, base words, derivatives). Students record words, exchange with a partner and read for accuracy. 4. Create a “Password” game using content area vocabulary. After a unit of study, prepare strips of paper wide enough to fit inside an envelope. Write three content specific words vertically on the strip. Seal an envelope with a window. Razor cut along the top and bottom of the envelope so the strip can be inserted and words show through the window. Students play with a partner. Player 1 reads the first word on the strip to him/herself and gives Player 2 a one-word clue in order to guess the word. The object is to guess the word with the least number of clues. Players alternate turns, inserting new vocabulary strips as necessary. Additional cards may be added when other topics are studied. 5. Students individually reread a familiar content picture book. Using Post-it® notes, students mark several pages that contain content vocabulary that they wish to discuss with their friends. The reader gathers one or two classmates and reads the book aloud. The reader initiates discussion about the pre- marked vocabulary words.

Additional Resources Anderson, L. Thank You, Sarah (The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving). Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2002. ISBN 0689847874 Coles, R. The Story of Ruby Bridges. Scholastic, Inc., 1995. ISBN 0590572814 Erdrich, L. Bears Make Rock Soup and other Stories. Children’s Book Press, 2002. ISBN 0892391723 Gibbons, G. The Reason for Seasons. Holiday House, Inc., 1996. ISBN 0823412385 Hopkins, L. Hand in Hand: An American History Through Poetry. Simon & Schuster Children’s, 1994. ISBN 067173315X King, M. I Have a Dream, Scholastic, Inc., 1997. ISBN 0590205161 Mochizuki, K. Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story. Lee & Low Books, Inc., 1997. ISBN 1880000490 Tang, G. The Best of Times (Math Strategies That Multiply). Scholastic, Inc., 2002. ISBN 0439210445. Wright-Frierson, V. A desert Scrapbook. Aladin Paperbacks, 2002. ISBN 0689850557 Yolen, J. Encounter. Harcourt, 1996. ISBN 015201389X