Amazing Grace - Vocabulary

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

Vocabulary is very important to reading comprehension.

The more vocabulary words you understand, the better you understand a story or a book. In this lesson, you will learn how to study and understand vocabulary words to help you become a better reader.

There are several ways to learn vocabulary as you are reading:

• You can use the pictures and text to figure out the meaning. For example, if a character is shocked, she might have a surprised look on her face. Shocked and surprised are synonyms, words that have the same meaning. Pictures can help you figure out the meanings of words.

• You can think about what you already know to help you find the meaning of a new word. For example, if a sentence reads, "Jason was annoyed because he could not keep his shoes tied.", what does the word "annoyed" mean? Well, you may have had a similar problem with your shoelaces and know that you were irritated, angry, or mad. You can infer or guess that "annoyed" means "mad."

• You can use other words in the sentence or context that give you clues.

Watch the Context Clues Song (Context Clues by Melissa) video below to help you remember how to use context clues:

• You can use the dictionary to find the meaning. Try using Word Central to search for the definition.

You can use a Vocabulary Word Map to organize your thoughts as you are studying vocabulary. Look at the example below:

Print the Graphic Organizer - Vocabulary Word Map for this activity, found in Downloadable Resources in the right-hand sidebar.

Practice using context clues and prior knowledge for the bold vocabulary word in the Meaningful Sentence* below. Use the Vocabulary Word Map as you work through the process. When you are finished figuring out the meaning, look up the Definition of Irate (merriam-webser.com) and find a Synonym for Irate (thesaurus.com), a word that has the same meaning. Then, draw a picture of the sentence.

*Meaningful Sentence: The irate toddler was yelling and stomping her feet.

• What clues or hints can you use to figure out the meaning of "irate"? What was the toddler doing? She was yelling and stomping.

• How is someone probably feeling if she is yelling and stomping? She is probably feeling furious, extremely mad, or very angry, because sometimes people yell and stomp when they are feeling those emotions. You used your understanding of what people do when they are angry to figure out the meaning.

Read along and listen to Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman | Children's Read Aloud Story from Story Time for All Kids (below). Pause the video when you come across one of the following vocabulary words: "exciting," "battle," "wicked," "exploring," "adventure," "amazing," "fortune," "appear," "auditions," "grand," "imaginary," or "success."

Complete a Vocabulary Word Map for one of the words. This time, you will need to write your own meaningful sentence for the word. Try to think of a sentence that gives context clues to the reader.

Continue on to the Got It! section for some vocabulary exercises.