Welcome to the Underworld

Learning Resource Type

Learning Activity

Subject Area

English Language Arts

Grade(s)

6

Overview

Students will locate new academic vocabulary terms in the paired reading Welcome to The Underworld after reading chapter 18 from The Lightning Thief. They will create a digital Frayer Model or handwrite the model in their composition notebooks for their selected top 3 most difficult vocabulary words from the list after they read the short story. As the students find the new vocabulary words, they will add them to the “Word Wall” for the week and write the words so all students can make sure they have the same vocabulary list. 

This resource was created in partnership with Dothan City Schools.

Phase

Before/Engage
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 6

ELA21.6.27

Discover word meanings by analyzing word parts, examining connotation and denotation, or using print or digital reference tools.

UP:ELA21.6.27

Vocabulary

  • Word parts
  • Connotation
  • Denotation
  • Print reference tools
  • Digital reference tools

Knowledge

Students know:
  • The meaning of words can be identified by examining the word's morphological structure or its connotation or denotation.
  • Strategies for using print and digital reference tools.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Use word parts, connotation, and/or denotation to determine word meanings.
  • Use reference tools to determine word meanings.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • If they encounter an unfamiliar or unknown word in text, they should use a strategy to discover the word meaning or consult a reference tool to find the word meaning.

Learning Objectives

Students will discover academic vocabulary through a paired reading of The Lightning Thief.

Students will use the Frayer Model to understand word parts by looking up three word meanings online that originate from the paired reading Welcome to the Underworld.

Activity Details

The students will use the Frayer Model graphic organizer to learn word parts and discover word meanings while reading the academic vocabulary in context of Welcome to The Underworld (a paired reading) after reading chapter 18 in The Lightning Thief. 

Teacher Steps:

1. Go to Commonlit.org and create a free account. You can create classroom links to share this assignment with students on Google Classroom or post the link in your classroom for students to log in.

2. The teacher will start the class by reading the short story Welcome to The Underworld. 

3. As students read, have them write the 11 new vocabulary words down in their notebooks. The vocabulary words are tagged with a teal number tile. As they hover over the vocabulary word they will see the definitions. They will write these definitions down in their notebooks.

4. The teacher should have a word wall where they write (or have students come up and write) these 11 words. Here is a free template you can use to get started. This ensures that all the students can see the words throughout the week.

5. After the students have written all the words with their definitions in their notebooks, the students will choose 3 of the 11 words to create a Frayer Model to discover the word meanings. See the example here for how to set up/draw the Frayer Model in a notebook. 

Assessment Strategies

Students will create 3 vocabulary models using the Frayer Model with the vocabulary words they discovered in the paired reading Welcome to the Underworld. The Frayer Model will be evaluated. The teacher will look at the student notebooks to determine if all 3 words were correctly written down with the "Definitions, Characteristics, Examples, and Non-Examples."

Acceleration

Extension/Expansion: Advanced students can complete the 5 Guiding Questions on the commonlit.org page.

Intervention

Tier 2 Intervention:  Teachers could play the audio from commonlit.org while students read together for the paired story Welcome to the Underworld. In a small group, the teacher can guide the students on how to complete the Frayer Model.

Variation Tips

Teachers with a class set of student digital devices might use this digital form to create the Frayer Model for students to write their vocabulary words and share using technology. 

Background / Preparation

Teachers should have already completed reading Chapter 18 from The Lightning Thief before reading this paired story. The teacher should make sure they & the students have access to the following website: www.commonlit.org.

 

Learning Activity (Before)

Welcome to the Underworld

Total Duration

16 to 30 Minutes

Learning Activity (During)

Storyboard: Welcome to the Underworld

Learning Activity (After)

Gimkit Vocabulary Review
Welcome to the Underworld from commonlit.org
https://www.commonlit.org/en/texts/welcome-to-the-underworld

Approved Date

Owner (Author)

resewell
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