An Analogous Relationship: A Vocabulary Lesson Plan

Subject: English
Grades: 7th +

Overview
Help students sharpen their critical and logical thinking skills and improve their vocabulary in preparation for the SAT or ACT test with this lesson plan on analogies.

Objectives
Students will:
· Determine the meanings of new words through the use of analogies
· Create analogies to build their skills for learning new words.

IRA/NCTE Standards for the English Language Arts
Standard 4: Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
Standard 6: Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.

Materials Needed
· WordTeasers: College Prep

Getting Started
Write the following analogy on the chalkboard.

Restaurant: food :: bar : liquor

Tell students that this is a type of a word problem called an analogy. Explain that an analogy is made up of two word pairs. Both pairs of words have the same relationship. Ask students what the “relationship” is between the two pairs of words in the analogy on the chalkboard. (A restaurant is a place where food is served; a bar is a place where liquor is served.)

Development
Tell students that until March 2005, the SAT test included analogies on the Verbal section of the test. Although the new SAT test (first administered in March 2005) eliminated Analogies from the Verbal section of the test (now called the Critical Reading section), analogies are still a great way to help improve vocabulary and critical thinking skills.

Explain to students that there are many different kinds of analogies. Usually analogies are presented in this format:

[word 1] : [word 2] :: [word 3] : [word 4]

Explain that the relationship that exists between the words that are left of the double colon is exactly the same as the relationship that exists between the words to the right of the double colon. The analogy can be read as: Word 1 is related to Word 2 in the same way that Word 3 is related to Word 4.

List the following analogies on the chalkboard. (Don’t write the Relationship.) Help students identify the relationship between the pairs of words. Be sure to tell students that there many other kinds of relationships in analogies, such as part to a whole (e.g, minute : hour; petal : flower), object to its use (e.g., pen : write), type of …(e,g. utensil : fork or tool : shovel) and object to a function (e.g., glasses: read).

Analogy Relationship
off : on :: up : down (Antonym)
top : summit :: wicked : evil (Synonym)
bed : sleep :: school : learn (A place where…)
carelessness : accident :: rain : flood (Cause/Effect)
cold : pneumonia :: hot : scalding (Intensity)
carpenter : saw :: surgeon : scalpel (Job-Related Pairs)

Activity
Write the following six analogies on the chalkboard (or copy and distribute the Worksheet), using words from WordTeasers: College Prep. Tell students to first try to figure out what the relationship is in the pair of words in a given analogy. Then, have students select the best answer to complete the analogy. Finally, have them identify the relationship expressed in each analogy. (Note: You may want to list the relationship choices on the chalkboard or worksheet.)

Analogies Worksheet
Directions: Read the three given words in each analogy below. Determine the relationship of the words in the given pair. Look at the four possible answers. Select the word that completes the analogy. (Hint: The answer should be the same part of speech as the corresponding term in the complete pair.) Finally, write the type of relationship that the analogy presents.

1. __________: abolish :: ruminate : ponder
(a) establish
(b) abrogate
(c) ruin
(d) annulment
Relationship: ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­__________________________________________________

2. kennel : dogs :: __________ : birds
(a) nest
(b) house
(c) fly
(d) aviary
Relationship: ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­__________________________________________________

3. sad : __________ :: snowfall : blizzard
(a) maudlin
(b) happy
(c) drama
(d) cry
Relationship: ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­__________________________________________________

4. dentist : teeth :: __________ : feet
(a) ache
(b) podiatrist
(c) legs
(d) shoes
Relationship: ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­__________________________________________________

5. __________ : success :: laziness : failure
(a) persistent
(b) win
(c) tenacity
(d) tough
Relationship: ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­__________________________________________________

6. generosity : stinginess :: __________ : extraordinary
(a) special
(b) rarity
(c) mundane
(d) exuberant
Relationship: ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­__________________________________________________

Answers:
1. (b) abrogate. Relationship: synonym; 2. (d) aviary. Relationship: a place where…; 3. (a) maudlin. Relationship: intensity; 4. (b) podiatrist. Relationship: job-related pairs; 5. (c) tenacity. Relationship: cause and effect; 6. (c) mundane. Relationship: antonym.

Extension
Challenge students to create their own analogies using WordTeasers vocabulary.

Next Week: Geography Lesson Plan with WorldTeasers

Source: WordTeasers: College Prep— an educational game designed to get students talking, laughing, thinking, writing…and supersizing their vocabulary. Ages 12+ .

Available at SchooDoodle.com.

Can a Clown Be Morose? And Other Provocative Questions to Help Teach Vocabulary

Subject: English/Vocabulary
Grade(s): 7 and up

Overview
These four research-based word-building activities can be used across the curriculum to help take students advance from rote memorization of new words and their definitions to a total integration of the new words into their personal lexicon.

Objectives
Students will:
· Create “student-friendly” definitions of new words, using language and examples which are already familiar to students
· Relate new words to something they are already familiar with, using metaphors and similes; examples and non-examples
· Explain connections and answer deeper processing questions involving the new word
· Practice strategies for learning new words, using higher-level thinking skills

IRA/NCTE Standards for the English Language Arts
Standard 3: Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

Materials Needed
· Vocabulary list from content area instruction
· (Optional) WordTeasers: College Prep

Background
According to R. J. Marzano in his paper “Building Background for Academic Achievement: Research on What Works in Schools” (2004), “Direct teaching of vocabulary might be one of the most underused activities in K-12 education.” The reason, says Dr. Marzano, is that there is a misunderstanding of what it really means to teach vocabulary. “There is a belief,” he says, “that teaching vocabulary means teaching formal dictionary definitions.”

While learning the definition of a word is obviously important, many researchers believe that asking students the question “Does anybody know what the word ___ means?” or instructing students to “look it up” in the dictionary are two of the least effective strategies for teaching vocabulary at the secondary level. (Copying the word several times follows close on the heels of “least effective,” as well.)

What, then, are the hallmarks of good vocabulary instruction? According to Anita L. Archer, Ph.D., author of “Dynamic Vocabulary Instruction in Secondary Classrooms,” there are at least four key elements:
· Actively involve students
· Provide multiple exposures to words in different contexts
· Encourage deep processing of new words, connecting with and relating to prior knowledge when creating their own sentences
· Discuss new words together with related words

There are numerous word learning activities that support these strategies and that can be adapted for any curriculum or content area, while also serving to introduce “academic vocabulary.” Here are four of those activities, which use, as examples, the SAT-level vocabulary taken from WordTeasers: College Prep. You can easily adapt your own relevant vocabulary to these activities.

Yes/No/Why Activity
In this activity students are challenged to provide an answer to a question in which two or more key vocabulary words are juxtaposed in the same sentence. Be sure to tell students that there is no right or wrong answer to the question, but that they must provide a full and thoughtful explanation for their answer.

Can you aspire to something you are ambivalent about?
Is a salubrious activity ever deleterious?
Can you be frugal and benevolent at the same time?
Does someone you venerate have to be a luminary?

Extension: Distribute the WordTeasers game box and let students select pairs of words to construct their own Yes/No/Why sentences.

Idea Completion Activity
In this activity students are given partial sentences that include key vocabulary words and are challenged to complete the sentence. Examples of sentences using words from WordTeasers: College Prep might be:

José had a contrite look on his face after he…
Vanessa was reticent to talk about why she came home late because…
Derek was willing to condone Peter’s bad behavior because…
It is ludicrous to think that I…

Extension: Have pairs of students work together. One writes the first part of an Idea Completion sentence, using a word from WordTeasers: College Prep (or words you assign from a text or content area); the other then completes the sentence.

Meaningful Sentence Writing
When writing sentences using new vocabulary words, encourage students to connect or relate their prior knowledge or experience. Sentences should answer three or four who, what, when, where, or how questions. Suggest that they identify something from their personal life experiences the term reminds them of.

Poor Meaningful Sentence Example
Luke is gregarious.
Better Meaningful Sentence Example
I like Luke because he is always so friendly and gregarious when we are together.

Extension: An essential part of this “elaboration process” in writing meaningful sentences is having the students explain the connection. For example, the students should not only say what personal experience the term makes them think of, but also why it reminds them of it.

Examples and Non-Examples
When introducing a new word, such as proponent, give students an opportunity to distinguish between “examples and non-examples” of the word and then encourage them write their own examples.

Is [name of school coach] a proponent of our soccer team? (Yes)
How do we know she is a proponent? (She is our coach.)
Is [name of rival school] a proponent of our soccer team? (No.)
Why is [name of rival school] not a proponent? (They are an opponent or rival.)

Our soccer team has many other proponents. Can you name some? (Parents, teachers, siblings.)

Extension: Ask deeper processing questions, such as: “How do we know if or when someone is a proponent of something?”

By implementing some of these word learning strategies at the beginning of a new lesson, you can help students not only improve their vocabulary, but also actually enjoy and have fun learning new words.

Next Week: A Rose by Any Other Name: How to Apply Geography to Interpret the Past

Source: WordTeasers: College Prep — An educational game designed to help high school students improve vocabulary and have fun at the same time. Grades 7 + .

Available at SchooDoodle.com.

Can a Clown Be Morose? And Other Provocative Questions to Help Teach Vocabulary

Subject: English/Vocabulary
Grade(s): 7 and up

Overview
These four research-based word-building activities can be used across the curriculum to help take students advance from rote memorization of new words and their definitions to a total integration of the new words into their personal lexicon.

Objectives
Students will:
· Create “student-friendly” definitions of new words, using language and examples which are
already familiar to students
· Relate new words to something they are already familiar with, using metaphors and similes;
examples and non-examples
· Explain connections and answer deeper processing questions involving the new word
· Practice strategies for learning new words, using higher-level thinking skills

IRA/NCTE Standards for the English Language Arts
Standard 3: Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

Materials Needed
· Vocabulary list from content area instruction
· (Optional) WordTeasers: College Prep

Background
According to R. J. Marzano in his paper “Building Background for Academic Achievement: Research on What Works in Schools” (2004), “Direct teaching of vocabulary might be one of the most underused activities in K-12 education.” The reason, says Dr. Marzano, is that there is a misunderstanding of what it really means to teach vocabulary. “There is a belief,” he says, “that teaching vocabulary means teaching formal dictionary definitions.”

While learning the definition of a word is obviously important, many researchers believe that asking students the question “Does anybody know what the word ___ means?” or instructing students to “look it up” in the dictionary are two of the least effective strategies for teaching vocabulary at the secondary level. (Copying the word several times follows close on the heels of “least effective,” as well.)

What, then, are the hallmarks of good vocabulary instruction? According to Anita L. Archer, Ph.D., author of “Dynamic Vocabulary Instruction in Secondary Classrooms,” there are at least four key elements:
· Actively involve students
· Provide multiple exposures to words in different contexts
· Encourage deep processing of new words, connecting with and relating to prior knowledge when creating their own sentences
· Discuss new words together with related words

There are numerous word learning activities that support these strategies and that can be adapted for any curriculum or content area, while also serving to introduce “academic vocabulary.” Here are four of those activities, which use, as examples, the SAT-level vocabulary taken from WordTeasers: College Prep. You can easily adapt your own relevant vocabulary to these activities.

Yes/No/Why Activity
In this activity students are challenged to provide an answer to a question in which two or more key vocabulary words are juxtaposed in the same sentence. Be sure to tell students that there is no right or wrong answer to the question, but that they must provide a full and thoughtful explanation for their answer.
Can you aspire to something you are ambivalent about?
Is a salubrious activity ever deleterious?
Can you be frugal and benevolent at the same time?
Does someone you venerate have to be a luminary?
Extension: Distribute the WordTeasers game box and let students select pairs of words to construct their own Yes/No/Why sentences.

Idea Completion Activity
In this activity students are given partial sentences that include key vocabulary words and are challenged to complete the sentence. Examples of sentences using words from WordTeasers: College Prep might be:
José had a contrite look on his face after he…
Vanessa was reticent to talk about why she came home late because…
Derek was willing to condone Peter’s bad behavior because…
It is ludicrous to think that I…
Extension: Have pairs of students work together. One writes the first part of an Idea Completion sentence, using a word from WordTeasers: College Prep (or words you assign from a text or content area); the other then completes the sentence.

Meaningful Sentence Writing
When writing sentences using new vocabulary words, encourage students to connect or relate their prior knowledge or experience. Sentences should answer three or four who, what, when, where, or how questions. Suggest that they identify something from their personal life experiences the term reminds them of.
Poor Meaningful Sentence Example
Luke is gregarious.
Better Meaningful Sentence Example
I like Luke because he is always so friendly and gregarious when we are together.
Extension: An essential part of this “elaboration process” in writing meaningful sentences is having the students explain the connection. For example, the students should not only say what personal experience the term makes them think of, but also why it reminds them of it.

Examples and Non-Examples
When introducing a new word, such as proponent, give students an opportunity to distinguish between “examples and non-examples” of the word and then encourage them write their own examples.
Is [name of school coach] a proponent of our soccer team? (Yes)
How do we know she is a proponent? (She is our coach.)
Is [name of rival school] a proponent of our soccer team? (No.)
Why is [name of rival school] not a proponent? (They are an opponent or rival.)
Our soccer team has many other proponents. Can you name some? (Parents, teachers, siblings.)
Extension: Ask deeper processing questions, such as: “How do we know if or when someone is a proponent of something?”

By implementing some of these word learning strategies at the beginning of a new lesson, you can help students not only improve their vocabulary, but also actually enjoy and have fun learning new words.

Next Week: A Rose by Any Other Name: How to Apply Geography to Interpret the Past

Source: WordTeasers: College Prep — An educational game designed to help high school students improve vocabulary and have fun at the same time. Grades 7 + . Available at SchooDoodle.com.

Take the WordTeaser Challenge

Subject: English/Vocabulary
Grade(s): 7 and up

Overview
Put new vocabulary words into relevant context with this easy-to-play vocabulary game that is fun and challenging for students of all ages.

Objectives
Students will:
* Write creative definitions for unknown words and use those words in creative sentences.

* Determine the real definition of unknown words through context clues.

IRA/NCTE Standards for the English Language Arts
Standard 3: Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

Materials Needed
· WordTeasers: College Prep

Background
Researchers have shown conclusively that a strong vocabulary is crucial to academic development at all ages. Now, with the addition of the essay on the SAT college entrance test, a strong vocabulary is more critical than ever. As the College Board notes, to score a 6 (the highest possible essay score on the SAT essay), it is necessary to exhibit “…skillful use of language using a varied, accurate, and apt vocabulary.” WordTeasers: College Prep gives students a fun way to increase and improve their vocabulary by putting new vocabulary words into real-life context.

Activity
Divide students into groups of three to five students for each group. Then, give each group a WordTeaser Challenge Card (or let a volunteer from each group select a card from the WordTeasers: College Prep box.) Each student in the group writes down a made-up definition for the word they have selected. Tell students to be sure to include the word function (noun, verb, adjective, for example) and definition. One member of the group writes down the real definition, as found on the back of the WordTeaser Challenge Card. Call on each group, one group at a time, to read their WordTeaser word aloud to the class and then read their definitions. Then, take a class vote to see which definition the class thinks is the real definition. After students have voted for what they think is the real definition, have one student from the group read the WordTeaser challenge using that word to the class. Then, take a vote again. Does everyone agree that the definition selected in the first vote is still the correct definition? Why or why not?

Next Week: Gilligan’s and Other Islands: A geography lesson plan
Source: WordTeasers: College Prep — An educational game designed to help high school students improve vocabulary and have fun at the same time. Grades 7 + . Available at SchooDoodle.com.

Don’t Be Succinct; Bloviate About Context Clues

Subject: English/Vocabulary
Grade(s): 7 and up

Overview
No matter what a student’s reading or vocabulary level is, context clues are a great way to help decipher and understand the meaning of new or unusual words. Here are four types of context clues that can help your students comprehend new vocabulary with aplomb.
Objectives
Students will:
Recognize different types of context clues for determining the meaning of an unknown word
Write sentences using context clues as a means to clarify the meaning of an unknown word

IRA/NCTE Standards for the English Language Arts
Standard 3: Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

Materials Needed
· WordTeasers: College Prep

Getting Started: Ask students if they know what the word prevaricate means? Acknowledge those students who indicate that they know the definition. Then say, “For those of you who don’t know what the word means, I’m going to use it in a sentence.” Ask: “Is there ever a good reason to prevaricate?” Then say, “How many of you now think you know the meaning of prevaricate?” Acknowledge those students. Finally, tell students that you are going to use the word in a different sentence that may give students a clue to the definition of prevaricate. Ask: “Is there ever a good reason to prevaricate rather than to tell the truth?” Ask how many think they now know the definition of prevaricate. Why? Discuss with students why this last question helped them understand the definition of prevaricate. (They were able to infer from the context of the sentence that to prevaricate is the opposite of to tell the truth.)

Development: Tell students that one way to understand new words in a sentence or a passage in their reading is to look for context clues. Explain that there are many different types of context clues. Write the following four types of context clues on the board along with the pair of sentences that illustrates each context clue. Discuss each pair of sentences with the class.

· Linked Synonyms—an unknown word is linked with similar words or synonyms in a series.
Sentence Sample: Name a food you abhor.
Linked Synonyms: Name a food you hate, detest, and abhor.
· Appositive — a phrase that provides additional information or a definition about a preceding noun.
Sentence Sample: Argue for or against a meritocracy.
Appositive: Argue for or against a meritocracy, a system in which people are rewarded based on talent or

ability.
· Compare/Contrast — an antonym or phrase with an opposite meaning to an unknown word that is used to

define that unknown word.
Sentence Sample: Name something that makes you feel timorous.
Appositive: Name something that makes you feel timorous, rather than confident.
· Cause/Effect — the cause for or result of an unknown word enables the meaning of the unknown word to be

inferred
Sentence Sample: Who would you like to emulate?
Cause/Effect: Because the student admired her coach, she wanted to emulate her.

Activity: Prepare the following handout, which includes five statements and questions adapted from the WordTeasers: College Prep Challenge Cards. Each statement or question includes a context clue to the meaning of the word in bold. Have students write a definition for each word in bold. Then, have them identify which of the four types of context clues is used to help clarify the word’s meaning.

1. If you could give up an onerous or difficult task, what would it be? (Type of Context Clue: Linked Synonyms)
2. Name someone in your class who is so frugal they won’t even spend a nickel for a soda.
(Type of Context Clue: Cause/Effect)
3. What time of day are you most lethargic as opposed to energetic? (Type of Context Clue: Compare/Contrast)
4. Name your biggest proponent, such as a parent, older sibling, or teacher. (Type of Context Clue: Apposition)
5. Show how you would act in a gregarious, friendly, and outgoing manner to a new student. (Context Clue: Linked Synonyms)

Extension 1: Have each student select a WordTeaser Challenge Card from the box. Allow time for students to revise or rewrite the challenge question or statement on the card, using one of the four types of context clues to help clarify the meaning of the word in bold. Then allow time for students to read aloud their original and their revised WordTeaser question or statement. Discuss how the context clue helps clarify the meaning of the word.

Extension 2: Challenge students to write a sentence with a nonsense word, but with enough context clues to reveal the meaning of the nonsense word. Allow time for students to read their sentences aloud and challenge other students to guess the meaning of their nonsense words. For example: Jose was synerambulent about a 9:00 pm. curfew for teenagers, rather than firm in his opinion. (Meaning: ambivalent; indecisive; having two opposing opinions; Context Clue: Compare/contrast.)

Next Week: Population Explosion: A Geography Lesson Plan with WorldTeasers: World Culture & Geography

Source: WordTeasers: College Prep — An educational game designed to help high school students improve vocabulary and have fun at the same time. Grades 7 + . Available at SchooDoodle.com.

Help Increase Student Vocabulary in Only 5 Minutes a Day

Subject: English, Vocabulary
Grades: 7 and up

True or False: In general, people with a larger and more developed English vocabulary earn more money and are promoted faster in business than people with a lesser developed vocabulary.

The answer, of course, is true. A good vocabulary is one of the keys to a successful career. And that belief isn’t based on just anecdotal assumptions. There is, today, a wide body of research that irrefutably supports that claim. In fact, according to the Johnson O’Connor Research Foundation, a nonprofit organization that has been engaged in aptitude and vocabulary research since 1922, a larger vocabulary is not only an indicator of success in business, it is also “the best predictor of overall success in school and performance on the SAT–Verbal and other similar tests.”

John J. Pikulski, Professor of Education at the University of Delaware, and Shane Templeton, Foundation Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Nevada, agree. “Our ability to function in today’s complex social and economic worlds,” they write, “is mightily affected by our language skills and the word knowledge.”

Given the importance of vocabulary, then, how can teachers and parents alike motivate their children and students to continue to increase and improve their vocabulary — and maybe even develop a love for words — beyond the elementary grades?

One answer just might be WordTeasers: College Prep — an innovative new educational game that is as perfect for the classroom as it is for the dinner table. WordTeasers is designed to make learning and using new words fun and enjoyable — one word at a time — both in and out of the classroom.

The idea behind WordTeasers is simple: challenge players to answer a provocative, amusing, or thought-provoking question or statement that uses a new word. For example, a WordTeaser game card might challenge someone to “bloviate about your best friend for 30 seconds”; “make a sound you might hear in an aviary”; or “name a salubrious activity you do every day.” The back of the card provides a definition of the word, word function (or part of speech), and pronunciation guide.

According to Susan Flora, founder of WordTeasers, the game incorporates many of the vocabulary building strategies that researchers say are important in the development of a strong vocabulary. “WordTeasers promotes active engagement in learning; it presents new words in rich and varied contexts; and it promotes group learning,” she says.

“I’ve seen several lively debates develop,” says Flora, “with the WordTeaser challenge question: “Is there every a good reason to prevaricate?” as well as some friendly squabbles with the question, “Who is the most loquacious person in your family?” And in every instance the words “prevaricate” and “loquacious” are now a permanent part of the players’ vocabulary.

WordTeasers can be used to help to improve vocabulary in as little as five minutes a day. It can be used in a variety of settings and in a variety of ways. It can be used as a game among small groups; as a discussion starter at the beginning of a class; or as the basis for ideas for writing assignments.

The bottom line, says Flora, is that WordTeasers is a great way to get kids talking, laughing, thinking…and learning new words. And, according to Professors Pikulski and Templeton, building a strong vocabulary is critical to any student’s education. As they conclude: “Perhaps the greatest tools we can give students for succeeding, not only in their education but more generally in life, is a large, rich vocabulary and the skills for using those words.”

Next Week: Just Deserts (A Geography Lesson Plan) with WorldTeasers: World Culture & Geography

Source: WordTeasers: College Prep — An educational game designed to help high school students improve vocabulary and have fun at the same time. Grades 7 + . Available at SchooDoodle.com.