ALEX Classroom Resource

  

"America the Beautiful": Using Music and Art to Develop Vocabulary

  Classroom Resource Information  

Title:

 "America the Beautiful": Using Music and Art to Develop Vocabulary

URL:

 http://readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/america-beautiful-using-music-1147.html?tab=1#tabs

Content Source:

 ReadWriteThink
Type: Lesson/Unit Plan

Overview:

This lesson uses music and art in a vocabulary study of unfamiliar words from the song "America the Beautiful," increasing students' vocabulary while also increasing their knowledge of U.S. geography. A discussion to activate students' prior knowledge about sights and scenery throughout the United States is followed by a read-aloud and introduction to the song "America the Beautiful," which is then sung in each session of the lesson. Students learn the meanings of the song's words through shared reading and the use of context clues and images. Students then use photographs, illustrations, and descriptive language to create a mural shaped like the United States. Finally, through pictures and words, students reflect on what they have learned. This lesson is appropriate and adaptable for any patriotic event or holiday, and many of the vocabulary strategies are adaptable for other texts or word lists, as well.

Content Standard(s):
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: K
2. Actively engage in teacher-led reading experiences and collaborative discussions with peers to build background knowledge needed to be successful as they learn to read and, later, read to learn.
Unpacked Content
Teacher Vocabulary:
2.
  • Actively engage
  • Teacher-led reading experiences
  • Collaborative discussions
  • Background knowledge
  • Peers
Knowledge:
2. Students know:
  • How to engage in teacher-led reading experiences and collaborative discussions with peers to build background knowledge.
Skills:
2. Students are able to:
  • Build background knowledge by actively engaging in teacher-led reading experiences and collaborative discussions with peers.
Understanding:
2. Students understand that:
  • They need to build background knowledge to be successful as they learn to read and read to learn.
  • They need to actively engage in teacher-led reading experiences and discussions with peers to build their background knowledge.
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: K
19. Ask and answer questions about unfamiliar words in discussions and/or text.

a. Describe the relationship between words, including relating them to synonyms and antonyms.
Unpacked Content
Teacher Vocabulary:
19.
  • Unfamiliar words
  • Text
19a.
  • Describe
  • Relationships
  • Synonyms
  • Antonyms
Knowledge:
19. Students know:
  • Several question stems related to unknown words.
  • Techniques for identifying unknown words.
19a.
  • Synonyms are words that have the same or a similar meaning.
  • Antonyms are words that have opposite meanings.
Skills:
19. Students are able to:
  • Ask and answer questions about unfamiliar words in discussions and/or text.
19a.
  • Describe the relationship between words, including relating them to synonyms and antonyms.
Understanding:
19. Students understand that:
  • It is important to ask questions to learn the meanings of unfamiliar words.
19a.
  • Words can be related to each other, such as some words having similar meanings (synonyms) and some words having opposite meanings (antonyms).
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: 1
R1. Utilize active listening skills during discussion and conversation in pairs, small groups, or whole-class settings, following agreed-upon rules for participation.
Unpacked Content
Teacher Vocabulary:
R1.
  • Active Listening
  • Discussion
  • Conversation
  • Rules
  • Participation
Knowledge:
R1. Students know:
  • Active listening skills.
  • Agreed-upon rules for participation.
Skills:
R1. Students are able to:
  • Demonstrate active listening skills during discussion and conversation in pairs, small groups, or whole-class settings.
  • Converse in pairs, small groups, and large groups.
  • Practice the agreed-upon rules for participation.
Understanding:
R1. Students understand that:
  • Conversations and discussions follow agreed-upon rules to help us actively listen and gain understanding.
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: 1
3. Ask and answer questions to seek help, get information, or clarify information to confirm understanding in response to information presented in audible, text, or digital format.
Unpacked Content
Teacher Vocabulary:
3.
  • Information
  • Clarify
  • Audible
  • Digital format
Knowledge:
3. Students know:
  • Questions to seek help.
  • Questions to get information.
  • Questions to clarify information.
Skills:
3. Students are able to:
  • Ask and answer questions to seek help, get information, or clarify information to confirm understanding in response to information presented in audible, text, or digital format.
Understanding:
3. Students understand that:
  • They can get help, learn new information, or express information they know or have learned by asking and answering questions, depending on the task at hand.
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: 1
8. Apply previously-taught phoneme-grapheme correspondences to decodable words with accuracy and automaticity, in and out of context.
Unpacked Content
Teacher Vocabulary:
8.
  • Phoneme-grapheme correspondences
  • Decodable words
  • Accuracy
  • Automaticity
  • In context
  • Out of context
Knowledge:
8.
  • Phoneme-grapheme correspondences in decodable words.
  • Accuracy is getting something correct, and automaticity is reading the word quickly without having to sound it out.
Skills:
8. Students are able to:
  • Accurately and automatically decode words by applying previously-taught phoneme-grapheme correspondences, in and out of context.
Understanding:
8. Students understand that:
  • Fluent readers use known phoneme-grapheme correspondences to decode words correctly and quickly.
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: 1
12. Ask and answer questions about unfamiliar words and phrases in discussions and/or text.

a. Identify possessives and plurals and use them as clues to the meaning of text.

Example: Jack's coat, mom's car; pigs, pig's, pigs'

b. Identify meaningful parts of words (morphemes) and use them as clues to the meaning of unknown words, including frequently occurring affixes and inflections -s, -es, -ed, -ing, -er, and -est.

Examples: Explain that adding suffix -s changes a singular noun to a plural noun and adding suffix -ed changes a verb to past tense.

c. Describe word relationships and nuances in word meanings, including relating them to their opposites and distinguishing shades of meaning in similar or related words.

Examples: look, peek, glance, stare, glare; big, large, gigantic, monstrous
Act out tiptoe, creep, and march to distinguish shades of meaning in words related to walk.
Discuss synonyms and antonyms.
Unpacked Content
Teacher Vocabulary:
12.
  • Unfamiliar words
  • Unfamiliar phrases
  • Discussions
  • Text
12a.
  • Identify
  • Possessives
  • Plurals
  • Meaning of text
12b.
  • Meaningful word parts
  • Morphemes
  • Unknown words
  • Affixes
  • Inflections
12c.
  • Word relationships
  • Nuances in word meanings
  • Opposites
  • Shades of meaning
  • Similar or related words
Knowledge:
12. Students know:
  • Strategies for identifying unfamiliar words and phrases in discussions and/or text.
  • Several question stems related to unfamiliar words or phrases in discussions and/or text.
  • Techniques for clarifying unfamiliar words and phrases in discussions and/or text.
12a.
  • The features of possessive nouns.
  • The features of plural nouns.
12b.
  • Words are made of meaningful word parts called morphemes.
  • Morphemes can provide clues about the meaning of a word.
12c.
  • Word relationships and nuances in word meanings.
Skills:
12. Students are able to:
  • Identify unfamiliar words and phrases.
  • Ask questions about unfamiliar words and phrases.
  • Answer questions about unfamiliar words and phrases.
  • Clarify meaning of words and phrases through questions.
12a.
  • Identify possessives and plurals of words, such as pigs, pig's, pigs'.
  • Use the possessives and plurals of a word to determine the meaning of a text, like Jack's coat, mom's car.
12b.
  • Recognize meaningful parts of words (morphemes).
  • Utilize morphemes as clues to identify the meaning of unknown words.
  • Use affixes as clues to the meaning of unknown words.
  • Identify frequently occurring root words and their inflectional forms.
12c.
  • Describe word relationships and slight variations in meaning, such as look, peek, glance, stare, glare; big, large, gigantic, monstrous.
  • Describe word relationships by relating words of opposite meanings (antonyms) and similar meanings (synonyms).
  • Distinguish shades of meaning in related words, like acting out tiptoe, creep, and march to distinguish nuances in words related to walk.
Understanding:
12. Students understand that:
  • It is important to ask questions about unfamiliar words and phrases to clarify the meaning of new vocabulary words.
12a.
  • Making a word possessive or plural changes the meaning of a text.
12b.
  • Identifying root words and affixes provide clues to the meaning of unknown words and phrases.
12c.
  • Writers and speakers should carefully select words to convey specific meanings, ideas, and relationships.
Tags: America the Beautiful, Crossword Puzzles, vocabulary
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Author: Cassie Raulston
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