ALEX Learning Activity

  

Planting Vocabulary Knowledge Part 1

A Learning Activity is a strategy a teacher chooses to actively engage students in learning a concept or skill using a digital tool/resource.

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  This learning activity provided by:  
Author: Adrianne McKinney
System:Shelby County
School:Shelby County Board Of Education
  General Activity Information  
Activity ID: 2994
Title:
Planting Vocabulary Knowledge Part 1
Digital Tool/Resource:
Life Cycle of Flowering Plants from Gale in Context: Elementary
Web Address – URL:
Overview:

This activity serves as an introduction to the life cycle of a plant. The video will provide a visual to engage students in expanding their background knowledge and building vocabulary acquisition. After the video, the teacher will utilize a Jamboard to lead a discussion of the following words: germinate, photosynthesis, and pollinate. The students will create a definition based on the context of the word in the video, their background knowledge, and the word's structure including prefixes, root words, and suffixes.

This learning activity was created as a result of the ALEX - Alabama Virtual Library (AVL) Resource Development Summit.
  Associated Standards and Objectives  
Content Standard(s):
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: 3
13. Utilize new academic, content-specific, grade-level vocabulary to make connections to previously learned words and relate new words to background knowledge.

a. Make connections to a word's structure using knowledge of phonology, morphology, and orthography of the word to aid learning.
Unpacked Content
Teacher Vocabulary:
13.
  • Utilize
  • Academic vocabulary
  • Content-specific vocabulary
  • Grade-level vocabulary
  • Connections
  • Relating
  • Background knowledge
13a.
  • Word structure
  • Phonology
  • Morphology
  • Orthography
Knowledge:
13. Students know:
  • Academic, content-specific, grade-level vocabulary words.
  • Content-specific vocabulary refers to words used in different subjects learned in school such as reading, math, social studies, science.
  • New vocabulary words can be learned by relating them to previously learned words and background knowledge.
13a.
  • Phonology (speech sounds within words).
  • Morphology (meaningful units of words).
  • Orthography (the written representation of language).
Skills:
13. Students are able to:
  • Use new academic, content-specific vocabulary by making connections to previously learned words.
  • Use new academic, content-specific vocabulary by relating new words to background knowledge.
13a.
  • Make connections to a word's structure using speech sounds, meaningful word parts, and spelling of the word to aid learning.
Understanding:
13. Students understand that:
  • Academic, content-specific vocabulary words are used in different school subjects, like reading, math, social studies, and science.
  • They can learn new vocabulary words by making connections to previously learned words or their background knowledge.
13a.
  • Identifying a word's phonological, morphological, and orthographic structure can help them determine the meaning of a word, as well as the word's origin.
Learning Objectives:

Students will be able to accurately define new, academic, content-specific, grade-level vocabulary relating to the life cycle of a plant by utilizing the context of the word, using their background knowledge, and making connections to a word's structure. 
  Strategies, Preparations and Variations  
Phase:
Before/Engage
Activity:

  1. The teacher will draw a picture of a circle on the board. The teacher will ask students to explain a cycle in their own words. The teacher may guide the discussion to help students make the connection to the water cycle, day-to-night cycles, seasons, etc. 

  2. The teacher will explain that a cycle has a beginning and an end and it repeats, like a circle. 

  3. The teacher will show the video in Gale in Context: Elementary: https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CWCOOZ291044441/ITKE?u=avlr&sid=bookmark-ITKE&xid=85e762b3

  4. The teacher will lead a class discussion about keywords in the life cycle of a plant. The students will use information from the video and their background knowledge and make connections to a word's structure to provide a definition in their words. The keywords include germinate, photosynthesis, and pollinate. The teacher will use a Jamboard during the class discussion for each word.

  5. The teacher will start with the word germinate. The video explains, "Following a resting period, a seed will germinate if it receives water, the correct temperature, and oxygen. In the process of germination, a seed sprouts or in other words, it begins to grow." The teacher will guide students to make connections to the word's structure by explaining the root word "germ" means the first stage of a seed. The suffix "-nate" indicates the word is a verb, showing an action for the seed. The teacher will ask students to explain the meaning of germinate in their own words. The teacher may take verbal answers and write the responses on the Jambard or the students may add to the Jamboard. The teacher will continue the same process on the next two slides of the Jamboard for students to define photosynthesis and pollination. 
Assessment Strategies:

The teacher will use the Planting Vocabulary Knowledge Part 1 Jamboard to formatively assess the following:

  • Students' ability to accurately define new, academic, content-specific, grade-level vocabulary by using the context of the word in the video and their background knowledge.

  • Students' ability to accurately make connections to a word's structure by utilizing prefixes, root words, and suffixes to define germinate, photosynthesis, and pollination.
Advanced Preparation:

Approximate duration of the learning activity: 0-15 minutes 

Teacher Materials and Resources

Student Materials and Resources

Pencil/crayons to draw a picture of the vocabulary words in the acceleration activity.

The background knowledge and advanced preparation required for the learning activity:

Students should have a basic understanding of word structure (prefixes are located at the beginning of the word, root words can be at the beginning or middle of a word and can stand alone, and suffixes are located at the end of the word). The definition of prefixes, root words, and suffixes are provided in the Jamboard to assist students in building their definitions of the words. 

The teacher should review the video and Jamboard before the lesson to become familiar with the keywords and the context of the keywords used in the video. 
Variation Tips (optional):

Acceleration:

The students may draw a picture to go with the definitions on the Planting Vocabulary Knowledge Part 1 Jamboard.

Intervention:

The teacher will pull students into a small group based on teacher observations by formatively assessing students during the whole group lesson. The teacher will provide additional instruction by utilizing a supplemental video to build student understanding of words relating to the life cycle of a plant. The teacher will review the prefixes, root words, and suffixes to guide students to create a definition for germinate, photosynthesis, and pollinate. 
Notes or Recommendations (optional):

Interdisciplinary Connection(s) course of study standards

SC15.3.6  Create representations to explain the unique and diverse life cycles of organisms other than humans (e.g., flowering plants, frogs, butterflies), including commonalities such as birth, growth, reproduction, and death.

This lesson should be used in conjunction with Planting Vocabulary Knowledge Part 2 (during activity) and Planting Vocabulary Knowledge Part 3 (after activity).
  Keywords and Search Tags  
Keywords and Search Tags: background knowledge, life cycle, vocabulary, word structure