CCR Reading Anchor Standard 4: Meanings of Words and Phrases
 

• Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text (determining technical, connotative and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choice shape meaning or tone).

  • Knowing the word.

  • Use of language.

• Students must be able to interpret and analyze author’s use of language in text of all difficulties and understand how the author’s words bring meaning to the text.

• A characteristic of complex text is the author’s use of intricate vocab and literary devices to create context- dependent words (students must understand the language being used in text in order to comprehend its full meaning).

• Diction: The way a word is pronounced or an author’s word choice and style of expression.

  • The choice of devices that the authors uses when writing the text creates an effect that will relate back to the meaning of the text.

• Diction devices: Student’s analyze text for diction devices and try to understand why the authors choice to put those words in the text (relates to the setting of the story).

• Denotation: Technical meaning of word.

• Connotation: Interpretive meaning of a word or phrase.

• Figurative language: Simile, metaphor, alliteration.

 

Informational text

• Students must understand the language being used in a content area in order to comprehend the text on that matter.

• Students must understand: symbols, key terms, domain specific vocabulary.

 
College Reading Skills

1. The ability to interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text.

2. The ability to determine technical meaning.

3. The ability to determine connotative meanings.

4. The ability to determine figurative meanings.

5. The ability to analyze how word choices determine meaning or tone.

 

How Common core builds CCR Standard

• Kindergarten: Asking and answering questions about unknown words (orally).

• 1 and 2: Focus on words and phrases.

• 3 and 4: Students learn to determine the meanings of words and phrases (find context clues).

• 5: Students should be able to determine the meaning of words, phrases, and the use of figurative language used in a text (context clues).
   

Activity Grade 3

• Students are in groups of 3-4, and each group reads a different literature book.

• Teacher will model with a book the class has already read (picks a vocab term and models how to use context clues).

• Each group will be given 3 vocab terms that ware in the text that they to find the meaning of in their groups.

• After reading the chapter as a group, the students need to find each of the words, re-read the page they are on, and as group talk about what this word may mean based on what they have read/what pictures they have seen.

• Each group member will write the definition that their group came up with; students are given the chance to look up the word.

 

Differentiation (content, process, product)

ELL: Students will be in a group reading a book with a lot of pictures. If necessary, they can have a book with both English and L1. Students may also need some context of the text or vocab in their L1.

Content: reading easier texts with more pictures. If necessary, they can have the book with both. English and their native language. Student may also need some context of the text or vocabulary in their native language (build background).

Process: Students are working alongside the teacher throughout the practice activity.

 

Struggling: Students who struggle in reading will (like ELL) be placed in a group reading a low level book with lots of pictures. This will help them gain context visually to help them comprehend the text they are reading.

Content: Easier texts with more pictures; more guidance from the teacher.
Process: Working with the teacher.

 

Advanced: Gifted students will read books with little to no pictures. This will require them to use the textual evidence in the text to find the vocab meaning. These students can also be placed as group leaders to lead the discussion (read deeper in to the text).

Content: Students are given pictures with little to no pictures. This will require them to use the textual evidence in the text to find the vocabulary meaning.
Process: Can be assigned the “leader” of the group to facilitate deeper questioning.

 

 

4 Main Skills

1. Asking and answering questions about words.

2. Words and phrases that suggest feelings and appeal to the senses.

3. General academic and domain specific words.

4. Figurative language.

 

 

Literacy Skills and Strategies that Support Reading Standard

• Vocabulary: Elementary students need to develop a broad vocab base to build comprehension skills.

• Requires lots of learning experiences with a variety of words.

 

3 Areas of Language Arts

1. Language Standard 4: Meanings of unknown and multiple meaning words/phrases.

2. Language Standard 5: Word relationships and nuances in word meanings.

3. Language Standard 6: General academic and domain specific words/phrases.  

 

How to Teach Standard 4

Students are required to:

• Ask and answer question about known

• Students need to be able to derive meaning from a word, either throughout use of context or morphemic analysis.

• CC beings to focus on the meanings of prefixes and suffixes in kindergarten.

• By late 5th grade, students are expected to use common, grade appropriate Latin and Greek affixes and word roots to determine the meaning of a word.

 

5 morphological instructional strategies

1. Segment and build with morphemes.

2. Use affixes and root meanings.

3. Use morphemes to improve spelling.

4. Segment compound words and combine words to create common compound words.

5. Identify cognates to support ELL’s.

 

Guidelines for Incorporating Morphemic analysis into Classroom Instruction

1. When you teach a word also gradually teach its derivate forms.

2.When you teach an affix, introduce it on words that carry its most common meanings (later present other meanings).

• Ped= Foot (Latin)

• Ped= Child (Greek)

3. When you teach a word with meaningful parts, deconstruct and reconstruct the word with your students, pointing out the meaning of each part

 

Other Tips

• Manipulative games that involve matching prefix, suffix and root word cards.

• Post charts with affix rules.

• Venn diagrams comparing and contrasting words with affixes.

• Divide and Conquer: Split prefix from the root word (match back together).

  • Hyper= Over

  • Active= Moving

 

Sensory Synonyms and Antonyms

• Activity for teaching words and phrases suggest feelings or appeal to senses.

• Students begin with a word related to their senses, then determine a synonym and antonym.

  • Beautiful

• Do for all sense, add words and their synonyms and antonyms.

 

Semantic Feature Analysis

• Graphic organizer that allows students to see which of the categories being discussed possess certain features- what words are related to each other, similarities and differences.

• Figurate Language: “The ability to determine the meaning of literal and nonliteral language is the key to comprehension of poetry and expressive narrative writing.”

 

Intermediate Activity

• Before reading a selection that includes several examples of figurative language; have students fold a large sheet of paper into 8 sections.

• Have students write a simile, metaphor, etc. at the top of each section then haves students sketch or add words into each box that describe what they think the literacy device means.

• Compare and discuss.

 

Differentiation (content, process, product)

ELL: Explicit instruction, use pictures, act out words and phrases, seat with other L1 speakers, work in small groups.

Struggling: (Similar to ELL students) Pair with upper-level students, work in small groups, provide ample thinking and discussion time.

Advanced: Try using phrases in their own sentences, act out phrases, write a song/skit, give more creative freedom in expressing what they think the phrases mean.

 

Technology Connection

“Recent research suggests that students may benefit from creating multimedia representations of words.”

• PowerPoints templates include space for the word, definition, an explanation for why the word is important, graphic, and sound.

• The Opposites (iTunes APP Store): Children must match up pairs of opposing words before the screen is filled. Opposites starts with easy word pairs and then the difficulty level advances.

• Same Meaning Magic (iTunes App Store): Students find synonyms.

• Wordle (Internet App): Allows you to create a word cloud based on the frequency of words in a particular text (stimulates thinking about meaning, importance of word).