By Kelly Hashway (Vocabulary Words Are Marked)

Foggy Figure

by Kelly Hashway (Vocabulary Words are marked)

Justin and Mary woke up early, even though they were vacationing at their uncle’s lake house. The night before, Uncle Thomas told them about the Foggy Figure that haunts the lake. Justin and Mary were determined to see the ghostly creature before their vacation was over.

“Is it foggy outside?” Mary asked, as Justin peered out the window.

“Yup! Let’s go!” Justin let go of the curtain and rushed to the door with Mary on his heels.

It was only 5:00AM, so everyone else in the house was still asleep. As they crept through

the kitchen to the back door, Mary sniffed the air. It had the faint scent of coffee and

something sweet. She shrugged it off and followed Justin out the door, down the back steps,

and out onto the boat dock. The fog had settled over the lake, making it impossible to see

anything.

“Do you see anything?” Mary asked, leaning forward for a closer look.

“Nothing. Do you think Uncle Thomas was just trying to scare us with that story?”

Uncle Thomas did have a good imagination. He’d been telling Justin and Mary stories for

years, but this was the first scary story. Mary had a feeling it wasn’t made up.

Mary shook her head. “Remember what Uncle Thomas said? The Foggy Figure

haunts the lake. We’re on the dock. Maybe that’s why we can’t see him. The people in the

story were in boats.”

“You want to go out on the water?” Justin asked.

Mary looked around, trying to find Uncle Thomas’s boat, but the fog was too thick.

“Mom and Dad will be really angry if we go out on the lake alone in this fog,” Justin said.

Mary shrugged. “Maybe we don’t have to go anywhere. We could sit in the boat while

it’s docked. That wouldn’t be dangerous.”

“Okay.” Justin crept toward the end of the dock. He could barely see the outline of the

boat. “I’ll go first.” He carefully lowered himself into the boat and then reached for Mary’s hand.

Mary climbed into the boat and sat beside him. She was getting nervousnow that they

were on the water. “See anything?”

They looked around, and gradually, the fog began to lift. Mary turned around and screamed. “The Foggy Figure!” It was in the boat with them!

Justin and Mary hugged each other in fear, but then they heard a laugh. Justin leaned toward the Foggy Figure. “Uncle Thomas?”

“I knew that story would get you two out of bed early enough to take a boat ride with

me.”

Mary sighed, happy there was no Foggy Figure after all. Justin looked relieved, too. Uncle Thomas laughed. “What do you say? I packed a breakfast for us.”

Mary smiled. She had smelled coffee. And Uncle Thomas had packed pastries for them,

too.

“Let’s do it,” Mary and Justin said.

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VITAL INFORMATION

Author: Harper, Peggy

*Subject(s):Language Arts

Topic or Unit of Study:Monday - Oral Language and Vocabulary

*Grade/Level: 4th

*Summary:While reading a given selection students will identify unfamiliar words. They will work together in small groups to discuss the meanings of the words and use context clues, prior knowledge, and online resources to establish the meanings of the words.

STANDARDS AND DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION:

*Standards:

110.15 (2) A Students will determine the meaning of grade-level academic English words derived from Latin, Greek, or other linguistic roots and affixes

110.15 (2) B Students will use the context of the sentence (e.g., in-sentence example or definition) to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words or multiple meaning words

110.15 (2) E Students will use a dictionary or glossary to determine the meanings, syllabication, and pronunciation of unknown words.

110.15.31 Listening and Speaking/Teamwork. Students work productively with others in teams. Students continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are expected to participate in teacher- and student-led discussions by posing and answering questions with appropriate detail and by providing suggestions that build upon the ideas of others.

DifferentiatedInstruction:ELL learners should be provided with a dictionary containing a translation of English to their language. Learning disabled students will be supported by working with group members.

EEI (ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF INSTRUCTION) - LESSON PLAN ELEMENTS REQUIRED

Objective:

1) Students will locate unknown words within a given selection.

2) Students will develop an understanding of vocabulary words from the given selection.

3) Students will locate unknown words within a story and establish meanings using a variety of methods.

Anticipatory Set:Ask students if there was ever a time when they were scared but everything worked out alright after all. Share with students an event in your own life when you were frightened. Invite students to share some of their own stories. Tell students that they will be reading a story in which this happens to the characters.

Teach Lesson / Model:

1.)Teacher will ensure that each group has a copy of the story "The Foggy Figure"

2.)Read the story aloud to the students.

3) Choose one of the vocabulary words from the text and model, using a strategy the students will be using in group. For example, read the sentence containing "peered". Invite students to propose meanings for the word based on the sentence.

4) Share a definition of the word gleaned from a media source such as dictionary.com. Other online sources may be used to clarify the words' meaning.

5) Using an online thesaurus, determine synonyms for the word and put each synonym in the sentence in place of the word. Ask if the synonyms make sense.

Guided Practice:

1) Have students choose one word from the text that interests them or is unfamiliar.

2) Using prior knowledge, context clues, a dictionary, or given online resources have each student determine a definition of their word.

3) Invite students to share their word and the method by which they arrived at its definition.

Independent Practice:

1) Explain to students that they will be divided into small groups and that their groups' mission is to identify unknown words from the selection and discover their definition. They may use context clues, prior knowledge, the dictionary, group discussion and given online sources.

2) Divide the class into small groups and ensure that each group has a copy of the selection.

3) By peer vote, have each group select a secretary who will record and report the group's activities to the class. Together, have the group choose unfamiliar words from the selection and have the secretary record them.

4) Teacher will circulate among the groups for informal assessment and feedback

Closure:

1) Bring students back to their seats and ask them to choose one word they learned about in group from the selection. Ask them to write their understanding of the word's definition and the sentence from the selection in which the word is used.

2) Have the students rewrite the sentence using a synonym of the word that makes sense in the sentence.

3) Have students make an illustration of the word, not necessarily one that relates to the selection.

*Assessment/Rubrics:

- Teacher Informal Assessment

- Anecdotal records

- Evaluation of student product

- Participation in group activity

MATERIALS AND RESOURCES

Instructional Materials (handouts, etc.):

1) Copy of the short story "The Foggy Figure"

2) Dictionary

3) Thesaurus

4) Paper

5) Pencil

6) Access to a computer where available

Resources:

(Harper, 2013)

(Texas elementary Standards, 2012)

VITAL INFORMATION

Author: Debbie, A. & Powell E.

*Subject(s): Language Arts

Topic or Unit of Study:Tuesday - Phonics, word patterns and word analysis

*Grade/Level: 4th

*Summary:Using a strategy of spelling in parts, students learn to break a word down into its individual parts to aid in spelling the word.

STANDARDS AND DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION:

*Standards:

110.15 (22) Students are expected to spell words with more advanced orthographic patterns and rules

110.15 (22) A Students will use knowledge of letter sounds, word parts, word segmentation and syllabication to spell

110.15.31 Listening and Speaking/Teamwork: Students work productively with others in teams. Students continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are expected to participate in teacher- and student-led discussions by posing and answering questions with appropriate detail and by providing suggestions that build upon the ideas of others.

DifferentiatedInstruction:ELL and learning disabled learners will be allowed the use of a dictionary to aid in the syllabication process.

EEI (ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF INSTRUCTION) - LESSON PLAN ELEMENTS REQUIRED

Objective:

1) Using vocabulary and environmental words students will use a spelling in parts process to divide these words into their inherent syllables

Anticipatory Set:

Ask students if they would like to be able to spell bigger words more easily and correctly. Invite students to look at their vocabulary selection and around the room to choose words that they would like to be able to spell.

Teach Lesson / Model:

1) Write a word that the students have selected on the board.

2) Using this word, model clapping out the syllables and marking them with vertical lines. For example: February would become Feb/ru/ar/y

3) Have a student select one of the chosen words. Have students clap out the syllables of this word and mark them on the board. Mark short and long vowels.

4) Ask the students if they think the word, or parts of it, will be difficult to spell. Circle any parts they suggest. Suggest visual, sound or meaning strategies for remembering these parts of the word. For example: Together can be remembered as the phrase To-get-her (as in getting someone to go somewhere) or the /ight/ in frightened might be remembered by the phrase "I was frightened by the light." (Debbie, 2013)

5) Cover the word and have students say the first syllable and write it on their whiteboards. Then have them say and write the next syllable and so on. Acknowledge pronunciation and remind them of the word/letter strategies they have created for the sounds.

6) Uncover the word and have students check their spellings. Give congratulations for those syllables spelled correctly and have them circle any syllables that they missed and think of a strategy to remember it.

Guided Practice:

1) Have students select one of the chosen words.

2) Ask students to repeat the steps learned for the first word to separate their chosen word into syllables. If necessary, reiterate the steps.

3) Have students separate their chosen word into syllables and create a strategy for remembering those with which they have difficulty.

4) Circulate during this activity, giving help and feedback where necessary.

5) Invite students to share their chosen word and their syllabications along with their strategies for remembering sections.

Independent Practice:

1) Divide students into pairs of spelling buddies. Try grouping a strong speller with a weaker student.

2) Remind students of the process: Clap, divide, circle, strategize, spell.

3) Have the pairs syllabicate the remaining words and create strategies for remembering difficult pronunciations, writing both their attempts and strategies on paper.

Closure:

1) Invite students to share the steps of the process for an individual word along with their strategies for remembering pronunciations with the class.

2) Provide appropriate praise for correct responses and have students circle sound sections they are still having difficulty with.

3) As a class, create a strategy for remembering these difficult sections.

Evaluation:

*Assessment/Rubrics:

- Anecdotal Records

- Informal Teacher Observation

- Teacher evaluation of group product

- Participation in paired activity

MATERIALS AND RESOURCES

Instructional Materials (handouts, etc.):

1) Paper

2) Pencils

3) Polysyllabic print (words)

4) Whiteboards

5) Writing notebooks

Resources:

(Debbie, 2013)

(Texas elementary Standards, 2012)

VITAL INFORMATION

Author: Bosone, K., Lee, J. & Roderick, M.

*Subject(s): Language Arts

Topic or Unit of Study:Wednesday - Fluency

*Grade/Level: 4th

*Summary: The students will re-read a given, known selection in order to increase fluency. The students will exercise accuracy, speed and tone.

STANDARDS AND DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION:

*Standards:

110.15 (1)Students will read aloud grade-level stories with fluency (rate, accuracy, expression, appropriate phrasing) and comprehension.

110.15.31 Listening and Speaking/Teamwork: Students work productively with others in teams. Students continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are expected to participate in teacher- and student-led discussions by posing and answering questions with appropriate detail and by providing suggestions that build upon the ideas of others.

DifferentiatedInstruction:Ell learners will be allowed to practice independently reading with an audio tape.

EEI (ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF INSTRUCTION) - LESSON PLAN ELEMENTS REQUIRED

Objective:

1) Students will demonstrate the ability to read at a targeted rate. (4th grade target is 120-150 WPM)

Anticipatory Set:

1)As the students are used to hearing their teacher read well, the teacher will introduce the lesson by reading the selected text in a non-fluent manner. (Monotone, pauses at inappropriate places, missing or mispronounced words, etc.)

2)Ask if the selection was difficult to understand. Students should verify that it was. Discuss why the selection was hard to understand when read in this manner and how it could be improved.

3)Introduce the word "Fluency", write it on the board and lead students to define it in their own words.

Teach Lesson / Model:

1) Teacher will read the selection once again, modeling good reading practices. (Fluency) Tell students that this is what a good reader should sound like.

2) Discuss with students what this reading sounded like. Did I pronounce all the words correctly? How quickly did I read the passage? Did I read with expression? Refer to their definition of fluency on the board.

3) Tell the students that today they are going to practice reading with fluency to help them become better readers.

Guided Practice:

1) Ensure that each student has a copy of the selection and have them read the selection.

2) Have each student read the passage (quietly) aloud to themselves, underlining any unknown word with the blue pencil. Have them mark a red vertical line after the last word they read when the timer sounds.

3)Have students count the number of words read and mark the Timed Reading Chart with their blue pencil.

4) Discuss words with which the students had difficulty. Note which letter or word patterns they had difficulty with and discuss.

5) Work with students to set new target goals. Goals should be high enough that they will require several readings.

Independent Practice:

1) Separate students into pre-determined pairs of students who are on approximately the same reading level.

2) Have each student read the passage to his partner at least two more times.

3) Have each student-pair listen to an audiotape of the selection.

4) Each student should then take turns reading aloud with the audiotape. Partners should listen carefully to each reading in order to allow them to rate improvement.

5) Each student should read the passage aloud at least three times. At the end of the third time, have students mark a vertical red line after the last word read, count their words and mark on the Timed Reading Chart.

5) Teacher will circulate for informal assessment

Closure:

Help students to set new target goals taking into account their final WPM result. If students have been able to read the entire passage before the minute is up, tell them to start back at the beginning and continue to read until time is up; then count their total and mark it on their chart.

*Assessment/Rubrics:

- Teacher informal Assessment

- Timed Reading Chart

- Participation in paired activity

MATERIALS AND RESOURCES

Instructional Materials (handouts, etc.):

1) Copies of given text

2) Audio tapes of selection

3) A one-minute timer for each pair

4) Timed reading chart

5) Red and Blue pencils

6) Tape recorder for each pair

Resources:

(Bosone, 2003)

(Texas elementary Standards, 2012)

VITAL INFORMATION

Author: Young, John

*Subject(s): Language Arts

Topic or Unit of Study:Thursday - Reading Comprehension

*Grade/Level: 4th

*Summary:The students will learn to use "thin" (factual) and "thick" (inferential) questions to better understand a text.

STANDARDS AND DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION: