Lessons & Units :: Vocabulary in Context 2nd Grade Unit

Lesson 3: Glossary

Lesson Plan

The Life Cycle of an Emperor Penguin

The Life Cycle of an Emperor Penguin
Learning Goal
Use a glossary to determine the meaning of an unknown word.
Duration
Approximately 50 minutes
Necessary Materials
Provided: Independent Practice Worksheet
Not Provided: The Life Cycle of an Emperor Penguin by Bobbie Kalman

  • Teacher Modeling

    will introduce a glossary and explain that sometimes we have to look up the meaning of a word in order to understand the text. A glossary is like a mini-dictionary with only words from the book. The words in the glossary are in alphabetical order to make it easier for us to find the word we need. I will read “The Coldest Place on Earth” from The Life Cycle of an Emperor Penguin by Bobbie Kalman and model how to use a glossary on page 6, to find the meaning of the word “continent.” The sentences around the word do not give us enough information to determine the meaning of the word “continent.” Therefore, I will look in the glossary to find the definition. Not all words in the text will be in the glossary. Sometimes, the book will tell you which words are in the glossary by making those words bold. Other times, you will not have any clues and will have to look for the word in the glossary to see if it is there. The word “continent” is in the glossary and the definition tells me that “continent” is a large land mass and there are seven on Earth. So Antarctica is one of the seven, and is the southernmost and coldest.

    TIP: Clarify for students why some words are not in the glossary. For example, if the author explained the word in the sentences surrounding the word, then he chose not to put the word in the glossary.

  • Think Check

    Ask: How did I find the meaning of the word "continent"? Students should respond that you used the glossary of the book by looking up the word "continent" alphabetically and reading the definition.

  • Guided Practice

    will use the glossary to determine the meaning of the bold words on page 7. We will discuss the meaning of each bolded word and the sentence containing the word.

  • Independent Practice

    will read pages 28–29, in the section “Long live the emperors!” (not the subsection “People hurting penguins”) and use the glossary to define the bold words. You will explain the meaning of the sentence that contains the bolded word. (Student Independent Practice is provided in Teacher and Student Materials below). Note: You will need to provide students with pages 28–29 as well as the glossary so they can use it for Independent Practice.

    TIP: Provide students with a copy of the glossary in the book so that they can use it as a reference.

Build Student Vocabulary threats

Tier 2 Word: threats
Contextualize the word as it is used in the story “One of the biggest threats to emperor penguins is global warming. Global warming is the rise of the average temperature of Earth.”
Explain the meaning student-friendly definition) A threat is a sign of harm or an announcement of a plan to cause harm. When the author stated that global warming was threatening the emperor penguins, she meant that global warming is a sign of extinction of the penguins.
Students repeat the word Say the word threats with me: threats
Teacher gives examples of the word in other contexts My mom threatened to punish me if I did not clean up my room. Pollution is a threat to the environment.
Students provide examples Have you ever heard a threat? Tell us about it by saying, “___________________ is a threat.”
Students repeat the word again. What word are we talking about? threats
Additional Vocabulary Words climate, precipitation

Build Student Background Knowledge

After reading "The Coldest Place on Earth," share a map or globe and point to the Southern Hemisphere. Share some reasons why Antarctica is so much colder than the rest of the world. Antarctica's elevation is higher than other land. 98% of the land on Antarctica is covered in ice and snow, which reflects the sun's heat, rather than absorbing it. This makes Antarctica very cold!

Texts & Materials

Standards Alignment

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