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Alphabet Vocabulary
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Grade 3 Language Arts/Fine Arts Activity
Lesson Introduction
Students can learn about the biodiversity (or diversity of living things) that exist on the prairie. Through reading or listening to books, they can keep track of vocabulary words associated with the prairie on an 'Alphabet Poster'. They will use one word or phrase for each letter of the alphabet (e.g. A is for aster, B is for bison, C is for cows ...).an put them on a poster form. Mnemonic devices like the alphabet can be useful for remembering new or uncommon words. The finished product is also a nice display to teach others what you have learned.
| Illinois State Goal |
Standard |
Learning Benchmarks |
| 1 |
A |
Read with understanding and fluency. Apply word analysis and vocabulary skills to comprehend selections.
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Lesson Objectives
The students will:
- learn vocabulary associated with a prairie
- make a poster using the vocabulary words
Advance preparation
Obtain copy of one or more of the books listed in the internet connections. Make flash cards of prairie words, one for each letter of the alphabet. Use words from the book first, then fill in missing letters.
Time Allotment
One or more class periods to read about prairies and then from 40 minutes to ongoing to make the posters
Materials
- poster board
- markers or crayons
- reading material about prairies
- dictionary
PROCEDURE
Tap Prior Knowledge
1. Read one or more prairie books to the students. Then ask them to think of something in the book that starts with the letter 'A'. Write it on the board. Now what begins with the letter 'B'?
Share with Neighbor
2. Tell students to listen to the story again and whenever there is a new word about the prairie, stop and see what letter the word begins with. Keep a list of the words.
Hands-on Activity
3. Pass out posters and markers or crayons to every student.
4. Each student should draw three lines from top to bottom and six lines from side to side, making a grid of 28 boxes on the poster. Show them an example.
5. Begin assigning each letter of the alphabet its own box. Have the student come up with a prairie related word to match the alphabet boxes. They may uses prairie words that they are familiar with from the story, or you may have pre-made flash cards with definitions to assist them.
6. Have students illustrate the posters.
Introduce Language Principle
7. The following are possible vocabulary words:
| A |
atmosphere, asters, American toad |
| B |
bur oak trees, big bluestem, badger |
| C |
cream wild indigo, composite flowers, coyote |
| D |
dormant, downy sunflower, (prairie dropseed?) |
| E |
earth, erosion, evaporation, elk |
| F |
flowers, forbs, florets, fire |
| G |
grasses, goldfinches, goldenrod, genetians |
| H |
humus, horned larks, horizon |
| I |
insects, Indian plantain, Indian grass, Illinois |
| J |
jumping mouse, blue joint grass |
| K |
killdeer, Karner's blue butterfly, kingbird |
| L |
leadplant, little bluestem, least skipper butterfly |
| M |
meadowlark, marsh hawk, massasauga rattlesnake |
| N |
nitrogen, nodules, New England aster, needlegrass |
| O |
ornate box turtle, (nodding wild onion?) |
| P |
Potowatomi, prairie dock, prairie cordgrass, purple coneflower |
| Q |
queen bee, Queen Ann's lace |
| R |
rain, red fox, red-winged blackbird, red-tailed hawk, rosinweed, root systems |
| S |
sedges, soil, sneezeweed, sunflower, switch grass, snow |
| T |
tallgrass, topsoil, tall coreopsis |
| U |
underground, upland sandpiper, upland plover |
| V |
violet wood sorrel, violet genetian, (prairie vole?) |
| W |
willow trees, water, wind, wetland |
| X |
xeric, xylem, prairie phloX |
| Y |
yellow star grass |
| Z |
zoology, rhiZomes |
Relate Activity and Concept
8. Have students compare and contrast posters. What different words were used with each letter. Can the students think of a way to use their posters to teach others what vocabulary words they have learned?
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the lesson, the students will be able to:
- use 26 words and phrases associated with a tallgrass prairie
Internet Resources
Bibliography
If You're Not from the Prairie by Dave Bouchard. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 1995. Reading level: ages 4-8.
A Prairie Alphabet by Jo Bannatyne-Cugnet and Yvette Moore, illustrator. Tundra Books, 1994. Reading level: ages 4-8.
One Day in the Prairie by Jean Craighead George and Bob Marstall, illustrator. HarperTrophy, 1996. Reading level: ages 9-12.
Prairies by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent and William Munoz, photographer. Holiday House, 1996. Reading level: ages 4-8.
America's prairies by Frank Staub. Carolrhoda Books, 1993. Reading level: ages 9-12.
Seasons of the Tallgrass Prairie, written and illustrated by Carol Lerner. New York, NY: Morrow, 1980. Describes the plant life of the American prairie, season by season, and the role of wildfire in its ecology. Out of print.
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