Lesson Zachary White

Author
Date 9/26/17
Period 5th
Grade Level 7
Time Allotted 15 minutes
Context/ Students have been learning to write different types of essays in their Language Arts classes,
Rationale but never focused on how their word choice can enhance their writing. Ive noticed my
students have been using generic words such as car and tree. Students could use words
such as Toyota Prius and Redwood instead to enhance the storys setting and add more
detail to their writing.

This lesson is appropriate for students interest because students can add their own personal
experiences and own lives to their stories. No student is going to come from the same
environment as another student so each student can exemplify their own culture in the story.
They can draw on their past experiences to add unique details. Aside from students own
experiences, students can draw on their own community and portray those details in the story.

This class is a heterogenous class. By having students create stories with their own cultural
backgrounds will allow other students a glimpse into how other students live.
Central
Focus Students will be able to edit their own writing to add more specific details instead of using
undescriptive generic terms by working with other students, or by themselves, to add more
depth and clarity to their writing.

Essential/
Compelling How does word choice affect a story's clarity?
Question(s) How does the Hierarchy of words allow students to view different word choices?
Goals Objectives:
Students will be able to construct a hierarchy of words

Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and
convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and
analysis of relevant content.
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.2.d: Use precise language and domain-specific
vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.

Assessments Informal Formative Summative

The teacher will walk
around the room and
monitor how the students
are doing.
I will collect the student(s) N/A
work and see their constructed
hierarchy of words. I will see
the students final conclusion
and the steps taken.

Once I collect the work, I will

look at the hierarchy the
students created to see if they
have mastery.

Language Language Function Vocabulary Syntax

Supports The students will be able to
formulate more specific
adjectives and create a list
from undescriptive
adjectives to the most
descriptive adjectives.
The vocabulary for this lesson
is for students to learn the term
hierarchy. Students will
know the meaning of the word
and how it can be applied to
ELA in different contexts.
The syntax for this lesson is
adjective phrase. For students to
create clarity in their writing,
they need to make sure they are
specific with their word choice.
The adjective phrase allows the
students to create a list of
adjectives from the least
descriptive adjective to the most
descriptive.

Materials & Teacher :

Technology Index cards
Writing utensils
Marker and Eraser for whiteboard OR overhead projector OR chalk and eraser for
chalk board
Students:
Writing utensils
Paper
 INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN
How are you inviting students to learn? How are you moving them through the lesson and engage them in the
activities? How are you bringing the lesson to a close? Provide basic step-by-step directions and prompts
for implementing these areas of the lesson. A substitute teacher should be able to pick up your lesson plan and
say and do everything you would have if you were there. Please be explicit and specific. Remember YOU
CAN (and likely SHOULD) ADD ROWS.
Time Lesson Component Teacher and Learner Roles/Procedures
1 minute Introduction Tell the class that their latest papers did not have enough
descriptive details and there were too many generic
words.
Give the students examples of changing undescriptive
details to specific details
Dodge Charger instead of car, Redwood instead
of tree, and tulips instead of flowers.
2 minutes Direct Instruction
Ask student to try and define the word hierarchy
The definition the teacher is looking for is a
system or organization of groups that are ranked
above one another due to status or authority.
If students cannot get the definition, then the
teacher may define it.
Ask students what they think Hierarchy of words mean
The teacher is looking for the definition the
organizing of words based on status or authority.
If students cannot get the definition, then the
teacher may define it.
In this exercise the status or authority refers to
how descriptive the words are. The teacher needs
to specify this after the students give the
definition so students know how to classify the
words

2 minutes Modeling
 The teacher will write the word game on the board and
show students how game can become more specific.
The example the teacher is going to write on the
board of the word game will be: game-video
game- platformer-Mario-Super Mario Bros.

3 minutes Guided Instruction

The teacher will pick the word structure and have the
students make the word more specific.
The teacher will call on students to say words that will
take the generic word and make it more specific by
saying what the next level of the hierarchy is.
In this example, students can turn this word into
many different things so there is no key.
Possible answers are :
structure- bridge- Golden Gate Bridge
structure- house- mansion- the Biltmore
structure- building- skyscraper- Sears
tower
The teacher may need to help the students to find
the next word in the sequence if the students miss
a word. If the students do miss a word, the teacher
needs to ask the students is there possibly any
other word that may fit between these two
words?
If no student answers, then the teacher may fill in
the missing blank.

3 minutes Collaborative Practice

Student will work with the other students sitting at the
same table. A student may work by themselves if their
groupmates are missing, or the student may join another
group for the day.
The teacher will pass out an index card with a generic
word on it to each table.
The teacher will instruct each group that:
students are to work together to take the generic
word and turn it into something more specific,
like the examples before the activity.
 If students finish early, they may take a look at
their essays and pick a word that is undescriptive
and make it descriptive with their group.
As the students are working, the teacher is walking
around the room monitoring the students progress.

3 minute Share out

Once the students have stopped working, the teacher will
call the class to look towards the front of the room.
The teacher will then ask if any group wishes to share out
what their group has come up with
If no group volunteers, the teacher may cold call
on a group.
Students need to say what the word was originally
and then read out how they turned it from an
undescriptive word to a descriptive word.

1 minute Wrap-up
The teacher will end the class by collecting the groups
papers to look over as an exit pass.
The teacher will also give out the homework for the next
day. The teacher will tell the students to find three
generic words in their essays and change the words into
more specific words. The students do need to show their
own hierarchy of words.

Accommodation
After you review various data (collected through your own observations, discussions with your cooperating
teacher, student conferences, etc.), how will you adjust instructional materials, activities, and sequencing given
what you have learned about students academic skills, attitudes, and needs?
Learning Needs IEPs/504s Striving Readers ELL Support Gifted
Students may N/A for this Thesauruses Do the
work in class and activity in the The gifted
groups or by dictionaries persons students will
themselves in will be native be instructed
order to provided so language- to create a
work in their students to be Possibly use bigger
preferred able to look the students hierarchy of
up words. ipad system. words
 working Pictures with
environment. words.
Partner the
ELL with
another
student that
knows the
language.
They will be
language
partners.
Appendix -- Copy and Paste into this lesson plan (below here) any copies of supplementary materials needed
for a given plan (i.e. handouts, PowerPoints, rubrics, etc.) It can be hyperlinks.

Index cards:

Music

Film

Transportation

Food

Animal