Advanced English 8: Periods 1 and 2

56 Minutes
11/7/16
(15 mins) Weekly Vocabulary Activity
Common Core Standards:

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Language- Vocabulary

Acquisition and Use: #4: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiplemeaning words and phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and
consulting general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate.

Objectives:

Students will be able to infer the meanings of vocabulary words using context clues
found in example sentences.
Students will be able to explain which context clues from example sentences contributed
to their understanding of each vocabulary word and why.

Purpose: We are going to go over a new list of vocabulary words today, in order to expand your
vocabulary and reading comprehension skills.
Input: Im going to hand out the list of example sentences. I want you to highlight the context
clues in each sentence, and write a synonym next to the vocabulary word which has been bolded
and underlined in each sentence. As you work, discuss the sentences with the people in your
table groups and explain what you think the word means and why.
Guided Practice: Students will highlight and write on their handouts, and discuss each word and
sentence with their groups. While students complete the activity, I will hand back their graded
vocabulary quizzes from last week.
Check for Understanding: As students work, I will walk around the room and listen to how
students are making meaning from the example sentences. If an entire group is struggling to
come up with an answer together, I will ask leading questions to get them thinking critically.
Input: Now Im going to go over the handout with you all. As we go over the answers, be sure to
write down the correct definition of each word if you did not already have the right answer. Can I
get a volunteer to give us their definition for the first word?
Check for Understanding: After all of the students have completed the handout, I will go
through each example sentence and ask for volunteers to explain what they think each word
means, and how they got to that conclusion by explaining their context clues. I will reinforce
students answers for each word by going over the definition with the class.

Independent Practice: At the end of this activity, students will receive a handout that contains
the vocab words and definitions. For homework, they will pick 10 words and write their own
example sentences to share tomorrow.
(30 mins) Introduction to WWII & The Holocaust
Common Core Standards:

Speaking and Listening Standards: #1. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative

discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8
topics, texts, and issues, building on others ideas and expressing their own clearly.

Purpose: Today we are going to finish our introduction to World War II in order to get some
important historical context before we read Anne Frank this week.
Check for Understanding: As a brief review I will ask the class to recall some of the
information on WWII we discussed last week. Who were the two opposing military alliances?
Which nations were on which side? What does genocide mean? What was the Nazi Party? What
is antisemitism?
Input: Now pull out your fill in the blank handout from last week. As I finish the slides today,
continue to fill out your handout until you reach the end.
Guided Practice: A couple of the slides ask students to observe and take note of what life was
like inside concentration camps. They will write some notes, discuss with a partner, and share
their thoughts with the class. This will provide some important anticipatory thinking for Anne
Frank.
Check for Understanding: After we finish the slides and notes, I will do another review/closure
by asking students to verbally summarize what we discussed today. What was the holocaust?
What are concentration camps? What kinds of people were placed in concentration camps? What
was WWII?
(10 mins) Summary Paragraphs
Independent Practice: For the remainder of the period, students will work independently on
their handouts, writing summary paragraphs in which they summarize what WWII was based on
the information they gathered in their notes.