Sasha Sproge

Inferring the Meaning of Vocabulary from Text

Siesta
Author: Ginger Foglesong Guy
Pictures: Ren King Moreno
Summary of the Book: Come join the adventures of a brother, sister, and their little teddy
bear as they prepare for a Spanish siesta! There are so many things to gather and so many things
that need to get done! As they work together and help each other find the things they need, they
make an ordinary afternoon extraordinary! What would you need for your siesta?
Target Readers: Spanish 1 (5
th
-12
th
grade).
Reading Strategy: Inferring the Meaning of Vocabulary from Text.
While reading the book together as a class, students will use context clues to discover the
meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary words. This will allow students to discover the meaning of
unfamiliar vocabulary by taking what they already know and gathering clues from the text to
infer the meaning of the vocabulary as opposed to using a dictionary. Students will use the four-
column think sheet provided to them. At the top of the sheet in each of the four columns,
students will write Unfamiliar Vocabulary, Inferred Meaning, Clue, and Sentence.
Students write the vocabulary word or phrase in the first column labeled Unfamiliar
Vocabulary. Next, students try to guess the meaning of the words by using the visual pictures or
words in the book. Students then fill in the Inferred Meaning column with what they believe
the word or phrase means. Then, students fill in what they used to infer the meaning in the
Clue column. Finally, students will create a new sentence that incorporates the unfamiliar
target word or phrase in the final column labeled Sentence.
Modifications: This strategy could be done in small groups while the teacher is circulating
around the room. The charts could then be discussed as a class. Each group would share what
words they found as unfamiliar and they inferred the meaning of the vocabulary word or phrase.
Additional Activities: I would like to incorporate a game called Quick! Draw! In Spanish, I
have found that many students forget vocabulary words quickly after learning them. Quick Draw
is a post-reading game that helps students remember vocabulary. This game divides the students
into two teams. One member from each team will go to the whiteboard and be given a
vocabulary word from the story. From their drawings, their teammates have to guess what it is.
Whichever team guesses correctly first, wins a point.
Thematic Units, Topics, or Literature Units: This book could be used for a unit that
focuses on the cultural influences and effects of the siesta. This activity will allow students to
make connections of their own culture and that of the Spanish culture. This activity will allow
students to communicate and describe better on the thematic unit about clothes and shopping.
Inferring the Meaning of Vocabulary from Text Think Sheet
Fill in each category in reference to a vocabulary word you did not know in the text.
Unfamiliar
Vocabulary
Inferred Meaning Clue Sentence
siesta nap Los nios are sleeping
Quiero tomar una siesta a las dos.
(I want to take a siesta at 2 oclock)
cancin song
El nio is playing a flute.
La nia is singing.
El osito is dancing.
Mi cancin favorite es Shake it off por Taylor
Swift.
(My favorite song is Shake it Off by Taylor Swift)
osito little bear
La nia is asking someone
to come with her.
El nio is holding a little
bear.
Mi osito es negro.
(My little bear is black)
linterna flashlight
El nio is going to grab
something black in the
drawer.
He is then holding a
flashlight.
Mi linterna es roja.
(my flashlight is red)
Inferring the Meaning of Vocabulary from Text Think Sheet
Fill in each category in reference to a vocabulary word you did not know in the text.
Unfamiliar
Vocabulary
Inferred Meaning Clue Sentence