Natalina Focarelli

Student Teaching
Spring 2017

Impact on Student Learning

Introduction to Students and Environment/ Rationale:

The two students that are included in this study are both male students
who are twelve years old and in seventh grade. For confidentiality purposes,
one student will be referred to as Ved and the second student will be referred
to as Sam. Both students are twelve year old male students who are
currently in a Self-Contained classroom for students with disabilities.
Although they are in the same Language Arts self-contained classroom, their
classification, socioeconomic status and behavior differ.
Sam is classified with a Specific Learning Disability and Attention
Deficit Disorder (ADD). Specific Learning Disability refers to a disorder in one
or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or
using language, spoken or written, leading to impairments in listening,
thinking, speaking, reading, writing, spelling, or math calculations. This
disability causes Sam to have trouble in reading comprehension, basic
reading skills, listening comprehension, and written expression. Sams
Attention Deficit disorder causes him to fidget in a class and have trouble
focusing or concentrating, without calling out or disrupting class. He is easily
distracted by his classmates or noise in the classroom, which causes him to
look up from his work, and bring his attention elsewhere. He has to be
reminded to focus his attention back on the task at hand, which furthermore,
causes him need additional time to complete assignments or tasks. Sam
comes from a very wealthy family and is an only child, which sometimes
interferes with his work, because he has some learned-behaviors, as he is
used to getting his way and being the center of an adults attention. He
sometimes has difficulty sharing the classroom with his peers, so he is
seated by himself, to minimize distraction.
Ved is classified as Communication Impaired. This classification refers
to a language disorder in the areas of morphology, syntax, semantics and/or
pragmatics or discourse, not due primarily to an auditory impairment. Ved
often knows the right answer, but he will articulate an incorrect answer or be
unable to put his thoughts into words that he can speak aloud. Ved becomes
easily distracted, however, unlike Sam, he is not hyper, but instead, zones
out. Ved easily dazes off or loses focus, causing him to miss instruction or
information. Ved comes from a very low socioeconomic background and has
a brother with special needs. This hinders his learning, because he is not
getting the reinforcement he needs at home. This causes Ved to have visible
learning gaps, because he forgets previous skills and knowledge that he
learned.
I chose Sam and Ved for this study because they are in the lowest level
reading group for their Language Arts class. They were placed into the low
group because they scored in the Late 4th/ Early 5th grade level and both had
an average of a 701 on their ASK 6 standardized tests the year before. In
another assessment that was given at the beginning of the year through a
Scholastic test, both students scored 60% or lower on the Scholastic tests in
the areas of Vocabulary Acquisition, Identifying Authors Purpose, and
Remembering the Text (See Appendix 1).

Pre-assessment and Rationale:

When I gave the entire class an additional assessment focusing on
Vocabulary Acquisition on March 20, 2017, both students had a zero
completion (0 of 17 answered questions) in the Prefix/Suffix section of the
assessment (See APPENDIX 2). This assessment asked students to identify
what a prefix and suffix are, define the meaning of a prefix of their choice,
definite the meaning of a suffix of their choice, then apply the prefix or suffix
to a root word, and use the word in a sentence. Students were also asked if
the bolded word in five sentences uses a prefix or suffix and to circle their
answer, prefix or suffix. Both students left this section completely blank,
scoring zero points for this part of the assessment.
Therefore, I decided to focus my study on prefixes and suffixes and
gave these two students a Curriculum Based Assessment (See APPENDIX 3),
based on the novel they read in class called, Freak the Mighty on April 1st,
2017. This assessment asked students to read the passage about the novel
and then write the definition (meaning) of the following vocabulary words
that were bolded in the passage. There were 13 vocabulary words to define
and 3 questions that asked students to apply these vocabulary words by
choosing three words, and writing a sentence for each word. Sam scored 6
incorrect answers out of the possible 13 vocabulary questions, and 1
incorrect answer of the 3 application questions. The incorrect sentence for
the application section used the word injustice incorrectly, which is a word
that uses a prefix. Five of the total seven incorrect answers were vocabulary
words that used either a prefix or suffix. Ved scored 6 incorrect answers in
the vocabulary section, 4 incorrect and 2 unanswered. All six of the incorrect
vocabulary words used a prefix or suffix and like Sam, the sentence marked
incorrect in the application section was for the word, injustice. Therefore, I
decided to focus on the ten Freak the Mighty vocabulary words that use
prefix and suffix in addition to the general prefix and suffix words that I
would include in the study, that include the prefixes and suffixes used in the
original Vocabulary Acquisition assessment on March 20th. In this study,
students were also asked to identify (underline or circle) context clues in the
passage that would help them understand the meaning of the bolded
vocabulary words, which I found both students were able to identify;
therefore, I decided that context clues would be a helpful addition to the
overall study because they can use context clues as a helpful reading
comprehension strategy.
New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.3.D
Decode words with common prefixes and suffixes.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.7.4
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases
based on grade 7 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.7.4.A
Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a word's position or
function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.7.4.D
Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by
checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary).

Objective:
Instructional:
Students will be able to identify the purpose of a prefix and suffix (to
change the meaning of a root word) and whether a word uses a prefix
or suffix
Students will be able to identify the meaning of multiple prefixes and
suffixes and apply their understanding of prefix and suffix to identify
meaning of unknown words.
Students will use context clues to identify the meaning of unknown
words.

Behavioral:

Students will be able to stay on task, without getting distracted, in

order to complete a task or assignment in the allotted time-frame.

Instruction:
In terms of instruction, I wanted to start from the beginning and
simplify prefixes and suffixes as much as possible for my students before
connecting this skill to our classroom content. I began the lesson
Introducing Prefix and Suffix, with a short opening video about Prefixes and
Suffixes found on YouTube called Suffix Prefix
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAbiU1ZMXGc&t=19s) to engage my
students and activate their senses. I know that my students have worked
with prefixes and suffixes before, so I wanted to introduce the video to job
their memory. After the video, I asked Ved and Sam what they remember
from the video and we had a discussion about the video. Sam told me that
he remembered learning about prefixes and suffixes before, but does not
remember much about them, other than that prefixes are placed at the
beginning of a word and suffixes are placed at the end of a word. Ved
explained that he was familiar with the words prefix and suffix, but did not
really know the meanings of any prefixes or suffixes, so he has trouble
choosing which prefix and which suffix he should use. We then moved on to a
traditional form of learning, where students were given a Prefix and Suffix
packet that I created for them (See APPENDIX 4). We went over the meaning
of a prefix, a suffix, and a root word and the students repeated back to me
several times that a prefix and a suffix change the meaning of a word. We
went through the packet, using the box of prefixes and suffixes provided on
page two and just read through what each of these meant. (The list on page
two was also provided on a large piece of chart paper for students to
reference). For instance, tasteful means having a pleasing taste and the
prefix dis means against. Then, we added them together to make
distasteful and put together against a pleasing taste to create the new
meaning for the word distasteful as something that has a bad taste. I
asked Sam and Ved to share words that they know that use any of these
prefixes and suffixes. Ved provided the words: pretest, misunderstanding,
joyful, and darkness. Sam provided the words: preview, action, careful, and
slowly. I had Ved and Sam practice putting prefixes and root words and
suffixes and root words together, just so they could really get in the habit of
connecting a prefix or suffix to a word to result in a new meaning for the
word. I also had them circle whether a word uses a prefix or suffix, to
practice identifying prefix and suffix words, which they both scored a 10 of
10, 100% accuracy. This showed me that they are able to identify prefixes
and suffixes when they used in a word, so I wanted to focus on how prefixes
and suffixes have their own meanings and then change the meaning of root
words when added to them. Overall, this was successful because I combined
oral and written instruction and responses, while also getting them into the
habit of creating new words using prefix and suffix.
The next two lessons were mini lessons where I broke up prefixes and
suffixes, so that my students could focus on one at a time rather than both at
once. First, I had my students focus on prefixes. They started off the mini
lesson by watching a video from YouTube called Prefixes: Learn Prefix and
Increase Vocabulary (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2auzLzzi_E).
Students watched the videos separately on their own screen with their own
headphone set, rather than on a big screen on the projector, because I
wanted to make sure that they were zoned in and focused, rather than
dazing off or being distracted. Then, my students individually played the
Prefix Matching Game (See Appendix 5) where they had cards that had
prefixes on them and cards that had root words and have to work the cards
around on their desk to match prefixes to root words and create new words.
Once they made a successful match, they would write the root word, the
prefix, and the definition of the word on their Prefix worksheet (See Appendix
6). Students were asked to make and define ten words. Sam created 9
correct words out of 10 and Ved created 9 words out of 10. The next day, I
had my students repeat the same activity with suffixes. Students watched
the video from YouTube called Suffix Lesson
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUtmHT7DOvI). They then played the
Matching Game (See Appendix 5) and created matches on their Suffix
worksheet (See Appendix 6). Sam and Ved both created 7 out of 7 words, for
100% proficiency. For the first round of the Matching Game, I had my
students create matches and then speak the words and meanings of the
words orally. The definition for each prefix and the root word were provided
on the back of each card, and students were encouraged and allowed to turn
over the cards and look at the definitions to help them. During the second
round, when students, wrote their answers, they were encouraged to recall
the definitions of each prefix and suffix from memory to make new words
and provide their meanings, which they were able to do successfully; both
scoring a 94% overall score. I found that this form of tactile learning was
very helpful because my students enjoyed using their hands to match things
together and could visualize how prefixes and suffixes attach themselves to
the beginning and ends of root words.
At this point in the study, I felt that my students were proficient in
recognizing and creating words using prefix and suffix. I decided to then
implement a lesson where students would practice using context clues to
complete sentences. The next lesson is called Mad about Mad-libs, which I
decided to use because one of my colleagues told me how mad-libs are
actually a fun way for students to practice working with context clues. Both
students received a copy of the same blank Mad-lib story, and filled in each
blank without seeing the any words in the sentences (as Mad-libs usually go).
I then revealed the rest of the words in the story to each of the students. I
had each student read their story aloud, keeping the words that they
originally chose, so they could read and hear how the words they chose, do
not make sense in the context of the story. This was a fun way for Ved and
Sam to see how vocabulary choice so blatantly affects a sentence, and we
were even able to laugh about how funny-sounding their initial story was.
Next, I had each student fill in a blank mad-lib of the same story, but this
time, they were able to use the rest of the words in the story to decide which
words they would choose. When completed, each student again read their
new story aloud, and we discussed how the second stories made sense. I
also asked each student to provide some context clues from the story that
helped them decide which word they would put in the blanks. For example,
Ved said he chose the noun, book, because he read the context clue,
read and he knows that we read books. Sam said that he chose the part
of the body, eye, because he read the context clue, browse the shelves
until something catches your Both Ved and Sam scored 22 out of 22, a
100% accuracy for their mad-lib when I read their second story to see if they
could accurately use context clues in a sentence. These results aligned with
the original pre-assessment that showed me that Ved and Sam both
accurately use context clues as helpful vocabulary study skills (This activity
can be found under APPENDIX 7).
 The final lesson was a Curriculum Based Assessment that I created in
order for students to connect their understanding of prefix and suffix to more
challenging words that were found in Freak the Mighty. Students were first
asked to individually look up the words second, literate, offend, modify,
function, abduct, stress, violate, justice, and caution. These would all serve
as root words for the activity. Once they defined these words, we discussed
their meanings. Then, students were asked to complete the Vocabulary in
Context: Freak the Mighty worksheet (See APPENDIX 8) which asked them to
define words found in the novel, which were the same ten words included in
their original pre-assessment (I did not include the three other vocabulary
words found in the original assessment, because they did not use a prefix or
suffix). Students were asked to choose whether the vocabulary word uses a
prefix or suffix, the meaning of the prefix or suffix in the word, and then
define the word. For example, violate means to disrespect or break a
rule; violation uses a suffix; the meaning of ion is an action or
condition; so violation means an action or condition of something that
disrespects or breaks a rule. Sam scored an 80%, correctly answering 8 of
the 10 vocabulary words, and Ved scored a 90%, correctly answering 9 of the
10 vocabulary words.

Lesson 1: Introducing Prefix and Suffix

Lesson Focus: The person for this lesson is for students to be familiarized
with prefixes and suffixes and learn the meaning of specific prefixes and
specific suffixes. In order to understand how prefix and suffix work, students
need to understand that a prefix has its own been, such as un means
not, so when it is added to the beginning of a word such as certain, it
changes the meaning of the word uncertain, to not certain. This lesson is
being taught for students to learn that prefixes are added to the beginning of
a root word and suffixes are added to the end of a root word and change the
root words meaning.

Lesson Objective: Students will be able to identify prefixes and suffixes in

words and understand and apply the meaning of different prefixes and
suffixes to create new words and identify their meanings.

CCSS:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.3.D
Decode words with common prefixes and suffixes.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.7.4
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases
based on grade 7 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

Materials:
YouTube video Suffix Prefix (https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=gAbiU1ZMXGc&t=19s)
Prefix and Suffix packet (APPENDIX 4)
Poster of Prefixes and Suffixes with their meanings

Procedure/Directions:
1. Students will watch the YouTube video Suffix Prefix (Video will be
played on two separate laptops for students to watch separately
through headphones).
2. Is there anything in the video that activated your prior knowledge or
that youve seen somewhere else before?
3. What did you learn from the video?
4. Ask students to work as partners first, and discuss the answers to
these questions with one another for 2-3 minutes.
5. Then, ask both students to share their answers with you.
6. Lets take a look at our packets togetherSam, can you read us the
first sentence at the top of the pageVed can you read us the second
sentence
7. So, a prefix is added to the front of the word and a suffix is added to
the end of the word to change the meaning of the word.
8. If you we look at the next line, that word as a special name, and it is
called a what?...Yes, a root word, which is a basic word that has its own
meaning on its own.
9. Lets look at the first example togetherThe word is Tasteful, the
definition means pleasing to eat or tastes good; the prefix dis means
against, so if we put them together, we make (students answer)
DISTASTEFULSo, distasteful means against taste or the opposite of
having taste, which means(Student answer: Distasteful means not
pleasing to taste or tastes bad.
10. Now you try the next example on your own!
11. Discuss answers aloud, going through the example step by step
as in Step 7.
12. Repeat Steps 7 and 8 for the two Suffix Examples: bravely and
doubtful.
13. Now, gentleman, if you turn to the next page, youll see a bunch
of different prefixes and suffixes and their meanings! Lets go over
them together, saying each affix and each meaning aloud. An affix just
refers to both prefix and suffix.
14. Now you will complete the rest of the packet individually, using
the prefix and suffix boxes provided for you or you can look up at this
poster, where youll find the same boxes that you can use as
reference!
15. Give students 15 minutes to complete the packet and then
review answers aloud, asking both students to provide their answers
for each question.
 16. Review the answers with both students using verbal
communication having them read their answers off of their papers.
17. *When reviewing, repeat the prefixes, suffixes, and words used in
the questions multiple times, asking both students to verbally give you
the prefix/suffix and word and the meaning for each answer. (Example:
Reread uses a prefix or suffix, Sam? Yes, great! What does reread use,
Ved? Excellent! And we know the prefix re means what, Ved? Yes, it
means again! What does it mean, Sam? Again! So if we put them
together, what do we get gentlemen? REREAD! Yes, one more time?
REREAD! So what does the word reread mean, Sam? To read again!
Yes! Ved, what does it mean to reread something? To read it again!)
18. Upon completion, ask review and concluding questions for recall
and assessment:
a. What is a prefix and what does it do?
b. What is a suffix and what does it do?
c. Give me an example of a prefix and what is means.
d. Give me an example of a suffix and what it means.
e. Give me a sentence using a word that has a prefix.
f. Give me a sentence using a word that has a suffix.
19. Have both students read each prefix and each suffix aloud as
you point to each one on the poster board. Along with the prefix or
suffix, have each student give you a word that uses that prefix or
suffix.

Differentiation/Grouping: This lesson can be differentiated by giving

students less prefixes and suffixes in the boxes, so that they have less
prefixes and suffixes to learn. Also, the video chosen at the beginning of the
lesson can be differentiated. The video used for this lesson is of the 3rd grade
level, because I wanted to keep the introduction as simple as possible;
however, a more complex video can be used for higher grade levels or
advanced learners. Also, for a larger group of students, video can be played
on a projector screen.

Assessment:
Formative Assessment: While students discussed the video and what they
learned, I assessed their prior knowledge as well as how closely they were
listening and paying attention to the video. I also asked questions and
repeated questions multiple times throughout the lesson as we reviewed the
packet, to check for comprehension and attentiveness.
Summative Assessment: Students were asked summative assessment
questions at the closing of the lesson to check for recall and comprehension
of prefix and suffix. Their packets were also handed in for evaluation, so I
could assess their ability to write the answers as well as speak them.

Lessons 2/3 Prefix and Suffix Matching Games Mini Lessons

Lesson Focus: The purpose of these mini lessons is for students to practice
putting prefixes and suffixes on the beginnings or ends of root words. They
are able to use hands-on learning and visualize how prefixes and suffixes are
attached to root words and how the meaning of the prefix attaches itself to
the meaning of the root word, creating a new meaning for the new word.
Being able to physically put words together incorporates tactile learning,
directly involving students in the lessons.
Lesson Objective: Students will be able to accurately attach prefixes and
suffixes to root words to create real words and accurately define the meaning
of each prefix and suffix and each real word they create.

CCSS:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.3.D
Decode words with common prefixes and suffixes.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.7.4
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases
based on grade 7 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

Materials:

YouTube video Prefixes: Learn Prefix and Increase Vocabulary

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2auzLzzi_E)
YouTube video Suffix Lesson (https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=HUtmHT7DOvI)
Prefixes and Suffixes worksheet (APPENDIX 6)
2 sets of Root Word index cards
2 sets of Prefix index cards
2 sets of Suffix index cards

Procedure/Directions:
1. Today we are going to focus on prefixes and tomorrow we will focus
more on suffixes!
2. Sam, what is a prefix again? What is it, Ved? Can you both give me
an example?
3. Students will watch the YouTube video about prefixes (individually on
their own laptops and with headphones).
4. Each student will receive a mix of index cards with different root words
on them and index cards with different prefixes on them.
5. Tell students that they will be matching the prefix cards to the root
word cards to create REAL words. (The words have to make sense and
be real English words!)
 6. Since we are working with prefixes, where are you going to attach the
prefix to on each word? (Students answer: to the beginning of each
word).
7. Model for the students what they will be doing by playing around with
the index cards on the desk in front of them and have them gather
around the desk, to watch you mix and match until you find a prefix
and root word that make sense. Then check the back of the prefix card
for its meaning, and then define the word you made and use it in a
sentence.
8. The first round will be verbal communication, where both students will
make a match: saying the prefix and root word they chose, the word
that they made, the meaning of the word, and then use the word in a
sentence.
9. For the first round, students can use the definitions provided on the
back of the index cards to help them make matches and come up with
the meanings of words.
10. After each student has shared eight matches, ask students to
jumble up their cards.
11. Now, this is the second round! For this round, you will be
making ten matches, and writing your matches on the sheet provided
for you. On the sheet, it asks for the prefix, the root word, and the
definition of the word you made.
12. Give students 10-12 minutes to complete this activity
individually, and then repeat the verbal communication of their written
answers as in Step 7.
13. Repeat these steps the next day using the YouTube video for
suffixes, the Root Word index cards, the Suffix word index cards, and
the Suffixes section of the worksheet.

Differentiation/ Grouping: If students are at a higher level for this skill,

you can combine the suffixes and prefixes to make the matching game more
difficult. If you want to use this game again as a follow up, you may decide to
combine the prefixes and suffixes together, to assess students further ability
to make sense of real words using prefix and suffix. For struggling students,
you can play the same game, but have the index cards numbered, so they
are matching the numbers together, and then working through the meaning
the prefix and root word that they matched together.

Assessment:
Formative Assessment: Students will be assessed both verbally and
through their written work. As they are playing the matching game, I will
watch and assess as they put matches together, to see if they are able to
decipher between making real words or just putting prefixes with any root
word, and not making a real word. Students will be speaking and writing their
answers, so these are both forms of assessment.
Summative Assessment: At the end of the lesson, students can be asked
to repeat some of the words that they made and use these words in a
sentence and give the meaning. This will help students recall the activity
they did and understand their reason for completing the activity. Students
written answers will also be assessed and graded.

Lesson 4 Mad about Mad-libs

Lesson Focus: The purpose of this lesson is for students to practice using
context clues to create a story that makes sense. Students will see how
choosing just any word to fill in a blank in a sentence, does not work,
because the sentence wont any sense if the word is not in context. These
lesson helps students to compare the differences between a story that uses
context clues and a story that does not, making it clear for them to see
important context clues are to the constructing of a sentence and practice
using context clues to decide what word will work in a sentence and what will
not.

Lesson Objective: Students will be able to use context clues to complete

sentences that create a cohesive story that makes sense.

CCSS:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.7.4.A
Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a word's position or
function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

Materials:
Four blank copies of the same Mad-lib story (two for each student)
Two copies of the same Mad-lib story with the words whited out
Pencil

Procedure/ Directions:
1. I will start by asking students if they have ever done a Mad-lib and to
tell me what they know about Mad-libs.
2. Today, you are each going to complete your own Mad-lib story.
3. Hand one copy of the Mad-lib story WITH THE WORDS WHITED OUT
to each student.
4. Take a moment to look over the words in parentheses and tell me any
words that you need refreshing on what the meaning is. (For example,
if student does not recall what an adjective is, tell them that it is a
word that describes something or someone, such as the word pretty
or strong).
 5. Give students 6-7 minutes to fill in the lines on their blank mad-lib with
the type of word that the line asks for in the parentheses.
6. Ask students to give you their filled in worksheets, and then you should
directly copy each of their words into the first blank copy of the Mad-lib
story that has the words on it (the left story) (See APPENDIX 7).
7. You should insert their words into the first copy of the story (left side of
the worksheet) exactly as they are written on the whited-out copy.
8. Give students back their new worksheet that now has the words they
chose inserted into the story.
9. Have each student read their story aloud (Students stories will not
make sense because they do not know what the story or each
sentence is about).
10. Once both students have read their stories aloud, ask: What did
you realize about your story? (They dont make sense). Why do you
think they dont make sense? (Because the rest of the story is about
other things and these words dont fit in with the story).
11. Yes, exactly! The words you chose do not fit in with the
CONTEXT of the story. The context is what the story is aboutWhat is
the context, Sam? What is the context, Ved?
12. When we are deciding what words to use in a sentence or what
an unfamiliar word in a sentence means, we can try to identify context
clues that will help us understanding what word should go in the blank
for the sentence to make sense, or what the possible meaning of the
unfamiliar word.
13. Now you will complete your story one more time!
14. What do you think you will be able to do this time? (Use the
context clues in the story when filling in the blanks)
15. Give students 8-10 minutes to complete the story one more time
using the story on the right of the worksheet (See APPENDIX 7) using
the context clues in the story.
16. Each student will then read their story aloud.
17. What context clues did you use in the story to help you pick the
word you chose for the blanks? (An example: I chose the noun book
to put in the blank, because the context clue I used was read, and I
know that a book is something I can read).
18. Use both the first and second versions of the story side by side
(See APPENDIX 7) and have students compare some of their same
sentences to one another, focusing discussion on how the sentence in
first version does not make sense, but the sentence in the second
version does make sense).

Differentiation/ Grouping: This lesson can be differentiated for all different

grade levels by choosing easier or more difficult Mad-lib stories. Also, for
students who have trouble identifying parts of speech such as nouns or
adjectives, they can be given a completed copy for the first version of the
Mad-lib. They can be provided with a story that already has the blanks filled
in, but still does not make sense, so they can still read the story aloud and
see how the words chosen do not make sense, and then choose correct
words using context clues for the second version of the story.

Assessment:
Formative Assessment: As a formative assessment, students will be
assessed throughout the lesson by asking them questions about their stories.
Does the story make sense? Why or why not? How would you change the
story to make sense? What context clues did you use to come up with the
word you chose for the blank in this sentence?
Summative Assessment: Students will be assessed on their second
version of the Mad-lib to see if they filled in the story with words that make
sense. Students will also be assessed on their ability to accurately identify
which context clues they used to fill in the missing word. Students will be
assessed as they verbally read their second story aloud, to check for
comprehension and ability to create a cohesive story that makes sense.

Lesson 5: Vocabulary in Context

Lesson Focus: The purpose of this lesson is for students to apply their
understanding of prefixes and suffixes to help them identify the meaning of
vocabulary words found in the novel they read in class called, Freak the
Mighty. This lesson is important because it connects the skill of using
prefixes and suffixes and understanding of the meanings of different prefixes
and suffixes to the curriculum. This lesson will encourage students to apply
what they know about prefixes and suffixes to help them define the meaning
of unknown vocabulary words.

Lesson Objective: Students will be able to apply their knowledge of

prefixes and suffixes to identify the meaning of unknown vocabulary words.

CCSS:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.3.D
Decode words with common prefixes and suffixes.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.7.4
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases
based on grade 7 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.7.4.A
Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a word's position or
function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.7.4.D
Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by
checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary).

Materials:
Dictionary
Vocabulary in Context worksheet (See APPENDIX 8)
List of words to define

Procedure/ Directions:
1. Lets talk a little bit about the novel weve been reading in class. What
is the novel called? (Freak the Mighty). Have students share
something they recall about the novel.
2. Now, what have we been studying and practicing for the past couple
of weeks? (Prefixes and Suffixes)
3. Today, we are going to begin mashing these two topics together!
4. Hand out a list of 10 words for students to define and a dictionary (one
to each student)
a. These words will be the root words ONLY of the 10 vocabulary
words that were used in the Curriculum based Pre-assessment
that used a prefix or suffix)
b. FOR EXAMPLE: A vocabulary word from Freak the Mighty from
the post-assessment was the word illiterate. That means that
the word on the definition sheet for students to define will be
LITERATE. Take away the prefix, il, so students are only
defining the root word literate.
5. Give students 12-15 minutes to define these ten words provided on
this list and then have students discuss aloud, the meaning for each of
these words.
6. Now that you know the meaning of each of these words, we are going
to apply these words to our novel!
7. Give each student a Vocabulary in Context worksheet (See APPENDIX
8).
8. Ask a student to read the directions aloud.
9. Now you will use what youve learned about prefixes and suffixes to
define the meaning of each of these ten vocabulary words from Freak
the Mighty. You will first identify the prefix or suffix in the word
provided, then recall the meaning of that prefix or suffix; finally, you
will provide what you think the meaning of the vocabulary word is!
10. Give students 12-15 minutes to complete this worksheet and
then go over each question with students.
a. Questions to ask: Does the word use a prefix or suffix? What is
the meaning of the prefix or suffix that you identified? What do
you think the vocabulary word means?
Differentiation/ Grouping: Students can use an online dictionary rather
than a print dictionary if they work more efficiently on the computer. For
lower level students, you can provide them with the 10 definitions for the 10
root words and then review each word and the definition before they move to
their Vocabulary in Context worksheet.

Assessment:
Formative Assessment: Students will be formatively assessed based on
questions at the beginning of the lesson where they recall what a prefix and
a suffix are.
Summative Assessment: Students will be assessed at the end of the
lesson, based on their ability to answer the 10 questions and define the ten
vocabulary words. Students will provide their answers verbally and also hand
in their worksheets to be read and assessed. Students will be assessed on
their ability to differentiate between prefix and suffix, identify a prefix or
suffix in a word, provide the meaning of the prefix or suffix, and then apply
this knowledge to provide the meaning of unknown vocabulary words.

Assessment/ Post-Assessment:
The summative post-assessment for this study was a combination of
the first two pre-assessments that my students completed (See APPENDIX 9).
I decided to use the same Curriculum Based Assessment on Freak the Mighty
that I used for the pre-assessment but this time, I only included the 10 words
that used prefix and suffix that we had been studying, rather than all 13. I
also used the first Vocabulary Acquisition pre-assessment that I gave my
students in March. I pulled the Part 3: Prefix and Suffix section of the pre-
assessment and included it in my final post-assessment. This was the
original pre-assessment that both students initially scored 0% because they
did not attempt or complete any of the 17 questions for prefix and suffix.
This post-assessment was now a combined assessment that included the
general knowledge and application of prefix and suffix and a Curriculum
Based Assessment that included Freak the Mighty vocabulary words. Out of
the 10 Freak the Mighty vocabulary definitions, Sam scored a 9 out of 10,
90%, and scored a 19 out of 19, 100%, on the Part 3: Prefix and Suffix
section of the post-assessment, giving him a total score of 96% on his post-
assessment. Ved scored 10 out of 10, and a 19 out of 19 on his post-
assessment, giving him a total 100% for the post-assessment. This showed
that both students were able to meet the instructional objectives, by
recalling and applying what they learned about prefix and suffix to overall
sentences and then to vocabulary in context of the novel. Both students
were given 50 minutes to complete the post-assessment, and both students
completed the assessment in the allotted time-frame: Ved in 42 minutes and
Sam in 48 minutes using the assistive ear muffs and visual blocker around
his desk; both meeting the behavioral objective of the study.
 As stated above, the objectives of these lessons were for Ved and Sam
to be able to identify the purpose of a prefix and suffix (to change the
meaning of a root word); identify the meaning of multiple prefixes and
suffixes and apply their understanding of prefix and suffix to identify
meaning of unknown words; identify the meaning of multiple prefixes and
suffixes, identify whether a word uses a prefix or suffix; and use context
clues to identify the meaning of unknown words. Throughout this study, I
used several forms of formative and summative assessment, as well as a
combination of verbal and written assessment. These strategies helped me
to plan what lesson I was going to implement next and what would be the
main focus of the next lesson moving forward. Verbal communication was
definitely a successful strategy for Sam, because he was able to talk through
his ideas and discrepancies in order to get to the right answer. Because Ved
is classified as Communication Impaired, I knew that this would be more of a
struggle for him; however, I wanted to challenge him to work through his
answers verbally, so that he could practice arranging his thoughts into words
and actually speaking what he wants to say rather than only writing it. I
found this effective, because even though it took him more time to verbally
express himself, the constant repetition of him saying words over and over
again, helped him to hear how the words should sound and hear himself
saying them. I would also have him sing some of the words aloud. This was
actually very helpful because he was able to express the words in a different
tone and could hear the defining sounds in each of the words. Written
assessments helped me to gage where each student was on an individual
level and test their ability to identify words and meanings by reading a word
or a sentence and then decoding it. Because Sam has ADD and often gets
distracted, I wanted to implement a strategy for time management that
would allow him to meet the objective of completing a task or assignment
within a specified time span. During written assessment, I provided Sam with
Howard Leight Certified Ear Muffs (See APPENDIX 10) that completely drown
out the noise around him and provided him with a divider that would
surround his desk, so that he could not see the area around him, which
helped him to focus and promptly finish his work. Sam completed all
assignments in the allotted time frames, only needing additional time (6
minutes) to complete the first round of blank Mad-libs. I believe that he took
additional time because he may have needed to jog his memory about some
of the different types of words, such as what a noun or adjective is, since
that is what the mad-libs ask for. At some points during the lesson, he had to
ask for clarification on what some of the words mean. (Example: what kind of
word is an adjective? Answer: describing words that describes a noun).
My analysis on student learning based on lesson objectives and
completion of this study, is that differentiation is imperative when helping
students with disabilities achieve a goal or learn and apply a skill.
Throughout this study, I used many different strategies or instruction and
assessment, and implemented the use of technology. I feel that the
instruction and assessment throughout touched on all four learning styles:
visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile. Students watched videos that had
the words on the screen as well as a speaker saying the words, so students
were engaged in visual and auditory learning. They also used hands-on
activities that encouraged them to use their hands while accessing different
parts of their brains to physically put words together with index cards. The
mad-libs lesson was also a lesson that was outside-the-traditional-box of
learning, encouraging my students to have fun and get excited about the
lesson, which they responded very well to. Differentiation is necessary for
students to be able to internalize a skill or concept and really drive in the
material they are learning, because they access the content through
different modes of instruction.

Reflection on Impact on Student Learning

I believe that my students were positively impacted by this study
because their greatest needs are for one-on-one attention and assistance,
and this study allowed me to provide them with that valuable, extra
assistance and attention. Although there are only eight students in the class,
it is difficult for one teacher to have the time to assess every area of each
students reading and writing. I believe this study provided Ved and Sam the
opportunity to have individualized instruction, where they were not working
in a constricted time-frame. I believe that the biggest strength of this study
was my ability to differentiate instruction, by using a mix of both traditional
learning and technology, because this helped my students to stay engaged
in the study. My students really enjoyed the videos they watched and when I
asked them what they believed was the most helpful part of the study, Ved
replied that his favorite part was the mad-libs and the online games; Sam
replied that his favorite part was the online games and using the index
cards to play the matching game. This showed me that I am on the right
track when it comes to creating new and exciting ways of instruction
because my students were able to work in different environments and with
different forms of instruction.
I believe that in order to improve this assessment, I can choose larger
group of students for next time. In this case, I chose these two students
based on their low level reading group, but when there are more students,
the benefit could be larger group collaboration. I would also focus more on
student-student collaboration, because I feel that since this was my first
study, I wanted to keep instruction as individualized as possible. Next time, I
want to focus on more student-to student collaboration, and come up with
games and engaging activities where students work together, rather than
only with a computer, the teacher, or individually. I feel I learned a lot about
differentiating instruction and how I can teach the same thing through
different modes of learning. I also think that one of the most valuable
components of this instruction was the oral language carried through the
lessons. Encouraging my students to speak their answers and asking them
verbal questions that they verbally responded to, helped them to talk
through the problems they were facing and hear how different words sound
when spoken aloud.

APPENDIX:

APPENDIX 1:
APPENDIX 2:

APPENDIX 3:
APPENDIX 4:
APPENDIX 5:
APPENDIX 6:
APPENDIX 7:
APPENDIX 8:

APPENDIX 9:
APPENDIX 10: