Reading Skills Lesson Plan: Using Word Parts to
Infer Meaning
Student Resource: "Jump
for Center," by Barbara O. Webb
Media Type: Short Story
Objectives:
After completing this lesson, students will be able to:
- Discuss measures of skills-related fitness and identify physical activities
and sports that make use of them.
- Identify rules of effective communication and explain the importance of using
them in social situations.
- Apply the reading skill of using word parts to infer meaning to a story about
developing sports skills.
Introducing the Lesson
Challenge students to identify the greatest living shortstop in baseball and
to defend their answers with hard data. Allow a moment or two for discussion,
which may be quite animated. Elicit through the discussion that one measure of
a great defensive shortstop is range-the ability to cover a lot of ground when
fielding a ball. Reveal that range is in turn a function of several measures of
skills-related fitness, in particular agility, the ability to move quickly and
gracefully.
Invite students who participated in the discussion to come to the front of
the class to settle another dispute. Ask them to name the greatest living ballet
dancer and to defend their answers with hard data. If students are unable to name
and/or discuss dancers, point out that playing shortstop and ballet dancing actually
have much in common. Note that these dancers, like shortstops, need to be agile.
Explain, moreover, that the jobs of shortstop and ballet dancer require good balance
and good reaction time (the ability to respond rapidly to an event or other stimulus).
Teaching Strategies
On the board, write the phrase reaction time, which was mentioned in
the lesson introduction. Draw a downward-pointing arrow from the word reaction,
and write the three parts of the word: re + act + (t)ion. Ask students
what type of word part re- is (a prefix). Do the same with -(t)ion
(a suffix) and act (a root).
Explain that sometimes during reading an unfamiliar word comes up. Add that
breaking down the words and examining the word parts can sometimes construe the
meaning of such words. Point again to the word parts of reaction, and ask
what re- means ("again"). Elicit that -(t)ion is a suffix
that signals a noun. Note that by breaking down a word in this fashion, students
can often arrive at its meaning without having to stop and consult a dictionary.
Tell students to be on the lookout in the story they are about to read for words
that may be unfamiliar. Encourage them to write down these words and their definitions
for future reference.
After students have completed the reading, you may either use the following
as class discussion questions or assign them as individual or group work.
Follow Up
- Summarizing. What problem is Pete confronted with at the beginning
of the story? Does he manage to resolve this problem by the end of the story?
Explain.
- Synthesizing. What skills-related fitness measures do Pete's sport
and Larry's chosen activity have in common? Explain how the sport and activity
each makes use of these measures. What other sports or activities can you name
that make use of these measures?
- Making Inferences. Find each of the following words in the story. Based
on the word parts, tell what each word means. Explain your answers. Then check
your hunches by looking up the words in a good dictionary.
a. Retorted
b. Petulantly
c. Arduously
d. Disconsolately
- Extending. In the story, Pete's attitude toward Larry and Larry's
interests changes. So does his understanding of what it takes to be a good center
in basketball. What lesson would you say Pete learns about people? What lesson
does he learn about choosing a sport or physical activity to pursue?
"Healthy" Word Parts
In your study of health, you will come across many words that may at first
be unfamiliar. Breaking down these words into their roots and affixes will go
far in helping you become a better health reader.
Each of the words below contains a root, plus at least one prefix or suffix.
Make four columns on a sheet of paper. Label one column Prefix, one Suffix,
one Root, and the fourth Word Meaning. Then break each word into
its parts, and use this information to infer a meaning. Hint: Some word
parts appear more than once. Use this information to help you form useful generalizations
about meaning. Write your meaning for that word in the fourth column, and check
your results in a good dictionary.
