Maniac Magee Minilesson

Topic: Understanding Vocabulary

Grade: 3rd Grade

Time: 30 minutes

1. Introduce the Topic:

Explain to the students that in order to understand what we are reading we have to have an understanding of the words. Sometimes the unknown words can be huge clues to what is happening in the text.

2. Share Examples:

Give the students an example from the first two sections of the book. Some examples are:

● Pg. 25, pandemonium. “Pandemonium on the sidelines. It was raining red and green hats.” Tell the students that: “From the text ‘it was raining red and green hats’ I think that the word has something to do with excitement because when I graduated we threw our hats in the air. Also, in movies sometimes kids through their hats in the air after they win a baseball game. “

● Pg. 55, juked. “They found he could do more with a football than catch it. He could run like a squirrel. He juked and jived and spun and danced and darted, and he left them squeezing handfuls of air.” Tell the students that: “When I watch football players score a touchdown, I see them dance. Because of this, I think that the word juked has to do with the dance players do after a touchdown. Also, I know that juke, as in jukebox, has to do with music. Many people dance with listening to music.”

3. Provide Information:

Next, explain to the students we do not always have the proper old knowledge to know what a word means. However, someone else may. Explain to the students that it may be more helpful to ask someone else for help while reading than it is to look in a dictionary.

4. Guide Practice:

Write the following words on the board (do not include the stuff that is in parenthesis):

● Solitary (p. 121)

● Satchel (p. 121)

● Succession (p.125)

● Rasped (p.126)

● Bellowing (p.128)

● Lambasting (p.129)

● Mongrel (p.131)

● Relieved (p.131)

● Carrion (p. 132)

● Flinches (p. 134)

Tell the students to write down the words and then what page numbers they find the words on as I read allowed. After chapters 33 through 35 have been read, conduct a think-write-pair-share, with all pairings sharine, using the vocabulary words as the focus of conversation. If the whole class develops misconceptions about the words, correct them at the end.

5. Assess Learning:

Use the students “writing” step to see where the students stand at understanding the text on their own. Then use the share portion to see what improvements have been made thanks to the pairing activity.