35 Using Theme Words

Page
168
from
Write One Student Handbook

Start-Up Activity

Pages 168–187 contain word list that cover the following themes:

Days of the Week
Months of the Year
Seasons and Weather
Numbers and Colors
Places
Parks
Plants
Food
Animals
Five Senses

Prepare activities and games to help students become familiar with these word lists. Here are two examples for Days of the Week:

Divide the class into seven groups. Give each group a large sheet of paper with a day of the week written at the top. Instruct students to think of things that they do on each day. Have one student in each group write down the ideas on the piece of paper. Later, have the groups share their lists.
Make sets of flash cards of the seven days of the week. Divide the class into groups of seven. Distribute a card from one set to each student within a group and have them hold up their cards. Then tell the card holders to put themselves in the proper order, beginning with Sunday.

Enrichment Activity: Have students write stories and poems using some of the words from the following themes: weather (page 173), places (pages 176–177), parks (pages 178–179), and/or animals (pages 184–185).

Think About It

“Some words are short and some words are long, but they all are important.”

State Standards Covered in This Chapter

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3

168-187

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.4

168-187

LAFS Covered in This Chapter

LAFS.1.RF.3.3

168-187

LAFS.1.RF.4.4

168-187

TEKS Covered in This Chapter

Page 168-187 from Write One Student Handbook

Lesson Plan

The theme words listed in this section are related to science and social studies topics. The topics—animals, plants, calendars, food, the senses, numbers and colors, weather, and places—are common themes studied by young children. When they read, write, and speak about these topics, children need to have a command of the words and the concepts related to them. These theme-word pages can help to launch the students into their study of specific topics and also serve as a ready reference tool along the way.

Classroom Applications

Familiarize your students with this section of theme words and its delightful and informative illustrations. These pages can be used as a source of new words to read and write, as a place to explore new concepts, or as a starting point for investigating a topic.
Introduce the section by having students page through it, stopping when they find something interesting. After they have done this, ask them to share some of their favorite findings.
Refer to this section anytime, especially when it relates to a unit the students are studying. Also refer individual students to lists that will help them with specific writing or reporting activities.

Learning with Theme Words

During a unit of study about weather, places, plants, food, animals, or the senses, use the appropriate pages in the handbook to motivate and build concept understanding. Also encourage your students to use these lists as a personal reference tool when they need to understand and write about various topics.
As the day, month, color, and number words come up so often in all school work, these lists will be especially useful reference points.
When children need help with dating their journal entries or friendly letters, send them to their handbooks.

State Standard Reference:

LAFS Standard:

LAFS.1.RF.3.3

TEKS Standard:

110.3.b.2.B

NE ELA Standard:

LA 1.1.3, LA 1.1.3.c