Focus Calendar: Weeks Comparison FCAT Testing Cluster 1 Strand A LA.A.1.2.3: Grades 3, 4, and 5 Standard 1 – The student uses the reading process effectively.

Clarifying the FCAT Benchmarks Grade 3, 4, and 5 Benchmark- LA.A Uses simple strategies to determine meaning and increase vocabulary for reading, including the use of prefixes, suffixes, root words, multiple meanings, antonyms, synonyms, and word relationships.

What Does It Look Like on FCAT? 3 rd Grade Item Type – Multiple Choice Passage Attributes: Passages may be literary text or informational text. Other stimuli could include, but should not be limited to, illustrations graphics, and charts with captions. Passages must contain a word or phrase unfamiliar to most third-grade students, and sufficient context must be present to enable students to infer the meaning of the word or phrase. Passages must contain appropriate words to assess knowledge of prefixes, suffixes, root words, multiplemeanings, antonyms, synonyms, homophones, compound words,and contractions.

What Does It Look Like on FCAT? 3 rd Grade Item Type – Multiple Choice Response Attributes: Items assessing antonyms should not include synonyms as distractors; similarly, items assessing synonyms should not include antonyms as distractors. 3rd: Distractors may include, but are not limited to, the following: incorrect meanings of words or phrases, correct meanings of words or phrases that do not fit the context, words with construct similar to correct response (e.g. same prefix), incorrect interpretations of contractions.

What Does It Look Like on FCAT? 4 th Grade Item Type – Multiple Choice Passage Attributes: Passages may be literary text or informational text. Other stimuli could include, but should not be limited to, illustrations graphics, and charts with captions. Passages must contain a word or phrase unfamiliar to most fourth-grade students, and sufficient context must be present to enable students to infer the meaning of the word or phrase. Passages must contain appropriate words to assess knowledge of prefixes, suffixes, root words, multiple meanings, antonyms, synonyms, homophones.

What Does It Look Like on FCAT? 4 th Grade Item Type – Multiple Choice Response Attributes: Items assessing antonyms should not include synonyms as distractors; similarly, items assessing synonyms should not include antonyms as distractors. 4th: Distractors may include, but are not limited to, the following: incorrect meanings of words or phrases, correct meanings of words or phrases that do not fit the context, words with construct similar to correct response (e.g. same prefix).

What Does It Look Like on FCAT? 5 th Grade Item Type – Multiple Choice Passage Attributes: Passages may be literary text or informational text. Other stimuli could include, but should not be limited to, illustrations graphics, and charts with captions. Passages must contain a word or phrase unfamiliar to most fifth- grade students, and sufficient context must be present to enable students to infer the meaning of the word or phrase. Passages must contain appropriate words to assess knowledge of prefixes, suffixes, root words, multiple meanings, antonyms, synonyms, homonyms, homophones, and word orgins.

What Does It Look Like on FCAT? 5 th Grade Item Type – Multiple Choice Response Attributes: Items assessing antonyms should not include synonyms as distractors; similarly, items assessing synonyms should not include antonyms as distractors. 5th: Distractors may include, but are not limited to, the following: incorrect meanings of words or phrases, correct meanings of words or phrases that do not fit the context, words with construct similar to correct response (e.g. same prefix), plausible but incorrect responses based on the text.

Key Question Phrases The word ____ probably means… ___ is a kind of _____ ___is a synonym for… ___means the opposite of…

Sample Question Which word measn the OPPOSITE of loosen? A. shorten B. soften C. tighten D. weaken

Strategies for Teaching Synonyms and Antonyms Venn Diagram hot cold freezing chilly icy frigid frosty sultry burning scourging stifling boiling sizzling

Strategies for Teaching Synonyms and Antonyms Semantic Map cold frigid frosty icy freezing chilly glacial reserved aloof

Strategies for Teaching Synonyms and Antonyms Semantic Map cold frigid frosty Synonyms freezing Antonyms sizzling hot sultry People who do this or who are this SandyDana

Strategies for Teaching Synonyms and Antonyms Word Sorts coldchilly sultry sizzling burning frosty Hot Cold cold sultry

Substitute a Synonym Substitute a synonym is a strategy that will help you figure out words you don’t know. A snowy owl named Hedwig delivers Harry Potter’s mail.

1.Mine your memory and try to think of the word. Have you seen it in a book or heard the word before? 2.Try to picture the word in the sentence. Imagine Hedwig flying into the room and dropping an envelope in Harry’s hands. 3.Think of other words that mean the same thing. (delivers: gives, brings) 4.Substitute a synonym in the sentence. A snowy owl named Hedwig brings Harry Potter’s mail. 5.Check! Does the synonym make sense in the sentence? If it makes sense, you can continue reading. If not, try again. Yes, the synonym makes sense.

Sophisticated Synonyms Complete the sentences by choosing the correct word from the following : clothes costume dress uniforms outfit garment garb The soldiers were wearing old khaki ___ covered with dust. At the New Year’s Eve party, Chris won the first prize for best ___. Clarissa looked nice in her pretty summer ___.

Time for reading. Use of varied, rich text. Opportunities for students to hear or use words in natural sentence contexts. Use of concrete contexts when possible (pictures, artifacts). Opportunities for students to use words in meaningful ways. Increase Developing Effective Practices in Vocabulary Instruction

Opportunities for students to connect new words/concepts to those already known. Study of concepts rather than single, unrelated words. Explicit concept instruction and incidental encounters with words. Teaching strategies leading to independent word learning. Finding the word or concept that will have the biggest impact on comprehension rather than “covering” many words superficially. (Tier 2 Words) Opportunities for inference. Developing Effective Practices in Vocabulary Instruction Increase

Looking up definitions as a single source of word knowledge. Asking students to write sentences for new words before they’ve studied the word in depth. Notion that all words in a text need to be defined for comprehension. Using context as a highly reliable tool for increasing comprehension. Assessments that ask students for single definitions. Developing Effective Practices in Vocabulary Instruction Decrease