Lesson Plan: Expanding Vocabulary through Context

Level: Intermediate
Time: 60 minutes
Focus: Vocabulary, Reading, Speaking
Skills: Understanding words in context, word families, using new vocabulary in sentences

Objectives:

1. Students will learn new vocabulary by identifying words in context.
2. Students will understand word families and use new vocabulary in sentences.
3. Students will practice speaking and writing with new vocabulary.

Materials:

• Short reading passage (appropriate for level)
• Whiteboard or projector
• Word cards or flashcards
• Vocabulary worksheet
• Student notebooks

Warm-up (10 minutes):

1. Introduce Vocabulary in Context:

   • Ask students if they know how to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words in a text.
   • Explain that using the context around the word can help them understand new vocabulary without looking it up immediately.

2. Elicit Examples:

   • Provide an example sentence on the board with an unfamiliar word:
     • “The weather today is frigid, and I had to wear two coats just to stay warm.”
   • Ask students what they think “frigid” means based on the context.
   • Explain that context clues (such as “wear two coats” and “stay warm”) help define new words.

Presentation (15 minutes):

1. Teach Vocabulary Using a Reading Passage:

   • Provide students with a short reading passage (3–5 paragraphs) that includes new vocabulary words. Highlight the words.
   • Example words: "delighted," "hesitant," "eager," "immense," "curious."

2. Contextual Analysis:

   • Read the passage together as a class.
   • For each highlighted word, ask students to guess its meaning based on the surrounding sentences. Write their guesses on the board.

3. Confirm Definitions:

   • After they guess, provide the correct definition for each word.
   • Discuss any other possible meanings the word might have, and use examples from real-life situations.

Guided Practice (15 minutes):

1. Vocabulary Word Families:

   • Show students how to form word families from the vocabulary words. For example:
     • "Delighted" (adjective) → "Delight" (noun) → "Delightfully" (adverb)
     • "Hesitant" (adjective) → "Hesitation" (noun) → "Hesitate" (verb)
   • Write a few examples on the board and ask students to create sentences using different forms of the words.

2. Matching Activity:

   • Distribute a worksheet where students match the new vocabulary words with their definitions or synonyms.

Activity: Vocabulary in Sentences (15 minutes):

1. Writing Practice:

   • Ask students to choose five of the new vocabulary words and write original sentences.
   • Encourage them to use the context clues from the earlier reading passage as a model for how to use these words correctly.

2. Peer Review:

   • Once finished, students can exchange their sentences with a partner. Partners should check that the sentences make sense and that the vocabulary is used correctly.

Speaking Practice (10 minutes):

1. Role-play Using New Vocabulary:
   • Divide students into pairs. Assign them a scenario (e.g., planning a trip, discussing a movie, etc.) where they must use the new vocabulary words in conversation.
   • For example, if one of the words is "eager," they could say, "I’m eager to start our vacation!"
2. Class Feedback:
   • After the role-plays, have a few pairs share their conversations with the class. Provide feedback on how well they incorporated the new vocabulary.

Wrap-up (5 minutes):

1. Review Vocabulary:
   • Review each new vocabulary word one more time. Ask students to provide a sentence using each word.
2. Reflection:
   • Ask students: What strategies did you use to figure out the meaning of unfamiliar words? How can you continue building your vocabulary outside of class?

Homework (Optional):

1. Vocabulary Journal:
   • Ask students to keep a vocabulary journal where they write down any new words they encounter in their reading or daily life. For each word, they should include:
     • A sentence using the word in context.
     • Its part of speech (noun, verb, etc.).
     • Any related words (synonyms, antonyms, word family).

Assessment: