study skills highlighters middle grades informational text · middle grades informational text...

Middle Grades Informational Text

English Language Arts Standards » Reading: Informational Text » Grade 8

• Use Text to Speech Engine to allow for fluent comprehension. Students can note unknown words using Study Skills highlighters, then go back and use the Dictionary tool to clarify meaning.

• Scanning for Key Words after reading a passage: ~ Helps to build background knowledge about a topic~ Strengthens highest level of thinking skills – evaluation~ Makes students responsible for the learning~ Provides opportunity to reason with others as to why choices were made

~ Allows for students to hear words aloud multiple times



• Students build topic Background Knowledge while scanning for Key Vocabulary words that students determine will be important to the meaning.

• Using the Study Skills highlighters, have students choose the 5 most important words to know in pink and the second most important words in blue.

• Students can compare their lists in pairs or in small groups. Then students share out with the whole group, teacher serving as facilitator. Student or teacher can record responses. Teacher adds any words he/she believes are important that were omitted.

• Students return to their computers and make additions/changes with yellow. Then students will next be using the Vocabulary icon on the Study Skills toolbar.


Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

~Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to meaning of a word

• Students will return to their passage about Food Chains and Food Webs in which they have already highlighted the key words and phrases and discussed with fellow students. By clicking on the Vocabulary List Builder tool, students will build a vocabulary guide to be modified for use throughout the unit.

• Using the Dictionary tool as a way to introduce and explore affixes, root words, and their meaning, students are asked to use specific vocabulary from the Food Chain and Webs to learn word meaning through word attack skills

English Language Arts Standards » Language Standards - Grades 6 - 8



For optimum use of the Vocabulary List, change page layout to Landscape for the addition and/or movement of columns.

By adding the columns for the affix used, the meaning of the affix and an example to help students remember the meaning, the Vocabulary List can be customized by the teacher and student based on need.

Students can look up the affixes in the Web Dictionary in order to find the meaning and the definition then copy and pasted into the corresponding column.



Key Ideas and Details

R.8.3 Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories).


Having students write about their new understanding of vocabulary words and their means is the best way to give them opportunity to change what they are familiar with into a demonstration of what they now understand.For this to occur successfully, students need some writing support.

Ask students to use the following Sentence Frames to help :

A ______________ is a __________________ so it does not…

A ______________ is a __________________ which means …


Key Ideas and Details

R.8.3 Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories).


Sentence Frames

A ______________ is a __________________ so it does not…

A ______________ is a __________________ which means …

A rabbit is a herbivore so it does not eat meat.

A frog is a carnivore which means it only eats meat.

study skills highlighters middle grades informational text · middle grades informational text...

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