Book Club Curriculum Project
Name(s): Stacy Cook and Schimica J. Gauldin
Book: Project Mulberry
Title of Activity: Chapter One Vocabulary Book
Language Objective:

Students will practice written language by recording vocabulary definitions in the sentence
form, “(Vocabulary word) is...”

Students will use oral language to communicate ideas and directions to another student to
create their vocabulary book.

Students will use written language to record their understanding of a vocabulary word by using
it in an original sentence.

Students will practice saying the vocabulary words to each other in order to prepare to say them
in class or in order to build their vocabulary.

Content Objective:

Students will create a book using vocabulary terms from Chapter 1 of Project Mulberry through
the use of the website storybird.com.

Students will use their own words and understandings to write definitions of four words from
the vocabulary list for Chapter One.

Students will use their new knowledge of vocabulary words to help their understanding when
reading Chapter One.

Students will create a picture to help identify the vocabulary words in order to help students
that are not as familiar with the particular word.
Please identify the pedagogical, linguistic, or literacy principles that ground your project. (These
principles should come from course materials.) In one or two sentences, explain the principle and
provide a reference from course materials.

We are following one of the five commitments in practice for ELLs. They have to be active
participants in their education. ELLs should be able to pronounce the vocabulary words for their
unit and create or identify a picture that matches the vocabulary word because then they are
demonstrating their understanding of the language and the content. Plus, this activity becomes
informal assessment that will allow us to see how well they understand the vocabulary in the
book. (Faltis and Coutlter, 2008, p.37)

By working in partnerships, students are working on many aspects of language (writing,
listening, viewing, speaking). “When students are talking ot one another, they also have a
chance to take turns listening to one another and thus to tie in several language abilities at
once...The result is greater participation in multiple academic language uses, with students
trying on new and varying identities as language users and academic learners” (Faltis, 2006, p.
97-98).
Please describe in detail how you envision the activity to be carried out. You can write this as a
bulleted list or in a paragraph. The goal is to make the directions sufficiently clear that a reader could
imagine and carry out the activity. If it’s not obvious, also explain how your artifact fits in.

Show students pictures of cucumbers. Ask students to share what types of foods cucumbers can
be made into or different ways to eat cucumbers.

After hearing ideas, share with students that cucumbers are also made into pickles, if it is not
already stated by a student.

Show students pictures of cabbage. Ask students to share what this food might be, how it can
be eaten, and other foods that may be made from cabbage.

After listening to student's ideas, share that cabbage is the leaf and stem part of the Brassica
oleracea capitata plant. Cabbage can be eaten raw or cooked. Allow students to sample
cabbage.

Write the word kimchee on the board and ask students to brainstorm what they think this word
means.

Have students write a paragraph about a time when they ate pickles or cabbage. Remind them
pickles are made into relish and relish is great on hot dogs. Give them a sentence stem if
possible: I remember when I ate a hot dog with ketchup, mustard, and relish at the family cook
out.

Listen to students' ideas before sharing that cabbage can be made into a Korean dish called
kimchee. Kimchee is made by adding many spices to cabbage. Many Korean people eat
kimchee on a daily basis.

Ask the students about other dishes that have cabbage in them. Spring rolls, egg rolls, and
stuffed cabbage are popular dishes. (I don’t think if this helps or hurts)

Transition into Project Mulberry by sharing that we are going to begin reading a book about a
girl who is Korean and does not like to eat kimchee. Just like the word “kimchee” there are
other words in this book that we do not know the meaning of. To help us prepare to read the
book, students need to first learn and show they know the meaning of new vocabulary words
that we will read in the first chapter of Project Mulberry.

Present students with the attached list of vocabulary words. Ask if they have heard of any of
these words before. If so, when and in what settings. Does thinking of these words bring back
good or bad memories? Then have the students predict what the word means and why they
think that, before sharing the actual definition for them to record in their own words.

Show “Chapter One Vocabulary Book” made from storybird.com while explaining to students
their assignment. With a partner, choose five vocabulary words to define, illustrate, and use in
an original sentence in a vocabulary book.

Use the model, “Chapter One Vocabulary Book” to demonstrate features of using the sentence
structure, “(Vocabulary word)...” and other features that students should include based on the
rubric.

Allow students to work on their vocabulary books and collaborate on ideas, recording
definitions, and using appropriate illustrations.

When students are finished with their books, have them publish them on the website and look
at other group's books to learn the meaning of other vocabulary words in the book.

Afterwards, ask students to predict what might happen in the first chapter of Project Mulberry
that uses these vocabulary words.

Read the first chapter of Project Mulberry.
Chapter One Vocabulary List for Project Mulberry
Write in the definition for each of the following words.
1. reptile
2. community
3. kimchee
4. Korean
5. animal husbandry
6. wifery
7. DNA
8. gardening
9. exhibit
10. cabbage
Multimedia Project : Project Mulberry Vocabulary Book
CATEGORY
Attractiveness
4
3
2
1
Makes excellent use
of font, color,
graphics, effects, etc.
to enhance the
presentation.
Makes good use of
font, color, graphics,
effects, etc. to
enhance to
presentation.
Makes use of font,
color, graphics,
effects, etc. but
occasionally these
detract from the
presentation content.
Use of font, color,
graphics, effects etc.
but these often
distract from the
presentaion content.
Mechanics
No misspellings or
grammatical errors.
Three or fewer
misspellings and/or
mechanical errors.
Four misspellings
and/or grammatical
errors.
More than 4 errors in
spelling or grammar.
Organization
Content is well
organized using
headings or bulleted
lists to group related
material.
Uses headings or
bulleted lists to
organize, but the
overall organization
of topics appears
flawed.
Content is logically
organized for the
most part.
There was no clear or
logical organizational
structure, just lots of
facts.
Originality
Product shows a
large amount of
original thought.
Ideas are creative
and inventive.
Product shows some
original thought.
Work shows new
ideas and insights.
Uses other people's
ideas (giving them
credit), but there is
little evidence of
original thinking.
Uses other people's
ideas, but does not
give them credit.