Amanda Burton
6th Grade Lesson Plan
Unit of Study: Titanic
SOL: Students will meet the following 6th grade Language Arts SOLs:
6.1 The student will participate in and contribute to small-group activities.
a) Communicate as leader and contributor.
b) Evaluate own contributions to discussions.
c) Summarize and evaluate group activities.
d) Analyze the effectiveness of participant interactions.
6.4 The student will read and learn the meanings of unfamiliar words and phrases within authentic texts.
b) Use roots, cognates, affixes, synonyms, and antonyms to expand vocabulary.
e) Use word-reference materials.
f) Extend general and specialized vocabulary through speaking, listening, reading, and
writing.
6.6 The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of a variety of nonfiction texts.
b) Use prior knowledge and build additional background knowledge as context for new
learning.
c) Identify questions to be answered.
k) Identify cause and effect relationships.
l) Use reading strategies to monitor comprehension throughout the reading process.
Lesson 1: This lesson will consist of exploring prior knowledge, learning vocabulary, and
building background knowledge of the events that surrounded the sinking of the Titanic.
Time: 1 class period (63 minutes)
Skills & Knowledge Taught for the Lesson
1. Pupils will complete the K – Know and the W – What I Want to Learn sections of a
KWL.
2. Students will independently identify 2 vocabulary words that they think are vital to the
article or that they don’t understand. Along with identifying the vocabulary words,
students will provide a definition, synonyms, antonyms, other forms of the word, and 2-3
original sentences that contain the vocabulary word.
3. Readers will use dictionaries and thesauruses to identify meanings as well as synonyms
and antonyms.
Essential Vocabulary
6th Grade Bridges to Literature Book
“from The Titanic: Lost and Found”
1. Iceberg*
2. Drills*
3. Patrol*
4. Crows-nest*
5. Watertight*
6. Lifeboat**
7. Bitter**
*Key vocabulary identified by the textbook
**Potential vocabulary the students may
identify as either vital to the article or
confusing
7th Grade Language of Literature Book
“from Exploring the Titanic”
1. Eerie*
2. Prophecy*
3. Accommodations*
4. Tribute*
5. Dazzled*
6. Palace**
7. Maiden Voyage**
8. Rudder**
9. Astounding**
10. Rivet**
*Key vocabulary identified by the textbook
**Potential vocabulary the students may
identify as either vital to the article or
confusing
Materials Needed:
 Anticipation Guide
 20 KWL Graphic Organizers
 1 copy of Kaspar the Titanic Cat by Michael Morpurgo
 20 Vocabulary Graphic Organizers
 80 Post-Its
 10 Thesauruses
 10 Dictionaries
 15 6th Grade Bridges to Literature Books
 5 7th Grade Language of Literature Books
 2 Computers with Internet Access
 1 Smart Board
Strategies & Technology
 Students will utilize a KWL
 Students will use a Post-It Vocabulary Graphic Organizer to organize key vocabulary
(definition, synonyms, antonyms, forms of the word, and original sentences will be
utilized)
 Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary and Thesaurus http://www.wordcentral.com/
Scaffolding
Prior to this lesson, students were introduced to the KWL. Additionally, the students have also
had practice using traditional dictionaries and thesauruses. The school librarian had also
introduced the pupils to several online dictionaries and thesauruses.
Lesson One Daily Plan
1. Students will either agree or disagree with the following questions in an anticipation
guide: A. The Titanic was a massive ship that sank in the early 1900’s. B. The Titanic
had more survivors than victims. C. Some people saved their pets rather than their
fellow passengers. D. The look-outs did not have access to binoculars. E. The radio
operator used proper procedures for that time period. (Whole Class, 3 minutes)
2. Read aloud Kaspar the Titanic Cat (Whole Class, 10 minutes)
3. Students will complete the “K” and the “W” portions of the KWL. Before students
begin, they will be reminded of the importance/reason for recording their prior
knowledge and developing question about what they would like to discover. (Whole
Class, 7 minutes)
4. Students will be encouraged to volunteer the information they recorded thus far in their
KWL. (Whole Class, 5 minutes)
5. Students will be introduced to the Post-It Vocabulary Strategy. During this time, I will
model how to properly use the Post-Its, the graphic organizer, and use the online
dictionary and thesaurus to demonstrate how to locate definitions, synonyms, and
antonyms. I will demonstrate 2 words from the read aloud. (Whole Class, 15 minutes)
6. Students will get into their preassigned small groups (groups were determined based on
reading level); students reading the 6th grade Bridges to Literature book read on a 1- 5
grade reading level; students reading on a 6th grade level or higher will be reading the 7th
grade Language of Literature book. Directions for reading and completing the Post-It
Vocabulary Strategy will be provided. At this time, small groups of students will be
monitored/assisted as needed by myself or my co-teacher. (Small Groups, 1 minute)
7. Students reading the Bridges to Literature book will be assigned to read the entire article.
A select few will have the article read aloud to them while they follow along. Following
the reading, students will begin using the Post-It vocabulary strategy. Pupils reading the
Language of Literature book will be assigned to read the first 3 pages of the article.
Following their assigned reading, they will begin using the vocabulary strategy. (Small
Groups, 20 minutes)
8. For the concluding activity, students will record what they learned in the “L” section of
their KWL. This will be considered their exit ticket. (Independent Practice, 2 minutes)
Formative Assessment:
 Responses to the anticipation guide
 Students sharing their knowledge (or what they think they know) about the Titanic
 Working with students during their vocabulary activity
Lesson One Reflection:
As I reflect upon this particular lesson, I have to smile! Every student seemed to
approach the reading/lesson with confidence, which is not something that I experience every
day. I had to remind my students multiple times that when they think about the Titanic, they
can’t think about the Hollywood version of the movie, but they have to think about actual
history. Unfortunately, I still had one student at the end of the lesson ask me about Jack and
Rose!
The students seemed to enjoy the vocabulary lesson; and I enjoyed watching them help
one another! Unfortunately, many of the students kept pulling vocabulary out of the text that did
not match up with the activity. For instance, the students kept trying to use proper nouns
(“Titanic” and names of the crew and passengers). The students had difficulty understanding
how they pulled a vital word from the article, yet it would not qualify for our Post-It wall. All in
all, the vocabulary strategy kept them engaged and they seemed to appreciate the opportunity to
get up and move about the classroom. I did not have enough student computers for everyone to
practice using the online tools, but I will definitely utilize this resource again in the future.
In conclusion, this was an exciting lesson, and I look forward to reusing many of the
strategies that were mentioned!