Lesson 3: Idioms
- Learning Goal
- Identify and describe the meaning of an idiom.
- Approximately 50 minutes
- Necessary Materials
Provided: Example Chart for Guided Practice, Independent Practice Worksheet
Not Provided: More Parts by Tedd Arnold, chart paper, markers
will explain the meaning of idiom (a phrase that has a different meaning from the actual words used). I will explain that idioms are another example of figurative language. I will give two examples of idioms and explain their real meanings. (Examples: “You’re the apple of my eye.” “Get out of the wrong side of bed.”) For example, a mother may say to her child: “You’re the apple of my eye.” That does not really mean that her child is an apple and in her eye. It instead means that her child is very important to her and she loves him/her very much. This is an example of an idiom. Sometimes, you may read a phrase in a book that is an idiom that doesn’t make sense to you, such as “rub me the wrong way.” Even if you’ve never heard this saying before, you could understand the meaning by thinking about the idiom. If someone rubs you the wrong way, they are probably hurting or annoying you. So even though you’ve never heard that idiom before, you understand what the text is trying to tell the reader.
Ask: How did I determine the meaning of the idiom "rub me the wrong way"? Students should respond that you visualized what it would be like if someone rubbed you the wrong way and then thought about the actual meaning in the text.
will read the first half of More Parts by Tedd Arnold aloud and chart idioms and their meanings from the first half of the book. (Guided Practice Example Chart is provided in Teacher and Student Materials below.) For example, in the book, the boy’s mom says “I bet that broke your heart.” The boy thinks she means that his heart will actually break inside his body. But his mother actually means that something probably made him sad. “Broke your heart” is an example of an idiom.
TIP: While students are listening to More Parts, you may want to have them raise their hands when they hear an idiom. This will help focus the read aloud.
will listen to the second half of More Parts, identify two idioms and write down their real meanings. (Student Independent Practice is provided below.)
TIP: Provide students with a visual reference during the Independent Practice. You may want to copy, chart, or display the rest of the story on an overhead projector.
Build Student Vocabulary stretch
|Tier 2 Word: stretch|
|Contextualize the word as it is used in the story||The teacher told the students to stretch their arms and legs before going out to play.|
|Explain the meaning student-friendly definition)||Stretch means to make longer. When the students stretch in More Parts, they reach out their arms and legs as far as they can so that the muscles loosen up.|
|Students repeat the word||Say the word stretch with me: stretch.|
|Teacher gives examples of the word in other contexts||When someone stretches a rubber band, the rubber band is pulled so that it becomes longer. Sometimes, stretching a rubber band causes it to snap or break. Sometimes a sweater gets stretched in the wash, and the sleeves become much too long.|
|Students provide examples||Tell me about other things that can be stretched. Start by saying, “You can stretch _____________.”|
|Students repeat the word again.||What word are we talking about? stretch|
|Additional Vocabulary Words||bizarre, upset|
Pause while reading page 5. Explain to students that the hearts inside of our bodies are not mechanical, with screws and coils. They do not even look like the hearts we are used to drawing on our notebooks or seeing on Valentine's day. A real heart is about the size of a fist. It looks like red meat because it pumps blood to the rest of your body.
Texts & Materials
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