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Lesson Plan

Capturing the Clues

It’s time to get those magnifying glasses out! In this lesson, students will act as detectives, searching for clues about idioms. Who can find the clues that lead to the meanings of various idioms?
Need extra help for EL students? Try the Idiom Meanings and Context Clues pre-lesson.
Grade
Third Grade
Subject
Reading & Writing
English Learner
English Learner Content
View aligned standards
L.3.5.a
RL.3.4
Need extra help for EL students? Try the Idiom Meanings and Context Clues pre-lesson.

Learning Objectives

The students will be able to locate idioms within a text. The students will be able to use context clues to determine the meanings of various idioms.

The adjustment to the whole group lesson is a modification to differentiate for children who are English learners.
EL adjustments

Introduction

(10 minutes)
  • Distribute idiom “Mix it Up” cards, giving one card to each student.
  • Ask the students to find which cards go together to form a phrase.
  • Once students have finished finding their partners ask the students to discuss what they think it means.
  • Explain that the literal meaning of these phrases is different from the figurative use of these phrases.
  • Tell the students that the context is important and some phrases don’t have a literal meaning when we read them in a text.
  • Beginning: Have ELs tell a partner the definition of literal and figurative, either in English or their home language (L1).
  • Provide sentence stems as needed, such as: ** Literal means __________. ** Figurative means _________.
  • Intermediate: Choose basic, common idioms and intentionally partner students in the “Mix It Up” activity.
  • Give students a sticky note to write down notes about what they think their idiom means.