Characters and Settings

Building academic language

Word

• Tell students they will first learn some key words to help them succeed in this lesson.
• Display a copy of a blank glossary on the document camera. Model how you fill out the glossary template with one of the vocabulary words, such as noun, providing a student-friendly definition and image to go with it. If applicable, look up the meaning in students' home language to add to the glossary.
• Go over the meaning of the other five vocabulary words in the lesson orally.
• Distribute blank copies of the glossary to each student. Pair up students and have them complete the glossaries for the key words. In the blank column on the right, tell students to write examples of the word.
• Review student definitions, images, and examples as a whole class after the activity so students may confirm or modify their answers if necessary.

Sentence

• Tell students that today they will practice identifying adjectives in noun phrases as well as choosing adjectives to form noun phrases.
• Hand out the Adjectives in Noun Phrases worksheet to students and display a copy on the document camera. Invite a few students to volunteer to read the teaching box and examples at the top of the worksheet.
• Point out that the importance of noun phrases in fictional texts is to help the reader have a deeper understanding and picture in their head of the characters and settings in the story. For effect, read the example sentences with only the nouns (remove the adjectives) and ask students to consider the difference in the sentences (e.g., "The boy swam across the river," vs. "The little boy swam across the wide river."). Guide students to conclude that the sentence with adjectives is more detailed and specific.
• Read the directions aloud and demonstrate how to identify the noun phrase(s) in the first sentence.
• Instruct students to complete the rest of the first part independently and then check their answers in a small group.
• Repeat this process with the second section of the worksheet (i.e., explain, model, assign, check).

Discourse

• Tell students that noun phrases are often used to describe the characters or setting of a story. Have students refer to their glossary if they are unsure of the meaning of these words.
• Inform learners that they will practice finding noun phrases in two fictional short stories and determine whether the noun phrase refers to a character or a setting.
• Distribute a green and red colored pencil (any other colors will work too) and a copy of the Characters and Settings in Noun Phrases worksheet to each student.
• Read aloud the information at the top of the worksheet and clarify any terms if necessary.
• Read the sample paragraph in the teaching box and emphasize the noun phrases underlined.
• Model your thinking aloud as you distinguish between noun phrases for describing characters vs. those used for describing settings.
• Put students in partnerships, and assign them the task of circling the noun phrases in the two short stories together. Tell them to read the text with their partner and then by themselves for a second read. Remind them to circle the noun phrase in red if it describes a character and in green if it describes a setting.