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English lesson plan · 5th grade (Year 6 in England) · 60 minutes

Positive or negative feeling? (thrifty or stingy)

Vocabulary

CCSS L.5.5.CCCSS L.7.5.CEngland: Y5/6 Vocabulary (word choice)England: Y5/6 Reading (language for effect)

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Positive or negative feeling? (thrifty or stingy).

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Synonyms or antonyms? Word pairs; Shades of meaning

Leads to: the next skill in this area.

Materials: Word cards, A thesaurus or dictionary, A short text with the target words, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 6 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Synonyms or antonyms? Word pairs; Shades of meaning). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. Are these words synonyms or antonyms? timid / bold (synonyms (similar meaning) / antonyms (opposite meaning)) → antonyms (opposite meaning)Prompt: Put each word in the same sentence. Does the meaning stay the same or flip?
  2. Which word is the WEAKEST (least strong)? damp, soaked, wet (damp / soaked / wet) → dampPrompt: These words mean nearly the same thing but some are stronger.
  3. Which word or phrase is a SYNONYM of "furious"? (pleased / sleepy / calm / very angry) → very angryPrompt: Think of a sentence with the word in it.

Hook · 6 min

  • Show an interesting word in a sentence and ask what it might mean from the clues around it.
  • Share the objective: Positive or negative feeling? (thrifty or stingy). Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 12 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Both words can mean "not giving up". Which one gives a more NEGATIVE feeling?
  • Step 1: Connotation is the feeling a word carries, on top of its dictionary meaning.
  • Step 2: The negative word makes the reader disapprove.
  • Step 3: So the answer is: stubborn
  • Answer: stubborn
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 12 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. Both words can mean "taking things easy". Which one gives a more POSITIVE feeling? (lazy / relaxed) → relaxedPrompt: Imagine someone said each word about you. Which would you prefer?
  2. The crowd cheered. Does "cheered" have a positive, neutral or negative connotation? (positive / neutral / negative) → positivePrompt: How would you feel if this word described you or your home?

You do: independent practice · 17 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 7 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. The puppy is scrawny. Does "scrawny" have a positive, neutral or negative connotation? (positive / neutral / negative) → negativePrompt: How would you feel if this word described you or your home?
  2. Both words can mean "not giving up". Which one gives a more POSITIVE feeling? (stubborn / determined) → determinedPrompt: Imagine someone said each word about you. Which would you prefer?

Watch out for

  • Picking a "bigger" synonym that doesn't fit the meaning.
  • Ignoring the clues in the rest of the sentence.

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Synonyms or antonyms? Word pairs.
  • Use concrete materials: word cards.
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-5.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

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Positive or negative feeling? (thrifty or stingy)

Name

Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    The puppy is thin. Does "thin" have a positive, neutral or negative connotation?

    • A. positive
    • B. neutral
    • C. negative

  2. Question 2

    Both words can mean "interested in finding things out". Which one gives a more POSITIVE feeling?

    • A. curious
    • B. nosy

Message in a Bottle (a poem)

I am a bottle, empty and light, tossed from a boat on a bright summer night. No note inside me, no secret to tell, just plastic and air and a sea-salty smell. The ocean is patient, the ocean is wide; it rocks me and rolls me from tide to tide. A turtle swims near me and stares at my shine. I am not a jellyfish. Please, don't you dine! I'll drift for a lifetime, I'll drift for a few, I'll crumble to pieces too tiny for you. But somebody somewhere could carry me back, a hand on the beach and a bin in a sack. So here is my message, though no one wrote it: the sea keeps whatever we throw. Don't forget it.

  1. Question 3

    Read "Message in a Bottle (a poem)". The bottle says the sea is "patient". Which word has the most POSITIVE feeling for the way the sea treats the bottle?

    • A. hurls
    • B. batters
    • C. rocks
    • D. tosses

  1. Question 4

    Our neighbour is chatty. Does "chatty" have a positive, neutral or negative connotation?

    • A. positive
    • B. neutral
    • C. negative

  2. Question 5

    Both words can mean "taking risks". Which one gives a more NEGATIVE feeling?

    • A. bold
    • B. reckless

  3. Question 6

    The mob shouted. Does "mob" have a positive, neutral or negative connotation?

    • A. positive
    • B. neutral
    • C. negative

  4. Question 7

    Both words can mean "careful with money". Which one gives a more POSITIVE feeling?

    • A. thrifty
    • B. stingy

  5. Question 8

    The room had a smell. Does "smell" have a positive, neutral or negative connotation?

    • A. positive
    • B. neutral
    • C. negative

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Answer key: Positive or negative feeling? (thrifty or stingy)

  1. 1. B. neutral

  2. 2. A. curious

  3. 3. C. rocks

  4. 4. A. positive

  5. 5. B. reckless

  6. 6. C. negative

  7. 7. A. thrifty

  8. 8. B. neutral