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Lesson 9

We will examine our copies of the Character Note-Taking Tool for all of the sisters. We will determine the meaning of words as they are used in the text.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I use tools, such as context, to decode the meaning of unknown words?

  • Can I decode words being used in unconventional ways and verify my inferences using a dictionary?

Texts

Core

  • Tradebook
    • In the Time of the Butterflies, Julia Alvarez, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2010

Materials

Tools

Reference Guides

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Discuss

We will synthesize what we have learned about all four sisters.

Step 1

Review all four of your Character Note-Taking Tools. You should have one for each sister: Dedé, Minerva, María Teresa, and Patria. Review the tables where you have been collecting your knowledge about each woman.

Discuss the following questions with a partner:

  1. How does the word revolutionary apply to each sister in Part 1 of the novel?

  2. Each character is written in a different voice and is introduced in a way that reflects her character. What does this method of character development do for the reader?

Step 2

Participate in a class discussion about the four sisters, adding to the charts and your Note-Taking Tools, as needed. These notes will help you later to complete the Culminating Task

Activity 2: Discuss – Write

We will use context clues to determine the meaning of Unknown words in chapters 3 and 4 of the novel.

The vocabulary words in the next sentence have enough context in the passage to determine their meaning.

Work with a partner to find and highlight these words:

  • resolves (p. 34)

  • inaugurating (p. 37)

  • decorously (p. 50)

  • desolation (p. 53)

With your partner, use your Vocabulary in Context Tool to determine the meaning of these four words using context and write them down in your Vocabulary Journals.

Activity 3: Discuss – Write

We will determine the meaning of Unknown words using context and other vocabulary strategies.

Step 1

With a partner, review and compare the words you gathered from your reading in the previous lessons in your Vocabulary Journals.

Choose four words to explore for this activity.

Step 2

Discuss each word and the strategy you will use to determine its meaning:

  • Use context clues to determine the meaning of words that have enough context in the passage to provide the meaning.

  • Use another strategy (e.g., morphology or reference materials) for the words that do not have context clues.

Next to each word in your Vocabulary Journal, note its meaning and what strategy you used to determine its meaning.

Step 3

Discuss the following questions with your partner:

  1. What tone does Julia Alvarez create through her choice of vocabulary?

  2. How effective is she in creating that tone?

Share your words and strategies used with the whole group.

Activity 4: Read – Write – Discuss

We will interact with the words we defined to cement our understanding of their meaning.

Work with a partner or group to respond to the vocabulary exercises, as directed by your teacher.

Activity 5: Read – Write

For homework, we will review our Vocabulary Journals and our Mentor Sentence Journals to choose words and techniques we will try in the Section Diagnostic.

For homework, in preparation for the Section Diagnostic in the next lesson, review your Vocabulary Journal. Identify significant words that you would like to use in your response to the Section Diagnostic.