Creating Unit Plans

Young children learn vocabulary most readily when it is organized into themes (Neuman & Dwyer, 2011). The Common Core Standards for Science and Social Studies should be used to plan vocabulary units of instruction. A suggested overview of V4S units can be found here:

The following are the steps for planning vocabulary units: 

1. Choose a theme.
2. Choose two books related to the theme. One book should be expository, the other can be narrative.
3. Select target words from the books. Target words can be selected from the text or pictures of the book. Create leveled lists using the guidelines provided under Choosing Target Vocabulary.  
4. For students who sign, determine the sign to be used for each target word. If there is no appropriate sign for the word, the word should be fingerspelled. Keep in mind, one ASL sign can have multiple associated English words. In this case, it is preferable to fingerspell the English word. Signs for science vocabulary can be found at: https://wiki.rit.edu/display/sciencelexicon/Science+Signs+Lexicon
5. Create a definition for each target word. The definition should be brief and child-friendly; the language and complexity of the definition should be tailored for each student as necessary. The definition should not include the target word. The following websites provide simple definitions:
   1.  http://www.learnersdictionary.com/
   2.  http://www.yourdictionary.com/
6. Find pictures that support the word definition (www.images.google.com is probably the best website to use, but be mindful of copyright laws) and create cards for each word, including the known words. To format picture cards do the following:
   1. Open a Word document.
   2. Set up the page in two columns (Page Layout, Columns, Two).
   3. Choose the “center” alignment; this will center your word, picture, and quick definition in each column.
   4. Copy and paste the image into the document. Adjust the size as necessary.
   5. Place the word and definitions around the picture as desired (on top, on bottom, both, etc.). Leave enough space in between words in each column so that you can cut the page in half both lengthwise and widthwise so that cards will be the same size.
   6. Four pictures cards should fit on each page.
   7. Print and cut the cards. Consider mounting them on dark construction paper to make them sturdier and to avoid students seeing through the back. Consider laminating them and/or printing them on cardstock.
7. Select 10-24 known words; these should be words the student knows immediately without any prompting from the teacher. These words should not be related to the unit.
8. Before beginning the unit, conduct a screening assessment (starting with Level 1 words as necessary) to determine the final set of target words.
9. After screening, determine the final set of target words. Remember, target words should be words the student does not know. The list should include between five and ten words depending on the student’s ability.