Title: At the source of knowledge

Lesson plan elaborated by: Katarzyna Maciejak

Topic:

Rules for using dictionaries.

Target group

6th‑grade students of an elementary school.

Core curriculum

II. Language skills.

2. Language differentiation. Student:

2) uses the official and unofficial variation of Polish;

3) uses a style appropriate to the communication situation;

4) understands the literal and metaphorical meaning of the words in a statement; recognises the ambiguous words, understands their meaning in a text and consciously uses them to create his own statements.

5) recognises set phrases, notices their variety, understands their meaning and uses them correctly in statements;

6) recognises neutral and evaluative vocabulary, understands their functions in the text;

7) uses a style appropriate to the intended purpose of communication;

8) distinguishes synonyms, antonyms, understands their function in the text and uses in his own statements.

III. Creating expressions

1. Elements of rhetoric Student:

1) takes part in a discussion on a given topic, can separate its parts and structural signals strengthening the bond among the participants of the dialogue and explaining the meaning.

IV. Self‑education. Student:

3) uses information from different sources, gathers and selects information;

5) uses Polish language dictionaries, both general and specific and the dictionary of literary terms;

6) pays attention to the type of dictionary definitions and determines their specificity;

7) develops the ability to assess the gathered information critically;

9) develops the ability to use the information technology and the Internet resources effectively and uses these skills to present his own interests.

The general aim of education

Students practise using different dictionaries both traditional and on‑line (they will also learn the dictionary entry structure).

Key competences

• communication in the mother tongue;

• communication in foreign languages;

• ability to learn;

• social and civic competences.

Operational objectives

Student:

• uses dictionaries: Polish language dictionary, comprehensive Polish language dictionary, spelling dictionary, dictionary of idioms, dictionary of foreign terms and the thesaurus (both in traditional and electronic forms);

• decides in what dictionary to look for the needed information;

• explains the most important abbreviations in dictionary entries;

• determines the purpose of various dictionaries.

Methods/techniques

• problematic: conversation;

• practical: subject exercises;

• programmed: using a computer, using e‑textbook.

Forms of work

• uniform individual activity;

• pair activity;

• collective activity.

Lesson plan overview (Process)

Introduction

1. The teacher determines the purpose of the class: students will learn about the rules of using different dictionaries.

2. The teacher asks students if they use dictionaries (if so, which ones and in what situation), what dictionaries they know which ones they find most useful.

Realization

1. Students do the interactive exercise number 1 in which they have to define from what dictionaries do the given definitions come from (at this stage of the lesson these are: Polish language dictionary, comprehensive Polish language dictionary, spelling dictionary).

2. The teacher gives the students dictionaries, one per person or per couple. It would be good if they were different correctness dictionaries. Students choose one entry article and try to discuss its structure, paying attention to abbreviations and symbols. They write selected shortcuts on the board. Because there are many abbreviations used in dictionaries, the teacher should focus on explaining the chosen ones, e.g.
a.– albo
ang.– angielski
M, D, B – first letters of grammatical cases
bezok.– infinitive (bezokolicznik).
As new abbreviations appear on the board, the next students will be able to discuss their examples more easily.

3. Students do the interactive exercise number 2 – using the dictionary entries from the previous exercise they complete the sentences with the correct form of the word “prince”.

4. Exercise No. 3 based on recognising which dictionary comes from the given password. Then the teacher gives students work cards, for example with the following content:

Read the text below and complete the tasks.

W peerelowskich barach czy klubokawiarniach dominowała z kolei prostota, też niejednokrotnie apetyczna. W dzisiejszych restauracjach więcej obco brzmiących nazw, i to nie tylko smakowicie francuskich, jak ragoût czy de volaille, ale wręcz wschodnioazjatyckich. A w snack‑barach – wszechobecna angielszczyzna. Ale to nie à propos, zjechaliśmy z traktu. Przejeżdżamy przecież przez Warszawę. [text of the first „Warsaw Dictation” from 2017, author: prof. Jerzy Bralczyk]

1. From the above text, write three words whose meaning you do not understand or which could be incomprehensible. Explain their meaning. To do this, use the dictionary you have chosen. What is the dictionary?

2. Rewrite the text, replacing the following words with others: klubokawiarnia, apetyczna, ragoût, de volaille, snack‑bar, Warszawa, à propos. If necessary, use the dictionary. Which dictionary do you choose?

3. Rewrite the text content using the three phrases you have chosen. Which vocabulary will you use to complete this task?

5. The teacher gives some examples of incorrectly formulated idioms, e.g.

Patrzeć jak ciele na malowane drzwi. (wrota)

Puszka Pandora. (Pandory)

Mieć gada w kieszeni. (węża)

Nabrać dużo wody w usta. (niepotrzebny przysłówek dużo)

Głos wołającego na pustyni. (puszczy)

Iść po najmniejszej linii oporu. (po linii najmniejszego oporu).

Students, in pairs, analyse given examples, give correct idioms. The teacher asks what we should remember about using idioms. Students should themselves come to the conclusion that they are not allowed to modify, add or change words, etc.

6. The teacher asks students in which dictionary they would look for information to perform the following tasks:

1. Polish language: writing an essay.

2. History: preparation of the presentation.

3. Write a letter to your tutor.

4. Reading a popular science article.

Performing interactive task no. 5.

7. Analysis of photo galleries in abstract (various online dictionaries). Students say what kind of information they could find in them.

Summary

Students in pairs ask questions about the issues discussed: one student asks, the other answers, and there is a change.

The teacher asks the students questions for a summary:

• What benefits can we have from dictionaries?

• Which dictionary is worth having at home and why?

Homework

Find on the Internet the on‑line versions of dictionaries presented today (also in English). Try to search different entries. Write the website addresses in your notebook, so you can use them in the future. You can also add them to your bookmarks.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

At the source of knowledge

What dictionaries do you know? Which dictionaries do you use most often and at what occasion?

Do you know what do the different abbreviations and symbols in the dictionary entries mean?

In which situations will you use a thesaurus or a dictionary of foreign words?

Idioms (or set phrases) can not be modified as they are fixed expressions. It is worth taking a look into the dictionary of idioms to avoid mistakes.

Let’s summarise everything that you have learned about different dictionaries. Which one would you choose to find the meaning of a given word? Which dictionary gives the right pronunciation? In which dictionary you will find the declension?

If you do not have a traditional dictionary, you can always use the electronic version (i.e. Słownik języka polskiego PWN). On‑line dictionaries are easy to use, as you do not have to look for the word yourself, just write it in the search engine. However, it is worth to practice using the traditional dictionaries as well.