Acceleration
Ask students to brainstorm and write sentences with related words. Possible answers include audibly, inaudibly, audience, and audition.
Root: auto
The two minilessons in this section focus on the root auto, which originates from the Greek word autos, meaning “self” or “same.” Many students will likely know the word automobile as a synonym for car or if they speak Spanish or Italian because of the similarities of the word in those languages to English.
Lesson R5: autobiography, autograph, automatic
In this minilesson, teachers will teach the root auto, such as in the words autobiography, autograph, and automatic.
Difficulty level: 1
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The following lists target words students should see and say for this minilesson.
Be sure to pronounce the T in auto as a T and not with a D sound like audio. The roots auto and aud are pronounced differently and have different spellings and meanings. While these distinctions may seem obvious to you as a well-educated speaker of English, it can be confusing for non-native speakers, young students, struggling readers, and students who have auditory processing difficulties.
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Consider saying something like the following.
You may have seen these three words before, and you may even know what they mean, but I’d like to talk with you today about a similarity they all share. Notice the root word auto that appears at the beginning of each word. It means “same” or “self,” and with these three words, the root auto definitely means “self.” You would write an autobiography yourself; you would be the author. If you became famous for writing your autobiography, your readers might come to a book signing and ask for your autograph. This is where you’d sign the inside of your book. Signed books by famous authors are often very valuable. Lastly, the word automatic means something that works by itself, on its own, sometimes without human direction. Many electric devices these days are automatic. For example, I have a coffee maker and an iron at home that are automatic. They cut off when they have been on too long, even if I don’t switch them off. They do it all by themselves.
You may ask students if they know related words, like biography, the opposite of autobiography (which they may have learned in English language arts), or automobile as a synonym for car.
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Place students in triads. Have them complete the following sentences.
Encourage each triad to allow each person to have three turns, ensuring that each student gets to supply a personal answer for each prompt. Group members can help each other think of answers if necessary.
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Have each student select his or her favorite two words and write his or her own sentences for those words. Let students know that they can use a sentence they said themselves or that they heard another student say in the triad activity that preceded this step.
Scaffolding
Monitor students who struggle with the writing and point out objects in the room that might help them create their sentences. For example, you could show one or two autobiographies from your classroom library or mention those that students have read. You could also point out objects that have automatic properties, like the screen saver on an interactive whiteboard or computer, or even the overhead lighting.
Acceleration
Have students access the WordHippo webpage “Words Starting With AUTO” (2017b; http://bit.ly/2rBi0Hi) and scroll through the list of words that start with auto-. The advanced students can pick a new word or two to research and learn about—and to possibly share with the rest of the class.
Lesson R6: autonomy, autonomous
In this minilesson, teachers will teach the root auto, such as in the words autonomy and autonomous.
Difficulty level: 2
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The following lists target words students should see and say for this minilesson.
Point out that autonomy and autonomous are related (one is the noun form, and the other is the adjective form, from the same root). Ensure that students know the accent is on each word’s second syllable. These words, especially when encountered during independent reading, may seem hard to pronounce.
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Consider saying something like the following.
You see that these words have a common word part, in this case aut. This word component is usually spelled a-u-t-o but may be slightly different depending on the letters that follow. The main thing to