“My Father’s Dragon” is a classic Newbery Honor Book telling the tale of a young boy who runs away from home to rescue a dragon. When studying this book, there are many activities you can do to reinforce vocabulary. Find some great ideas below and a downloadable assessment worksheet.
What’s This Word?
Here are 40 vocabulary words listed in order of occurrence in the book. Use them all or pick and choose! The definitions are given based on how the word is used in the book.
alley cat – n. a cat that lives and roams around a town
Advertisementobliged – v. grateful
furnace – n. an appliance used to heat a room or building
Advertisementsaucer – n. a shallow dish
particularly – adv. especially
Advertisementstray – adj. a domesticated animal without a home
apologize – _v._express regret for something
Advertisementinhabited – v. lived in or occupied
weep – v. cry
Advertisementinconvenient – adj. difficult or causing trouble
moody – adj. having unpredictable changes in moods or emotions
Advertisementdependable – adj. reliable, can be trusted
patient – adj. able to wait without becoming annoyed
Advertisementmiserable – adj. very unhappy
knapsack – n. a bag with shoulder straps to carry supplies
Advertisementcompass – n. an instrument that has a pointer to show magnetic north
grain – n. wheat or other cereal crop
Advertisementgangplank – n. a movable wooden ramp to get on and off of a ship
hold – n. a place for carrying cargo on a ship
Advertisementmerchant – n. a person involved with wholesale trading
punctual – adj. on time
Advertisementwahoo bush – n. a shrub that is also called a burning bush
tortoise – _n._land dwelling reptile in the order of turtles
Advertisementsolemn – adj. serious, not cheerful
trundled – v. to move slowly and heavily
Advertisementcontradict – v. to say the opposite of someone’s statement
mahogany – n. type of tree that produces reddish-brown wood
suspicious – adj. cautious distrust of something
prancing – v. walking with exaggerated movements
forelock – n. a lock of hair growing above the forehead
snarl – n. a tangled mass of hair
banyan – n. an Indian fig tree
dignified – adj. behaving in a proper or respectable way
miraculous – adj. something extraordinary bringing good consequences
frantically – adj. hurried, chaotic and excited way
mangroves – n. plant that grows along a tropical coast with tangled roots above ground
disorderly – adj. behavior that is not peaceful or orderly
ranting – v. speaking in a loud way with passion
stampeded – v. a panicked rush of a mass of people or animals
bellowing – v. a deep loud roar usually given in pain or anger
Learning New Vocabulary
Introduce the words as you come across them in the book. Read them in context and ask students to use the surrounding clues to define the word.
Group Presentation
Divide your students into cooperative groups. Then assign each group five vocabulary words. Each group should have different words from the other groups. When assigning the words try to give each group a good mix of words. The assignment for the group is to think of a creative way to present the vocabulary words to the class. The presentation of information should include the meaning (based on how it is used in the book), the part of speech, the number of syllables, and any tricks to remember the spelling of the word. Does it have any silent letter or unique spelling pattern?
Forms of presenting the word could include: dramatization, charades, props, use of chalkboard or white board, audience participation, game or poster.
When it is time to present words, each group should present one word at a time. Then move on to the next group to keep the momentum going. This way a group does not lose focus once their presentation is over. They will soon be presenting again.
Move and Learn!
Materials:
- Sentence strips
- Permanent marker
Write each vocabulary word on a separate sentence strip making the letters large enough for all students to see. Give one strip to each student. Then you are ready to do several activities:
- Instruct students to work together to put themselves in alphabetical order based on the vocabulary word each student is holding. Just for fun try it a second time and time them!
- Instruct students to sort themselves into these groups: noun, verb and adjective based on the word each student is holding and how it is used in the book.
- Instruct students to sort themselves in groups according to the number of syllables in the vocabulary word that each student is holding.
- Display the vocabulary cards. Then divide students into teams. Read a definition and one player from the team must say the correct vocabulary word to win a point for the team. Go back and forth until all words are used.
- Play a vocabulary building game .
- Allow student to create a word wall using the sentence strips.
Assessment Tools
- Students should write a sentence for each assigned vocabulary word. Stress neat handwriting and correct punctuation. Complete sentences must be used.
- Spelling test over assigned vocabulary words.
- Use the downloadable “My Father’s Dragon” vocabulary lesson worksheet .
References
- Gannett, Ruth Stiles. My Father’s Dragon. Random House Books for Young Children, 1987.
