Unit 4

Teacher Notes

1. area – n – a particular part of a place, city, country, etc.

  • I live in the Chicago area, but my brother lives in the San FranciscoBay area.
  • There is a large area in my office where we can store our supplies and extra things.
  • When I went to Louisiana last week, the waiting area in the airport was so crowded that there were no seats available.

2. research – v – to study a subject in detail in order to discover new facts about it

  • I went to the library to research Abraham Lincoln. I wanted to learn more about him to tell my students.
  • Many scientists and companies are researching new ways to make energy without using oil.

3. formula – n – a method that you use to solve a problem or make sure something is successful.

  • There is no magic formula for a happy marriage. Different things work for different couples.
  • My formula for staying healthy is to eat plenty of fresh vegetables and get regular exercise.
  • In math class, it was hard for me to remember the formulas to solve problems.

4. available – adj – you can have it, buy it, or use it

antonym = unavailable

  • I want to go away for the weekend, but first I have to see if my neighbor is available to take care of my cat.
  • During baseball games at Wrigley Field, it can be hard to find an available parking space in the neighborhood.

5. issue – n – a subject or problem people discuss

  • One of the main issues people are concerned about is the U.S. economy and how it affects their household income.
  • We need to discuss the issue of class attendance to be sure everyone understands our school’s rules.
  • Removing snow and ice from sidewalks is a safety issue for a lot of neighborhoods.

6. consent – n – permission to do something

  • I gave my consent to my neighbor to use my car when hers was in the shop.

My boss consented to having a holiday party at a restaurant instead of in the office.When children ask for their parents’ consent, they expect to get it. If consent isn’t given, children may ignore their parents’ wishes.

Unit 4 Teacher Notes continued

7. negative – adj – bad or harmful

antonym = positive

  • I had a negative reaction to the medication. It made me sick, so the doctor prescribed something else.
  • My neighbor is a negative person. She always thinks the worst about people and she always expects the worst to happen. I try to always keep a positive attitude.

8. remove – v – take something away

  • I removed a tick from my dog’s leg.
  • I asked my husband to remove his tools from the kitchen counter so that I could cook dinner.
  • When I visit my friend’s house, I remove my shoes at the door so that I won’t bring dirt into her house.

9. emphasis – n – special importance

  • The crime report put an emphasis on the need for more police in the city.
  • My third grade teacher placed a strong emphasis on spelling and grammar.
  • (verb form) I use a highlighter marker when I read in order to emphasize the main ideas.

10. technique – n – a special way of doing something

  • My aunt showed me her technique for making fried chicken.
  • I read about a technique for removing ink stains using milk.

The words on this list were taken from sublists one, two and three of the Academic Word List,

Matching Activity

  1. ______to study a subject in detail in order to discover new

facts about it (research)

  1. ______you can have it, buy it, use it (available)
  2. ______permission to do something (consent)
  3. ______take something away (remove)
  4. ______a special way of doing something (technique)
  5. ______special importance (emphasis)
  6. ______bad or harmful (negative)
  7. ______a subject or problem people discuss (issue)
  8. ______a method that you use to solve a problem (formula)
  9. ______a particular part of a place, city, country, etc. (area)

Fill in the Blank Activity

  1. Not eating well and not getting enough exercise are health _____ for too many children. (issues)
  2. I will not be ______to go out to the movies next week because I will be out of town on vacation. (available)
  3. Employees often must ask for their boss’ ______before scheduling vacation time. (consent)
  4. I had a ______reaction to the bee sting and I ended up at the emergency room for treatment. (negative)
  5. The TV commercial talked about a new shampoo that has a ______for getting rid of dandruff. (formula)
  6. The students ______the prices of food in local stores and presented their findings to the class. (researched)
  7. Hurricane Katrina destroyed a large ______around New Orleans. (area)
  8. In many schools, students must ______their hats when they enter the building. (remove)
  9. Making yeast rolls takes a special______so that the rolls turn out well. (technique)
  10. Some employers place an ______on hiring people with degrees, but other employers prefer hiring people with job experience. (emphasis)

Fill in the Blanks Activity

  1. You can use a ______to estimate the number of trees in a certain ______of the forest. (formula, area)
  1. My daughter asked for my ______to go to a rock concert alone with her boyfriend, but my response was ______, since I thought she was too young. (consent, negative)
  1. If I want to do ______about AIDS, I need to read all the ______information about it. (research, available)
  1. During a presidential election, special ______is put upon ______such as health care and the economy. (emphasis, issues)
  1. I utilize a special ______to ______grass stains from my kids’ clothes. (technique, remove)

Unit 1

Matching Activity

Directions: Listed below is a definition for each word. Write each word next to its definition.

area / research / formula
available / issue / consent
negative / remove / emphasis
technique
  1. ______to study a subject in detail in order to discover

new factsabout it

  1. ______you can have it, buy it, use it
  1. ______permission to do something
  1. ______take something away
  1. ______a special way of doing something
  1. ______special importance
  1. ______bad or harmful
  1. ______a subject or problem people discuss
  1. ______a method that you use to solve a problem
  1. ______a particular part of a place, city, country, etc.

Unit 4

Fill in the Blank Activity

Directions: Fill in a word from the list to complete each sentence. Each word can be used only once.

area / research / formula
available / issue / consent
negative / remove / emphasis
technique
  1. Not eating well and not getting enough exercise are health ______for too many children.
  1. I will not be ______to go out to the movies next week because I will be out of town on vacation.
  1. Employees often must ask for their boss’ ______before scheduling vacation time.
  1. I had a ______reaction to the bee sting and I ended up at the emergency room for treatment.
  1. The TV commercial talked about a new shampoo that has a ______for getting rid of dandruff.
  1. The students ______the prices of food in local stores and presented their findings to the class.
  1. Hurricane Katrina destroyed a large ______around New Orleans.
  1. In many schools, students must ______their hats when they enter the building.
  1. Making yeast rolls takes a special______so that the rolls turn out well.
  1. Some employers place an ______on hiring people with degrees, but other employers prefer hiring people with job experience.

Unit 4

Fill in the Blanks Activity

Directions: Fill in two words to complete each sentence.

area / research / formula
available / issue / consent
negative / remove / emphasis
technique
  1. You can use a ______to estimate the number of trees in a certain ______of the forest.
  1. My daughter asked for my ______to go to a rock concert alone with her boyfriend, but my response was ______, since I thought she was too young.
  1. If I want to do ______about AIDS, I need to read all the ______information about it.
  1. During a presidential election, special ______is put upon ______such as health care and the economy.
  1. I utilize a special ______to ______grass stains from my kids’ clothes.

Unit 4

Sentence Completion Activity

Directions: Complete each sentence.

1. One thing I like about the area I live in is ______

______.

2. One subject that I would like to research is ______

______.

3. A formula for a happy life is ______

______.

4. It is difficult for me to find someone who is available to help me ______
______.

5. One issue that causes arguments in families today is ______

______.

6. I believe parents should never consent to ______

______.

7. I have a negative reaction when ______

______.

8. I wish I could remove ______.

9. In reading class, the teacher puts special emphasis on ______

______.

10. The technique I use to remember appointments or important dates is ______.

Unit 4

True-False and Why Activity

Directions: Read each statement and decide if it’s true or false. Then explain your answer.

  1. The Chicagoarea has only a few communities, so the population is small.
  1. High schools have to deal with the issue of students dropping out of school.
  1. You should get your neighbor’s consentbefore putting up a fence between your properties.
  1. You can master the technique for making tortillas by hand if you practice a lot.
  1. Using a slippery cloth is a good way to removea tight lid from a jar.
  1. Doctors put an emphasison good nutrition and exercise so that their patients will be unhealthy.
  1. Less research should be done to find a cure for cancer.
  1. Parking on the street in downtown Chicago is easy because there are so many available parking spaces.
  1. Cutting down the rainforest will have a negative effect on the environment.
  1. A formula for success in life is to lie, cheat and steal.

Unit 4

Ideas for Writing Prompts

  1. What are somenegative impacts of global warming and how does it affect your life?
  1. What resources should be available for low income families?
  1. Describe how we as a community can help prevent the issue of teen pregnancy.

Unit 4

Yes-No and Why Activity

Directions: Answer each question with yes or no, then explain why.

  1. Does conducting research on a diseaseemphasize the importance of that disease?
  1. Is it an issue if children don’t ask for their parents’ consentbeforemaking a decision?
  1. Are there enough areas in the world for everyone to live near available fresh water?
  1. If one part or step of a formulaisremoved, does that mean it won’t work?
  1. If you keep getting negative results from a technique, do you need to change how you are doing it?

Illinois STAR Vocabulary Booster Workshop, AdultLearningResourceCenter, Arlington Heights, IL