Where the Red Fern Grows
Word Squares/Word Wall
Vocabulary Strategy
Purpose
This is a pre-reading activity that will help students with both comprehension and fluency
as they read Where the Red Fern Grows. It will help create a visual picture of the many things
on the farm and the surrounding countryside that were common in the country of the 1930s but
that are not a part of most students’ lives today. Every vocabulary word is used at least once and
most are used a number of times throughout the book.
Context
This strategy is best used after the students read Chapter one of Where the Red Fern
Grows, after a discussion of what they think might be coming in the rest of the story. Chapter
one takes place in a more modern time and place, a time the students are more likely to relate to.
The rest of the story takes place over fifty years earlier on a farm in the country during the 1930s.
This activity will help introduce students to some of the descriptive language used during that
time.
Where the Red Fern Grows is set in the country during the Great Depression of the
1930s. Many of the words Wilson Rawls uses to describe the setting, the scenery and the animals
are words that are not often used today. Students will be able to determine at least partial
meanings for many of the words because they will be familiar with part of the word. For
example:
· Canebreak is a combination of two words. The students will know the meaning of at
least one of the words and may be able to determine the meaning - a thicket of canes.
· Civet cat (ring-tailed raccoon) and,
· Gunny sack (burlap bag used to hold grain) also have one word in each that the
students will be familiar with.
· Corn crib and coon hound combine words the students should know and from which
they may be able to determine a meaning.
With these words students will be able to see that often, they can get an idea of what the
word means without knowing the exact definition.
They will also find another definition for a word they should be very familiar with, game.
Most students would think a game is something they would play. In this novel it is a reference to
the wildlife that is hunted for food.
Directions
Demonstrate the use of Word Squares using the word riffle.
Riffle - a shallow stretch of a river or stream, where the current is above the average stream
velocity and where the water forms small rippled waves as a result. It often consists of a rocky
bed of gravel or other small stones (definition taken from Wikipedia online, February 23, 2009,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riffle).
Dunn, BYU, 2009
Instructions for Word Squares
A
Hand out copies of the blank word squares to each student.
Word
Give students the following directions.
C
In Section A, write the word.
Define It
In Section B, draw a picture of the object.
In Section C, write a short definition of the object using your own words.
In section D, use the word in a sentence with context clues to its meaning.
B
Draw It
D
Use It
Have five (5) copies of the Word Square to distribute to each student (one for every two
words). Have one overhead of the Word Square Example ready for the demonstration.
1. Place the Word Square Example on the overhead. Have it completely covered.
2. Read the instructions for Section A. Uncover Section A (the word) on the example.
3. Read the instructions for Section B. Uncover Section B (the picture) on the example.
4. Read the instructions for Section C. Uncover Section C (the definition in the student’s own
words) on the example.
5. Read the instructions for Section D. Uncover Section D (the sentence using the word with
contextual clues) on the example.
Students should take home the assignment and return with it completed the next day.
Have students pull out their completed assignment. Go over every word, the meaning, what it
looks like (have some students show their drawings) and its use in a sentence (again, have
students volunteer to read their sentences) as a class. This should take about 10 minutes.
Next ask students what they think the rest of the story might entail now that they know
some of the vocabulary that will be used. Discuss. This should take another 5 minutes. Have
them chose one of the words they defined and have them write another sentence using that word
describing what they think the story might now be about. Collect their Word Squares.
Assessment
Students will be assessed on participation in the discussion about what they think this
book will be about, before the assignment and how, if at all, their opinions have changed after
defining the words. They will also be assessed on the completion of their Word Squares and
with the extra sentence written after the class discussion
Summary and Segue
Students should have a better idea of the types of things they will be reading about
when they continue with Chapter two of Where the Red Fern Grows. They will also realize
that they can figure out the meanings of words just by looking at the parts they do know within
the word. When they are reading the story they will be able to check the word wall to remember
the meanings of the words they defined and what they looked like.
Dunn, BYU, 2009
Word Square Example
Word
Picture
riffle
Definition
Used in a Sentence
A shallow place in a river where
the current flows very quickly,
usually over tiny rocks or stones.
We found a riffle where we could
walk across the river without having
to swim.
Dunn, BYU, 2009
Name______________________________
Word Squares
Worksheet
Dunn, BYU, 2009
Where the Red Fern Grows
Word Squares Instructions
In Section A, write the word.
In Section B, draw a picture of the object.
In Section C, write a short definition of the object using your own words.
In section D, use the word in a sentence with context clues to its meaning.
A
Word
C
Define It
B
Draw It
D
Use It
Use the instructions above for each of the following ten words.
Canebreak (spelled canebrake today)
Civet cat
Coon hound
Corncrib
Game (not the type you play)
Gunny sack
Pelts
Riffle
Sorghum
Sycamore
Dunn, BYU, 2009
KEY
Where the Red Fern Grows
Word Square Definitions
Canebreak (spelled canebrake, today) – a thicket of cane.
Civet cat – an imprecise term that is used for a variety of cat-like creatures such as: The Ringtail
or North American Civet Cat (Bassariscus astutus), related to the raccoons.
Coon hound – a sporting dog trained to hunt raccoons. Coonhounds can hunt individually or as
a pack. Generally, hunters don't chase their quarry along with the hounds, but wait and listen to
the distinctive baying to determine if a raccoon or other animal has been treed.
Corncrib – a type of granary used to dry and store corn. After the harvest, corn, still on the cob,
is placed in the crib either with or without the husk. The typical corn crib had slats in its walls.
These slatted sides of the corn crib allow air to circulate through the corn, both allowing it to dry
initially and helping it to stay dry. The slats expose the corn to pests, so corn cribs are elevated
above the ground beyond the reach of rodents
Game (not the type you play) – animals under pursuit or taken in hunting; especially wild
animals hunted for sport or food.
Gunny sack – a bag made of burlap. Gunny sacks are traditionally used for transporting grains,
potatoes, and other agricultural products.
Pelts – the hair, fur or wool that covers an animal's skin that has been stripped off the animal.
Riffle – a shallow stretch of a river or stream, where the current is above the average stream
velocity and where the water forms small rippled waves as a result. It often consists of a rocky
bed of gravel or other small stones.
Sorghum – a genus of numerous species of grasses, some of which are raised for grain.
Sycamore – a very large spreading tree (Platanus occidentalis) chiefly of the eastern and central
United States with 3 to 5-lobed broadly ovate leaves.
Definitions taken from Wikipedia on-line, February 23, 2009, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki, and
Merriam-Webster on-line search, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary.
Dunn, BYU, 2009