Abiogenesis now provides quick links to lesson plans which are available on the Internet, and notes on how the lesson plans could be used with Lexicographer.

Lexicographer, the dictionary maker, requires the user to have basic keyboarding and word processing skills, and thus is recommended for ages middle school to post-secondary.

Lexica, the dictionary viewer, requires that the user have basic computer and mouse using skills, and thus could be used by students a little younger, assuming someone older (teacher, librarian, media specialist) is creating the content for the dictionaries with Lexicographer.

Note: This is just the start of our Lesson Plans Resource! There are many ways in which old lesson plans can be spruced up to incorporate new technologies. Watch here as our site grows and improves.

Call for Links: If you are an educator who would like us to link to your lesson plan which incorporates vocabulary building or dictionary skills from approximately middle school and up, email us at lessons@abiogenesis.com, and we'll be happy to include a link and a credit to you and your school.

Geography (could be adapted to other subject areas)
TITLE: Making an Illustrated Dictionary with Geographic Terms
AUTHOR: Anita M. Scanga
GRADES: 5 - 8
NOTE: You can adapt this lesson so that students are creating an electronic reference with Lexicographer, rather than a pencil and paper reference, or they could be encouraged to do both, in order to learn the strengths and characteristics of each medium.
SITE: gopher://ericir.syr.edu/0R0-2372-/Lesson/Subject/SocialStudies/cecsst.120

Language Arts
TITLE: Integrated Vocabulary, Creative Writing and Listening Exercise
AUTHOR: June Paganelli, White Swan School, WA
GRADES: All
SITE: gopher://ericir.syr.edu/0R0-2440-/Lesson/Subject/LanguageArts/ceclang.19

All, but especially Social Studies and Sciences
TITLE: The Dictionary Game
AUTHOR: Mark Quinn, Caldwell Seventh Day Adventist School; Caldwell, Idaho
GRADES: 4-12
SITE: gopher://ericir.syr.edu/0R0-2871-/Lesson/Subject/LanguageArts/ceclang.43

Social Studies, Media Lab, Language Arts
TITLE: World Diplomacy
AUTHOR: Not specified
GRADES: 7-8 (though this could be adapted to senior secondary, as well)
NOTE: This lesson plan focuses on teaching students to use reference sources. Since electronic references are becoming more important, the use of electronic references, like Lexicographer, could be incorporated by the teacher, and knowledge could be reinforced by having students create their own references in some of the formats they have studied while doing this lesson.
SITE: gopher://ericir.syr.edu/0R0-4577-/Lesson/SLMAM/Curriculum/SocialStudies/1190dipl

Health, Nutrition, Science, Home Economics
TITLE: Vegetables: Nutritious Food Sources
AUTHOR: Not Specified
GRADES: Middle school and up
NOTE: In this lesson, students study vegetables, and find images to paste onto worksheets. Rather than create worksheets to integrate the information and show what they have learned, students could create a Lexicographer Dictionary of Vegetables, with the relevant information and images.
SITE: gopher://ericir.syr.edu/0R0-5850-/Lesson/SLMAM/Curriculum/Health/590veget

Science, Physics, Astronomy
TITLE: Astronomy
AUTHOR: Michael Hans Gottlieb, Roswell Independent, Roswell, NM
GRADES: Grades 5-6 (could be adapted to higher grade levels)
NOTE: In this lesson, students do dictionary lookups of relevant terms and concepts and incorporate them into hands-on classroom activities. This lesson could be adapted for use with Lexicographer, by having the students then create a dictionary of the terms and concepts they learned in the class activities.
SITE: gopher://ericir.syr.edu/0R0-3976-/Lesson/Subject/Science/cecsci.04

English, Language Arts
TITLE: Vocabulary - Unfolding Meaning
AUTHOR: Diane Phillips, Sapulpa Middle School, Sapulpa, OK
GRADES: Grades 6-7 (can be adapted to higher grade levels)
NOTE: This lesson seeks to teach reference lookup skills in the context of new vocabulary words present in a way to emphasize meaning. The lesson could be adapted for use with Lexicographer by having the word explanations paraphrased in the students' own words as a group activity classroom electronic dictionary.
SITE: gopher://ericir.syr.edu/0R0-4514-/Lesson/Subject/LanguageArts/ceclang.09

Social Studies, Science, Geography, Sociology
TITLE: Life on the Mississippi Past and Present
AUTHOR: Time Mercer, St. Gerard, LA
GRADES: Written for grade 3, but adaptable all the way to 12, and, if used in conjunction with Lexicographer, probably most suitable for middle school and junior high.
NOTE: Since this lesson makes extensive use of reference materials, the information could be collected and partially presented in the form of an electronic dictionary, created with Lexicographer.
SITE: gopher://ericir.syr.edu/0R0-4326-/Lesson/Subject/SocialStudies/cecsst.61

Science, Geography, Biology
TITLE: Marsupials
AUTHOR: Not specified
GRADES: Written for primary, but very adaptable to middle school/junior high. NOTE: This lesson makes extensive use of reference materials on marsupials and has the students create a composite class list. Rather than create a list on paper, the students could create an electronic reference tool, rather than a reference list, with Lexicographer.
SITE: gopher://ericir.syr.edu/0R0-5258-/Lesson/SLMAM/Curriculum/Science/390marsu

Social Studies, Language Arts
TITLE: What is a Village?
AUTHOR: Not specified
GRADES: Writeen for grades 3 and 4 but adaptable to middle school/junior high
NOTE: This lesson makes use of films and dictionaries and can be adapted for use with Lexicographer by using it rather than an overhead projector to present different definitions of the term "village," and students could consolidate the information they've learned in a reference of villages.
SITE: gopher://ericir.syr.edu/0R0-5723-/Lesson/SLMAM/Curriculum/SocialStudies/390villa

Social Studies, Art, Architecture, Engineering
TITLE: Building Bridges: Architecture and Engineering
AUTHOR: Not specified
GRADES: 5-6 (easily adaptable to higher grades)
NOTE: Part of this lesson concentrates on preparing vocabulary words and definitions, which is a natural fit with Lexicographer. The word meanings can be recorded with Lexicographer, rather than on a vocabulary sheet, resulting in a more useful and meaningful reference tool.
SITE: gopher://ericir.syr.edu/0R0-5693-/Lesson/SLMAM/Curriculum/Art/690bridg

Social Studies, Language Arts, Theater Arts
TITLE: Costume
AUTHOR: Not specified
GRADES: Primary, though adaptable to higher grades if used with Lexicographer NOTE: Since the students do research on costuming, and fill out a Costume Reference Note Sheet, this lesson could easily be adapted to use Lexicographer in place of the Reference Note Sheet.
SITE: gopher://ericir.syr.edu/0R0-5716-/Lesson/SLMAM/Curriculum/SocialStudies/190costu

Social Studies
TITLE: Native American Interdisciplinary Educational Unit
AUTHOR: Cleo J. Bellah, Gardner Elementary School, Gardner, CO
GRADES: Primary, though adaptable to higher grades if used with Lexicographer
NOTE: As this lesson includes learning vocabulary about Native American culture, including dictionary lookups, spelling and meaning, it could easily be adapted to use Lexicographer as a way to record and share the information the students have discovered.
SITE: gopher://ericir.syr.edu/0R0-5087-/Lesson/Subject/SocialStudies/cecsst.82

Social Studies, Political Science, World Affairs
TITLE: Know Your Local Government
AUTHOR: Peg Stout, Anchorage School District, Anchorage, Alaska
GRADES: 3 - 12
NOTE: Part of this lessong plan deals with vocabulary related to local government wherein the students look up vocabulary words, and write definitions which most closely pertain to the subject of the lesson. The lesson could be adapted in such a way as to incorporate Lexicographer as a way of recording, rewording, or synthesizing these words into a classroom dictinary which can be shared among students.
SITE: gopher://ericir.syr.edu/0R0-5614-/Lesson/Subject/SocialStudies/cecsst.99

Language Arts, Compare and Contrast Skills for any Subject
TITLE: Focus on Comparing and Contrasting Information
AUTHOR: Not specified
GRADES: Described as for 2-6, but could easily be adapted for higher grades NOTE: The dictionary and thesaurus lesson could easily be adapted for use with Lexicographer. Students could create dictionaries of antonyms and synonyms which would reinforce and test their mastery of the exercises in the lesson.
SITE: gopher://ericir.syr.edu/0R0-6493-/Lesson/SLMAM/Skills/590shari

Geography, Language Arts, English, Social Studies, Science
TITLE: Whole Language Approach to Map Making
AUTHOR: Jacqueline Rose Doubek
GRADES: Specified as grade 5 level, but easily adaptable to higher grades NOTE: This lesson includes the understanding and use of terms, spelling and other language related activities within the context of the different subject areas. Many of these could be adapted to use Lexicographer for the recording, learning, and use of the subject area terms.
SITE: gopher://ericir.syr.edu/0R0-6134-/Lesson/Subject/SocialStudies/cecsst.129

Language Arts, Vocabulary for Specific Subject Areas
TITLE: Einstein Club - Vocabulary
AUTHOR: Liz Cannon, McGill Elementary, NV
GRADES: 6 (adaptable to higher grades)
NOTE: This lesson involves writing and defining words on the blackboard. It's a perfect lesson to adapt to use with Lexicographer, as you then get the added advantages of being able to store words, to compare students' definitions as separate dictionaries loaded at one time, and learning computer lookup skills at the same time.
SITE: gopher://ericir.syr.edu/0R0-1972-/Lesson/Subject/LanguageArts/ceclang.33

Geometry, Math, Physics, Science
TITLE: Exploring Geometry on the Sphere
AUTHOR: K. Davis, Salt Lake City, UT
GRADES: 6 - 12
NOTE: As this lesson plan includes looking up vocabulary words related to geometry, students could record these words as part of an electronic dictionary and then enhance them later, as they learn more about the concepts introduced in this lesson.
SITE: gopher://ericir.syr.edu/0R0-2224-/Lesson/Subject/Math/ParkCity/Sphere

Language Arts, Typing, Word Processing, Business
TITLE: Introducing the Word Processor
AUTHOR: Judith Kerns and Deborah Semler, Hickory Elementary School, Williamsport, MD
GRADES: Not specified, but elementary and up are appropriate
NOTE: What better way to teach word processing than with a real life activity of creating a dictionary! Students can learn to word process through creating dictionary entries which can then be compiled into a classroom electronic reference with Lexicographer.
SITE: gopher://ericir.syr.edu/0R0-2782-/Lesson/NewLesson/Language_Arts/intro_word_proc

Science, Biology
TITLE: Spiders
AUTHOR: Jean Pillsbury, Mark Emery Elementary School, North Anson, ME
GRADES: Specified as 3-4, but adaptable to higher grade levels
NOTE: This lesson includes the generation of a word list to describe spiders and their actions. This could be done with Lexicographer. Even short stories about spiders could be entered into Lexicographer, as it can hold several pages of text for each 'definition.'
SITE: gopher://ericir.syr.edu/0R0-2695-/Lesson/NewLesson/Science/spiders

Science, Geology, Archaeology
TITLE: Excavating Your Recycling Bin as a Fossil Record
AUTHOR: Mark A. Williams, Kennedy Middle School, Albuquerque, NM
GRADES: 6-12
NOTE: This lesson involves learning and using vocabulary related to Geology and Archaeology and could be assembled and recorded as a Lexicographer dictionary. Even the students' discoveries could be assembled into a Fossil Record Dictionary for the classroom to create a record of the activities and promote discussion of what was discovered and learned.
SITE: gopher://ericir.syr.edu/0R0-2446-/Lesson/Subject/Science/cecsci.157

Social Studies, Current Events, Political Science, Psychology, Media
TITLE: Magazine Ads and You, the Teenager
AUTHOR: Rebecca K. Duffy, Daly Middle School, Lakeview, OR
GRADES: Listed as 6-8, but this subject is relevant right up to post-secondary
NOTE: Part of this lesson explores the vocabulary related to advertising, mass media and economic persuasion. These could be incorporated into a Lexicographer dictionary, as could terms used by advertisers, as in a Dictionary of Hidden Persuaders.
SITE: gopher://ericir.syr.edu/0R0-3481-/Lesson/Subject/LanguageArts/ceclang.57

Science, Biology
TITLE: Protozoans
AUTHOR: Jim L. Torgerson, North Sevier Middle School, Salina, Utah
GRADES: Listed as 6-8, adaptable to higher grades
NOTE: This lesson involves drawing and labelling, as well as finding and learning vocabulary related to protozoans. The drawings and vocabulary words could very naturally be incorporated into a Lexicographer electronic dictionary of protozoans.
SITE: gopher://ericir.syr.edu/0R0-3997-/Lesson/Subject/Science/cecsci.18

Social Studies, History, Geography, Political Science
TITLE: A Study of Alaska
AUTHOR: Rosie Tenge, Anchorage School District, Anchorage, AK
GRADES: 2 - 12
NOTE: As this unit encourages reading, looking up information, and creating maps and reference materials, it could easily incorporate Lexicographer as a way to organize and save the information collected and discussed in the lesson.
SITE: gopher://ericir.syr.edu/0R0-4384-/Lesson/Subject/SocialStudies/cecsst.126

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