Here is a list of over 50 word families for Word Family Dictations or any other word study you do in your class.

 

A    -ab   -ack   -ad   -ag   -ail   -ain   -ake   -ale   -all   -am

           -ame    -an     -and   -ank   -ap   -ar   -ash    -at    -ate   

             -aw    -ay

E    -eat    -ed   -ell   -en   -est    -et

I     -ice   -ick  -ide   -ig   -ight   -ill   -in    -ine    -ing   -ink  

           -ip      -it

O    -ock   -og    -oke   -old    -op    -ore    -ot

U    -uck     -ug    -um    -ump   -unk

Word Family Dictation:

1.     I draw two columns on the board and write a word family at the top of each column. Students copy the columns on paper.

2.     I say a word and students repeat it.  Students then identify which column the word  belongs in.

3.     Students sound out and write the word on their papers.

4.     I ask the class to spell the word aloud as I write it in the appropriate column on the board. 

Here are some contrasting word family dictation options:

1. The teacher dictates key words one at a time.  Students write the words and then check their work.
2. The teacher dictates sentences with the key words.  Students orally repeat the sentences and write the number of words they hear.
3. Students write the sentence referring to the key word list as needed.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This handout has been adpated to fit blog formatting.

Part 1:  Listen and write the word you hear.

1. _____________       5. ______________   

2. _____________       6. _____________ 

3. _____________       7. _____________ 

4. _____________       8. _______________

Part 2:  Listen and write the sentences you hear.

Conversation Cards

1. At the end of every class I write any new questions we practiced  that day on cards- one question per card.
2. At the beginning of the following class , I  place piles of the cards facedown on tabletops around the room.
3. As students come in, they meet in pairs  and take turns picking up a card and asking their partner the question.
4. The activity lasts about 5 minutes.

Notes:

• The piles of cards grow over time.  If you have open enrollment, change the color of the cards occasionally so you can easily sort out old questions.
• Students can also write these questions for their own set of cards.
• This is a great way to absorb  late-comers without disruption, as they can quickly join any group and take a turn without direction or transition.

Sample questions:

• What do you do?
• Where do you work?
• Where are you from?
• How was your day?
• How was your week-end?
• What are your plans for the week-end?
• Do you have family here?
• Where do you work?
• How’s the family?

A List of Possible Classroom Jobs:

Technology Assistant

• Cues the audio on the CD player.
• Sets up the Overhead or LCD Projector.
• Starts up the computers when needed.

Materials Assistant

• Hands out papers, cards, pens, pencils, and other learning materials as needed.
• Collects the materials at the end of an activity.

Board Assistant

• Writes the date on the board
• Copies school announcements on the board.
• Erases the board when asked.

Attendance Assistant

• Takes roll-call      every class.
• Delivers the      attendance list to the proper mailbox.

Welcome Committee

Two or three students welcome new students to the class and bring them up to speed on class routines and expectations.  This is an ongoing job throughout the term.

Study Buddies

Everyone can be paired with a classmate to be study buddies.  Study buddies:

• communicate homework assignments when one buddy is absent.
• compare their homework assignments when completed.
• work together to organize their papers or notebooks.
• review (and complete) class notes together.

Practical Questions:

How many jobs do I assign?  I introduce one job a week so the class has some time to understand what each job entails.  I limit the total to three or four jobs so it is not too confusing who is responsible for what.

 How often do students rotate?  Since my classes meet twice a week throughout the school year, I rotate the jobs on a monthly basis so students get enough time to learn their jobs well and experience a couple of skill sets. 

How do I train them?  As I introduce the job, I tell the whole class about the job, explaining its duties and supplying a list of phrases and questions useful in performing the job.   Then as students rotate, they train one another in the job duties. 

Do students volunteer or get assigned?  The most timid students get first dibs on which job they prefer, but in the end everyone holds a job.

The basic ingredients to a reflection are always the same:

1.  Review

2.  Evaluate

3.  Plan for the next step in learning.

The way you present these ingredients has infinite variety.  Here are three activities I have used in my classes:

Review Class Notes

1. For homework, students review their class notes.

(please insert check mark)  Students mark a check next to the points they understand.

?    They write a question mark next to any section that confuses them.

+    They mark an addition sign next to any language point they want to practice more.

1. At the beginning of the next class, ask if anyone has questions about last class.  Students can quickly identify the areas they need help in.

Recap the Class

1. At the end of class, ask the class “What did we do in class today?  What did you learn?”  Write students’ ideas on the board.
2. Pointing to the complete list on the board, ask students “What was the most important thing you learned today?”  Place a star (please insert star) next to the items students identify.
3. Ask, “What do you want to practice more?”  Place an addition sign (+) next to those items.

Now you have a quick picture of student progress and ideas for practice next class.

Exit Tickets

At the end of class have students write down three things they learned in class.  You can make the suggestion more specific, for example:

• Three new words
• Three irregular past tense verbs
• Three important events in U.S. history
• Three things about their classmates

To become independent learners, students need to understand where learning resources are located.  Here are some tips for orienting students to resources in their textbooks and encouraging them to study on their own.

The Table of Contents

Pair Share

Have students work together to look at the Table of Contents and answer basic questions about the book, for example:

• How many units are there?
• Which unit is about (family/work/health)?
• Is there an answer key?

 Treasure Hunt

Variation 1:  List the names of several sections of the book and have students identify the page numbers by looking at the table of contents. For example;

• Unit 3:  _page 45_______
• Word List:  page 291_______
• Index:  page 45_______

 Variation 2:  Give students a page number and have students identify the name of the activity on the page.  For example: 

• What’s on page 278?  __The audioscript __
• What on page 118?  A reading about jobs

Unit Design

  True/False

Have everyone in the class look at a specific unit in the book.  Make statements about the unit and have students decide whether it is true or false, for example:

• There are three grammar lessons in this unit.
• The Review section is on pages 45 and 46.
• The answers for page 65 are on page 231 in the back of the book.

Pictionary

Draw symbols that your textbook uses and have students identify what they mean and then locate an example of the symbol in their book.  Common symbols are:

• headphones or a speaker
• a CD with track numbers
• a computer screen for corresponding CD Rom practice
• intonation lines for pronunciation
• an image of two heads for a conversation activity
• a box for checking off a goal

 Breaking the Color Code

Look at your textbook carefully.  Do certain colors always represent certain sections?  Perhaps all the goal setting activities have a green border.  Or perhaps all the pages in the back of the book are beige.  Study your book.  Write a list of the colors and what each color signals.  Then have your students break the color code.  Tell them a color and have them figure what kind of activity is always in that color.  For example:

Yellow:  Vocabulary Exercises

Purple: reading exercises

Green: answer key

 The Back of the Book

 Look it Up

In pairs, have students find the page number for various listings in the textbook  index.

 Problem Solving

Tell students about fictitious students with specific study needs.  Have students brainstorm how the fictitious student could use the textbook to improve his or her English. For example:

• Case 1:  Reading in English is easy for Elsa but she has a hard time understanding what people say.  What can she do to improve her listening? (Possible response:  Listen to audio while she reads the audio script.)
• Case 2:  Jean is very good at speaking English but he has a hard time spelling words.  What can he do to improve his spelling?  (Possible response:  study the word lists in the back of the book.)

 Don’t Tell – Only Ask

1.  With listening activities, ask students to identify the track number and cue up the machine. 
2. At the end of the listening activity ask students identify the page of the corresponding audio script. 
3. When students finish a grammar activity, have them identify the corresponding page for the answer key. 

 Are there other ways you encourage your students to get to know their textbooks?  

Take turns

Go ahead.

You go first.

It’s my turn.

Talk about procedure

What do we need to do?

What’s first?

Now, we need to . . .

Ask for  repetition

Excuse me?

Could you repeat that, please?

Ask for clarification

What do you mean?

Tell me more.

Really?  In what ways?

Invite your  partner to speak

How about you?

What do you think?

What do you have for number X?

Show interest

Really?

Uh-huh.

Wow!

 Make suggestions

Let’s . . .

Maybe we can . .

What if we . . ..

Express  Appreciation

Thank you.

I really appreciate it.

It was nice working with you.

 
]]> http://teachertwoteacher.wordpress.com/2011/06/14/language-for-working-in-teams/feed/ 0 Sarah Lynn http://teachertwoteacher.wordpress.com/2011/05/29/373/ http://teachertwoteacher.wordpress.com/2011/05/29/373/#comments Sun, 29 May 2011 18:03:03 +0000 Sarah Lynn http://teachertwoteacher.wordpress.com/?p=373 ]]>

What better pursuit in summer than a little pleasure reading?   This summer students in my multilevel class  will explore some independent reading.

The Library

I have a small library of readers from all sorts of presses.  It represents a variety of texts –non-fiction and fiction with levels from emerging reader up to third grade level.  These are small readers students can tuck into their bags and read on their commute.

Choosing the Right Book

Pleasure  reading is about getting caught up in a story.   To this end, I make sure students choose books that they can read with
ease. To gauge the level appropriateness of a book, have the student read one page of text.  If the student encounters more than five unknown words on the first page, it is too high for pleasure reading.

 The Schedule

Once  a week, we gather around our trove of books and students point out the ones they recommend  . . . or not.  The objective is to engage students in talking about books. Then students select a book they want to read outside of class.   When a student returns a book, s/he can choose another one.

 Accountability

To bring this up to a notch, I’ve added an element I’ve learned from consumer websites such as Amazon or Netflix.  After each book, students write reviews, which I post on the classroom walls for their classmates to survey.  Here is a sample.

Adult students with interrupted education often haven’t had the opportunity to develop a sense of how they learn best    As teachers we can help them think about their study habit and how they learn best.

I recently I wrote up a survey about study preferences. Focus on one topic at a time with students and give them a few weeks to observe their own tendencies and preferences before moving on to the next topic.   For each topic, have students share what they learn about their own study habits and share tips.