*Discuss the importance of recycling vocabulary and share ideas. *Adapt reading comprehension tasks in order for our 6 th Grade students to be able to meet the requirements of Junior High.
Some research-based facts about vocabulary teaching. Based on Penny Ur’s lecture Etai 2009
It is possible to understand a written text and to express yourself almost with very little grammar knowledge but without vocabulary it is not possible to do either.
‘Learners need to acquire a large number of lexical items.’ In order for students to understand the general meaning of a text they should understand 98% of the words. Only then will they be able to elicit the rest from context. By the end of the 6 th Grade they should know about 1000 words.
‘Many of the lexical items learners need to know are language chunks or collocations.’ Language chunks are one of the main ingredients of successful transition to higher levels of English.
‘You can’t acquire enough vocabulary only through incidental encounters.’ We need deliberate teaching and re- teaching of new items. The best first encounter is through a quick demonstration of meaning + impactful written and spoken forms.
‘Focus on teaching the most frequently used words explicitly.’ It is important to make sure that the most common items are mastered, and not to waste too much time and energy on the ones the students are unlikely to encounter very much.
‘In order to acquire a word, a learner needs to review it at least 10 times.’
It is a good idea to use the word list from Dr. Judy Steiner’s site to ensure that you are covering the entire lexical bank of vocabulary necessary for the 6 th Grade. Stay up to Date SO….. Keep a list of all the vocabulary you teach the class. git/english/inspectoratesdesk/whatsnew.htm
Students should write the new items in vocabulary notebooks – with a translation. Have weekly (bilingual) dictations. Start every lesson reviewing the words in different ways. Reviewing using word cards/picture/definition. Recalling the item in response to a picture or definition. Saying the word in L1. Completing a sentence using the lexical item.
Making up a sentence with the lexical item. a question a true sentence an obviously untrue sentence a riddle
Pupils will be ready for Junior High School When they are able to: decode a written text (using basic reading skills) *understand the general meaning, main ideas and sequence of events in a text and use this knowledge as needed *identify different text types and use this knowledge as needed *use simple information tools *find out and follow short and simple directions and instructions in familiar contexts *extract information from visual data, such as time tables *locate relevant information for a specific purpose
1. According to the text in Highlight on page Circle the number of the correct answer. Example: The first ice cream was 1. cheap 2. expensive 3. rich
2. Circle the correct answer. Yes or No. All the people in China ate ice cream (lines 1-3) YES/NO Copy the sentence/ words that prove your answer __________________________________
3. Complete the sentence. (lines 7-10) In 1600, ice cream was cheaper because __________________________________
today4000 years ago Where? Who? Kinds of ice cream 4.Fill in the information in the table below.
5. Name TWO kinds of ice cream you can eat today. a.________________ b.________________
6. What does the “it” in line 2 refer to? __________________________
7. Fill in the missing information: EffectCause Rich people in Italy had ice cream. Ice cream is very cheap today.
8. Find a word in the text that has the same meaning as: at the beginning (lines 1-5)
9. Open ended questions. For example: Why was ice cream cheaper in 1600?
10. Sequence the sentences. ____ Rich people in Italy started eating ice cream. ____ Everyone eats ice cream today. ____ People in China began to make ice cream. ____ People found new ways to keep ice frozen. ____ Ice cream was cheaper.
11. Personal Response How often do you eat ice cream? _________________ What is your favourite kind? ____________________