Trugs in Twenty Minutes!

What we’ll cover: 1.A reminder of what TRUGS is 2.Logging on 3.How to find your classes 4.How to add vocabulary lists 5.Making vocabulary lists visible 6.What to do with the vocab lists – some suggestions

What TRUGS is: In Learning Support: All students assessed for a TRUGS level (word processing speed) Selected students work with Learning Support staff using the trugs games to build familiarity with word patterns In your classroom: You create vocabulary lists on the website for your topics You use the class lists on the site to create differentiated vocabulary lists for your students Students’ literacy levels improve…

How to log on: Go to: (Add this page to your internet favourites to find it easily) User name: hamble Password: test1234

How to find your classes: Once logged on, make sure that you have clicked on the ‘Teacher Tasks’ tab (this will usually be the tab already open on the screen):

How to find your classes: You can filter the class list to find your class easily by clicking on Subject or Year Group and selecting the information required. Or, even more easily, just search for your name in the search box.

How to find your classes: Now click on ‘view’ to see your chosen class.

How to print out vocab lists: Select the topic you want to print out a vocabulary list for:

How to print out vocab lists: Then click ‘Generate New Printouts’ to bring up a screen showing the different types of printout you can create (see next slide).

How to print out vocab lists: For a useful list of vocab words for you to print out and keep in your planner, click ‘Words List Printout’. This will show you which words different groups of students will need help with.

How to print out vocab lists: For a differentiated list of vocabulary for each student (which they could then put in their books or take home and learn for homework for example), click Students’ Printout.

How to print out vocab lists: You can also get information about which students have ‘writing legibility issues’.

How to print out vocab lists: The last button provides very detailed phonics breakdowns of the vocabulary list for each student, but you do not need to go into this much detail with your students.

How to add vocabulary lists: To add vocabulary lists to the site, go to any class list page and click the ‘Add Topics or Words’ button.

How to add vocabulary lists: This will bring up a new box, into which you can type your list of words. The list of words should be separated out by commas, not put onto new lines (i.e: sunshine, rain, thunder, hail…) Once you’ve typed them all in (check the spelling of each one for typos or errors!), then press ‘Send Suggestion’. These words will appear on the site within 1-3 days usually.

Making vocabulary lists visible: To make sure that your vocabulary list is available to use, you’ll need to check that it is ‘visible’. To do this, click on the ‘Manager Tasks’ tab:

Making vocabulary lists visible: Then click on the ‘Manage Topics’ icon:

Making vocabulary lists visible: This brings you to the subjects and topics page. Click on your subject, then make your topic visible by clicking on the ‘hidden/visible’ button, making sure that it is set to ‘visible’. This means it will now appear in the topics list whenever you open a class list.

What could I do with the vocab lists? 1.Print a differentiated vocab list for all students in your class to stick in their books and refer to. 2.Have a vocab area on your classroom wall and stick the list up there to refer to. 3.Set the vocab list as a spelling homework on ShowMyHomework, using the spelling test function. 4.Create a multiple choice quiz as a starter, getting students to choose the correct meaning of the word (you could also do this as a homework using the quiz function on ShowMyHomework). 5.Give your class a challenge to include as many vocabulary words from the trugs list as they can in a piece of work, then use a green pen to underline them to show they’ve used them. 6.Use the differentiated lists to create groups in your class and get them to create a glossary for their list to be shared with the rest of the class. 7.Etc…..