CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES FOR EXPANSION, PRESENTATION, REVIEW, ENRICHMENT Penny Ur Bnei Brak, February 2015

1. Expanding students’ vocabulary

Sources 1: Texts List the most important items to teach Including ‘chunks’ Make sure they are reviewed

Sources 2: Teacher initiative ‘Word of the day’ (words, idioms, proverbs) Current events, ‘hot’ topics Unexpected opportunities Vocabulary expansion tasks

Brainstorm associations (lots!) and add

Associations appetite food kitcheneat 6

Vocabulary expansion tasks Brainstorm associations (lots!) and add Brainstorm associations (collocations) and add

Collocations A clear /…/…/… explanation A beautiful /…/…/… landscape A small /…/…/… child You can leave home /…/…/… Some people are afraid of mice /…/…/… To speak loudly … /…/…/…

Vocabulary expansion tasks Brainstorm associations (lots!) and add Brainstorm associations (collocations) and add Look up a word you know in the dictionary – find new meanings Look a word you know in the dictionary – find new expressions Find ten new words that begin with a given prefix

Useful prefixes re- un- mis- dis- in-, ir-, il- (=not) down- inter- con-, com-, cor-, col- trans- ex- mega- micro- non- mini- sub super-

Vocabulary expansion tasks Brainstorm associations (lots!) and add Brainstorm associations (collocations) and add Look up a word you know in the dictionary – find new meanings Look a word you know in the dictionary – find new expressions Find ten new words that begin with a given prefix Find ten new words that end with a given suffix

Useful suffixes -less -able/ -ible -er/ -or -ology -ist -ment -tion, -sion -ance / -ence -ness -ize -ate -ly -ive -al -y -ful

Vocabulary expansion tasks Brainstorm associations (lots!) and add Brainstorm associations (collocations) and add Look up a word you know in the dictionary – find new meanings Look a word you know in the dictionary – find new expressions Find ten new words that begin with a given prefix Find ten new words that end with a given suffix Find a translation for a word / expression in L1

Sources 3: Student-initiated 1.Sharing: ‘Show and tell’ 2.Individual: vocabulary notebooks Extensive reading (using dictionary) (International) news

2. Presenting new vocabulary

Known from research New items are not learnt very effectively through ‘incidental’ encounter, so… …Attention is necessary for learning ‘Knowing’ an item involves a number of different aspects But spelling, pronunciation and most common meaning – most important.

The process 1.In most cases, items are encountered first in a context. 2.Then we take time to focus on them out of context (isolated). 3.Later (review) used again, usually in context. This section is mainly about stage 2.

Aims Attention / noticing Immediate mapping of form onto meaning Impact and ‘imprinting’ (beginning to remember)

So… Clear display of the written and spoken form of the item + its basic meaning Dramatic / humorous / pleasing presentation Writing on the board – and leaving there

How to present meaning: various options Picture?   Realia? Explanation + examples? Context? Mime? Translation?

How would you present the following items… Incredible Walk A thing An apple To describe Only To edit Very Unnecessary Reasonable

How to present meaning: various options Picture? Realia? Explanation + examples? Context? Mime? Translation? Often best: a combination of translation with one or more of the others

Why might these NOT be good ideas for a first presentation of an item in class? 1.Look up the new word in a dictionary: e.g. discuss 2.Guess the meaning from a sentence context e.g. We discussed the problem. 3.Give them meaning and a scrambled word, they have to sort it out e.g. לדון scidsus

Beware…. Don’t teach words together that might be confused : pairs of opposites (e.g. tall + short) groups that all mean the same kind of thing (e.g. shirt + pants + coat + sweater) words that sound similar (e.g. accept + except) Don’t waste time on ‘not knowing’ (guessing, puzzling out …)

Some strategies that can help ‘Keywords’ ‘Retrieval’ Vocabulary notebooks

Keywords Link the new word with an image, that associates with something in the L1 For example: Gate: imagine a baguette stuck in a gate Star: imagine a star drawn on a banknote שטר Let students think of their own examples

Retrieval Getting students to recall meanings or forms from memory just after they’ve been taught the new items. For example: You’ve just taught ten new items. Delete them, and challenge students to recall them Delete meanings, leaving only target words (or vice versa); challenge students to recall Do a dictation or translation dictation

First encounter: To recap: The priority is immediate and clear mapping of meaning onto form Both written and spoken Maximum impact Opportunities for quick, immediate retrieval

3. Vocabulary review activities

In order to acquire a word, a learner needs to review it Probably at least ten times Common words like there – no problem, likely to come up in texts. But more advanced words like research: problem! Students also need to learn further aspects of the word: its connotations, collocations, appropriate contexts of use…. 30

How can we find the time?

A myth You have to practice new vocabulary in context (sentences, full texts) Not always. It’s also useful to practice it in isolation, or within brief phrases.

Features of effective review activities Validity (time is used to review vocabulary, not for puzzling out, searching, ‘busy’ work)

So… Games like ‘Hangman’ are not ‘valid’, mostly a waste of time. This applies to a lot of word games. What about ‘wordsearch’?

Computer-generated wordsearch IYHSHONYTFPMDMJ DXZOCRCEERTREXE RVUFOFLTEKMUFFY ESRIMEZSILKNGJU EYESPIENZBIIKNA FVWHUNUSCXWCWBD KGODTOOFUALJOYG HNLWEOLEBBQVGHV EVFXRMLUGFDGNRE EARXUTACWPFWURN IEMRTSBTMQHZGFY ENYOCIAIHILSMEZ BPBKINGYXAKFLGH AVATPUCSTPEFFRW QQLMDMFQWZVUMBY 1 picture 2 computer 3 dog 4 clothes 5 house 6 sun 7 moon 8 bag 9 bottle 10 foot 11 tree 12 flower 13 cup 14 key 15 cat 16 present (n) 17 eyes 18 ball 19 telephone 20 fish

Computer-generated wordsearch IYHSHONYTFPMDMJ DXZOCRCEERTREXE RVUFOFLTEKMUFFY ESRIMEZSILKNGJU EYESPIENZBIIKNA FVWHUNUSCXWCWBD KGODTOOFUALJOYG HNLWEOLEBBQVGHV EVFXRMLUGFDGNRE EARXUTACWPFWURN IEMRTSBTMQHZGFY ENYOCIAIHILSMEZ BPBKINGYXAKFLGH AVATPUCSTPEFFRW QQLMDMFQWZVUMBY 1 picture 2 computer 3 dog 4 clothes 5 house 6 sun 7 moon 8 bag 9 bottle 10 foot 11 tree 12 flower 13 cup 14 key 15 cat 16 present (n) 17 eyes 18 ball 19 telephone 20 fish

Home-made TCUPHEKPEN 0LFL0WERAT POOCUFYESE ITOASITSTY CHTTESOERE TELEPHONES USCOMPUTER RUHBOTTLEF ENADOGBALL CATINOBODY 1 picture 2 computer 3 dog 4 clothes 5 house 6 sun 7 moon 8 bag 9 bottle 10 foot 11 tree 12 flower 13 cup 14 key 15 cat 16 present (n) 17 eyes 18 ball 19 telephone 20 fish

Home-made TCUPHEKPEN 0LFL0WERAT POOCUFYESE ITOASITSTY CHTTESOERE TELEPHONES USCOMPUTER RUHBOTTLEF ENADOGBALL CATINOBODY 1 picture 2 computer 3 dog 4 clothes 5 house 6 sun 7 moon 8 bag 9 bottle 10 foot 11 tree 12 flower 13 cup 14 key 15 cat 16 present (n) 17 eyes 18 ball 19 telephone 20 fish

Features of effective review activities Validity (time is used to review vocabulary, not for puzzling out, searching, ‘busy’ work) Quantity (number of items, number of times ‘engaged’ with)

So… Try to use the activity for plenty of items, ‘engaged with’ more than once.

So… Try to use the activity for plenty of items, ‘engaged with’ more than once. For example: ‘Recall and share’

bicycle becausepeople independentembarrassed friendencourage privilegebuilding enough

Features of effective review activities Validity (time is used to review vocabulary, not for puzzling out, searching, ‘busy’ work) Quantity (number of items, number of times ‘engaged’ with) Success-orientation Heterogeneity (can be done at various levels)

Copy the words into the correct column a clock, a dog, a dress, a mother, black, a pen, bread, pants, a bag, a husband, red, boots, a cat, rice, a fish, a baby, pink, a teenager, a hat, a banana, a book, a sheep, meat, kids, a desk, green, an elephant, salt, a t-shirt, white peopleclothesfoodthingscoloursanimals

Find at least three things to put in each column a clock, a dog, a dress, a mother, black, a pen, bread, pants, a bag, a husband, red, boots, a cat, rice, a fish, a baby, pink, a teenager, a hat, a banana, a book, a sheep, meat, kids, a desk, green, an elephant, salt, a t-shirt, white peopleclothesfoodthingscoloursanimals

Features of effective review activities Validity (time is used to review vocabulary, not for puzzling out, searching, ‘busy’ work) Quantity (number of items, number of times ‘engaged’ with) Success-orientation Heterogeneity (can be done at various levels) Interest (a stimulating task, often involving higher-order thinking skills).

Which is the odd one out? (Where there is no one obvious answer!) All the others are… It’s the only one which … house, tree, stone, dog, pencil flute, accordion, violin, guitar, drums door, window, gate, entrance, seat, chair, stool, sofa, bench earthquake, fire, storm, flood, drought 47

Features of effective review activities Validity (time is used to review vocabulary, not for puzzling out, searching, ‘busy’ work) Quantity (number of items, number of times ‘engaged’ with) Success-orientation Heterogeneity (can be done at various levels) Interest (a stimulating task, often involving higher- order thinking skills). Simplicity (not too much preparation or elaborate materials)

Some review activities How many can you remember? ‘Recall and share’ Quick Bingo Dictations (and variations)

Review activities using higher- order thinking skills Link two Make a true sentence about yourself using… Create false statements using.. Ask questions to which the answer would be… Sort into positive, negative, neutral What is the connection between…? How is a … like a…?

Link two cellphonelifeall over the world factscountries location remote areas earthquake the invention of communicate with important events photographshurricanesave lives for examplerescue party 

Make a true sentence about yourself cellphonelifeall over the world factscountries location remote areas earthquake the invention of communicate with important events photographshurricanesave lives for examplerescue party 

Make a false statement cellphonelifeall over the world factscountries location remote areas earthquake the invention of communicate with important events photographshurricanesave lives for examplerescue party 

Ask a question to which the answer would be… cellphonelifeall over the world factscountries location remote areas earthquake the invention of communicate with important events photographshurricanesave lives for examplerescue party 

Sort into positive, negative, neutral cellphonelifeall over the world factscountries location remote areas earthquake the invention of communicate with important events photographshurricanesave lives for examplerescue party 

What is the connection between…? cellphonelifeall over the world factscountries location remote areas earthquake the invention of communicate with important events photographshurricanesave lives for examplerescue party 

Make up a story that includes all the items cellphonelifeall over the world factscountries location remote areas earthquake the invention of communicate with important events photographshurricanesave lives for examplerescue party 

4. Deepening knowledge of previously learnt items

Deepening of knowledge Learning more about items whose form and basic meaning you already know. Underlying meanings and connotations? Grammatical connections? Derivatives? Collocation? Appropriateness? Translation?

For example: Look up a word you already know, in a dictionary; find out more about it. Identify the difference in connotation / meaning between synonyms.

Synonyms children / kids lamp / light macho / masculine seat / chair orchestra / band policeman / police officer pal / mate apartment / flat donate / give

For example: Look up a word you already know, in a dictionary. Identify the difference in connotation / meaning between synonyms. Discuss translations (to / from L1).

Translate? The phrase ‘a born teacher’ is not usually meant to be taken literally. People who use it do not seriously mean that someone is born with a certain teaching DNA configuration in their genes. They are, rather, referring to stable personality characteristics, resulting from a combination of innate and environmental influences, that the teacher brings to their professional practice and that produce something that looks like a natural bent for teaching. 

For example: Look up a word you already know, in a dictionary. Identify the difference in connotation / meaning between synonyms. Discuss translations (to / from L1). Discuss appropriateness of items in a text.

Summary We need to do a lot of vocabulary activities in class: for expansion, for initial presentation, for review. These activities need to be effective in terms of the amount of learning going on, But without too much preparation or time-wasting in class. 65

Thank you for your attention