1. Christmas Endless Words v1
Contributed by Janet Kinsey
Abingdon and Witney College
Please read the notes area of this slide for instructions, teaching ideas and extension activities
Kindly contributed to the Adult Basic Skills Resource Centre by Janet Kinsey, Abingdon and Witney College.
December 2008
Suitable for ESOL, Beginner to intermediate
Literacy: E1-E2 possibly E3
From an idea in “Dictionaries” by Jon Wright, OUP.
Aims: to help develop a feel for the shape of words and word boundaries; to stimulate discussion, to increase vocabulary, to encourage use dictionaries.
Provide dictionaries for students.
In pairs, students use the handouts (on projection on screen) to find the words within the character-string.  If you have odd numbers of students, a variation is to appoint an observer who must try to note how the pairs actually recognise the words. 
They check their answers in a dictionary
Discuss how they found the right answers.  How did they know where one word ended and another began? 
For weaker groups, tutor could go through the list, asking “Can a word begin with ght, ekf ?”   “Can a word end with gmi, rsst,?”
Extension:  ask students to look through their recent work and make their own endless words puzzle up and pass it to their neighbours.  Use dictionary to get their puzzle right.
Variation:  harder version (v2) is also available with one letter incorporated which does not belong in any of the words.  Pairs must find it. 
Speaking /Listening:  in my E1/2 group discussion arose out of unusual words like mistletoe – questions about what it is, where you find it, how it propagates, its parasitic nature etc.  This was a good Q/A and discussion opportunity which the students had ownership of.

2. crackersstockingmincepiegift

3. mistletoesherryhollysanta

4. treepuddingpresentsdecorations

5. carolslogsfirehollysnow

6. sleighturkeylogsreindeer