Reading- word recognition

This is a worksheet based activity for whole word recognition. Provide the word to be recognised in a narrow column on the left hand side of the page. Then in a larger right hand column, write a sentence containing the word to be recognised. Learners would underline the word.

Leave plenty of white space on the page and keep to simple sentences.

It is also an opportunity to rehearse the idea of sentences beginning with a capital letter and finishing with a full stop, and that efficient readers skim sentences to 'pick up' chunks of ideas ensuring that they will understand more of what they read.

Scanning and whole word recognition

Skimming involves glancing over a text quickly in order to see if a text might be of interest.  Scanning involves looking over a text quickly in order to get the gist of it.

Word searches are useful for:

• Learners who need to improve their reading skills.  Some learners read every word very carefully, so often fail to take in the meaning of the text because by the time they reach the end of a paragraph they have forgotten what it was about.  Learners need to select either skimming, scanning or detailed reading from their toolbox of skills according to the purpose for which they are reading.
• Learners who are beginning on the whole word recognition journey. 

Games Using Scrabble Tiles 2

Create a crossword and then provide learners with the letters that they need to solve the crossword.  You could print/draw the grid on a large sheet of paper so that the tiles fit to the grid.  Again, the act of moving the tiles around is a useful one because learners are less worried about making an error.  Once they are sure that they have spelled a word correctly they could then fill in their own copy of the crossword.

Crossword type scrabble game pads are commercially available.  These can be useful but it is helpful for learners to rehearse spellings of key words, vocational words and patterns that are being discussed during class.

Programmes that create crosswords are commercially available and can be a useful investment if you intend to provide learners with routine fillers/homework.

Word games with scabble letters

Change a letter.
Learners have access to all the letters - this game can be played on paper but it is useful for active learning for learners to physically move the letters.

• Ask a learner to provide you with a four letter word (polite please) e.g.  love.
• The next learner must change one letter to make a new word. e.g. love becomes dove.
• And so on (eg dove could become dome) until learners run out of words or arrive back at the start of the list with love.

This is an opportunity to explore phoneme-grapheme links.

A Language Experience Approach

This resource is to help people who want to learn to read- it is a one to one or small group approach.

• Find out what they are interested in, or something interesting that is topical.
• After you have talked with the learner ask them to identify a few interesting things which you can write down.
• Discuss any changes the learner wants to make to what you have written.
• Write it neatly or type it out in an accessible font such as arial or comic sans.
• Read it slowly to the learner so that they can follow what you are reading.  You may need to indicate with your finger.
• Now the learner can echo read after you until he or she is confident to try it alone.
• Use pictures and the text for different activities. e.g cutting the text up and asking the learner to reassemble a sentence.
• Build a library to reading cards so that the learner can rehearse their words with different activities e.g. matching.

Here are some links with more information.  There is also stuff on U Tube.
http://www.sil.org/lingualinks/literacy/referencematerials/glossaryofliteracyterms/whatisthelanguageexperienceapp.htm
http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/ela/e_literacy/language.html

www.readingmatrix.com/articles/wurr/article.pdf 

 

Some of the links refer to children or to ESL (English as a Second Language).  The technique works with a variety of learners and it is always worth exploring other sector/learner group approaches to teaching Literacy.

Traffic light reflection

This is an activity that can work in a variety of situations.  I used it today with my learners to help them reflect on their individual learning goals.  Each learner will require a red, amber and green card. 

The green card contains the skill (s) that they feel really confident about.  They should write the skills they wish to rehearse to improve their confidence on their amber card and the red card is for those skills or pieces of knowledge that brings them out in a cold sweat just thinking about it.  Ideally the red cards should be blank if they have worked steadily towards their targets.

Once they have done this encourage learners to discuss with one another why they have made their decisions.
The next step is to help them to think of their next set of goals and to celebrate their achievements.

Dictionary Race

Learners can play this game on their own or in teams.
Prepare a list of words - if you are working with vocational learners use words that they are likely to need.
Call one word out at a time.  Learners race to find the word and then spell it out.

It is also useful to have dictionaries available when you are doing board work.  Ask learners to spell words for you or to check words in the dictionary.  This has a two fold role - it rehearses skills and it demonstrates that everyone needs to use a dictionary - even the tutor!  This is confidence building.
Ww/E3.1, Ww/L1.1