Writing option = No pencil needed
10Go hands-on to practice “writing” in language class!
(Movie trailers were being shown on the overhead projector during “Entertainment” unit. Students gave their opinions by putting together a paragraph, word by word. Great chance to explain ORDER concepts that are different in the target language.)
Megan
rachel573
Kara
Imagine having a set of these words for each unit! Then having a generic set for Novice speakers, a set for intermediate speakers, etc. I thinking that each set should be on a different color paper. I’m going to then put all the sets in one bag. I can tell them “Using the pink and green papers… write about…” Lots to think about!
Do you have a good system to keep them organized? The little bits always seems to disappear throughout the day.
Or is that what the hand written pieces are for?
I have them in little ziplock baggies. Some get lost during the day but there are usually multiples to begin the day. Plus, those blank ones can be used for any word the students need but can’t find. Most students like searching for the word and they end up teaching each other a lot. I had one student who thought it was stupid and didn’t want to do it, so I let him write it – no problem!
If you notice a baggie seems low on words, just combine them with another and print a new sheet.
Plus, if you want to challenge a few students to include new words in their vocabulary, print them BIGGER and in another color. I ask the class… “WHO NEEDS A CHALLENGE?” and tons of kids get brave
Great way to sell “in my opinion” “I believe” “even though” “every once in a while”…
Usually I just have extras that I pass out as needed/lost or handwrite them. I store them in envelopes for the next year. I print them on different colors of paper so if I find one on the floor it is narrowed down to a few sets.
I have a set of French magnetic poetry. I bought 8 cookie sheets (for my 8 tables) and use the magnetic words for something like this. I try to distribute the vocabulary equally among the 8 trays. The students love manipulating the magnets. If you do this, be sure to remove any suggestive language. (It’s amazing what students can understand when motivated).
My students absolutely love this activity! We do it as a review too and I give them all the words (vocab etc.) to make the sentences and i give a sentence having to do with the chapter orally and in groups they have to form it as quickly and correctly as possible….they love it!
This activity sounds very interesting and I can see various uses however could you explain the prep work? Does the teacher or student prepare these?
I have the Spanish kids poetry magnets (around $8 on amazon). Whenever we have a lull or a specific tense I want them to work on, I give groups of 3-4 some random nouns/verbs and they have to use each word and create a story using present, or preterit and imperfect, etc. When they are about halfway done, I go around and add surprise words that they then have to incorporate somehow. When they’re done, they write the stories on the board and switch to someone else’s story to make corrections and add anything they would like to add. We review them together afterward and nobody has to know if anyone’s story was not as grammatically correct as the rest.
Great! I love how you’ve added the twist of incorporating some extra words. I bet that makes things pretty interesting!
I love this idea, however, some of my classes are very large (34 is the biggest (down from 38 at the beginning of the year)). If I put them in groups, I often find that one person ends up doing most of the work. Any suggestions on how I could help each student be involved without making 34 baggies of words? And after they make their sentences, how do I check their work?