Treetops wordcards

Introduction

Using the wordcards There is no precise moment when children go from the spoken language to reading. Visual recognition of words should be presented when the children can manage to produce the language orally and can use it with confidence. Children do not need a huge vocabulary to be able to enjoy reading and its benefits, so it is not necessary to wait until they have learnt lots of words before using the wordcards. When learning to read, children go through two stages. In the first stage, they learn to associate the word with the corresponding object, person, colour or animal. In the second stage, they recognise the shape, length and organisation of the letters in the word, just by observing them. To learn to read well in English, children first of all need to see the words associated with their meaning repeatedly in order to be able to establish a relationship between the two. Children then have to see the words on their own many more times before they are able to decode them. This means that children must be exposed as much as possible to the written form of the words. One way of increasing classroom exposure is to use the wordcards, which can be used in many engaging ways. This introduction suggests a series of activities to do in class which can be adapted to fit the needs of your pupils.

Making the cards The cards are photocopiable, so you can make as many copies as you need. To lengthen their lifespan it is a good idea to cut them out and stick them on card, and if possible also laminate them.

Examples of activities Matching

Activity 1 The teacher randomly gives out some flashcards and their corresponding wordcards, so that the children have one card each. When all the children have got a card, ask them to walk around the class holding the card up until they find the person with the matching card. This can be a fun way to put the children into pairs. Activity 2 Stick some flashcards and wordcards randomly on the board.

Ask the pupils to come up to the board and match the flashcards with the corresponding wordcards. Activity 3 Draw a big pig on the board. Tell the children that Piggy is hungry and that his favourite food is English words. Stick some wordcards randomly on the board (but not inside the pig) and keep the corresponding flashcards in your hand. Show the children a flashcard and tell them that the child who can find the corresponding word on the board can feed it to Piggy. When a child finds the word, they must come up and stick it inside Piggys body. Activity 4 Hide the wordcards around the classroom. Split the class into two teams. Give a pupil from one team a flashcard and do the same with a child from the opposing team, then tell them to find the corresponding wordcards. When one of the team members has identified the corresponding wordcard, give another flashcard to another child from the same team. The team that manages to match most flashcards and wordcards wins. Activity 5 Hold up a wordcard. Tell the pupils to find the corresponding picture in their Class Book. This could also be done as a race, with the pupil who points to the correct picture and says the word first winning a point for their team. Activity 6 Photocopy the wordcards for a vocabulary set that the children are already familiar with and show them to the class. You can do exercises with the words to remind the children of the association between letters and sound. Then cut all the wordcards in half, shuffle them and scatter them randomly across the table or the board. (Given that for very young children this task will not be easy, it is advisable to limit the number of words to four or five). Ask the pupils to come to the front and reconstruct the words. You can make this activity into a game by splitting the class into two teams and getting them to reconstruct the words in turn, or you can prepare different sets of words so that the children work in small groups. Activity 7 Prepare two identical sets of wordcards for the words that you would like to revise. Divide the board into two equal halves by drawing a vertical line down the middle. Show the children both sets of wordcards so that they can see the two sets are the same. Shuffle the two sets of wordcards separately and stick each set randomly on a different side of the board, face down. Number all the cards, for example from 1 to 5 on one side and from 6 to 10 on the other.

Split the class into two teams. Ask a child from one team to say two numbers, one from each side of the board. Turn the cards over to see if they make a pair. Ask the pupils to read the word from each card when you turn it over. If a team finds a matching pair of cards they win a point and get another turn. If they dont find a pair, turn the cards face down again and let the other team have their turn. A Memory Game Activity 8 Stick four wordcards randomly on the board. Get the children to read out the words. Turn the cards over and ask the children to tell you the words they remember. Turn the cards face up again and find out if they were right. Ask the children to close their eyes: it is important that they dont see. Take away one of the wordcards and ask: Whats missing? Repeat the activity several times. When the children are familiar with this activity you can put more wordcards on the board or take away more than one at a time. Spelling Activity 9 Put the wordcards on the floor or stick them on the classroom walls, making sure that they are at a suitable height for the children. Say a letter and ask the children to go round the classroom and collect all the words starting with that letter. Activity 10 On the board, put wordcards for words that all start with the same letter, apart from one (for example pencil, pen, pencil-case and book or drum, doll, Daisy and Mum). Ask the children to tell you the odd one out. Repeat with other sets of words. As the children get better at reading, you can do the same activity with sets of words that have the same first or last letter, always remembering to include an odd one out. Having fun with wordcards Activity 11 Photocopy and cut out some wordcards. Give them to the children to decorate, perhaps with a drawing that represents the word. Stick the cards to the classroom walls. You can decide whether to hold a competition where the children have to choose the classs favourite word, or the one with the best decoration, etc. Activity 12 On the board, put wordcards of words all belonging to the same lexical set, apart from

one. Ask the children to find the odd one out. Repeat the procedure with different lexical sets, always remembering to include an odd

one out.

Activity 13 Choose some wordcards of words that you want to revise. Split the class in half. Half the pupils have to turn their backs to you. The other half have to stand with their backs against a partner from the first group, facing you. Hold up a wordcard and show it to the children facing you. The children facing you have to write the word on their partners back with their finger, and their partner has to try to guess the word. Given that the children havent had much practice at writing, at first it is best to do this activity with short words that they know well.

Treetops wordcardsIntroductionUsing the wordcardsMaking the cardsExamples of activities