1. 1 Pablo Meja Maldonado. Esp, MSc

2. 2 An Effective Resource in the Classroom ! one picture is worth a thousand words 3. 3 An Effective Resource in the Classroom ! 1. There are many types of learners within any one class. Gardener's research indicates that teachers should aim to appeal to all the different learner types at some point during the course. 2.- It is particularly important to appeal to visual learners, since a very high proportion of learners have this type of intelligence. Flashcards can be bright and colorful and make a real impact on visual learners. 4. 4 An Effective Resource in the Classroom ! INTELLIGENCE TYPES AND APPROPRIATE EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES Intelligence Type Educational Activities Linguistic lectures, worksheets, word games, journals, debates Logical puzzles, estimations, problem solving Spatial / Visual charts, diagrams, graphic organizers, drawings, films, flash cards Bodily hands-on, mime, craft, demonstrations Musical singing, poetry, Jazz Chants, mood music Interpersonal group work, peer tutoring, class projects Intrapersonal reflection, interest centers, personal-values tasks Naturalist field trips, show and tell, plant and animal projects 5. 5 An Effective Resource in the Classroom ! 3.- For children at reading age, FLASH CARDS can be used in conjunction with word cards. These are simply cards that display the written word. Word cards should be introduced well after the pictorial cards so as not to interfere with correct pronunciation. 4.- Flashcards are a really handy resource to have and can be useful at every stage of the class. They are a great way to warm up, present, practice, recycle, assess, reinforce and consolidate vocabulary / structural patterns / phonics and when students become familiar with the activities used in class, they can be given out to early-finishers to use in small groups. 6. 6 An Effective Resource in the Classroom ! Word cards should be introduced well after the pictorial cards so as not to interfere with correct pronunciation. laugh 7. 7 An Effective Resource in the Classroom ! A drawing, painting, or photograph on a piece of cardboard 8. # 9. 9 to drill vocabulary by sitting in front of the class so that the whole class can see them easily and go through the drill. An Effective Resource in the Classroom ! to flash the cards for a second and the students have to tell you what the card is. That's why they're called flashcards. As Ss become more familiar with them you can shorten the time of the flash. You can liven this process up by learning how to throw the cards up into the air so that they spin around and then catching them again. An added bonus of doing this is that when you mess it up and the cards end up all over the floor the kids get a good laugh. 10. 10 An Effective Resource in the Classroom ! Activities might be classified into the following categories: Memory, drilling, identification and TPR activities. Memory Activities Memory Tester Place a selection of flash cards on the floor in a circle. Students have one minute to memorize the cards. In groups, they have two minutes to write as many of the names as they can remember. 11. 11 An Effective Resource in the Classroom ! Drilling Activities Invisible Flashcards Stick 9 flash cards on the board and draw a grid around them. Use a pen or a pointer to drill the 9 words. Always point to the flash card you are drilling. Gradually remove the flash cards but continue to drill and point to the grid where the flash card was. When the first card is removed and you point to the blank space, nod your head to encourage children to say the word of the removed flash card. Students should remember and continue as if the flash cards were still there. This activity highlights the impact of visual aids. It really proves that the images 'stick' in students' minds. 12. 12 An Effective Resource in the Classroom ! Drilling Activities 13. 13 An Effective Resource in the Classroom ! Identification Activities Reveal the Word. Cover the flash card or word card with a piece of card and slowly reveal it. Students guess which one it is. Once the card is shown, chorally drill the word with the group using different intonation and silly voices to keep it fun. Vary the volume too, whisper and shout the words. Children will automatically copy your voice. Alternatively, flip the card over very quickly so the children just get a quick glimpse. Repeat until they have guessed the word. 14. 14 An Effective Resource in the Classroom ! TPR Activities Point or Race to the Flash Card. Stick flash cards around the class. Say one of them and students point or race to it. Students can then give the instructions to classmates. You can extend this by saying "hop to the dog" or even "if you have blonde hair, run to the bear" etc. You can also incorporate flash cards into a game of Simon Says. "Simon says, jump to the T-shirt" etc. 15. 15 An Effective Resource in the Classroom ! Give Ss the Cards! Show the children the flash cards one by one. The first student to say the word is given the flash cards. When you have given out all the flash cards the student with the most cards is the winner. Call out the name of a flash card and the student with that card returns it to you. 16. 16 An Effective Resource in the Classroom ! Fetch ! Place the flash cards in strategic locations around the room. Call out the name of a flash card. The student who can retrieve the flash card and return it to you gets a point. 17. 17 An Effective Resource in the Classroom ! YES or NO Put the children in two lines. Team elephant and team lion. Write "Yes: on one side of the board and "No" on the other side of the board. Depending on the level of the class you could use "Yes, it is" and "No, it isn't". Show the children a flash card and say a word. If you say the correct word the first pair of children (one from each team) should run and touch "Yes" if you say the wrong word they should run and touch "No". The two teams are racing against each other. When the first pair has run and touched the board they go to the back of their line and it is the next pairs go. YES NO 18. 18 An Effective Resource in the Classroom ! Same Initial Sound Spread the Cards into rows. Look at the first picture in each row. Say the word aloud and listen to the sound it begins with. Now take turns to find another card with a word / picture which begins with the same sound. 19. 19 An Effective Resource in the Classroom ! Another good reinforcing activity is to pull a card out from the middle of the pack so that only part of it is showing. The students then have to guess what it is. A variation on this theme for reviewing already introduced material is to give a short drill and then hold the cards so that they are facing you. The students have to guess which card it is you are looking at. FLASH CARDS 20. 20 An Effective Resource in the Classroom ! FLASH CARDS 21. 21 An Effective Resource in the Classroom ! If you are teaching actions (eg, running, jumping, go to the door, give me a pencil) have a student come to the front of the class and hold the card so that only that student can see it. This first student has to tell a second student what the card is and the second student has to do it. Then it's the second students turn to come to the front of the class. This activity can very easily be turned into a game with teams, points, etc. 22. 22 An Effective Resource in the Classroom ! When you're drilling the cards and you think the students know it well enough to move on to the next phase casually throw the cards face down on the floor. The immediate reaction of the students nearest the card is to pick it up. Don't let them. Don't even let them touch it with their foot. When all the cards are on the floor point to a student and say the name of one of the cards. The student then has ten seconds to find the card hand it to you and repeat the name of the card. This is another activity that can be turned into a game. 23. 23 An Effective Resource in the Classroom ! There are a couple of caveats to remember when using flashcards, though. One is that after you have been through the stack of cards a couple of times the students start to remember the order of the cards. They remember that this sound follows that sound and not what the card is. So after you have been through the cards two or three times shuffle the cards so that they can't do this. Another is that many cards come with the words of what the card is written across the top of the card. The more able students soon work out that it's easier to read the word rather than know the picture. As we want the student to concentrate on the picture we should cover up the word for the picture with the fingers when drilling the card. The reading can come later. 24. 24 An Effective Resource in the Classroom ! FLASH CARDS: An effective Resource in the Classroom ! Pablo Meja Maldonado. Esp, MSc Quito-Ecuador