Language-BasedLiteracyActivities
CindyBrunkenM.Ed,M.S.,CCC-SLP
SpecialEducationSupervisor
CertifiedBrainInjurySpecialist
LincolnPublicSchools
1
VocabularyDevelopment
Purpose:
Toworkonthemeaningofnewwordsfoundinyourclassroomtextbooksand
assignments.
Material:
Trytousematerialsfromtheclassroomtextbooksforthisactivityandtakea
lookatacoupleoftheexamplesthatfollow.
Procedures:
1.Inthisfirstactivity,pickoutwordsfromanyofthetextbooksyouthinkmightbe
difficultforstudentswhostruggletolearn.(Seepage2,Definition&Sentence:
WaroftheWorlds).Thesearesomeofthewordsthatmightbedifficultfor
studentsinthesixthgrade.
2.Next,pickawordtoworkonandwriteitdownontheboardoronthestudents’
paper,andreadasentencefromthebookthathasthewordinit.Forexample,for
thewordjet,thesentence,“Thejettravelsatahighspeed,”couldberead.
3.Next,comeupwithameaningoftheword,apicturefortheword,andawordthat
meansthesamething.
4.Workwiththestudentsandprovideprovidesuggestionstomakethisa
meaningfulactivity.
5.Thentakethetextandread,asaclassorinsmallgroups.Havestudentsraise
theirhandsiftheyunderstoodthesetargetwordsastheyoccurinthereadingtext.
Provideenough“waittime”forallstudentstotaketurnsandparticipate.Thenlet
studentscreatetheirowndefinitionsofthesewords.Ifneeded,thestudentscould
gobacktotheoriginalformcontainingthedefinitions.(Recall,youarefocusingon
studentswhostruggletolearnbutyoucanhaveallstudentsparticipateinthese
activities).
AdditionalInformation:
6.Therearesomanywaystoworkonwordmeanings/vocabulary.Forexample,
youcouldmakeupcrosswordpuzzles,gamesorfunactivities(WaroftheWords
CrosswordPuzzle-seepage4).Itmightevenbeinterestingtohavethestudents
writetheirownsentenceoneachnewword.Possibly,theycouldquizeachother
aboutthewords.Anotherideaistouseamatchingorcompletethesentence
activity.(Seeactivityonpage5)
2
Word
Picture
Vocabulary:Activity#1
DefinitionandSentence
WaroftheWorlds
Synonym
astronomer
jet
meterorite
ventriloquist
announcer
broadcast
account
script
clues
Ascientistwhostudiesouterspace
____________________________________________________
Averyfastplane
____________________________________________________
Largerockfromouterspace
____________________________________________________
Entertainerwhoperformswithadummy
whoseemstospeak
____________________________________________________
Apersonwhomakescommentsorreads
newsonradioortelevision
____________________________________________________
Aradioortelevisionprogramor
transmission
____________________________________________________
Awrittenorspokendescriptionofevents
____________________________________________________
Atextofaplay
____________________________________________________
Factsthathelpsolveaproblemormystery
____________________________________________________
Vocabulary
Word
3
Picture
Name:____________________________
Date:_____________________________
Definition
Synonym
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Name_______________________ Date________________
VocabularyActivity#2
WaroftheWorlds
Account
Meteorite
4
Astronomer Script Broadcast
Announcer
Clues
Across
5.Apersonwhoannouncesthingsinpublic,ontelevision,orontheradio.
6.TheremainsofarockthatfellfromspaceandlandedontheEarth’ssurface.
7.Thewrittentextofaplayormovie;incudeseverythingtheperformerssayanddo.
Down
1. Awrittenorspokendescriptionofwhathappened.
2. Ascientistwhostudiesthesun,moon,stars,andplanets.
3. Ashortfilmandcommentaryaboutcurrentnewsevens.
4. Evidencethathelpssolveaproblem.
Date:________________ 5
Name:__________________________
WaroftheWorlds
script
jet
newsreel
broadcast
ventriloquist
astronomer
clues
announcer
account
metorite
Matching
Matcheachdefinitionwithaword
__________________________1.Thewrittentextofaplayormovie;includeseverythingthe
performerssayanddo
__________________________2.Awrittenorspokendescriptionofwhathappened
__________________________3.Averyfastplane
__________________________4.Ashortfilmandcommentaryaboutcurrentnewsevents
__________________________5.Scientistwhostudiesthesun,moon,stars,planets
__________________________6.Someonewhoannouncesthingsinpublic,ontelevision,or
ontheradio
__________________________7.Evidencethathelpstosolveaproblem
__________________________8.Apersonskilledinspeakinginsuchawaythatthevoice
seemstocomefromanotherperson
__________________________9.Theremainsofarockthatfellfromspaceandlandedon
theEarth’ssurface
__________________________10.Soundorpicturestransmittedoverradioortelevision
CompletetheSentence
Writethewordthatbestcompleteseachofthefollowingsentences.
1. Actorsreadtheirlinesfromthe__________________________.
2. Averyfast__________________________.
3. Yearsagomanypeopledependedonthemovie_______________________fornews.
4. CraterLakewasadebytheimpactofagiant__________________________.
5. Whenthe__________________________performedwecouldn’tseehislipsmove.
6. An__________________________usesatelescopetostudystarsandplanets.
7. Thepolicemadeasweepofthearea,lookingfor__________________________.
8. RodFowleristhe__________________________fortheChannel8eveningnews.
9. Thefootballgamewas__________________________onchannel7.
10. Judyhadtogivean__________________________ofheractionsduringtherobbery.
FigurativeLanguage
6
Purpose:
Tohelpstudentsunderstandwhatismeantbyfigurativelanguage(usinglanguage
inacreativeandimaginaryway,ratherthanhowittypicallyused).
Materials:
Possiblyabookofexamplesoffigurativelanguage.
Procedures:
1.Figurativelanguagemeansanylanguagethathasmeaningotherthanthe
meaningstated.So,forexample,“She’sawalkingencyclopedia”,meansthatshejust
knowsalotofinformation.Anothermightbe,“He’sdrivingmeupawall”.This
meansthatheisbuggingmeormakingmecrazy.(Seepage7,AMissionto
Oshkosh)
2.Youcouldintroduceoneidiomtostudentseachdayorduringeachsession.
3.Anidiomisawordthatcanhavealiteralmeaningandameaningthatisdifferent
fromthewayit’susuallyused.Forexample,“bitoffmorethanyoucanchew”,or
“gettheballrolling”,“knockitoff”,“ruleofthumb”,“sinkorswim”,or“underdog”.
4.Askthestudentwhatsomeoftheseidiomsmean.Also,studentscouldthinkof
otheridioms.
5.Overtime,reviewthesetypesofidiomsandencouragestudentstolearnnew
concepts.
AdditionalInformation:
1.Encouragestudentstothinkofidiomsthattheyhaveheardathome,onTV,in
books,etc.
2.Usesomekindofgametopracticethemeaningsoftheidiomsthathavebeen
learned.
7
AMissiontoOshKosh
nervous
Millieshouldhavehadcoldfeetuponspyingthegreenalligator-likemonster
being brave
changed
really hard
acrossthestreet.HavingastiffupperlipshehurledherselflikeaGreenBay
Packerattheenormousalligator.ShejusthadtokeepherdogJackawayfromthe
flawless
dangerousreptiles.Itseemedlikeafoolproofplanatthetime.ButwhenMillie
running into something that doesn’t move
rammedintothemonster,itwaslikehittingabrickwall.Shefelltothegroudwith
made her breathless
ahalfthewindknockedoutofher.
Millieshouldhavehadcoldfeetuponspyingthegreenalligator-likemonster
acrossthestreet.HavingastiffupperlipshehurledherselflikeaGreenBay
Packerattheenormousalligator.ShejusthadtokeepherdogJackawayfromthe
dangerousreptiles.Itseemedlikeafoolproofplanatthetime.ButwhenMillie
rammedintothemonster,itwaslikehittingabrickwall.Shefelltothegroudwith
ahalfthewindknockedoutofher.
ByC.Brunken
Duplicationpermittedforeducationaluseonly
8
ComprehensionofCharactersandSettinginaLiteratureBook
Purpose:
Tohelpstudentsunderstandcharactersandsettingsinthebooksthattheyreadin
school.
Materials:
1.Students’classroomliteraturebook.
2.Attachedform.
Procedure:
1.Readtheliteraturebooktofindthesettingofthestoryandthedetailsaboutthe
characters.Thisinformationisusuallyinthefirsttwochapters.
2.Then,studentscouldmakeaweborsomekindofchartofcharactersandsetting
details.(Seepage9,graphicorganizer)
3.Asstudentsreadthestory,theycanfillinthegraphicorganizer.
4.Thisshouldhelpthemunderstandcharactersandsettingbettersotheycantalk
aboutitinaclassdiscussion.Thisisespeciallyhelpfulforbooksthathavealotof
characters,likeHowToKillaMockingbird.
Cunningham
Ewell
Setting
Characters
Haverford
OtherTown
Folk
Where
Robinson
Finch
When
Radley
9
ToKillAMockingbird
ByHarperLee
Intro.
Resolution
Conflict
Plot
Rising
Action
Inferenceing
Purpose:
Tohelpstudentsunderstandinferencing.
Materials:
1.Students’classroomtextbooks.
2.Attachedforms.
Procedures:
1.Inferencingistheprocessthatthereadermustgothroughtounderstandthe
meaningofwhatiswrittenandwhatthewritermeant.Forexample,ifatextbook
says,“Itwasfall,andwinterwascomingsoon”,thisimpliesthattheleaveswere
changingcolorsandfallingoffthetrees,theweatherwasbecomingcooler,itwas
footballseason,andschoolhadstartedagain.
2.Ifstudentsread“Wehadaveryhardwinter”,theymightthinkthatitwascold,
andtherewasalotofsnowandice(Seepage11)
3.Takeanytextbookandworktogethertocomeupwithwords,phrases,or
sentencesfromaparagraphwhereyouneedtouseinferencing(Showanother
textbookfromtheircurriculum)
10
11
Inferencingis“Theprocessthatthereadermustgothroughtogetliteral
meaningofwhatiswrittentowhatthewriterintendedtoconvey.”
Example:
MorethanhalfofallaccidentsintheUnitedStateshappenonstreetsandhighways.
Almost50,000peoplediedinautomobileaccidentsinarecentyear,andalmost2
millionotherswereseriouslyinjured.Thesestatisticsincludepedestrians,bicycle
ridersandautomobiledriversandpassengers.
WhatIinferencedfromtheparagraphabove:
It’seasiertonotpayattentionwhendrivingandgetintoanaccident.
1) Whenpeopleinhalepollutedair,harmfulmaterialscalledpollutantsenter
theirbodies.Regularlybreathingcertainpollutantsincreaseaperson’s
chancesofdevelopingcertaindiseases,suchaslungcancerandemphysema.
Pollutedaircanalsomakediseasessuchasallergies,asthma,coldsand
pneumoniamoresevere.
Whatdidyouinferencefromthisparagraph?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
2) Smokersmayusemanydifferentmethodstostop.Somesmokersmaysmoke
fewerandfewercigaretteseachdayuntiltheyhavestoppedaltogether.
Otherpeopleuseasetofspecialfilters,eachofwhichtakesalittlemore
nicotinefromthesmoke.Otherpeopleareabletostopsmokingallatonce
andneversmokeagain.Intimetheyfindthatthedesiregoesaway.
Whatdidyouinferencefromthisparagraph?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
12
VisualStrategies
Purpose:
Tohelpstudentsunderstandinformationintheirtextbooksbyusingpicturesthat
representthekeypointswithinthetext.
Materials:
1.Students’classroomtextbooks.
Procedures:
1.Useastorythathaspicturestohelpthestudentsunderstandthestory.(Showa
textbookfromtheircurriculum)
2.Ifusingastorywithoutpicturesstudentscanworktogethertocomeupwith
picturestohelpmakethestoryeasiertounderstand.(Showatextbookfromtheir
curriculum)
13
WrittenLanguage:CompleteVersusIncompleteSentences
Purpose:
Tohelpstudentsunderstandthedifferencebetweencompleteandincomplete
sentences.Alotofstudentsdonotwriteincompletesentences,butthisisavery
importantskilliftheywanttogetajob.
Materials:
1.Students’classroomtextbooks.
2.Attachedforms.
Procedures:
1.Sentenceshavetwopartsasubjectandapredicate.Thesubjectnamessomeone
orsomething.Predicatestellwhatthesubjectisordoes.Aneasywaytothinkofit;
Subject:Whoorwhatisthesentenceabout?Predicate:Whathappened?
2.Trytomakeacoupleofcompletesentences.(Talktostudentsaboutsentences,
subjectsandpredicates,andexplainwhythesentenceiscomplete)
3.Nexthavestudentstrytocomeupwithacoupleofincompletesentences.What’s
missingfromthesesentences?Whyaretheynotcomplete?Howcouldyoufixthem?
4.Topractice,studentscoulddoaworksheetthathassentencesfromoneoftheir
textbooksinschool.Studentscouldfigureoutifeachsentenceiscompleteor
incomplete.(Seepage14)
14
Date:____________________
Name:__________________________
CompleteorIncompleteSentences
Crash
Directions:
WritetheletterCinfrontofthesentenceifitisacompletesentence.
WritetheletterIinfrontofthesentenceifitisanincompletesentence.
____1.Pennturned,sagging.
____2.Hesniffed.
____3.ButIwashavingproblemshatinghim.
____4.Draw!
____5.Iglaredathim.
____6.ButyourrealnameisJohnPatrickCoogan
____7.Becauseyou’remybestfriendinPennsylvania.
____8.Iwaskindofcurioustogetalookatthebossdorks.
____9.AndIdidn’tlikehimcallingmefriend.
____10.Icouldn’ttellthismoronanything.
____11.Iputtheturtleonitsbackinthemiddleofthesidewalk.
____12.SoIgaveitbacktohim.
____13.Ifyoubeatmeinwrestling.
____14.DidyouknowyoursonisaQuaker?
____15.Idumpedthemeatballinthemiddleoftheirfrontsteps.
ByC.Brunken
Duplicationpermittedforeducationaluseonly
15
TestModifications
Purpose:
Tohelpstudentsbesuccessfulwhentakingtestsatschoolbyhelpingthemshow
whattheyunderstand.
Materials:
1.Trytogetacopyofthetestthestudentswouldtakefromtheirteacher.Thenuse
ittoshowthestudentshowtobemoresuccessfulwhentakingthattest.
2.Somechangescouldbemadetothetestssuchas;addingawordbankforfill-intheblankquestions,reducingthenumberofchoicesinmultiplechoicequestions,
andtakingoutconfusingwords.
3.Anotherexampleistheuseofhighlightingkeywordsineachquestiontoletthe
studentsknowwhattopayattentionto.(Seepage16)
16
SocialStudies
Chapter9Test
Date:_______________________
Name:________________________
Choosethecorrectanswerandwriteitontheline.
____1.TheMayasgrewonemaincrop.Itprovidedthepeoplewithplentyoffood.
Whatcropwasit?
a. Tomatoes
b.Corn
c.Squash
____2.TheMayaswerethefirstpeopletodevelopasystemforwritingdowntheir
ideas.Thesystemwascalled___________.
a. Hieroglyphicsb.Pyramids
c.Chinampas
____3.WhowasatthebottomoftheMayansocialpyramid?
a. Priests
b.Farmers c.Nobles
____4.WhowsatthetopoftheMayansocialpyramid?
a. Farmers
b.Traders
c.Priests
____5.TheAztecsusedfloatinggardenstogrowtheirfood.Thesewerecalled______.
a. Chinampas b.Hieroglyphics
c.Causeways
____6.TheAztecsrequiredallchildrento____________.
ByC.Brunken
Duplicationpermittedforeducationaluseonly
17
ParagraphOrganizers
Purpose:
Togivestudentsanoutlineforwritingparagraphsinaregularclassroom.
Materials:
1.Students’classroomtextbooks.
2.Hangouts.
Procedures:
1.Manystudentshaveahardtimewritingparagraphs,eveninhighschool.Often,
theorganizationdoesnotmakesensetothem,anditishardtounderstandhowto
writeagoodparagraph.
2.Thefirstexamplewehaveisanorganizerthatworkswellwitholderstudents.
Studentswouldcomeupwiththemainideaandsupportingdetails.(Seepage18)
18
ParagraphOrganizer
TopicSentence:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
SupportingDetails:
1)______________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
2)______________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
3)______________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
4)______________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Conclusion:___________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
ByC.Brunken
Duplicationpermittedforeducationaluseonly
19
ClassroomBehaviorRatingScale
Purpose:
Togivestudentsatoolforratingtheirongoingcommunicationbehaviorinthe
classroomsetting.
Materials:
1.Seeattachedexample.
Procedures:
1.First,observethestudentsandtalktothem,theirteachers,andtheirparentsto
figureoutwhichcommunicationbehaviorstotarget.Forexample,studentsmight
needtoworkontakingturnsinaconversation,stayingontopic,ornotinterrupting
thepersontheyaretalkingto.
2.Onceseveralcommunicationbehaviorsthatarechallengingforthestudentis
decided,aratingscaleisdeveloped.(Seepage20)Itmaybehelpfultomeetwith
thestudent,theirteachers,andtheirparentstoshowhowtousetheratingscale.
3.Forexample,thestudentcouldratethemselfattheendofeachclassperiod,and
theteachercouldalsoratethestudentsattheendofeachclass.
4.Attheendoftheday,thestudentcouldreviewtheform.Thestudentcould
comparetheiranswerswiththeteacher’s.
20
1=Never2=Occasionally3=Halfofthetime4=Mostofthetime5=Always
1stPeriod
SelfRating TeacherRating
Iwatchedtheteacherwhilehe/shewastalked. 12345
12345
Iignoredotherstudentsintheclass.
12345
12345
ILeftmyschoolsuppliesalone. 12345
12345
2ndPeriod SelfRating TeacherRating
Iwatchedtheteacherwhilehe/shewastalked. 12345
12345
Iignoredotherstudentsintheclass.
12345
12345
ILeftmyschoolsuppliesalone. 12345
12345
3rdPeriod SelfRating TeacherRating
Iwatchedtheteacherwhilehe/shewastalked. 12345
12345
Iignoredotherstudentsintheclass.
12345
12345
ILeftmyschoolsuppliesalone. 12345
12345
4thPeriod
SelfRating TeacherRating
Iwatchedtheteacherwhilehe/shewastalked. 12345
12345
Iignoredotherstudentsintheclass.
12345
12345
ILeftmyschoolsuppliesalone. 12345
12345
5thPeriod
SelfRating TeacherRating
Iwatchedtheteacherwhilehe/shewastalked. 12345
12345
Iignoredotherstudentsintheclass.
12345
12345
ILeftmyschoolsuppliesalone. 12345
12345
6thPeriod SelfRating TeacherRating
Iwatchedtheteacherwhilehe/shewastalked. 12345
12345
Iignoredotherstudentsintheclass.
12345
12345
ILeftmyschoolsuppliesalone. 12345
12345
7thPeriod SelfRating TeacherRating
Iwatchedtheteacherwhilehe/shewastalked. 12345
12345
Iignoredotherstudentsintheclass.
12345
12345
ILeftmyschoolsuppliesalone. 12345
12345
21
Date:_______________ StartTime:____:____ EndTime____:____
TotalTime:_________
Pretendyouaretheteacheratthelastschoolyouattended.Whatwouldyouhave
doneastheteachertomakeschoolmoresuccessfulforstudentslikeyourselves?
StudentIDNumbers:__________________________________________________________________
*TrytoprecedeeachutterancewithindividualIDnumbersifpossible.
ID#
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