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Topic “Secondary (11-16yrs)”
Secondary school age (11-16 years)
Activities Sheet Template
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This is a Word template which can be used to make an activities sheet in the standard format used on the Commtap site.
Created 7 October 2011; updated 16 July 2015.
Commtap Logo
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The Commtap logo.
Develop language skills through cookery
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Deciding on the ingredients Pen; Paper; Optional - picture symbols for food items you need; An idea for what you are going to make. If using, you can make picture symbol cards using the Commtap Symboliser for PowerPoint. |
See comments for variations on doing this. | Making it easier: Have a set of pictures of ingredients which are appropriate for what you are making, and some other ingredients. Get the children to choose the appropriate ingredients. Even easier: Have a set of pictures for the ingredients, and some further pictures which aren't food (e.g. pictures of furniture, clothes). Help the child to choose those which are food items. Harder: Get the children to draw and/or write down the ingredients themselves. |
| Buying ingredients
You can make a shopping list with symbols using the Commtap Symboliser for PowerPoint. | On subsequent occasions, you can pretend that you have a really bad memory, and you need the children to help you to remember what to take. If they don't remember everything, you can look a bit confused, and say something like "I'm sure we need to take something else...". You could also use ideas based on the comments in "Deciding on the ingredients". | |
| Making the item
| If the children are familiar with cooking this item, but they sequenced the pictures for doing the activity incorrectly at the beginning, you don't necessarily have to correct them straight away - you can correct it at the point when it becomes a problem - e.g. if you get to the putting the pizza in the oven bit before you've put the sauce and toppings on (look very confused!). Sketches for the sequence - these do not need to be accurate at all - they will be useful for this activity no matter what level of drawing ability you have. The children can also help with this. You can incorporate a number of maths concepts into the activities, for example: "full", "empty", "more", "less", "hot", "cold". Safety. Clearly you will need to manage any dangerous aspects of the cooking process as appropriate for the children you are working with (e.g. use of knives, the cooker). |
Nose
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Nose graphic.
Letter set (i h j k)
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Set of four letters (i, h, j, k).
Part of a letter rainbow
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First few letters of a letter rainbow.
Letter rainbow
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Letter rainbow.
because sentence frame
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Three part sentence frame example linking phrases with because.
have-am-will table
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Table to help choose the right words to use for past, present and future tenses.
include relevant details in story retell
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Story Retelling Short stories 'Who, Where, When, What happened, What happened next, the end', prompt cards. Pencils | Tell the story yourself first. Discuss the prompt cards with the children, and explain that it is important they remember to answer all of the questions on the cards when they are telling their stories. Have one child at a time take a turn to retell the story. Go over the cards to see if they have included all the details. | If it is a familiar story to the child you could just give them time to remember it instead of telling it yourself first. |
recall story details and retell them
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Storyteller Stories the child is unfamiliar with. They can be extracts from reading books or made up. Photocopy of the story (optional) | 1. Explain to the child that they are going to tell a story. You are going to tell it first and then it will be their turn. 2. Tell the story. It should be about 150 - 200 words. Make sure that there is enough detail in the section you have chosen or in the story you have made up. 3. Have the child tell the story back to you, or to another child. 4. Look at the photocopy of the story together and highlight all the details the child remembered (optional). | You can have the child use a puppet when they are telling the story |
| Quiz Story, description or explanation the child is unfamiliar with. Photocopy of this (optional) | If the child is finding it very difficult, make your questions easier, so that the child finishes the activity with success. You can ask easier questions, give the child clues (e.g. multiple choice answers) or read part of the story / description / explanation again. | |
| Messages Story, description or explanation the child is unfamiliar with. Photocopy of this (optional) Pens and paper or whiteboards | If you can, try and put yourselves at different ends of the room so the second child cannot hear the message when you say it! You could make the activity more interesting by setting the scene and sending the messages in character - e.g. shopping, an adventure story or something related to a literacy or history topic. | |
| Comprehension Activities Curriculum topic activities |
Activities to encourage the use of 'first', 'next' and 'last' when describing a sequence of events.
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Sequencing cards - sets of 3 picture sequencing cards - you will need to source these. | 1. Choose a set of three cards and mix them up. 2. Ask your child to sort the pictures in the order that they happened. If your child finds this hard, put them in order together. Match them to the symbols. 3. Describe what is happening in the pictures using the words first, next and last - you can point to the symbols as you say the words. 4. Encourage your child to describe what is happening using the words first, next and last. | If the child finds it difficult to remember whether to put the pictures in order from left to right, or right to left, you can draw a large arrow (→) on the sheet. Numbering the boxes 1-3 can also help. |
| Photo sequencing |
|
Word Web Template 3
Example for creating a word web from a word using its meanings and what it sounds like.
Created 23 November 2010; updated 14 December 2021.
Tongue placement for t, d and k, g
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Diagram for tongue placement for t, d and k, g.
make predictions about physical actions
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| What would happen if? Selection of the following equipment as appropriate: Candle and matches/ lighter; Balloon and pin; Building bricks/ Jenga game; Jug and cups, access to sink; Glass, water and instant coffee granules | Using appropriate equipment, ask the child to predict what will happen, then carry out the action to see if they were right: What will happen if you... Touch a flame to the candle's wick? Hold the candle horizontally? Blow onto the candle's flame? Blow into the balloon? Touch the balloon with the blunt end of the pin? Touch the balloon with the sharp end? Put a large brick on top of a smaller brick? Build a tower using all the bricks? Pull out a brick from lower down the tower? Start the tower on an uneven surface? Put lots of water (more than it can hold) into a cup? Have the cup upside down when you try to fill it? Put some coffee granules in the glass, then add cold water? Fill the glass with water, then sprinkle coffee granules on the top? | |
| Science activities Equipment as appropriate to the science activity. |
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