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Topic “Secondary (11-16yrs)”
Secondary school age (11-16 years)
make predictions in simple stories and situations
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Sequencing pictures Sets of sequencing pictures; Question mark card (optional). | 1. Put the pictures in order so that you can easily show them to the child one at a time; 2. Show the child the first picture in the sequence; 3. Ask them to tell you what's happening in the picture; 4. Then ask them to imagine what might happen next. To show this visually, put a card with a large question mark on it to the right of the picture; 5. When the child has suggested a sensible thing that might happen next, show them the next card in the sequence; 6. If there are differences between what the card shows and the child's suggestion, discuss why this might be; 7. Repeat for all the cards in the sequence. | When working with sequencing pictures, always work from left to right, and top to bottom, as this mirrors the direction we use when writing English. Choose your set of pictures carefully - you need sets that show a specific event happening (such as a car driving over a broken bottle and getting a flat tyre) rather than a sequence that develops over an extended time span (e.g. a child growing up, or the changes that happen to a tree during the different seasons). |
| Story books Story books |
Understand that written words convey meaning
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Cutting up a sentence A sheet of paper or the child's writing book A pen A long piece of card (to write sentences on) A large marker pen Scissors | 1. Explain that you are going to play some sentence games and need to begin by writing a sentence. 2. Start from the child's experience so that the writing will have meaning for them. For example: "Tell me what you did last night.", "Tell me about your friend." 3. If necessary, and appropriate, discuss how to add to (or enrich) the sentence with an "extra clause", or an "adverb", or "adjectives" (see the comments for an explanation). 4. Write the agreed sentence in the child's book or on paper (in preparation for writing it on the card), encouraging the pupil to remember the sentence as you write it slowly. Constantly read what you have written so far, asking s/he to repeat what it was you said. 5. Ask the child to read the sentence to you as you write it slowly on the long piece of card. 6. Ask the child to cut up the card into separate words. 7. Re-read the sentence together then muddle up the separate pieces of card. 8. Ask the child to re-make the sentence, encouraging re-reading. 9. Ask the child to close his/her eyes, take a word away, ask the child to deduce the missing word by re-reading. | This activity demonstrates for pupils the link between speaking/reading/writing. It gives them a purpose in reading and re-reading. It develops the skill of holding words of a sentence in their heads as they write them. Some examples of enriching a sentence might take you from 'I went to the park' to 'I went to the park until my mum called me' (extra clause - underlined) or 'I went excitedly to the park' (adverb - which describes an action word - such as "went") or 'I went to the dark, scary park' (adjectives - which describe things such as a park). If the child struggles to identify one of the words cut up from the card encourage his/her use of decoding strategies, for example: (1) what might the word be, given the topic we are talking about (and remembering the sentence); (2) sounding out any familiar letters or combinations of letters in the word; (3) what words might fit into the sentence to make it sound right. Many extensions may be made to this activity. For example, the child might be more involved in the physical writing process. Initial letters might be cut. Can the child match them to the correct words? |
Sequences three or more pictures
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Picture sequencing Ready made picture sequence cards, for example 'And then' (published by Schubi), pictures taken from a storybook. Sources of picture sequences: | Step 1 1. Start with three cards: the three cards can make up a whole story, or be part of a longer one; 2. Tell the story with the cards introducing each card one by one; 3. Get the child to have a go at retelling the story. Step 2 Using the same cards, this time give the child the cards all mixed up - the child needs to put the cards back in the right order and tell the story. Step 3 1. Using three cards which the child hasn't seen before, mix them up and give them to the child to try and work out the story; 2. When the child has put them in an order that he or she is happy with (not necessarily the right order) get him/her to tell you the story (see 'comments' column for ideas of what to do if the cards are in the wrong order) Step 4 Continue with more cards from the same story if the whole sequence is more than three steps long. Step 5 Try working with longer sequences. | To work on this activity, the child must understand the concept that a sequence of pictures can relate to a story, if not, do the activities in the sheet called "sequences three pictures showing a practical activity" which introduces this concept. If the pictures are in the wrong order, the child may notice this when they try to tell back the story. If not, ask questions to prompt the child to rethink how they've ordered the pictures. For example, if picture 1 shows a girl next to her snowman, picture 2 shows the sun melting it, and picture 3 shows the girl crying, but the child has got pictures 2 and 3 swapped around, you could ask about the second picture 'why is she crying?' and look confused. If you can physically act out the sequence this may also help. The idea is to try and get to the point where the child gets the pictures in the right order with the minimum amount of assistance from you. Try to avoid the situation where you need to physically re-arrange the pictures (if you keep needing to do this despite using prompting, then the sequence is probably too difficult). |
Recognise half the letters of the alphabet
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Match, select and name letters: step 1 - match 2 sets of moveable letters, or letters printed clearly on cards | 1. Make sure the child knows the concept of 'same' and 'different' (if not, this can be taught using objects, or pictures of objects). 2. Choose 2 letters that do not look or sound similar (e.g. s and m). 3. Put one of each letter in front of the child. 4. Hold a second copy of one of the letters, and say 'Look, this is the same as this'. Put the letter down next to its pair. 5. Give the child the extra letter, and ask 'Which is the same?' they should put the letter down next to its pair. 6. If the child does not know, or does it wrong, model again. 7. Repeat with the second extra letter. 8. Ask the child to match the letters 3 or 4 times in this way, or until they are clear which pairs of letters are the same. | Teach same and different, where necessary. This activity is for children who are finding basic letter knowledge very hard to acquire. You will need to move at their speed. s, a, m, and t are good letters to use at the beginning. |
| Match, select and name letters: step 2 - select 2 sets of moveable letters, or letters printed clearly on cards | You will need to follow the practice in your school about whether to use letter names or sounds. For this activity, stick to one or the other. | |
| Match, select and name letters: step 3 - name 2 sets of moveable letters, or letters printed clearly on cards | At this point you may choose to show the child how to write the 2 letters. When you are sure the letters you are working on have been mastered, add an extra letter - and begin with step 1 - match again. When 4 or 5 letters have been introduced, remove the easiest ones so that there are never too many on the table at one time - but check earlier ones from time to time. If you find you no longer need to do the 'match' step, it may be a sign that the child is ready for a standard phonics programme, such as Direct Phonics, instead of this. Alternatively, this procedure could be used alongside a phonics programme whenever a new letter is introduced. |
use pictures and text to get information
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday situation with words and a picture A picture of an everyday event, or social setting e.g. crossing the road, or going to the cinema. A story to go with the picture (no more than 5 or 6 sentences). Or See the resource sheets in 'Language for Thinking' (LfT) by Parsons and Branagan (Published by Speechmark). If using this publication, use Module 3 (the child reads the story) and the level A questions. | 1. Choose a scenario. 2. Let the child read the story. 3. Ask the child questions verbally focusing on questions where the child looks for the answer in the text and just uses a little background knowledge, e.g. 'Find one that is....', 'When did...', 'What does this do?' 'What else is an X? etc. ("LfT level A questions"). | If a child gives a short answer, prompt them to expand it. If the child finds these questions easy, use some questions that require more working out and understanding of the context e.g. 'What will happen next?' 'How else could he do it? ("LfT level B questions"). |
sequence chunks of text to make a whole eg story
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Jumbled sentences A photocopied piece of text without illustrations on A4 paper/card for each pupil, such as a traditional tale or a set of instructions. Each pupil should have a different text, at a level they can all read aloud quite easily. A second copy of each piece of text for you to keep in your 'Results' envelope. Ruler/pencil Scissors 1 envelope for each child and 1 envelope marked 'The results'. | 1. Give out one copy of the text to pupil and keep one master copy for yourself. Put the master copy in the 'Results' envelope. 2. Explain the task is to make a comprehension puzzle for another pupil and then to become a 'comprehension detective' to improve their reading for meaning skills. 3. Give pupils time to read through the page of text independently. 4. Ask pupils to read the text through again. This time they need to decide where to divide it up into a puzzle with a beginning, middle and end. 5. Pupils indicate with pencil where they would like to divide the text up. (They will draw 2 lines to make three pieces.) 6. Check with pupils where they are going to divide the text up before they start cutting it! Sensitively suggest changes if necessary. 7. Cut it up with scissors. Each pupil places the pieces of text in their own envelope. 8. Pupils swap envelopes with a partner. They read through what their partner has given them and put it back in the right order. 9. Before you give each pupil the original uncut copy, encourage them to talk about and point to the 'clues' in the text, which lead them to make their decision. 10. Open the envelope! Were they correct? | This activity may be useful for bilingual pupils and pupils with speech and language difficulties, who can sometimes read aloud with confidence but have difficulty in understanding/answering comprehension questions. This activity could be done in a small group (e.g. with 3 pupils) or in pairs. It could also be adapted for 1-1 work. Try to keep the activity fun. Encourage them to explain why they would divide the text up at the points they have chosen. Support pupils with fine motor skills difficulties where necessary. When being the detective, encourage them to look for language that shows sequence, e.g. firstly, after that, finally. Write down notes/phrases that helped them on a white board/flipchart. Extension activity You could ask them to divide the text into 4, 5 or 6 segments if appropriate for their comprehension needs. |
predict infer and analyse from pictures and text
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday situation with words and a picture A picture of an everyday event, or social setting e.g. crossing the road, or going to the cinema. A story to go with the picture (no more than 5 or 6 sentences). Or See the resource sheets in 'Language for Thinking' (LfT) by Parsons and Branagan (Published by Speechmark). If using this publication, use Module 3 and the level C questions. This programme has questions for a range of ability levels. | 1. Choose a scenario picture. 2. Show the children the picture and let them read the story. 3. Ask the child the questions verbally. 4. Focus on questions that require more working out and understanding of the context, e.g. 'What will happen if he...?' 'Why is it made of that?' 'If you were X, what would you say / do?' 'Why can't he?' (LfT level C questions). | Use some simpler questions to start with. (LfT level A and B if you are using the Language for Thinking book). If a child gives a short answer, prompt them to expand it. If the child finds these questions easy, move on to having them read the story without looking at the picture. Go back to using simpler questions and move up through question levels again. (LfT Module 3). |
relate pictures and text to the wider context
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday situation with words and a picture A picture of an everyday event, or social setting e.g. crossing the road, or going to the cinema. A story to go with the picture (no more than 5 or 6 sentences). Or See the resource sheets in 'Language for Thinking' (LfT) by Parsons and Branagan (Published by Speechmark). If using this publication, use Module 3 and the level B questions). | 1. Choose a scenario. 2. Let the child read the story. 3. Ask the child the questions verbally. 4. Focus on the questions where the child must use what they can see in the picture and also some wider context to answer the questions ("LfT level B questions"). E.g. 'What will happen next?' 'How did he...?' 'What is a ....?' 'How are these the same? | Use some simpler questions to start with. If a child gives a short answer, prompt them to expand it. If the child finds these questions easy, use some questions that require more working out and understanding of the context, e.g. 'What will happen if he...?' 'Why is it made of that?' 'If you were X, what would you say / do?' 'Why can't he?' ("LfT level C questions"). |
predict infer and analyse from pictures and text
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday situation with words and a picture A picture of an everyday event, or social setting e.g. crossing the road, or going to the cinema. A story to go with the picture (no more than 5 or 6 sentences). Or See the resource sheets in 'Language for Thinking' (LfT) by Parsons and Branagan (Published by Speechmark). If using this publication, use Module 3 and the level C questions. | 1. Choose a scenario. 2. Let the child read the story. 3. Ask the child the questions verbally. 4. Focus on questions that require more working out and understanding of the context, e.g. 'What will happen if he...?' 'Why is it made of that?' 'If you were X, what would you say / do?' 'Why can't he?' (LfT level C questions). | Use some simpler questions to start with. If a child gives a short answer, prompt them to expand it. |
improve reading fluency speed and intonation
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Recording a story for a younger child Resources: A short book that a younger child would enjoy. It needs to be quite easy for the pupil doing the reading - at least 19 words out of 20 accurate the first time they read the book. A computer with microphone, or a tape recorder, etc. | 1. Explain that you are going to record them reading a book for a younger child to listen to. 2. Either provide or help them choose a suitable book (see left, under resources). 3. Explain that they have got to make it sound exciting, to keep the younger child interested. (You may want to model someone reading in a boring way and someone reading in an exciting way.) 4. Tell them they will have as much practice as they need to make a really good recording. 5. Ask them to read the book to you. Give them as much help as they need. Keep a note of which words they struggle with. 6. Discuss what the book was about, how characters were feeling, etc. Make sure they understand it fully. 7. Go back and remind them how to read any difficult words. Discuss what the words mean if necessary. 8. Ask them to read the book again. This time focus on how they read it. Model fluent, interesting ways of reading some of the sentences for them. 9. They re-read the book as often as needed, until they can read it fluently. 10. They record the book. Ideally they should have control of the recording process (pausing the recording, re-recording, etc). 11. They may prefer to record a page at a time, and then practise the next page again before recording that. | Some pupils learn to read quite accurately, and may improve their comprehension, but still read very slowly and without expression. Their reading is not fluent. These activities are designed to improve their fluency. An alternative to the recording activity could be simply preparing the pupil to read aloud to a younger child, perhaps a younger sibling. Another alternative is for them to write and illustrate a story themselves, and then record it. Storybook Weaver is a good ICT resource for this (available on Amazon for example). Fairy stories are particularly good for this - especially ones with people talking: "I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house down!". |
knows alphabetical order
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Using an alphabet rainbow to learn alphabetical order Two sets of plastic or wooden lower case letters. Keep the two sets in separate bags. An A3 landscape chart of the letters set out in alphabetical order and made into a rainbow arc using WordArt | 1. Check that the child knows all the letter names. Teach any they are unsure of. 2. Point to the chart and ask the child to read the alphabet with you. 3. Give the child one set of letters and ask them to make their own rainbow using the chart as a guide:
4. Ask the child to close their eyes and tell you the order. 5. Set out the the letters the child is able to recite in alphabetical order with the second set of letters, for example:
6. Select the next few letters which the child does not yet know the order of from the second set of letters, for example:
7. Ask the child to match the target group of letters with the first set, saying the name of each letter as they do so. For example:
8. Take the target group again, jumble them up, ask the child to put them in order again, saying the names as they do so. 9. Ask the child to close their eyes and put the letters one by one in their hand (in order) and ask them to identify the letter. Repeat, faster and faster. 10. Repeat steps 1-9 daily until they know the target set. Once the child is confident with this set of letters: 11. Add these letters to the known ones and introduce the next group of letters. Other exercises: 12. Ask the child to close their eyes and point to where they think a particular letter is in the array e.g. m. 13. Repeat 12 using a simple dictionary, high frequency word chart set out in alphabetical order, phone book, index of a topic book, library classification chart etc. | Use a record sheet. Make a plan with all the adults working with the child to teach the remaining letters. Make sure the child points with you. Do this daily. In this way you will identify which bits they know e.g. a-g. Keep a record of this by colouring in an A4 copy of the chart. This is the 'target group'. If a-g are already known, the target group may be h i j k. Remember that l,m,n,o,p is a tongue twister. This helps to show why it is important to know alphabetical order. The alphabet rainbow can be used to teach spellings and phonically regular patterns - letters are pulled out of the rainbow to build words. |
use pictures and text together to get information
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday situation with words and a picture A picture of an everyday event, or social setting e.g. crossing the road, or going to the cinema. A story to go with the picture (no more than 5 or 6 sentences). Or See the resource sheets in 'Language for Thinking' (LfT) by Parsons and Branagan (Published by Speechmark). If using this publication, use Module 2 and the level A questions. | 1. Choose a scenario picture. 2. Show the children the picture and let them read the story. 3. Ask the child the questions verbally. 4. Focus on questions where the child looks for the answer in the picture and just uses a little background knowledge (the LfT level A questions). E.g. 'Find one that is....', 'When did...', 'What does this do?' 'What else is a X? etc. | If a child gives a short answer, prompt them to expand it. If the child finds these questions easy ("LfT level A"), use some questions that require more working out and understanding of the context e.g. 'What will happen next?' 'How else could he do it? ("LfT level B questions"). |
recognises 20 high frequency words
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Using a race track game to practise high frequency words Set of 20+ cards with target high frequency words Dice Counters Race track or loop | 1. Read through the cards with the player(s). 2. Place the cards face down. 3. Players take it in turns to pick up a card, say the word, throw the dice and move around the board. 4. Winner is the first person to finish. 5. Repeat the game after reading through all the cards again or selecting a particular word or words to focus on. 6. Discard easy words and add new words gradually. | Children need to be able to read a range of high frequency words to develop fluency in reading. New words need to be introduced gradually. There could be several copies of each word or of selected words. Start off with a small set of words so that the child experiences lots of success. 2+ players. A short track is ideal as the game can be completed in a short time and repeated easily. If a child reads a word wrong, help them to read the word or tell them the word. Remember the game is meant to be fun! |
| Using different fonts on the computer to practise high frequency words Computer Child understands how to change font | A list of words can be obtained as above. This could be done daily. The words could be typed into boxes ready to make flash cards (2x5 per page). | |
| Sentence building to practise high frequency words Flash cards with set of words. Words which could start a sentence are provided in both capitalised and lower case form. Add one card with a full stop and one card with a question mark. Make a list of possible sentences before the session. | Teaching the words in sentence form gives them a meaningful context. Possible set of words: it, It, is, Is, dad, Dad, mum, Mum, and, off, on, big, get, can, Can Possible sentences include: It is Dad. Is it mum? Mum and dad. Keep the list of possible sentences with the words so that this can be practised daily. A duplicate set can be used for homework. This can be followed up using a programme such as Clicker (see www.cricksoft.com) on the computer. Printing a grid of words will allow the child to work on writing the sentences again independently. Add to the words gradually adding new sentences at the same time. | |
| Playing Four in a Row to help word recognition Sheet of paper as a 'board' A dice Different coloured pencils Preparing the 'board': Create a landscape page with 6 columns and 7 rows. On the first row, number each column from 1-6. Select a set of high frequency words the children have been learning to recognise, and which need reinforcing. Write the words randomly in each of the other 36 boxes - they can be repeated. The board can be photocopied for use on another day. | Children need to be able to read a range of high frequency words to develop fluency in reading. For this game, use familiar words that need more practice. Words can be changed as progress is made. For 2 or more players. You will need to decide what happens if a child reads a word wrong. Do you tell them the word? Or do they lose their go? Remember the game is meant to be fun! | |
| Pelmanism (pairs) Two sets of 10 cards with target high frequency words. Each set made on different coloured card, e.g. mum mum | Children need to be able to read a range of high frequency words to develop fluency in reading. Different pupils will manage a larger or smaller number of cards. |
use pictures and text together to get information
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday situation with words and a picture A picture of an everyday event, or social setting e.g. crossing the road, or going to the cinema. A story to go with the picture (no more than 5 or 6 sentences). Or See the resource sheets in 'Language for Thinking' (LfT) by Parsons and Branagan (Published by Speechmark). If using this publication, use Module 2 and (1) the level A questions then (2) the level B questions. This programme has questions for a range of ability levels. | 1. Choose a scenario picture. 2. Show the children the picture and let them read the story. 3. Ask the child questions verbally focusing on questions where the child must use what they can see in the picture and also some wider context to answer the questions; for example: 'What will happen next?' 'How did he...?' 'What is a ....?' 'How are these the same?' ("LfT level B" questions). | Use simpler questions to start with (e.g. the "Language for Thinking" level A questions if this publication is being used). If a child gives a short answer, prompt them to expand it. If the child finds the questions in step 3 easy ("LfT level B"), use some questions that require more working out and understanding of the context, e.g. 'What will happen if he...?' 'Why is it made of that?' 'If you were X, what would you say / do?' 'Why can't he?' (LfT level C questions). |
identifies sentences in reading and uses full stops
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Recognising sentences in reading Write or type lines of text - perhaps from books the child has read. Some of these should be complete sentences. Some of them should be unfinished sentences so they don't make sense. Start all with a capital letter, but leave out the full stop from all of them. Cut out each line of text so each one is on a separate card or piece of paper. (You could keep an extra copy with the correct punctuation added as a model.) Examples: The boy is in bed At the weekend It is time to go My house is in a Easylearn produce prepared texts in a book called 'First Stop' | 1. Child / adult read aloud through a selection of lines of text. 2. Child identifies which are complete and make sense (i.e. which lines are full sentences) and which are not. 3. Child sorts the lines of text into two groups - ones that are complete sentences and ones that are not. 4. Adult models re-reading the lines and adding the punctuation - full stops only at the ends of the complete sentences. 5. If the child is ready - let them work on adding full stops at the ends of complete sentences. | The purpose of this activity is for the child to recognise that a sentence has to make sense (and that it isn't just the punctuation that shows it's a sentence). This could be done one to one, in a pair or in a small group e.g. four children. Child could check work from a model prepared earlier. This links to 'cut up' sentences in reading / writing - child reads the words and sequences them to form a sentence. |
| Identifying sentences and sentence boundaries in longer texts and adding full stops / capital letters Four slightly longer texts than in the "recognising sentences in reading" activity, e.g. of about 3-4 lines, which you have written out or typed without punctuation. Example: it was a hot day the children were making a sandcastle it was really big Easylearn produce prepared texts in a book called 'First Stop' | The purpose of this activity is for the child to recognise that a sentence has to make sense (and that it isn't just the punctuation that shows it's a sentence). This could be done one to one or in a pair -or small group e.g. four children. Punctuation Kung Fu (described in the book Could Do Better by Phil Beadle, www.philbeadle.com), where each punctuation mark is accompanied by a kung fu movement and a noise, could be introduced as part of this activity. This links to 'cut up' sentences in reading / writing activities - child reads the words and sequences them to form a sentence. |
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