VOCABULARY Discussion Words – Spelling and Sounds Focus set of word cards per small group; General Statements on English Spelling and Vowel Sounds handout (p.112) for each small group Materials: Preparation: T prepares the target vocabulary words – one set for each small group Each word should be on an individual small piece of card or paper The vocabulary could be: • • • words suggested by SS – as in Mode keywords from a text – as in Mode words from a particular vocabulary set – as in Mode Method: T gives out a set of cards to each group and asks them to put all the cards out on the table so that everybody can see them all Then SS put them into two groups – words they know and words they don’t know T asks SS to shout out words they don’t know Other SS in other groups help by giving definitions or translations T reminds SS to use dictionaries and write down the new words T asks SS to put the words into alphabetical order This helps them to remember words they have just learned, because they are focusing on them again T asks SS from different groups to read out part of their list T writes incorrectly pronounced words on the board and draws SS’s attention to them T drills the words with the SS from A-Z T says each word once, then the whole group repeats it SS find the stressed syllable and stressed vowel sound in each word or phrase In the case of phrases, SS should identify the single strongest syllable in the whole phrase T reminds SS about the General Statements on English Spelling and Vowel Sounds If SS have not studied this before, T could go through each of the statements, eliciting examples Or, T could ensure that SS have studied this topic during an input lesson prior to using it in a vocabulary session, perhaps exploring the Spelling Patterns worksheets too SS put each vocabulary word into one of the categories If a word does not fit any category, it goes in the ‘exceptions’ group If SS are using discussion words from Talk a Lot, they could lay the cards in lines on the right side of the General Statements handout SS count up how many of the words fit into each category Notice which categories occur the most frequently and how many exceptions there are T discusses the results with the whole group Tips: • The aim of this activity is to remind SS that English spelling can help them to predict the pronunciation of words Spelling and pronunciation are not completely random in English! For 42 vocabulary sets organised by topic see: Purland, Matt You Are The Course Book 2: In Practice Ostróda: English Banana.com, 2013 Hardback Available for free download: http://englishbanana.com/resources/free-books/teacher-training/you-are-the-course-book-2-inpractice/ p.434 Purland, Matt You Are The Course Book – Syllabus Ostróda: English Banana.com, 2013 Hardback Available for free download: http://englishbanana.com/resources/free-books/teacher-training/you-are-the-course-book-syllabus/ pp.67-75 You Are The Course Book – Lesson Plans 32 • Variation: this together with the Stress Statements page (p.113) and SS could give each word a code, e.g A1 for a one-syllable word with one vowel letter, like ‘big’ SS could think up other words with each code You Are The Course Book – Lesson Plans 33