L1/L2 resource adapted from comma quizzes in The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation by Jane Straus. Nine slides of multiple choice questions. They are all in red, green, yellow or blue so that learners can throw beanbags into the corresponding hoops, or hold up corresponding cards etc. The choices are sometimes very tricky and this provokes a lot of discussion.
Level
Level 2
Level 1
English
AL Ws/L2.4 Use apostrophes & inverted commas
Ws/L1.3
Adult Lit Rs/L2.2 Use punctuation to help interpret the meaning and purpose of texts
A starter activity for age 16+ . Guaranteed to engage and enthuse learners from Entry Level 1 to Level 2. Students should make a note of each of the new words and then decide which one (out of 9) has not been added to the Oxford English Dictionary.
It can prompt discussions on the words and learners can give their opinion on what they may mean.
From one of our Australian contributors, this makes a good end of term quiz and discussion prompt re. similarities to cockney rhyming slang, informal language, etc.
This is a card game that tests students understanding and knowledge of root words. The game can be played as a whole class or in small groups but works best if the tutor sits in on the game in order to support the students and question their answers.
There are 12 cards in the pack which includes a variety of questions including true or false and spot the root word.
Level
Entry Level 3
Entry Level 2
English
Rw/E3.5
AL Rw/E2.2 Recognise high frequency words & words with common spelling patterns
ESOL
ESOL Rw/E3.5a Use variety of reading strategies to read/understand unfamiliar words
ESOL Rw/E2.3a Use context & range of phonic / graphic knowledge to decode words
This is a spelling game that allows the tutors to test the learners, the learners to test the tutors and then the learners to test each other. It is fun, competitive, supportive and covers the following areas:
Challenging multiple choice quiz of vocabulary “borrowed” from other languages such as French, Greek and Italian. Words and phrases include: fait accompli, deja vu, ad hoc, bric-a-brac and many more. Makes a good warm up and could be used with small groups or individually.
Level
Level 2
Level 1
English
Word origins
AL Rw/L2.3 Vocabulary (language features, synonyms, formality)
Rw/L1.3
ESOL
ESOL Rw/L2.3a Recognise & understand vocabulary associated with different text types
ESOL Rw/L1.3a Recognise and understand an increasing range of vocabulary
Makes a good end of term or pre-test activity. 24 fun yet challenging questions cover advanced punctuation (apostrophes, colons, semi-colons), spelling, suffixes, fact/opinion, vocabulary, parts of speech, and more. Can be used individually or in teams.
A separate answer sheet is also available (see below). Thanks to Marion Martin for writing this.
Literacy and numeracy questions all based on the word CHRISTMAS (can easily be adapted for other seasonal festivals such a Diwali, New Year’s Eve or Ramadan). Covers vowels, consonants, number, ratios, simple substitution, range, mode and more!
Ideal for mixed ability groups (E1-L2). Also provides very good practice in reading instructions carefully. Updated Nov 2011 – see comments below
Two start of term quiz or diagnostic exercises (or use simply to get learners into the swing of things!) cover reading comprehension, sentence structure and punctuation, writing and spelling.
One for E2-E3, one for L1-L2.
Three Wordle puzzles, each with 20 pairs of homophones and forty clues. Includes clues for each pair of homophones. Can you find them all? Wordle is a brilliant on-line, completely free word cloud creator.
See our blog articles for more Wordle teaching and learning ideas: http://skillsworkshop.blogspot.com/2008/07/using-wordle-in-classroom.ht…
