Vocabulary Activity.                                                

This fall I started working with 5th grade pupils. From their class teacher I was told that they had struggled with English in 3rd and 4th grade. They found reading and writing English very challenging. The class seemed a bit shy when it came to classroom activities, so I decided to use a sort of "hentediktat" which is an activity they knew from their work in Norwegian. I named the vocabulary activity "Find and use." 

The aim of using this vocabulary activity was primarily to motivate and ensure the pupils that their knowledge of English is fine! I firmly believe that pupils need to feel safe and experience that they are competent and that they can learn together.

The pupils were introduced to the New vocabulary through two different texts with the same theme. The next time we had English, we repeated the words and I explained the activity. The words were written on posters in different areas of the school yard. The pupils were divided into groups of three. They were assigned an area in the school yard as their base. They should take turns finding a word, remembering it going back to their group, then saying the word. The two others should write it down helping each other with the spelling. In total they collected nine words, each pupil had to find three words.

The first time we did this, the pupils needed some encouragement along the way. They all completed the task without much difficulties. Bask in the classroom they compared their notes with the list on the smartboard. We discussed which words they found difficult and if some words were easier than others, and why. They handed me the written notes knowing that this time I would only check that they had collected all nine words.

In our next session we looked at the words again. This time each pupil should write sentences with the words. The sentences should start with I like, or I don’t like.

We have used this activity several times. The pupils seem comfortable with the activity, and they engage more with each other also in other learning activities in the classroom. This was the first aim of the activity and I’m very happy to see this. Now I have to make sure that we use this positive experience doing more complicated tasks together.

Until now I have assessed their work based on how they interact and help each other as a group. I have focused on one positive comment to each group directly after the activity in the school yard. When the pupils have worked individually writing sentences, I have collected the work and checked if they manage to use the words in a way that gives meaning. Most of them show progress. They seem to both understand the meaning of the words and the spelling is correct. Some pupils still write the words closer to how they are pronounced, but they have a clear understanding of the meaning and use of the words.

My main concern now is to make sure that we develop our work with new vocabulary and find effective ways to recycle this vocabulary. With this group I think it will be effective to use tasks like “fill in the gap.” This will give them practise in reading and at the same time making use of the vocabulary in question. Another activity I think will help them acquire the new vocabulary is sorting. I will start out sorting the words into groups of verbs, nouns and maybe also adjectives, because the class has a good understanding of different word classes. The last activity I think will be effective is with a learning partner. They are given different list of words we have worked with. They take turns in describing what the word is about without using the word. The partner must try and guess what the actual word is.

I have enjoyed working with the vocabulary activities mentioned. So far the pupils have shown progress, but most of all they seem motivated and ready to use their English.