Category: Spelling

Comparatives and Superlatives

24/4/2013

Below, I present a lesson plan that you can use in your class to review comparatives and superlatives. Students should have at least a pre-intermediate level.

1. Review:
In the board, review with your students how to form comparatives and superlatives. You can do it by creating a chart that includes the rules to follow and have in mind when working with comparatives and superlatives.

2. Worksheet: "Think of a word".

- Divide the class in small teams ( no more than three people) and turn in the worksheet "think of a word" to each team.
- Then, write a noun on the board and ask students to suggest whatever the worksheet tells them.
- It is a competition, so students need to fill in the worksheet as fast as possible but without spelling mistakes.
- Misspellings will be penalised. The first team to complete all the sentences will win a point. Each team will get a point for each word that is correct. Should a spelling be wrong, no point will be awarded. The teacher will ask students to spell the written word is she/he thinks that it might be misspelled. If two groups write the same word in a sentence, they won't get the point.
- Repeat the exercise with different words a couple of times and add up the points to select a winner.

3. SONG: "Everything" by Alanis Morissette

- The teacher will introduce the song to students. He/she will explain ask students to fill in the blanks. The teacher will tell students that the words that are missing are adjectives, comparatives, superlatives and some parts of the verbs in the present perfect.
- Students will listen to the song and complete the gaps.
- If students find the song difficult, the teacher will give them a worksheet that includes the words missing. The teacher will read the words aloud to make easier their identification in the song.
- Repeat as many times as students need.
- Check answers by asking students to read the song aloud.
- Check new vocabulary.
- Identify the adjectives and complete a chart with them like the one at the review stage.

4. The guessing game:
This game can be carried out either writing or speaking:
- Describe an object/animal/person using comparatives until someone guesses what it is
e.g. "It is as yellow as a banana, "it is hotter than fire", "it is as round as a ball" (SUN)
- Wrong guesses should be replied to with another clue comparing the real object with that wrong guess, e.g. “No, this thing isn’t a candle. A candle is colder than it."
- Descriptions should include at least two compatives or superlatives

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"Classmade"- Scrabble

8/3/2013

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"Classmade"- Scrabble
1. Ask your students to sit down in pairs. If you are working with an odd number of students, three students will sit together.
2. Provide your students with a grid.
3.To decide who goes first, students will have to make an addition of the number of letters of their name and surname. The one with the highest number will start.

4. The first student will write one word in the grid. Each letter must fit in each square. The word may be placed either horizontally or vertically, but not diagonally.
5. If both players agree with the spelling of the word, the student who placed the that word will get as many points as letters the word has. Students can use a table like the one below or draw one themselves to keep the score updated. If they are not sure about the spelling of a word, they may use a dictionary to check it.

VARIATION: You can provide your students with this alternative grid. Depending on the color of the square where they write the letter, they will have the possibility of doubling or tripling the points for that letter, as well as doubling the points of the word.

FOLLOW UP: Once your students have finished playing, ask them to fill in each square that is left with a random letter. When all the grid is full of letters, each pair will exchange their grid with another pair's grid. Now the scrabble has turned into a wordsearch!

6. Students will take turns to play. If a student can't think of a word in around 30 seconds, he or she will miss his or her turn.
7. When there is not more space in the grid or students can't think of more words, they will add up all the points.
8. The student who gets more points will win.

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Activities to teach spelling to young learners

6/12/2012

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I would like to present some of the games and activities I usually carry out during my ESL classes to help students learn the spelling of words they just learned. I have tried these games with students who are in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade but I consider that they can also be implemented with students who are a little bit younger or older. Some of these activities require moving around the classroom and standing up, so depending on the age of the students and classroom setting, the lesson can be more or less successful.

PD. Before I play the games, I tell them that we are going to practice the spelling of the new vocabulary so it will be easier for them to know how to write the words in order to win the game. I let them read and review the vocabulary on their own for 2 or 3 minutes. After that time, they are ready and willing to play and have fun.

1. ABC game:
I only carry out this game during the first weeks of school when students do not feel very comfortable saying the ABC. Students stand up and the stay behind their desks. In case of having a small group, children can form a line with their backs on the wall.
1. The student who is on the left side or is the first on the line will start saying the first letter
of the ABC.
2. Then, the next student will say the following letter of the word and so on.
3. If a student says the wrong letter or repeats the same letter, they will be out of the game
too and must sit down.

2. Sparkle:
1. The teacher reads one spelling word aloud.
2. The student who is on the left side of the classroom or the first in the line will start the
word by saying the first letter.
3. Then, the following student will say the next letter of the word and so on.
4. When the word has been spelled correctly, the next student in line says "Sparkle."
5. Those students who are next to the student who has said "Sparkle" will be out of the
game (luck plays an important role).
6. If a student says the wrong letter, they will be out of the game too and must sit down.
7. The student who wins will get a "life" that can be use when someone who is next to them
says "Sparkle" . However, the "life" cannot be used when the student misspells the word.

3. Spell it out and guess:
This is a good activity to review spelling of new and old words and to improve students' behavior in the classroom
1. Students are divided into two or three groups depending on the number of students in the classroom.
2. The teacher will pick one vocabulary word from the "spelling bag" and will spell it out.
Eg. H-E-L-I-C-O-P-T-E-R.
3. Those students who know the word will raise their hand.
4. The teacher will only select those students who raise their hand to say the answer
5. If the word is right, that team will get a point.
6. The team which gets more points will win.

4. Spelling detective:
I recommend to carry out this activity when students feel more or less confident with their spelling words, for example, as a review for a spelling test of right before moving to a new a spelling list.
1. Write on the board a enumerated list of no more than 10 spelling words.
2. Let students read and focus on this list for 1 minute.
3. Ask students to close their eyes for 15 seconds.
4. Erase one of the words and rewrite it with an incorrect spelling (not very noticeable)
5. Ask students to open their eyes and find the word with the incorrect spelling.
6. Students will write the word correctly on their own dry-erase board or in the notebook and
show it to the teacher.
7. Continue playing until you have reviewed every word.

5. Spelling Hangman:
1. Organize students in pairs. Each student will have a dry-erase board or a piece of paper.
2. Each student will choose a random word but they will not tell it to each other ( the teacher
will tell students how many letters the word should have). Each student will draw as many   horizontal lines as letters the word they have chosen has.
3. A small bag or box containing the spelling words will be placed on the table.
4. The first student to begin playing will pick one word from the bag and say it aloud.
5. The other student will spell it out.
6. If the student spells it out correctly, he will have the chance to say one letter he or she
thinks the word chosen by their opponent has. If the students spells the word incorrectly,
he or she will miss their turn without saying a letter.
7. The student who guesses the opponent's word will win.

I will add more games and activities related to the teaching of spelling soon!

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My name is Beatriz Paternain. I am an ESL specialist who graduated in 2012 with a Master's of Education in TESOL and World Languages Education from the University of Georgia

Comparatives and Superlatives

"Classmade"- Scrabble

Activities to teach spelling to young learners

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