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| Didax "Class Ideas" Newsletter Archive |
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Welcome to another issue of Class Ideas. It's really cold right now in New England, but we're staying warm by keeping busy here at Didax. We're working hard to bring you lots of innovative and exciting new products and books. One of our new series is on Oral Language, the subject of this newsletter.
A skill like this doesn't have to be tedious or scary for students. The article shows a fun and easy way for students to go on an oral language adventure. We have some downloadable worksheets, taken from brand new books, handy Internet links and our subscriber-only special.
Please email me if you have any ideas for future issues. We've got some great plans for the next few months, and keep a lookout for the next issue that will give you new ideas for teaching basic math operations.
Thanks for reading.
Anna Mullen, Editor |
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| Oral Language Odysseys |
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 Here is a fun way to create an oral language program for a term?base it around an exciting journey! In reading, this may sound like a wonderful lesson plan for lower elementary grades, but don't write it off for students in up to eighth grade. Students love exercising their imaginations and will love exploring the ideas these activities invoke.
Follow these steps:
1. Decide on a journey that suits your class. It might fit a current classroom theme. How about a sea journey, a space journey, or time travel?
2. Reserve a special corner in the classroom that can be used for the oral language activities and decorate it to suit the type of journey. For instance, a ship?s sails attached to the wall and blue material on the floor to represent waves.
3. Divide the story of the journey into parts. A sea journey is used below. This has been divided into five parts, but could be adapted to include more.
? Planning for the journey
? Setting sail
? The pirates
? Shipwrecked!
? Rescued
4. Plan your oral language activities for each story part.
A Sea Journey (example)
Planning for the journey
? Share poems and rhymes about the sea.
? In pairs, look at teacher-made maps of mythical islands or countries and discuss possible itineraries.
? Have the students describe objects they would like to take on a long sea journey.
? As a class, decide what kinds of people might be needed as crew. Interview a partner to find out what he/she has to offer the ship. This exercise could also help the students practice greetings.
Setting sail
? In small groups, use words or groups of words, together with appropriate actions, to describe different shipboard activities; e.g. ?Scrub, scrub, scrub.? An appropriate volume should be chosen; e.g. ?Haul away! Haul away!? should be spoken loudly. Once the groups have practiced, you can orchestrate them to create a simple choral speaking piece.
? Ask the students to demonstrate the use of polite language as they mime shipboard activities.
? Have the children tell ?Today?s Shipboard News? in place of normal news-telling. They can talk about the weather, happenings on board, sightings through telescopes, etc.
? Role-play various scenarios; e.g. sighting a whale, feeling seasick.
The pirates
? Read stories about pirates and ask the students to draw an object or person from a story.
? Have the students use body language and facial expressions to show how they feel about pirates storming their ship. They can then add voices.
? Play language games like ?word tennis? to replace a pirate sword fight. In this game, the students are given a simple topic; for example, colors. The students then face partners and take turns naming colors. If a student repeats a color or can?t think of one, he/she is out?or ?injured? by the other?s sword!
Shipwrecked!
? Play storm sound effects and have the students improvise what they would say and do.
? Have the students pretend they have ended up on a deserted island, where they find a treasure map. Read them instructions for finding the treasure.
? Have small groups of students discuss the problem of finding food and fresh water and make some decisions.
Rescued
? Have half the students act as rescuers and the other half as the castaways. In pairs, the castaway students can explain to their rescuers what happened to them and the ship. The pairs can then swap roles.
? Have the students draw a simple map of what they feel the island they landed on looked like and explain it to a small group or the class.
? Collect some toys or other objects that represent life on a ship; e.g. a telescope, ropes, sails. Ask the students to imagine that these objects were found after the wreck of their ship. Each student should choose an object and explain what the object makes them remember about the trip. |
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| Downloadable Oral Language Activity Pages |
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 This month's downloadable activity pages come from our brand new Didax Skills Series, Oral Language. This series is designed to help students listen critically to and respond appropriately to oral communication. With these fun activities, you can help your students work on their oral communication skills while enjoying classroom interaction. Select the appropriate level for your students to download and try. |
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| Oral Language Internet Links |
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 From background information to specific lesson plans, you can find endless useful websites on Oral Language. To make it a little easier on you, here are some to start with. There are a few links with background info on communication in general and how to give an oral report. Then you can try the lesson plans from pbs.org and discovery.com. Don't stop at the lessons here, search the sites for many others. Happy surfing. |
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| March Newsletter Theme: Basic Math Operations |
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 Keep your eyes open for the next issue of Class Ideas coming soon to an Inbox near you! We're getting back to basics with Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and Division, oh my. These basic math operations are about as fundamental as it gets and we all need them. We'll have a useful article from a guest author, downloadable worksheets, Internet links and, of course, a subscriber-only special. |
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