TEACH: Cheat sheet for Starting Points & ESOL activities from the Learning Progressions

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This resource is for teachers working with very low-level literacy learners. These are often ESOL students.

If you want to have a look, you can download it from the link below:

Cheat Sheet for Starting Points Activities

Here’s how to use it. Just look down the list at the second column. This tells you in one sentence what learners actually have to do in the activity.

From there, you can look at the name of the activity, find the page number in the resource, and see which progressions it lines up with.

Things to remember:

  • Most activities cut across multiple progressions. This is fine. Just make sure you know what your focus is. Refer back to your learning outcomes.
  • The level of difficulty for all of the Starting Points activities is Step 1 or below.
  • Not all the activities will be useful to you and your situation. If you do decide to take the time to look through these, you might want to rate them for yourself. In other words, can you use this?
  • You don’t have to use these. If you have your own ideas then go with that. But remember, if you need inspiration or want to look at activities that were written by experts then look here.

You can download it here as a PDF or just read below:

Activity

What do learners do?

Which progressions does it focus on?

Where do I find it?

Can I use it?
Rate: ✓ ? ✗

Listening vocabulary Develop a basic listening and speaking vocabulary of common or familiar words Starting Points, vocabulary, spelling p 14-16
Phonological awareness Hear and work with the sounds in words Starting Points, decoding, spelling, p 18-22
Sound-letter relationships Name the letters in the alphabet and understand that letters are used to represent sounds. Starting Points, decoding, spelling p 23-25
Print and word concepts Develop understanding of the rules, conventions and practices that govern the written English language

 

Starting Points, decoding, language and text features, spelling, planning and composing p 27-29
Letter formation Write letters clearly and efficiently by hand Starting Points, spelling, planning and composing, revising and editing, p 30-32
Environmental print Use words, signs and notices from their environment Starting Points, decoding, vocabulary, language and text features, spelling, p 33-35
High-interest words Use words that are personally significant, used often, or related to everyday needs or actions Starting Points, decoding, vocabulary, spelling, planning and composing, revising and editing p 36-38

 

Author: Graeme Smith

THIS IS GRAEME I write and teach about practical education, professional growth and cultural insights. I also make music. Available for inspiration, innovation, creation and education consulting and advisory work in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally.

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