Fast ForWord Language v2 - Schoolwires

ResouRces foR TeacheRs

Fast ForWord® Language v2

2 | Fast ForWord Language v2 Teacher Tools

Copyright ©1996–2009 Scientific Learning Corporation. All rights reserved. This document is supplied subject to the terms of the Scientific Learning Corporation license agreement. Information in this document is subject to change without notice. Names, data, and other information used in examples and exercises herein are fictitious.

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First Edition

Fast ForWord Language v2 Teacher Tools | 3

TeacheR TooLs

CD Contents

This CD offers ideas and content for direct instruction activities and scaffolding instruction adapted to English Language Learners, Special Education Students, and Struggling Readers.

> Fast ForWord® Language v2 Characters

> Word Lists

> Teacher-Directed Activity Suggestions

> Sample Motivation Ideas and Activities

> Sample Intervention Ideas and Activities

• English Language Learners

• Special Education Students

• Struggling Readers

> Sample Intervention Log

> Sample Writing Activities


Scientific Learning Web reSourceSScientific Learning Corporation provides several teacher resources, such as the Virtual Academy for online training and the website Customer Connect for customer support located online at www.scientificlearning.com.

VirtuaL academyThe Virtual Academy presents a curriculum of online, self-paced instructional modules. Teachers and coaches can access this product training based on their schedules.

cuStomer connectThe Customer Connect site provides helpful resources, such as a wide range of reference materials, articles about the science behind the Fast ForWord products, training information, implementation guidance, and technical specifications. WebEx training and information sessions can be accessed easily as well. Many useful forms and activities are also available for downloading, such as the following:

> Certificate of Achievement> Fast ForWord Language v2 Points Chart> Sample Schedules> Motivation Activities> Intervention Activities> Word Lists


Fast ForWord Language v2 Characters

Teachers can use the Fast ForWord Language v2 exercise characters in many ways, such as bulletin board theme displays, story starter writing activities, covers for student-produced booklets, and classroom wall décor. The characters can be printed out on a computer printer or copied and enlarged on a copy machine.

Sky Gym

whalien match

moon ranch

robo-doG

hoop nut

ele-bot Space commander

Sky Gym

moon ranch

hoop nut

whalien match

robo-doG

ele-bot

Space commander


Fast ForWord Language v2 Word Lists

Whalien Match and Robo-Dog exercises present word lists that can be used as pre-teaching and supplemental practice materials, for integrated curriculum planning, and for creating extended activities such as word walls. The word lists can also be enlarged and cut into word strips to be used in various activities.

Set (category) 1

Set (category) 2

Set (category) 3

Set (category) 4

big buck back ba

bit bud bag cha

dig but bat da

dip cup cab ga

kick cut cap ka

kid duck cat la

kit dug gap pa

pick pub pack ra

pig pup pat sa

pit tub tack sha

tick tuck tag ta

tip tug tap za

WhaLien match Word LiSt


robo-dog Word LiStmath

VocabuLaryScience

VocabuLarymath

VocabuLaryScience

VocabuLaryNumber Sense Life Sciences Arithmetic Earth Sciences

Target WordPennyNickelDimeQuarter

Target WordLeafFlowerSeedRoot

Target WordNumbersPlusMinusEqual

Target WordCloudDewFogRainfall

Target WordZeroOneTenOne HundredOne Thousand

Target WordEarEyeNoseMouth

Target WordAddSubtractCountMeasure

Target WordEarthMoonSpaceStar

Target WordMoreLessMostLeast

Target WordArmLegHandFoot

Target WordCircleSquareRectangleTriangle

Target WordDesertIcebergValleyMountain

Target WordDozenSingleHalfPair

Target WordWingBeakClawTail

Target WordConeCubeSpherePyramid

Target WordSkinFurFeathersScale

Target WordLengthWidthHeightDistance


Teacher-Directed Activities

Teacher-directed, quick, 3-minute activities can help students practice and reinforce auditory memory and sequencing skills presented by the Fast ForWord Language v2 exercises. These activities can be part of the classroom or the lab. Some suggested 3-minute activities are included below.

Shopping LiStSEngage students in making a 3-item shopping list and reciting it. Tell the students to pretend they are going shopping after school and write a list of 3 items they will purchase. Ask them to repeat the following sentence (with their items inserted): “I am going shopping for (1) a notebook, (2) colored markers, and (3) an ice cream cone.” As students master the 3-item list, challenge them to list 4 items, then 5 items. Make this a fun break from some other seat-based task. (Variation: ask students to stand up while making the lists or to take one step forward for each item they remember – allow enough physical room for students to move around!)

number LiStSChallenge students to remember and repeat a 3-number list—for example, (5, 6, 9). When students master the 3-number list, create a 4-number list, then a 5-number list. Reward with extra minutes on the computer or special story time. (Variation: add the name of the Fast ForWord Language v2 character after each number such as “5 Robo-Dog, 6 Robo-Dog, 9 Robo-Dog”).

Story goofSRead aloud a familiar short story such as Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Explain to students that you are going to change some things around in this story. They are to listen for things that are different from the way the story is written. As soon as they hear something different, they are to raise their hand and share with the class what they have heard. Encourage students to then tell what the story really says.

prepoSition commandSTake a 3-minute break from seat work to engage students in listening to and following directions. Ask for volunteers to begin the activity. Ask one volunteer to walk TO the door, another volunteer to put a pencil ON the teacher’s desk. Ask another volunteer to place a book UNDER a chair. When students master one-step directions, add a second step to the direction, then a third step. Students also enjoy taking the lead role in giving directions.

Other Fast ForWord Language v2 teacher-directed activities shown below can be integrated into the classroom language arts curriculum, providing an opportunity for the students working on Fast ForWord exercises to work with the rest of their classmates. These activities can function as supplemental or extended learning experiences and can be adapted to English Language Learners, Special Education Students, and Struggling Readers.


Sound patternS

SkiLL addreSSed: Create, listen to, identify, and remember sound patterns

grade LeVeL: Elementary

materiaLS: one tambourine, two 5" maracitos (mini maracas), one 6½" cabasa, one or two 5" jingle bells

eStimated time: 10 minutes

actiVity: Engage students in creating rhythm and sound differentiations by playing the musical instruments.

1. Ask for 3 student volunteers.

2. Ask each volunteer to choose one of the instruments such as the tambourine, mini maracas, or bells.

3. Explain that the volunteers will create a simple rhythm. Ask the students to listen carefully to the rhythm. (Example: 3 tambourine shakes—pause; 2 mini maraca shakes—pause; and then 3 bell jingles.) Repeat the rhythm several times.

4. Then ask the students to clap in rhythm with the instruments played by the volunteers.

5. Ask the students to explain the sound pattern they hear. (Example: Pattern of 3—pause; 2—pause; and 3.)

6. Encourage other students to volunteer and create different sound patterns. Follow the steps in creating, identifying, and remembering the different sound patterns. If there is enough time left for the exercise, engage students in comparing various patterns.


phoneme contraStS

SkiLL addreSSed: The ability to distinguish between syllables that differ by an individual phoneme.


materiaLS: large Chartpak paper, black color marker

eStimated time: 10 minutes

actiVity: Small group

1. Divide the class into two groups. Give one student in Group #1 a large sign with /gi/ written in large letters. Give one student in Group #2 a large sign with /ki/ written in large letters.

2. Review the two different syllables with the students. Say the syllables. Point out the similari-ties and differences in the spellings and in the sounds.

3. Explain that you will say one syllable. When a Group hears you say the syllable that they are representing they are to jump up and then sit down. (Example: Say /gi/ and the /g/ student group stands.)

4. Create additional syllable pairs and use the same exercise steps to pre-teach or reinforce the Moon Ranch exercise. Additional syllable combinations are: /chu/ and /shu/; /si/ and /sti/; /ge/ and /ke/; /do/ and /to/; /ba/ and /da/; /de/ and /be/; and /bi/ and /di/.


math and Science ScrambLe

SkiLL addreSSed: Build elementary math and science vocabulary. (Use this activity to inte-grate math and science vocabulary into the Fast ForWord skill instruction.)


materiaLS: Robo-Dog word list, 4 x 6 note cards

eStimated time: Two 30-minute sessions

actiVity:

1. Choose a category such as “Arithmetic” from the word list. Create flashcards on 4x6 note cards, writing the math and science words from the Robo-Dog word list. Review each card with the students; talk about the meaning of the word and note the spelling pattern.

2. Explain to the students that you will stack these cards upside down on the table. One student at a time will draw a card, read the word, and create a math or science-related sentence with that word. When they finish the sentence, they will say the word again and then spell it. The card is then placed face up next to the overturned cards.

3. When all the cards have been drawn and are sitting face up on the table, ask each student to choose one card with which to create several sentences. The sentences can be written on chart paper or on notebook paper for sharing at a later session. Note: This activity can be extended into a writing activity, linking sentences together to create a paragraph. Students can also illustrate their writing.

4. Students can copy the math and science words to practice with each other, mastering the spelling and the word meaning.

.


Motivation

Fast ForWord products require students to maintain consistent focus while working on the exercises. To encourage them to stay on task, the motivation and reward ideas in this section can be very helpful. Additional motivation strategies and activities are available at www.scientificlearning.com/support.

Encourage Attendance Daily & Weekly Points Highest Score Completion

Weekly Door Prize

As students enter the Fast ForWord lab, ask students to write their names on a sign-in sheet each day they attend to qualify for weekly door prizes. Create an exercise-specific sign-in sheet fea-turing the exercise character. Make 2 columns on the sign-in sheet, one for student names and one for the date. To give students practice writing the correct date, ask them to write their names in the name column and the date in the date column.

Wall of Fame

Create a “Wall of Fame” for those high points achievers and reward with age-ap-propriate prizes.

Simon Says

Students set personal goals for the day; allow those who met their goals to lead the class back to the classroom with verbal directions such as:

“Simon says, walk two steps…”

Robo-Dog Bones

Divide the class into two groups. Draw and cut out two large Robo-Dog characters. Tape the cutouts to the wall. Assign one of the Robo-Dog cutouts to each team. Cut out paper bones for students. Each student writes his or her name on a bone and tapes the bone by his or her team dog upon completion of the exercise. The first group to reach 80% completion wins. Bring cookies in the shape of dog bones for a celebration party for both teams at the end of the Fast ForWord class.

Give the winning team dog bone cer-tificates for winning the contest.


Encourage Attendance Daily & Weekly Points Highest Score Completion

Attendance Chart

Create a wall atten-dance chart using a Fast ForWord Lan-guage v2 exercise character theme. Have students mark their attendance with check marks, stickers, theme pictures, etc.

(See the Whalien Match Calendar be-low that can be used for students to track their attendance.)

Points Chart

Track points on the Fast ForWord Lan-guage v2 exercise daily points chart. (Points charts are located at www.scien-tificlearning.com/sup-port). Student Points Charts can be safely stored in individual student file folders where students can easily access them. This activity also teaches students to be accountable for maintaining their records in an orderly fashion.

Sky Gym Goals

Engage each student in setting a goal for the day. Reward achievement with a Sky Gym character print-out to put in their personalized en-velope in a file on the teacher’s desk. Ask the students to write their name, their goal and the date on their Sky Gym character before placing it in the envelope. Stu-dents keep track of the number of characters they have earned by the end of the exercise. Reward students with a spe-cific number of points for each Sky Gym character that can be traded for a small prize.

Completion Ribbons

Make an award rib-bon for each student. Write the student name on the ribbon. Display the ribbons on a bulletin board. Using the Fast For-Word characters for each Fast ForWord exercise, make pugs. As each student reaches 80% comple-tion in the exercise, the pug with that exercise character is put on their ribbon.

Wh

ali

EN

MaT

ch

aT

TE

ND

aN

cE

ca

lEN

Da

R

Nam

e: _

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

__

Mon

th: _

____

____

____

____

____

Ye

ar: _

____

____

____

____

____

__

Sund

ayM

onda

yTu

esda

yW

edne

sday

Thur

sday

Frid

aySa

turd

ay

cu

t-o

utS

fo

r t

he

Wh

aLi

en m

atc

h a

tten

da

nc

e c

aLe

nd

ar


Motivation Bulletin Boards

Many Fast ForWord students respond positively to a creative learning environment. The following are just a few ideas teachers have tried in their Fast ForWord classrooms. Colorful, thematic bulletin board designs provide a focus for motivation and reward activities for students.

Clicking Our Way to Success Computer mice with student’s names, pictures of students in the Fast ForWord lab.

Welcome to Our Fast ForWord Community A community design where all roads lead to the Fast ForWord exercises.

Sunken Treasures with Extra Points A treasure chest filled with gold coins located in an underwater shipwreck background with Whalien Match cutouts on which students can write their names. The Whalien Match characters can be placed in pods around the shipwreck to display when students achieve specific goals.

Rockets to the Moon! Create a space and moon thematic bulletin board. Students cut out rocket ship shapes and write their names on the rockets. For each accomplishment earned, students write their names on the rocket ship and list what they accomplished—point achievements, program completion, etc. When they complete all Fast ForWord Language v2 exercises, they move their rocket ship on to the Moon.


Sample Motivation Activities

Teachers can create motivational activities to capture the learning excitement in students. The four suggestions below can be adapted to all the Fast ForWord Language v2 exercises. Additional motivation activities are located at www.scientificlearning.com/support.

ROBO-DOG

Each day show the students a new vocabulary word from the Robo-Dog Word List when they lineup to return to class. Together have the students say and spell the word as the write it in the air. Review the word the next day when students return to the lab. Attach the new word to a Word Wall display in the lab. Review on a spontaneous basis until students master the words.

Place a magic wand and hat on a table in front of a large cutout of Robo-Dog. For every 5 words that students learn to spell from the Robo-Dog word list, put their name in the magic hat. Upon completion, draw names from the hat to see who will win a stuffed rabbit.

SPACE COMMANDER

Make a large poster of the Space Commander and place it on tag board. Hang it on the wall in the lab. Students who get >80% can “autograph” the Space Com-mander poster by writing their names on the poster. Encourage students to put a date next to their names as a way of measuring how long it took them to achieve 80%.

Begin each lab session with a short 2-minute drill to practice giving and following directions. Reward hard-working students with an opportunity to give leadership in this exercise. Ask a student to give a verbal set of instructions for the class to follow, such as “Touch your head. Now touch your elbow. Now touch your knee.” A variation of this exercise can include posting yellow, red, and blue paper squares on each student’s computer. Then ask a student to give a set of instruc-tions, such as “Touch the yellow square. Touch the blue square. Touch the red square.”


Intervention

faSt forWord® Language v2 actiVitieS for engLiSh Language LearnerSThese Fast ForWord intervention activities are designed specifically for English Language Learners. Some of the activities can be used with individual students. Other activities can be used with several students at one time. Often a small group of students can practice certain tasks together after the initial instruction, or they can bring the tasks home with them to share with their families.

The Introductory Activities, which should be conducted prior to students working on the exercises, provide specific instruction for acquainting students with the meaning of words and directions for using the exercises. Ask for feedback from the students to ensure they understand. Other activities are appropriate as the students work on the exercise and encounter difficulties.

Note: The 4 levels of English Language Learning progress as follows:

>pre-production (nod, point, understand a little English)

>earLy production (one to two word responses, follow some instructions, respond to intonation, need modeling of instructions and correct speech)

>Speech emergence (simple sentences, follow spoken instructions, very early reading, some grammatical/pronunciation errors, sight vocabulary, phrase patterns)

>intermediate fLuency (complete sentences, fluency in social/playground English, limited academic text reading comprehension, structural errors in context-reduced writing tasks)

The activities that follow will focus on one, some, or all of these levels. Keep in mind the level of English proficiency when working with students. Form questions that require responses at the level from which the students are able to respond—sometimes just nods, sometimes one word answers, sometimes phrases, etc. Generally, good practices include asking students to repeat words and phrases and showing pictures to build associations between words, their meanings, and sounds. Avoid over-correcting. Model correct speech in response to incorrect usage by saying what student answered in your words.


faSt forWord Language v2 - introductory actiVityFast ForWord Language v2 programs can be used with students who are at various stages of English language learning. This introductory activity can be adapted to fit any of the Fast For-Word Language v2 exercises, but is critical to do it BEFORE students get on the computer, especially if they have little or no English knowledge.

objectiVe: To familiarize students with the commands and terminology used in each of the programs.

grade LeVeL: Elementary, middle school, high school

engLiSh Language LeVeL: Beginner (preproduction/early production)

materiaLS:

• Printandenlargetheinitialscreenofeachoftheexercises(preferablyincolor).UseControl/PrintScreen buttons on a PC or the Grab function under Finder in Mac OSX to photograph and print the screen. OR, you can find some printed screens program documents. If possible, make a full color transparency of the initial screen.

• Alternatively,ifyouhaveadataprojector,youcanprojecttheinitialscreenfromyourcom-puter for the students who will be working on this program to view. This may not be your entire class, so you may have to have other activities (see below) for students who are at other levels or more advanced in the language.

actiVity: Individual, small group

1. Explain to students that you will show them screenshots before they begin the exercise. Show only ONE exercise for each lab session to ensure that you do not overwhelm students with too much information.

2. Have students view the screenshot and discuss what they see. Then talk about the steps involved in working with the exercise. Encourage students to repeat the steps back to you to ensure they completely understand what to do. (Keyboard shortcuts can also be introduced and practiced.)


faSt forWord Language v2 for StudentS at pre-production and earLy production LeVeLSmodeL/teLL: Show the initial screen and point to the different sections of the screen. Ask the student to repeat everything you say. Name the items on the initial screen as you point to them. Explain the “sound” that comes “out” of the speaker. Go through the other words used in the introduction, explaining each. Use your judgment and knowledge of the student’s cur-rent vocabulary levels to decide which words will need to be introduced and which you can skip. Examples of words whose meaning must be clear to students before they do the online activities:

• pointS and queStionS (Write two student’s names on the board. Ask each his/her name and put a slash under each name, saying “one point.” Ask other simple questions that students can answer with a nod. Write a big question mark on the board. Say, “I will ask you a question: Are you a boy?” Allow the student to answer. Say “I will ask another question: Are you a girl?” Allow time for an answer (a nod is OK for a preproduction student). “Another question: Am I the teacher?” Etc. and mark slashes under their names as you say, “2 points,” “3 points,” etc. Ask a more difficult question: How old are you? What color is your dress or shirt? Give and mark extra points as you say “five extra points for that answer, especially if they answer in a complete sentence.

• cLick Say the word and make the noise of the mouse clicking. If possible, demonstrate use of a computer mouse to point & click and say the word again.

• category Reference the boys & girls categories on the board, count and ask “how many in the category girls? How many in the category boys? Write numbers down and say “X in the girls category and X in the boys category.” Point to the words on the board (boys/girls) and say “Categories.” Have students repeat.

Explain the word “mistakes.” Draw a circle on the board and say “Square…Oh, no, no… that’s not a square. It’s a circle. That was a mistake. Say MISTAKE. The teacher made a mistake.” Have students repeat.


Sky gym - introductory actiVity

VocabuLary and VocabuLary phraSeS for Sky gym: Teach, demonstrate, and review the following words: sound, sound sweeps, sequence/order, Gymbo, points. Point to the items on the Sky Gym initial screen or a Printscreen and say the words. Ask students to repeat the words. Ask students to come up to point to the item as you say it.

• for StudentS at Speech emergence: Ask students if they know the meaning of the words above. They should answer in complete sentences, but don’t correct them if they have the right answer, just not said grammatically. Acknowledge a correct answer and repeat what they answer in a corrected version to model proper speech and go on to the next question. Use the strategies above or an analogy to explain any of the terms they don’t already know.

• for intermediate fLuency StudentS: These students should know most of these terms. Extend the conversation with questions about varieties of sounds, sequencing, and order, keeping track of points in a game. Did they keep track of points? Did anybody make mistakes? Explain that the program will be keeping points and that if they make mistakes, it’s OK, they will still be learning a lot.

hoop nut nerf baLL

SkiLL addreSSed: Making correct distinctions based on individual phonemes; identifying and manipulating speech sounds quickly.


engLiSh Language LeVeL: Beginner (preproduction/early production)

materiaLS: Small Nerf ball for each student; sound list: ba/da, be/de, bi/di, va/fa


1. Give each student a small Nerf ball to hold in their hands. Explain to the students that in Hoop Nut they listen to and identify two different sounds. This activity helps students practice hear-ing the differences in some of the sounds. Each time they hear the target /ba/ sound, they squeeze their Nerf ball. When they hear the alternate sound, /da/, they hold the Nerf ball up above their heads.

2. Choose the ba/da target and alternate sounds to introduce this activity. Say the /ba/ sound slowly and clearly, then ask the students to repeat the sound after you. Practice squeezing the Nerf ball and saying /ba/.

3. Then say the /da/ sound, hold the Nerf ball above your head. Ask the students to repeat this step with you.

4. Ask students to listen carefully to you as you say a series of /ba/ sounds with a few /da/ sounds interspersed. Demonstrate squeezing the Nerf ball when saying /ba/ and holding up the Nerf ball when saying /da/.

5. When students master the activity steps, encourage volunteers to play the part of the leader.

6. Use the additional target and alternate sounds in the Hoop Nut sound list for more reinforcement.


WhaLien match: treaSure cheStS

SkiLL addreSSed: Building grapheme/phoneme associations and associating pictures with meaning.


engLiSh Language LeVeL: Beginner through intermediate as noted in activity

materiaLS:

• BrownPaperLunchBagswithinitialconsonantsonthefronttakenfromtheWhalienMatchword list (can adapt to using vowels and final consonants) – On the lunch bags, draw a picture of a treasure chest that would appear in a shipwreck with a Whalien Match pod.

• WhalienMatchwordlist

• Picturespastedonto4x6cardscreatedinActivity1

• Single-holepuncher

• Metalkeyholders(oneperstudent)orcutribbons(thiswillbeusedlatertojoincardstogether so sturdiness and ease of use is important).


Beginner English level (pre/early production): Choose two paper bags with initial conso-nants. Sort through 4 x 6 picture cards with student, name pictures, and place cards into the bag that starts with the same sound as the picture on the card. Review the words and pic-tures created in the previous activity. (Adapt exercise for vowels and final consonants.) Put away the unused cards for later use. When all the cards that belong in the bags have been used, give each student one or two of the cards and one or two blank ones. Ask them to draw their own picture and put the beginning sound on the back. They may do more cards or color them if they have time. Punch a hole in the upper left corner of each card as they finish them and check them for accuracy. Give each student a keyholder (or ribbon) to slip their cards onto. These are the beginnings of their personal dictionaries. They are to keep these and add more cards as they learn more new words.



Intervention

faSt forWord® Language v2 actiVitieS for SpeciaL education StudentSTo help students in special education environments meet learning standards, various learning strategies can be implemented. Children with learning challenges need more customized instruction to develop phonological awareness, learn the alphabet, understand the relationship of sound and letters, and develop an awareness of the printed language and writing system. Modeling, demonstrating, breaking skills into small segments, and providing consistent repetition for the students as they work with these exercises makes their learning tasks more successful.


robo-dog – picture mat

This activity helps students listen to a target word and then select the correct picture from a group of 4 pictures that have a semantic relationship. Arranging pictures on a picture map helps students focus on the activity.

SkiLL addreSSed: Listen to a target word and select the correct picture.


materiaLS: Sorting mat with four boxes (sample below); Sets of pictures on 4 x 6 cards for each student: Set #1: dog, cat, horse, cow Set #2: car, truck, bicycle, airplane Set #3: apple, orange, banana, strawberry Set #4: book, pencil, pen, computer


1. Give students Set #1. Tell them to arrange the cards on the Picture Mat, one picture to a cell, with the pictures facing up. Point to and name each picture, asking the students to repeat the names after you.

2. Explain that you will say the name of one of the four pictures. The students are to find that picture and turn it over within the cell.

3. Say the name of a second picture and ask the students to turn the picture over. Continue until all pictures are turned over.

4. Ask students to place their hands on the first picture on the left side of the Picture Mat. (You may have to demonstrate where this is.) When the picture is turned right-side up, say the name of the picture.

Ask students to repeat the name of the picture. Continue until all four pictures are right-side up.

5. Give students opportunity to call out one of the pictures for the group, asking students to turn over the picture. If time allows, ask students to take turns repeating the activity.

Picture Mat Sample Pattern

eLe-bot: true or faLSe SentenceS

This activity is designed to help students identify true or false sentences.

SkiLL addreSSed: Identify sentences that correctly describe pictures.


materiaLS: Chartpak paper; colored markers; large pictures


1. Show students a large picture. Ask students what they see in the picture. Discuss some of the picture details.

2. Explain to the students that you will say a sentence about the picture. The sentence could be true or false. (Explain the meaning of "true" or "false" for those students who do not under-stand the terms.)

3. Write the sentence on the chart. Read the sentence to the students, pointing out each word as you read it. Then talk about whether the sentence is true or false.

4. If the sentence is true, point to the words that make the sentence true. If the sentence is false, point to the word or words that make it false.



Space commander

SkiLL addreSSed: To identify correctly colors and shapes; following directions.


materiaLS: 4 large circles (1 red, 1 blue, 1 yellow, 1 green); 4 large squares (1 red, 1 blue, 1 yellow, 1 green), 4 large triangles (1 red, 1 blue, 1 yellow, 1 green)


1. Place the circles, squares and triangles on the table in front of the students.

2. Talk about the shapes and review the names of the shapes.

3. Ask one student to separate the circles from the group of shapes.

4. Ask another student to separate the triangles from the group of shapes.

5. Name the remaining group "squares."

6. Review with the students several sets of directions such as:

Take one circle (don’t mention any color at this point) and give it to the person who is holding

the squares.

Take two triangles and give them to the person who is holding the circles.

Take three squares and give them to the person who is holding the triangles.

7. Now ask the students to look at the objects in front of them. Talk about other ways of describing the objects other than by their shape, e.g., by color. Review the 4 colors for each shape.

8. Explain that you will name a shape and a color and then ask a student to choose the shape and color that matches your description and give it to you. Work slowly with the students until they master the process: “Find a yellow circle and give it to me.” OR, “Pick up a blue triangle and give it to me.” Use a variety of shape and combinations. When students master the process, ask if any volunteers would like to try being the leader.


Intervention

faSt forWord® Language v2 actiVitieS for StruggLing readerSStruggling readers benefit from the pre-teaching of each Fast ForWord Language v2 exercises to ensure they understand the exercise process, the key words, and the purpose of the exercise. Monitoring the students’ performance reports and observing their daily behaviors while on the exercises can alert the teacher to situations where timely teacher-led instruction is crucial. The following activities can be used as pre-teaching, intervention, or reinforcement activities.


WhaLien match—Sound reLay

SkiLL addreSSed: Sound/Word Identification and Categorization


materiaLS: large pieces of paper to use as a mat for sorting (1 for each student); picture cards (identical set for each student- at least 5-6 for each focus sound); word cards (display-ing the names of the pictures – create picture packets with the initial phonemes from the Whalien Match word list and then use words from the Whalien Match word list to match the pictures and the initial phonemes in the words; items for a goodie bag (dollar store items)


1. Give each student a piece of paper for to use as a sorting mat.

2. Using the word cards, tell students that they should place all of the pictures on their papers that have the same beginning sound (or final; or medial) as the word you say and show (say it one time and show it one time).

3. When students have placed their pictures, have them point to and state the name of the pictures that they included. Give them one point for each picture and keep score.

4. Students should then clear their papers and listen for the next word. Continue in this manner.

5. At the end, the player with the most points will get to select 2 items from the goodie bag. The other students can select one item from the bag.

Space commander—Speed bingo

This activity engages struggling readers in listening for and identifying shapes and colors and following directions.

SkiLL addreSSed: Identifying shapes and colors, following directions


materiaLS: bingo cards containing assortments of shapes and colors used in the Space Commander exercise; bingo chips; items for a goodie bag (dollar store items); laminated list of shapes and colors


Each student should receive one bingo card and chips. Every 5 seconds a color/shape (such as blue triangle) from the list will be called out 1 time (do not repeat). Once the color/shape is called, the caller should put a line through the word on the laminated list. The teacher should continue to call words every 5 seconds until a student calls bingo. Ask the student that called bingo to reread the color/shapes as they are checked off the list. The winner will receive 2 items from the goodie bag. The other students will receive one item.



eLe-bot—Sentence patternS

This activity provides additional help for struggling readers who need to practice building sentences.

SkiLL addreSSed: Understanding the relationship between words, grammar, and meaning.


materiaLS: Chartpak paper or white board


1. Explain to students that there are many types of sentences. Talk about what a sentence is and what it can do – such as tell something, ask a question, exclaim about something unusual. Explain that this exercise helps students build sentences.

2. Explain that this exercise helps students build “telling” sentences. Give an example, such as “The sun is shining in the window today,” OR, “The computers are sitting on the tables.”

3. Give students a subject example and write it on the chart paper, such as “The lab _____________.” Ask students to finish the “telling” sentence. Elicit several options from students and list the options below the predicate line on the chart paper.

4. Continue with several more examples until students master the concept of a complete sentence.

aLternate actiVity: For those students who do not understand how to phrase questions, this exercise can be adapted by creating a Who, What, Where, When, Why list. Then ask students to complete the question. Example: “Why ______________?” Posting the question words around the room can serve as reminders for students.

Fast ForWord Language v2 Intervention Log

When Success Viewer results, Progress Tracker intervention flags and reports, and/or informal observation of the student, reveal that the student is struggling with a specific exercise or skill within the exercise, some teachers use this form to track the intervention process.

Student Name: ___________________________________________

Check the Fast ForWord® Language v2 exercises where intervention is needed:

Sky Gym

Moon Ranch

Hoop Nut

Whalien Match

Robo-Dog

Ele-Bot

Space Commander

date faSt forWord Language v2 eXerciSe

commentS/obSerVationS progreSS tracker interVention fLag cLeared?



Writing Activities

In this section, two samples of writing activities are provided for those teachers who wish to supplement and extend the Fast ForWord Language v2 skill instruction. Students whose reading skills are limited at this point can benefit from writing experiences where they are free to write their ideas without worrying about correct spelling and grammar. Working with the students’ original writing can lead to mini-lessons for spelling and grammar. Remember to praise the students’ ideas without too much negative emphasis on incorrect spelling and grammar. Create a safe learning environment where mistakes can be opportunities for learning!

These activities can be adapted to meet a variety of learning situations:

• integratewritingexperiencesintothelabenvironment

• integrateFastForWordskillinstructionintotheclassroomcurriculum

• provideextendedactivitiesforstudentstotakehometoparents

For those teachers whose students complete their Fast ForWord exercises quickly and wait for others to complete, these writing activities can provide additional meaningful instruction. For teachers who would like to include those students in their class who are not working on Fast ForWord Language v2, a short discussion of the Fast ForWord exercise and a display of the exercise character provide background for participating in these writing exercises. For those teachers who would like writing activities that can be shared with parents, these activities can be adapted as extension activities for students to work on at home.



WhaLien match – pattern bookS

goaL: Use categorization to create initial consonant pattern books.


materiaLS: Large initial consonants printed on colored construction paper and cut out to form covers for a pattern book; lined paper cut in the same pattern for students to write their word collection; stapler (Sample letter patterns can be found on the next page. Enlarge and print out letters for student use.)

actiVity: Small group

1. Review with the students the tasks they did while working on the Whalien Match exercise (sorting words into paper bags – phoneme-based categories). Talk about some of the letters they worked with.

2. Explain that this activity also deals with some of the same letters. Show the letters to the students and name the letters with the students.

3. Explain that they will be making pattern books in the shape of letters. Ask the students to choose one of the large colored letters and the writing paper that matches the colored letter. Then tell the students to find some library books from their classroom, search for words that begin with the same letter and write the words on their paper.

4. When they have filled their paper, they can put the covers on their writing paper and staple the sheets together. Encourage the students to create a colorful design with the Whalien Match character on the front cover. When all students complete their writing project, ask them to share their books with the group. Encourage the students to read some of their words and tell what these words mean. Note: This activity can be adapted for students to work with vowels and final consonants.

D K Pd k pB C Tb c t

SampLe LetterS for the WhaLien match pattern book


heLp robo-dog finiSh hiS math SentenceS

goaL: Find a math word that completes the sentence and write the word in the blank.


materiaLS: Activity sheet (next page)


1. Explain to students that Robo-Dog needs some help in finishing his sentences. He wants to use some math words.

2. Students will read the sentences and then choose a math word that makes the best sense to help Robo-Dog finish his sentences.

3. Work with students to use the remaining optional math words to create their own sentences. Encourage students to write their sentences (don’t be too concerned with correct spellings!) and share their writing with each other when they complete the activity.

heLp robo-dog finiSh hiS math SentenceS

Name: ____________________________

Hello!

My name is Robo-Dog. I like math, but I need your help in finding the math words that make sense in these sentences. Please read each sentence. Then read the math words below each sentence. Choose the math word you think will make the most sense in completing the sentence.

Thanks for your help. Robo-Dog

1. I have one _________________ in my piggy bank.

penny ten two

2. I like to _________________: 2 + 2 = 4.

circle add penny

3. I think _________________ means 0.

penny nickel zero

4. I like to draw a _________________.

circle zero add

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Fast ForWord Language v2 - Schoolwires