

Listening to various media is also a good time to practice unfamiliar words. This is particularly helpful with reductions like gonna, wanna, hafta. To go an extra step, have an additional task while listening to the song or TV show, such as assigning students different words to listen for and having them keep track of how often they hear these words. Using songs, watching TV shows, or even listening to podcasts will help build skills. Using popular culture media is always a good way to practice listening skills. If no one finds the pair’s secret phrase, the pair that developed the dialogue gets a point. If they found the correct secret phrase, they get a point. If you have individual whiteboards, have the students write down the phrase as they hear it and then show their board after the pair has finished the dialogue. After they have prepared their dialogue, students perform the dialogue in front of the class, and the other students listen carefully to hear which words or phrases seem extra-carefully planned to find the secret phase. Students may script the dialogue if they wish, but only give them limited planning time (5-10 minutes). Students are then tasked with developing a dialogue with their partner that somehow uses this phrase. For easier dialogues, give a simple phrase such as “I love soccer,” or “My father works a lot ” etc… To challenge students, give a slightly more obscure phrase, such as “John does yoga every Saturday,” or “I saw a UFO in my yard last night.” Or have students create a personal vocabulary tracker digitally or on paper.An engaging activity for the whole class is to pair students up and give each pair a "secret" word or phrase.

Either way, use UDL as you’re planning the lesson.

Guide students in a synchronous online lesson or record a video for asynchronous learning.Find out what resources they have available and what they might need to support learning at home. Then invite students to share their own examples of things that are and aren’t delicate. One thing that isn’t delicate is the cement stairs into the school. For instance, you could tell students that one thing that is delicate is a teacup. Examples and non-examples: Give one example and one non-example of how the word is and isn’t used.

Picture perfect: Invite students to draw a picture that represents the word’s meaning.This activity works especially well if you pair the new adjective with a familiar noun. Or students can “vote with their feet” by moving to one corner of the room if they want a delicate toy or another corner if they don't. A round of applause: If the word is an adjective, invite students to clap based on how much they would like a delicate toy, for example.Call on students to share their responses. Then ask them to give a thumbs up if they’ve ever seen something delicate. Use your senses: Ask your students to use their senses to describe when they saw, heard, felt, tasted, or smelled something that was delicate.Then invite pairs to share their responses with the rest of the class. Word associations: Ask students, “What does the word delicate make you think of? What other words go with delicate?” Students can turn and talk with a partner to come up with a response.
