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Listen to an Extended Version of this Post in a Podcast:
Samira Fejz ic was used to people saying her name wrong, especially in school. "Through the years, as roll would be called, I would wait for that awkward pause-this is how I knew I was next. I accepted this ritual."

Fejzic (FAY-zich), whose family left Bosnia in the early nineties and moved to the U.S. in 1999, experienced this ritual for ten years, and she understood that people in her new town weren't used to names like hers, despite the fact that the area's Bosnian population had grown massive in recent years.

"It never hurt me until high school graduation," she recalls. "This was a big day for me. My grandparents from Bosnia came just to watch me get my diploma and of course, my name was butchered."

If you're in a position to say lots of student names-in your classroom, over the P.A. system, or especially at awards ceremonies and graduations-no one will be surprised if you mess up a couple of them. But this year, maybe you can do better. If you make the commitment now to get them all right, if you resolve this time to honor your students with clear, beautiful pronunciation of their full, given names, that, my friend, will be the loveliest surprise of all.

Three Kinds of Name-Sayin'

I grew up with a hard-to-pronounce name. Actually, it wasn't that hard; it just looked different from what people were used to: Yurkosky. (Kind of rhymes with "Her pots ski," minus the "t" in pots.) Year after year, i t threw everyone off. And the way they approached the name put them into one of three camps: fumble-bumblers, arrogant manglers, and calibrators.

The fumble-bumblers I didn't mind so much. They'd mispronounce the name, slowing down and making their voice all wobbly, not trusting themselves. They'd grimace, laugh, ask me how to say it, then try again. But then they sort of gave up. Over the next few attempts, they'd settle into something that was a kind of approximation, and that would be that. What made me not mind these people was that they put the mispronunciation on themselves- their demeanor suggested the fault was with them, not me or my name.

The arrogant manglers were another story. They assumed their pronunciation was correct and just plowed ahead, never bothering to check. In many cases, an arrogant mangler will persist with their own pronunciation even after they've been corrected. Adan (uh-DON) Deeb, whose family hails from Israel with Palestinian roots, experienced this as a middle school student in the U.S. "Every time I was called up to the office, EVERY SINGLE TIME, they would mispronounce my name, no matter how many times I corrected them. It made me angry. To me that shows that they just don't care enough to get my name right."

This group has a couple of sub-categories: One is the nicknamers-people who come across a name like Rajendrani and announce, "We'll just call you Amy." The other is the worst kind, the people who start with the first syllable, then wave the rest of the name away like so much cigarette smoke, adding "Whatever your name is," or just "whatever." I don't have a creative name for this group. Let's just call them assholes.

Finally, there was a small group I think of as the calibrators, people who recognized that my name required a little more effort. They asked me to pronounce it, tried to replicate it, then fine-tuned it a few more times against my own pronunciation. Some of them would even check back later to make sure they still had it.

My cousin Laura, who has the same last name I grew up with, remembers a professor who was a true calibrator. "It did take him a bit of time to learn to pronounce my name, but he was always apologetic when he said it wrong, and always insisted on the importance of getting such things right. He was easily the most inspirational and challenging teacher I've had...he just insisted that every student feel important."

If you're already a calibrator, keep up the good work. If you're not-if you've let yourself off the hook with some idea like "I'm terrible with names"-know that it's not too late to turn things around, and it does matter. Though it may seem inconsequential to you, the way you handle names has deeper implications than you might realize.

Kind of a Big Deal

People's reaction to this issue varies depending on their personality. If your student has a strong desire to please, wants desperately to fit in, or is generally conflict-avoidant, they may never tell you you're saying their name wrong. For those students, it might matter a lot, but they'd never say so. And other kids are just more laid-back in general. But for many students, the way you say their name conveys a more significant message.

Name mispronunciation - especially the kind committed by the arrogant manglers-actually falls into a larger category of behaviors called microaggressions, defined by researchers at Columbia University's Teachers College as "brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults toward people of color" (Sue et al., 2007).

In other words, Although most of your students may not know the word mutilating someone's name is a tiny act of bigotry. Whether you intend to or not, what you're communicating is this: Your name is different. Foreign. Weird. It's not worth my time to get it right. microaggression, they're probably familiar with that vague feeling of marginalization, the message that everyone else is "normal," and they are not.

In her piece What's in a Name? Kind of a Lot, writer Tracy Clayton (under the name Brokey McPoverty) rails against Ryan Seacrest's move to shorten the name of actress Quvenzhané Wallis to "Little Q." She points out that Seacrest and other media figures treat the names of some actors-who happen to be white-differently: "The problem is that white Hollywood...doesn't deem her as important as, say, Renee Zellweger, or Zach Galifianakis, or Arnold Schwarzenegger, all of whom have names that are difficult to pronounce- but they manage. The message sent is this: You, young, black, female child, are not worth the time and energy it will take me to learn to spell and pronounce your name."

This, by the way, is how you say Quvenzhané:

This issue goes beyond names rooted in cultures unfamiliar to the speaker. Whatever it is your student prefers to be called, it's worth the effort to get it right. I'm sure I've not only mispronounced my own students' names, but I've probably also called them something that was not their preference-realizing in April that the kid I've been calling Stephan all year actually prefers to be called Jude.

And before you get all defensive about the bigotry thing, let's be clear: Discovering that something you do might be construed as bigotry doesn't mean anyone is calling you a bigot. It's just an opportunity to grow. An opportunity to understand that doing something a little differently shows others that you respect them. At some point in your life, someone probably taught you to hold the door open for the person coming in behind you. Before then, maybe you didn't know. Opportunity to grow. It's that simple.

How to Get it Right

The best way to get students' names right is to just ask them. Pull the kid aside and say, You know what? I think I've been messing up your name all year, and I'm sorry. Now that graduation is coming, I want to say it perfectly. Can you teach me?

By humbling yourself in this way, you let them see that you're human. You're modeling what it looks like to be a lifelong learner, a flexible, confident person who is not afraid to admit a mistake. Regardless of the outcome, a genuine effort on your part will mean so much, and when the big day comes, they might even root for you to get it right.

If you have hundreds of names to learn, get systematic: Starting now, carry around a clipboard with all the names you'll need to say - even those you think you already know, and start checking in with kids in the cafeteria, in the halls, in the stands at a basketball game. And for God's sake, write down what they tell you. When the big day comes, the page of names you read from should look something like this:

Do whatever it takes, using whatever kind of symbols or notes you need to get the right syllables out in the right order. (The apple is there to remind the speaker to say that "a" like they would in the word apple.)

If you've run out of time to ask students themselves, or if doing that is too uncomfortable for you, you can get some help online. On Pronounce Names, you can find a huge collection of names and their pronunciations.

Whatever you do, do something. For some students, you may be the first person who ever bothered. If the only time you say their name is in the classroom, your correct pronunciation will help the whole class learn it, too. Eventually that will ripple through the school, making that student feel known in a place where before they felt unknown.

And if you have the honor of announcing them on the day they receive their award, their diploma, the day that marks some big achievement, you have a unique opportunity to make it even more special, but you only have two seconds: Make it count. It's a gift they'll remember for a long time. ♥
Reference:
Sue, D.W., Capodilupo, C.M., Torino, G.C., Bucceri, J.M., Holder, A.M.B., Nadal, K.L., & Esquilin, M. (2007). Racial microaggressions in everyday life: Implications for clinical practice. American Psychologist, 62 (4), 271-286.

There's more where this came from.
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How We Pronounce Student Names, and Why it Matters

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Listen to an Extended Version of this Post in a Podcast: Samira Fejz ic was used to people saying her name wrong, especially in school. "Through the years, as roll would be called, I would wait for that awkward pause-this is how I knew I was next. I accepted this ritual."

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Play these engaging active listening activities for kids with your small groups!

Active listening activities promote mindful thinking. They encourage thoughtful, attentive communication and connect students to the speaker through both verbal and non-verbal cues. But it's a skill that needs to be practiced and honed, especially for younger students. Use these fun speaking and listening activities as a center during your next small group period to introduce or revisit this crucial skill.

Listening Activities for Elementary Students

1. Draw this

For younger students, or for students first being introduced to active listening, start with something hands-on and familiar, like drawing. For these active listening activities, either you or a student lead will list step-by-step instructions for an image.

For example, if you wanted your students to draw a house, the instructions could sound like this:
"Draw a large square in the center of your page"
"Then draw a small rectangle vertically on the bottom of the square."
"Draw two small squares on either side of the rectangle."
"Now draw a large triangle on top of the largest square."

These instructions should guide students toward a completed image that isn't recognizable until the final instructions. To help student leads, you can provide pre-written instructions for several images and allow them to choose from your selection. Students will then reveal their artwork to see if their drawings followed the given instructions.

Have students play this listening game first to practice.

2. Audio stories

If story time is a favorite activity in your class, your students will love this last center idea. Here, all you need to do is pick a read aloud story to play for your small group. Be careful not to let your students see the words. Once the story is finished playing aloud, have your students summarize what they heard in as much detail as possible. If time allows, replay the story so students can see if they were correct.

eSpark has several read-aloud stories that are perfect for this active listening activity. Here are a few to start:

My Pet Llamacorn Grade level: PK-K
Can We Make Smores Now Grade level: PK-1
Anisha Is Bored Grade level: PK-1
Squidges Day at the Doctor Grade level: 1
Azure Leads The Way Grade level: 2
Summer Drumming Grade level: 3
Game Night Grade level: 3
Swallowed Grade level: 5

3. Don't speak twice

This activity is an exercise in restraint for some students because until everyone has spoken once, no one is allowed to speak a second time.

For this speaking and listening activity, you or a student will select a broad topic of choice, such as movies or animals. Then, students will take turns commenting on or asking a question about the topic. If a question is asked, no one is allowed to speak unless responding to the question until an answer has been given. This is repeated until every student has spoken at least twice for one to two minutes.

4. Simon says

This classic childhood game is perfect for practicing listening skills in small groups. To make this game into a center, you or a student lead will say a command then wait to see if the players responded correctly. To make this game slightly more challenging for older grades, have students take turns giving commands.

Typically, students who perform a command that didn't begin with the phrase "Simon says" lose the game and must sit out; however, to keep all students engaged during the entire center, an alternative rule can be having that student miss their next turn to say a command.

5. Telephone

Another classic listening activity for kids is telephone. In this center, students will form a circle, then take turns creating a message that will be whispered to each student until it reaches the student who created the message. If the message at the end matches the message from the beginning, the group wins! The next student in the circle creates the next message and the game repeats.

This game works best with at least five students in the small group so there are enough students to pass the message to before it reaches the end. With smaller groups, it's also best to require longer messages that are about eight to 10 words.

6. Popcorn storytelling

This game can be played one of two ways. The first way begins with a student reading a passage from a book or printed story. At the end of any sentence, the student may call on another student to pick up where they left off. Students will do this until the story is finished or until it's time to move to the next center. This version works best for upper elementary students who are capable of reading long passages. Here's a story you can use for this listening activity.

The second method offers students a bit more room for creativity because here they will construct their own story. One student begins the story in any setting with any character and provides as much or as little detail as desired. They will then select another student at random to continue the story. Students will continue to add to the story until it's time to move to the next center. To give your students inspiration, have them read this story beforehand.

In both games, each student is required to speak at least twice.

7. My favorite toss

Not only does this game help students practice active listening - it also exercises their memory. In this center, everyone stands in a circle and one student is given a ball. The student holding the ball begins by choosing a topic, such as books or food, then shares their favorite item from that topic. That student then passes the ball to any other student who must first tell the favorite of everyone before them then add their own favorite.

For example, if the beginning student said their favorite sport was swimming, the next student would say, "Andrew's favorite sport is swimming, and my favorite sport is basketball." The following student would say, "Andrew's favorite sport is swimming, Maria's favorite sport is basketball, and my favorite sport is hockey."

The game continues until every student tells a favorite and correctly lists the favorites before their own. If a student lists the previous favorites incorrectly, the other students must help them repeat the list correctly. Once the game is finished, the next student creates a new topic.

Play-based learning with a twist

eSpark is the only elementary curriculum resource that combines play-based learning with evidence-based direct instruction to create a personalized, differentiated learning experience for every student in math and reading. The interactive stories and poems shared above are just a small sampling of the many unique and fresh activities students will encounter on their Quests or teacher-assigned Small Group Skills. Click the button below to claim your free trial account and see for yourself why teachers everywhere are talking about how eSpark delivers engagement they can feel and results they can see.

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7 Engaging Listening Activities for Small Groups - eSpark

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Active listening activities promote mindful thinking. Use these speaking and listening activities in your next small group breakout.

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Transcript

Reading Multisyllable Words with Xavier, Third Grader
Xavier: I think, he - he's kind of bad. Linda Farrell: Oh. Dog Man is? Xavier: Yeah - at his job. Linda Farrell: He sure is. He chews the table leg. Oh my gosh. Reading expert Linda Farrel is working with Xavier, a third grader at Windy Hill Elementary in Calvert County, Maryland. She'll be helping him learn how to read multi-syllable words.
Xavier: ... going to study Flippy's brain.

Linda Farrell: When we visit classrooms, it's a big issue: "The kids do well with small words, but they can't read big words." So I'll ask a student to read. And they look at a word and it's volcanic and they read volcano. Or it's fanatic and they read fantasy. So they guess the most common word that has that configuration that that word looks like it has. What they don't know is how to break a word into syllables so that you're not reading a big word that you have to memorize, but you're just going, "Oh, there's a little word, a little word, a little word.
Linda Farrell: I'm gonna have you read some nonsense words. They all have short vowels. So, could you just read these three nonsense words. Linda Farrell: Good. Alright. What are these three? Linda Farrell: Your, uh, this is pretty easy, isn't it. Yeah. This is too easy. We're done with that one. Okay? Now I'm gonna teach you about reading two-syllable words. This is kinda fun.
Linda Farrell: We started with nonsense words with Xavier because often syllables are nonsense words ... that when you combine them they become real words. So teaching nonsense words is not an exercise in futility. It is preparing children to read multi-syllable words.
Ms. Farrell now knows Xavier can read one-syllable words with short vowels. Next she checks to make sure he knows what a syllable is, because breaking long words into syllables is the key to the strategy she'll be teaching him.
Linda Farrell: I just remembered something. I have to make sure you know what a syllable is. Okay. So look at me. My name is Linda. It has two syllables in it. Lin. Da. Linda. So what's your name?
Linda Farrell: How many syllables in your name? Xavier: Four. Linda Farrell: Okay. Let's stomp them.
Xavier: /Ex/, /ay/, I mean, /ex/, /zay/, /vee/, /er/. Xavier.
Linda Farrell: You got it.
Linda Farrell: How many syllables in computer?
Linda Farrell: Yes. You got it. So you know what a syllable is. Alright. Cause that's really important if we're gonna read these big words. So if I look at this word, and I want to know how to read that, the first thing I have to do is figure out how many syllables are in it. And I can do that by figuring out what the vowels are. Do you know what the vowel letters are? Xavier: 'A, e, i, o ,u.' Linda Farrell: You got it. Those are the vowel letters. So here's what I know. Every syllable has a vowel in it. So in order to figure out how many syllables there are, I have to count the vowels. So can you tell me ... how many vowel letters do you see in that word? Linda Farrell: Yep. Are they together or apart? Xavier: Apart. Linda Farrell: They are apart. If I have two vowels - letters, and they're apart, I'm going to have two syllables. So I'm gonna draw two lines right here, and I have to have a vowel letter in every syllable. So can you break that word into two syllables for me? Linda Farrell: Now this is a nonsense word, so we're gonna read it. What's the first syllable? Linda Farrell: What's the word? Linda Farrell: So read it again. Linda Farrell: And the word is ... Linda Farrell: That's a nonsense word. I just made it up. I literally just made that word up right now. I've never even seen that word before. But we now know what to do if we have a word that we don't know. So let's try another word. Linda Farrell: Oh! You got the first two syllables - you got the first syllable right. How many vowels do you see? Xavier: Three. Linda Farrell: Together or apart. Xavier: Apart. Linda Farrell: Okay. Linda Farrell: Okay. Read each syllable. Xavier: /Vol/, /cay/ ... Linda Farrell: Hmmm. What's that middle syllable? Xavier: ... /can/, /ic/. Linda Farrell: Touch each syllable and read it. Xavier: /Vol/, /can/, /ic/ ... Linda Farrell: Mm-hmm. Linda Farrell: Wait. Wait. What's that? Linda Farrell: Yeah. Let's do it again.
Xavier: /Vol/, /can/, /ic/. Volcanic.

Linda Farrell: You just read volcanic. So what are the syllables in volcanic?
Xavier: 'O' ... Linda Farrell: Those are the vowels. What's the first syllable? Xavier: /Vol/, /can/, /ic/.
Linda Farrell: I'm gonna ask you to do something. I'm erasing this. Okay. So say volcanic.

Linda Farrell: How many syllables in volcanic?
Xavier: Three.
Linda Farrell: Okay. I would like you to please see if you can spell each syllable in volcanic. So draw three lines right up here.

Linda Farrell: Do you think you can spell volcanic? What's the first syllable?
Linda Farrell: What's that syllable? What'd you just spell? Linda Farrell: Okay. Next one. Linda Farrell: Now write the whole word.
Linda Farrell: Oh my gosh. You just spelled volcanic. You couldn't even read it and now you can spell it. That is pretty good. Do you want me to see if I can get a really hard one for you?

Linda Farrell: In teaching Xavier word attack skills, it's very important that we choose words with short vowels that have only one vowel all by itself. So you'll see we're not going to have words with 'silent e,' we're not going to have words with vowel teams. So we need two questions that we can ask Xavier that can help him break a big word into syllables so that all it is is little small words that he has to put together to read a big word. The two questions are ... how many vowels do you see? Are they together or apart? And what we teach him is that ... if you see three vowels and they're apart, you're going to have three syllables, because every syllable has a vowel. And then we teach him to draw a line for each syllable, write each syllable on a line, and then read each little word and then put them together.
Linda Farrell: Let's see if we can try this one. Linda Farrell: How many vowels did you see? Xavier: Three. Linda Farrell: Okay. Could you underline them please? Xavier: I mean four. Linda Farrell: Okay. Four vowels. Are they together or apart? Xavier: Apart. Linda Farrell: So how many syllables? Xavier: Four. Linda Farrell: Okay. Linda Farrell: Could you move that 'n' over there? Okay. Linda Farrell: Okay. So read each syllable. Xavier: /Con/, /tic/ ... Linda Farrell: What's that? Xavier: /ti/, /tin/ Linda Farrell: What's this? Linda Farrell: /t/, /i/. What is it? Linda Farrell: Okay. So it's ...
Xavier: /Con/, /ti/, /nin/, /tul/. Continental.

Linda Farrell: You just read continental. Are you ready for another one?
Xavier: Mm-hmm. Linda Farrell: Okay. Here we go. Let's try this one. Linda Farrell: How many vowels do you see? Xavier: /o/ and /i/, /e/ Linda Farrell: Okay. So how many? You can underline them if you want. Linda Farrell: Why don't you start here and go this way. Yeah. Linda Farrell: Okay. So how many? Xavier: Four. Linda Farrell: Together or apart? Xavier: Apart. Linda Farrell: Okay. Linda Farrell: Do you wanna try to read it without breaking it into syllables? Try it.
Xavier: Accosh - accomplishment.
Linda Farrell: What was the word?
Linda Farrell: It's accomplishment. You are right.
As Xavier grasps the strategy, you can see him thinking through the two questions: How many vowels? Are the vowels together or apart? And he's able to read big words without writing out the syllables. Linda Farrell: What's the word?
Linda Farrell: Wilmington! It's the name of a city ...

Linda Farrell: Xavier does a great job of learning how to attack a word. After this lesson he has a strategy to help him break words into syllables and read them. He will need lots of lessons. We start with short vowels, then we move to 'silent e,' then we move to vowel teams. So it's explicit and it's systematic when we're teaching him this. Xavier responded beautifully to reading these long words.
Linda Farrell: We're gonna do one more. It is ... Linda Farrell: You got it! That was a good one to end on. High five! Yes! We'd like to thank the wonderful students and families at Windy Hill Elementary School in Calvert County, Maryland. We hope that sharing these experiences will help other children who are learning to read. Special thanks also to Kelly Cleland, Julie Donovan, Joanne Harbaugh, and their outstanding colleagues at Windy Hill Elementary ... and to Leanne Meisinger at Calvert County Public Schools. We are deeply grateful to Linda Farrell, Michael Hunter, and Nicole Lubar of Readsters for their invaluable contributions to this project.
Produced by Noel Gunther

Edited by Christian Lindstrom

Graphic Design: Tina Chovanec

Camera: Richard Chisolm

Audio: Dwayne Dell
For more information about teaching reading, please visit www.ReadingRockets.org
Reading Rockets is a service of WETA, Washington, D.C.

© 2019, WETA, Washington, D.C.

Extra tips from the session with Xavier

1. Learning Multisyllabic Words with 'Silent e' and Vowel Teams

After Xavier learns how to read words with one vowel all by itself in each syllable, the next thing we do is we teach him 'silent e,' so that if he gets a word like porcupine that has 'silent e' at the end, we teach him - we add a new question. And it is: do you see a 'silent e' at the end? So then we say, "How many vowels do you see?"

And he'll say, "Four."

"Are they together or apart?"

"They're apart."

"Do you see a 'silent e' - yeah - at the end?"

"Yes."

And then he sees a 'silent e' at the end, and you know that that 'silent e' stays in the syllable with the vowel before it. So of course they have to read one syllable words with 'silent e' before they can read multi-syllable words with 'silent e.' It's just another question. So then we read some of those.

Then the next step is to read words with vowel teams. So let's say the words is refrain. "How many vowels do you see?"

"Three."

"Are they together or apart?"

"One is apart, and two of the vowels are together."

Well, we teach you that when two vowel letters are together, they stick together in the syllable. So you're only going to have two syllables in that word. But of course, in order to read refrain, you have to be able to know that 'a-i' spells /ay/, so you would have to be able to read one syllable words with vowel teams before you go to two syllable or three syllable or four syllable. It's very simple. It's not - there aren't any really rules that we teach. It's how do you look at a word and break it up.

2. Sounding Out New Multisyllabic Words

If they saw the word 'r-o-b-i-n' and they, I said, "How many vowels do you see?"

"Two."

"Together, apart?"

"Apart."

"See a 'silent e'?"

"No."

"How many syllables?"

"Two."

"What's the word?"

"/roe-bin/."

"Could be /roe-bin/. You decoded it perfectly. Flex that first 'o' to a short 'o' instead of a long 'o.'"

So the kid goes /rah-bin/. Oh, robin. And if the word's in his vocabulary, he'll go - "Oh! Robin." And if the word robin isn't in his vocabulary, he'll go /rah-bin/, /rah-bin/. And you know it's not in his vocabulary, and you say, "That word's /rah-bin/. It's like a bird. What's that word?" " Robin."

3. Mastering Reading Accuracy

Maryland third grader Xavier is sharing one of his favorite books with reading expert Linda Farrell. Ms. Farrell is going to help him focus on reading every word accurately.
Linda Farrell: Can you read some of this to me? Can you read?
Xavier: Look. We're heroes because we save the world from Flippy. This - it says here that scientists are going to study Flippy brain.
Linda Farrell: Get the 's' on that. Linda Farrell: What's this word right here - this one right here? Linda Farrell: Yeah. Read that whole thing again.
Xavier: It says here that scien- scientists are going to study Flippy's brain.
Linda Farrell: Keep going.
Xavier: Dog Man, I have a important job for you.
Linda Farrell: What's that word? Linda Farrell: Keep reading again. Xavier: Dog Man, I have a, an important job for you.
Linda Farrell: Can you read that - an important.
Linda Farrell: Read it again.
Xavier: ... important. Dog Man, I have an portant job ...

Linda Farrell: Okay. We're gonna do this. Read this with me. An.

Linda Farrell: Important.

Xavier: Important.

Linda Farrell: Now do it. So read An.

Linda Farrell: im

Linda Farrell: por

Linda Farrell: tant

Xavier: tant
Linda Farrell: Okay. Now, read it again.
Xavier: Dog Man, I have an important job for you.
Linda Farrell: Keep going.
Linda Farrell: One of the things I notice is that teachers often will let an inaccurate reading slip by if the meaning isn't changed. Ah, it's close enough. Move on. And that is setting students up for poor comprehension.
Take for example a sentence like, "The horse got a cold." If a student leaves out the article a and reads it, "The horse got cold," the meaning changes significantly. Linda Farrell: Wait. Who's what?
Linda Farrell: That one little word that seems so inconsequential, a, made a difference in meaning. "The horse got cold" and "the horse got a cold is different." We never know when that's going to make a difference in comprehension. We have to build good, strong reading habits for students. And that means as a teacher, it's my job to help my students develop accurate reading habits so that they don't miss a question on a comprehension test because they misread a sentence. They left off an 's.' They left off, they left out an article. They added an article. They read present tense instead of past tense. They read - they read a contraction incorrectly. All of those can lead to poor comprehension. And we need, in kindergarten, first and second grade and even third grade, to be making sure that our students read accurately. It's our responsibility.
Linda Farrell: Yeah.
Xavier: Who wants to protect the scientists? Who's a good boy protector?
Linda Farrell: And what's that word?
Xavier: Who's a good boy - good protector.
Linda Farrell: Okay. I'm gonna tell you that 'v' is - that 'e' is silent. So what does that say? Linda Farrell: You got it. So read that again.
Xavier: Who - who wants to protect an, and survive?

Xavier: Surva - suh-verve?
Linda Farrell: And what does he do? Does he save people? Xavier: Yeah. He helps people. These are ...
Xavier: Who wants to protect and serve?

Linda Farrell: We're teaching students, our children, that every letter does make a difference and that when you come to an unfamiliar word, you have to pay attention to every letter. And then when you read that word two or three times, it then becomes a word that you've seen before and you just read it because it's part of your vocabulary and you've seen that spelling before.

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Reading Multisyllable Words with Xavier, Third Grader

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Reading expert Linda Farrell shows Xavier how to read and spell unfamiliar multisyllable words with one vowel letter in each syllable. First she makes sure that Xavier has three prerequisite skills: being able to read one-syllable nonsense words, knowing how to count syllables in spoken words, and naming the vowel letters.

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Benchmark Phoneme Isolation mini lesson Beginning Middle End, where's that sound?

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The Reading Brain | How We Learn To Read

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Foundations of Language: Summary of Major Knowledge and Skills

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Foundations of Language: Summary of Major Knowledge and Skills

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The curriculum will teach students foundational language and literacy concepts, knowledge and skills to prepare them for success now and in the future. Learning to communicate clearly with confidence using both traditional and digital media will help students thrive.

Language development is central to a student's intellectual, social and emotional growth, which is a key element of the curriculum. Throughout the grades and areas of learning, students learn to apply their understanding with increasing sophistication.

The relationship between a student's understanding of spoken language and their reading skills is integral to motivating them to read with understanding, joy and emotion. This enables students to read and write with confidence.

The revised curriculum describes the knowledge and skills that students are expected to learn. It is organized in four distinct but interrelated areas, with language and literacy skills being taught and assessed throughout all areas of learning.

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Language, Grades 1 to 8: a guide for parents

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The curriculum will teach students foundational language and literacy concepts, knowledge and skills to prepare them for success now and in the future. Learning to communicate clearly with confidence using both traditional and digital media will help students thrive. Language development is central to a student's intellectual, social and emotional growth, which is a key element of the curriculum.

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Play these engaging active listening activities for kids with your small groups!

Active listening activities promote mindful thinking. They encourage thoughtful, attentive communication and connect students to the speaker through both verbal and non-verbal cues. But it's a skill that needs to be practiced and honed, especially for younger students. Use these fun speaking and listening activities as a center during your next small group period to introduce or revisit this crucial skill.

Listening Activities for Elementary Students

1. Draw this

For younger students, or for students first being introduced to active listening, start with something hands-on and familiar, like drawing. For these active listening activities, either you or a student lead will list step-by-step instructions for an image.

For example, if you wanted your students to draw a house, the instructions could sound like this:
"Draw a large square in the center of your page"
"Then draw a small rectangle vertically on the bottom of the square."
"Draw two small squares on either side of the rectangle."
"Now draw a large triangle on top of the largest square."

These instructions should guide students toward a completed image that isn't recognizable until the final instructions. To help student leads, you can provide pre-written instructions for several images and allow them to choose from your selection. Students will then reveal their artwork to see if their drawings followed the given instructions.

Have students play this listening game first to practice.

2. Audio stories

If story time is a favorite activity in your class, your students will love this last center idea. Here, all you need to do is pick a read aloud story to play for your small group. Be careful not to let your students see the words. Once the story is finished playing aloud, have your students summarize what they heard in as much detail as possible. If time allows, replay the story so students can see if they were correct.

eSpark has several read-aloud stories that are perfect for this active listening activity. Here are a few to start:

My Pet Llamacorn Grade level: PK-K
Can We Make Smores Now Grade level: PK-1
Anisha Is Bored Grade level: PK-1
Squidges Day at the Doctor Grade level: 1
Azure Leads The Way Grade level: 2
Summer Drumming Grade level: 3
Game Night Grade level: 3
Swallowed Grade level: 5

3. Don't speak twice

This activity is an exercise in restraint for some students because until everyone has spoken once, no one is allowed to speak a second time.

For this speaking and listening activity, you or a student will select a broad topic of choice, such as movies or animals. Then, students will take turns commenting on or asking a question about the topic. If a question is asked, no one is allowed to speak unless responding to the question until an answer has been given. This is repeated until every student has spoken at least twice for one to two minutes.

4. Simon says

This classic childhood game is perfect for practicing listening skills in small groups. To make this game into a center, you or a student lead will say a command then wait to see if the players responded correctly. To make this game slightly more challenging for older grades, have students take turns giving commands.

Typically, students who perform a command that didn't begin with the phrase "Simon says" lose the game and must sit out; however, to keep all students engaged during the entire center, an alternative rule can be having that student miss their next turn to say a command.

5. Telephone

Another classic listening activity for kids is telephone. In this center, students will form a circle, then take turns creating a message that will be whispered to each student until it reaches the student who created the message. If the message at the end matches the message from the beginning, the group wins! The next student in the circle creates the next message and the game repeats.

This game works best with at least five students in the small group so there are enough students to pass the message to before it reaches the end. With smaller groups, it's also best to require longer messages that are about eight to 10 words.

6. Popcorn storytelling

This game can be played one of two ways. The first way begins with a student reading a passage from a book or printed story. At the end of any sentence, the student may call on another student to pick up where they left off. Students will do this until the story is finished or until it's time to move to the next center. This version works best for upper elementary students who are capable of reading long passages. Here's a story you can use for this listening activity.

The second method offers students a bit more room for creativity because here they will construct their own story. One student begins the story in any setting with any character and provides as much or as little detail as desired. They will then select another student at random to continue the story. Students will continue to add to the story until it's time to move to the next center. To give your students inspiration, have them read this story beforehand.

In both games, each student is required to speak at least twice.

7. My favorite toss

Not only does this game help students practice active listening - it also exercises their memory. In this center, everyone stands in a circle and one student is given a ball. The student holding the ball begins by choosing a topic, such as books or food, then shares their favorite item from that topic. That student then passes the ball to any other student who must first tell the favorite of everyone before them then add their own favorite.

For example, if the beginning student said their favorite sport was swimming, the next student would say, "Andrew's favorite sport is swimming, and my favorite sport is basketball." The following student would say, "Andrew's favorite sport is swimming, Maria's favorite sport is basketball, and my favorite sport is hockey."

The game continues until every student tells a favorite and correctly lists the favorites before their own. If a student lists the previous favorites incorrectly, the other students must help them repeat the list correctly. Once the game is finished, the next student creates a new topic.

Play-based learning with a twist

eSpark is the only elementary curriculum resource that combines play-based learning with evidence-based direct instruction to create a personalized, differentiated learning experience for every student in math and reading. The interactive stories and poems shared above are just a small sampling of the many unique and fresh activities students will encounter on their Quests or teacher-assigned Small Group Skills. Click the button below to claim your free trial account and see for yourself why teachers everywhere are talking about how eSpark delivers engagement they can feel and results they can see.

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7 Engaging Listening Activities for Small Groups

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Active listening activities promote mindful thinking. Use these speaking and listening activities in your next small group breakout.

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@Suchmo83 Free Resources from The Art and Science of Teaching Primary Reading by Christopher Such

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@Suchmo83 Free Resources from The Art and Science of Teaching Primary Reading by Christopher Such

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Vocabulary is an essential component of reading comprehension and learning. The challenge for teachers is that it is hard to know where to begin when teaching vocabulary. Too many words, too little time. In their influential book, Bringing Words to Life, Isabel Beck, Margaret McKeown and Linda Kucan attempt to provide some structure to this challenge by suggesting that vocabulary can be divided into three tiers:

Tier one: Common words that students are likely to pick up through everyday conversation. (E.g. dog, through, chair, know.)

Tier two: High-frequency words for "mature language users". In other words, the sort of words that are useful and that appear across learning domains, but that students might not experience in everyday language. (E.g. distribute, analyse, context.)

Tier three: Subject-specific words. (E.g. photosynthesis, alliteration, refraction.)

Beck et al argue that teachers should pay particular attention to tier two words due to their high utility and because students may not be exposed to them otherwise. To facilitate this, they point to academic word lists made up of tier two vocabulary. This is a useful jumping off point, but this raises two questions for primary teachers:

1. Which tier two words that are not on these academic word lists should we teach?

2. Which tier two words on the academic word lists are most appropriate to teach at primary school? (As ever, there is a balance between aspiration and practicability.)

To answer the first question, I read various lists of the most common words in the English language, found the tier two words within these lists and then added them to the original academic word list to make a longer hybrid list.

My answer to the second question is, inevitably, a judgment call. I resorted to using my best guess to decide which words from this new hybrid list should be removed and left for secondary school. I have worked in year 5 and 6 for the last decade - briefly teaching key stage 3 students before that - so my 'best guess' is also, I hope, a somewhat educated guess. Nonetheless, I recognise that there is something entirely subjective about judging whether or not a year 6 pupil should be taught, for example, the word 'subsidiary'. I suspect that no single teacher would agree with every one of my chosen omissions, but I hope that this doesn't entirely devalue the list itself.

The end result is the list of 345 words you see below. In compiling the list, I had to decide whether to keep words in the form in which they were found or to convert them to different forms. (E.g. Keep 'accurate' in its adjective form or whether to change it to the noun 'accuracy'.) I decided on the former, but I would hope that any teaching of these words would involve the explicit sharing of the related forms. You might spot glaring omissions in the list or think that certain words don't belong. You may well be right. Regardless, I hope that this list of 345 tier two words - one I have imaginatively titled 'the 3-4-5-list' when discussing it with colleagues - might prove useful:
abandon, abstract, absolutely, access, accompany, accurate, achieve, acquire, adaptation, advantage, affect, aid, alter, alternative, analysis, announce, annual, anticipate, appearance, appreciation, approach, appropriate, area, assessment, association, assume, assumption, atmosphere, attached, attained, attitudes, attract, audience, authority, automatic, available, aware, basic, benefit, bond, brief, budget, capable, category, cease, channel, circumstances, civil, clarity, code, collapse, combine, comment, commit, common, communication, community, compare, complex, component, conceived, concept, conclusion, condition, confirmed, confined, conflict, conscious, consequences, consider, consistent, constant, construction, contact, context, contract, contrast, contribution, control, controversial, converted, convinced, co-operation, core, couple, create, crucial, cultural, cycle, data, debate decline, definite, definition demonstrate, deny, design, despite, detect, develop, device, dimension, discrimination, display, distorted, distribute, diversity, document, dominant, draft, duration, dynamic, economy, efficient, eliminate, emerged, emphasis, enable, encounter, energy, enhanced, ensure, entire, environment, equipment, error, establish, estimate, ethical, evaluation, eventually, evidence, evolution, examine, example, exceed, exchange, excluded, exhibit, exist, expansion, experience, expert, exploitation, external, extract, factor, familiar, features, file, final, flexibility, focus, format, foundation, framework, frequent, furthermore, generated, global, goals, government, guarantee, hierarchy, highlighted, identical, identified, ignored, image, impact, imposed, incident, indicate, individual, inferred, influence, initial, innovation, input, insert, insight, instruction, intelligence, intensity, intention, interaction, internal, international, investigate, involved, isolated, issues, justification, label, layer, limit, link, literature, location, logic, maintain, major, market, maximum, media, medium, mental, method, migration, military, minimum, monitoring, motivation, national, necessary, negotiation, neutral, nevertheless, nonetheless, object, objective, obtained, obvious, occur, odd, option, organise, outcomes, overall, overcome, overseas, period, persistent, perspective, phase, phenomenon philosophy, physical, political, popular, positive, possession, potential, precise, predicted, previous, principle, prior, priority, procedure, process, prohibited, propose, prospect, public, published, pursue, quotation, random, reaction, recognise, recovery, refine, region, rejected, related, release, reluctant, removed, represent, required, research, reserve, resources, response, restore, retained, revealed, reverse, revision, revolution, rigid, role, route, schedule, scheme, section, security, select, sensitive, separate, sequence, series, severe, shift, signal, significant, similar, site, society, solely, source, specific, stability, standard, strategies, structure, style, subsequent, substitution, sufficient, suitable, summary, supply, support, survive, sustainable, symbol, system, target, technique, technology, temporary, tension, text, theme, theory, traditional, transfer, transform, transport, transition, trend, trigger, typical, underlying, unique, united, variation, via, visible, visual, volume, voluntary, whereas
Here are some resources I used in compiling this list and others that you might find useful:

Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G., & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words to life: Robust vocabulary instruction. New York: Guilford.

Quigley, A. (2018). Closing the Vocabulary Gap. Abingdon, Oxon : New York, NY : Routledge
https://www.victoria.ac.nz/lals/resources/academicwordlist https://www.wordfrequency.info/compare_bnc.asp
https://corpus.byu.edu/coca/compare-bnc.asp

https://www.lextutor.ca/freq/lists_download/longman_3000_list.pdf

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Vocabulary is an essential component of reading comprehension and learning. The challenge for teachers is that it is hard to know where to begin when teaching vocabulary. Too many words, too little time.

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The Art & Science of Teaching Primary Reading by Christopher Such

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The Art & Science of Teaching Primary Reading by Christopher Such

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Learn about Ontario's revised language curriculum for Grades 1 to 8. The curriculum was issued in the Spring of 2023 for implementation in September 2023.

Find out what students learn by grade

Acquiring the knowledge and skills described in the language curriculum enables students to understand, respond to, appreciate and create texts in various forms, genres and media, including digital and media texts.

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Language, Grades 1 to 8: a guide for parents

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Learn about Ontario's revised language curriculum for Grades 1 to 8. The curriculum was issued in the Spring of 2023 for implementation in September 2023. Find out what students learn by grade Acquiring the knowledge and skills described in the language curriculum enables students to understand, respond to, appreciate and create texts in various forms, genres and media, including digital and media texts.

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Appendix A: Language Foundations Continuum for Reading and Writing, Grades 1-4

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Appendix A: Language Foundations Continuum for Reading and Writing, Grades 1-4

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Note to viewers
The biographies below were provided by speakers when the videos were made. Some details may have changed since the time of recording.

Chad Solomon (and Rabbit) on what is a promise

What is a promise is explained by Rabbit, a character from the Adventures of Rabbit and Bear Paws series. This video is for elementary students in Grades 1 to 3 and viewers of all ages.

Curriculum opportunity:

Social studies curriculum Grade 1

Note to users

The biographies below were provided by the speakers at the time of making the videos. Some details may have changed since recording.

About Chad Solomon, Artist and Storyteller, Treaty 13

Chad Solomon is a member of the Henvey Inlet First Nation. As a child, he and his family visited with his grandparents in the French River, Ontario area. Art Solomon, Chad's grandfather and traditional healer and justice activist, spent his time building wooden toys and playing with Chad and his siblings - even tobogganing with them in the winter. Chad learned from his grandfather that no matter how old you become, you should always be young-at-heart and that laughter is the greatest medicine. This is the spirit behind the comical Adventures of Rabbit and Bear Paws series.
Descriptive video: Chad Solomon
Maurice Switzer on what is a treaty anyway

Migizi Eagle explains what a treaty is to his granddaughter, Phoenix Eagle, through the reading of the comic book Grandpa...what is a Treaty, anyway? This video is for elementary students in Grades 4 to 6 and viewers of all ages.

Curriculum opportunities:

Social studies curriculum Grades 1-6

inquiry process

understanding context

application analysis

Video worksheet

About Maurice Switzer, Knowledge Keeper, Williams Treaties

Maurice Switzer, Bnesi, is a citizen of the Mississaugas of Alderville First Nation and lives in North Bay. His public education practice, Nimkii Communications, focuses on how the treaty relationship made the peaceful settlement of Canada possible. He is the author of We are all Treaty People, Nation to Nation: A resource on treaties in Ontario and Grandpa, what is a treaty, anyway?

Maurice is currently a director with the North Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre and a member of Nipissing University's Indigenous Council on Education. He has served as a member of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, director of communications for the Assembly of First Nations and Union of Ontario Indians, adjunct professor of Indigenous Studies at Laurentian University and editor or publisher at five daily newspapers, including the Winnipeg Free Press.
Descriptive video: Maurice Switzer
Brenda Collins on what is a Wampum belt

Brenda Collins, an Indigenous artist, showcases various Wampum belts to:

help share their meaning

show how they represent a treaty

show how to read and make them

This video is for elementary students in Grades 4-6 and viewers of all ages.

Curriculum opportunities:

what is a Wampum belt?

conflict and cooperation

About Brenda Collins, Knowledge Keeper, Treaty 94

Brenda Collins is an Indigenous artist born in Blind River, who now lives in London, Ontario. She is the five times great-granddaughter of Chief Jean Baptist Assiginack, the keeper and great orator of the 1764 covenant chain wampum belt. Her mother is a band member of the Sheshegwaning First Nation.

Brenda travels throughout Southwestern Ontario spreading the Indigenous word through wampum belt workshops, Land Acknowledgements and guiding others in the creation of The Four Races of Mankind Medicine Wheel/Healing Circle mosaic.
Descriptive video: Brenda Collins
Robert Greene on how treaties affect all aspects of life

Robert Greene, a Knowledge Keeper, relays the history and impact of treaties on Indigenous peoples. This video is for secondary and older students.

Curriculum opportunities:

Civics and citizenship curriculum - Grade 10
civic issues, democratic values

Video worksheet

About Robert Greene, Knowledge Keeper, Treaty 3

Robert Charles Greene was born and raised on the reserve of Iskatewizaagegan No. 39 Independent First Nation (Shoal Lake Band No. 39) and is an Anishinaabe of the Ojibway Nation. He was sent away at 11 years old to attend the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School and graduated with honours from the Beaver Brae Secondary School in Kenora, Ontario.

He is a certified counselor and complex trauma therapist currently working as a Cultural Advisor, providing cultural and spiritual supports to Indigenous men who have mental health challenges. He has also worked as an Elder, Indigenous Spiritual Care Giver, independent consultant, and mental health counselor and therapist.
Descriptive video: Robert Greene
Bentley Cheechoo on becoming a treaty Knowledge Keeper

Bentley Cheechoo, a Knowledge Keeper and retired Chief, speaks of his childhood treaty education from Elders and how he continues to educate Indigenous and non-Indigenous children about treaties. This video is for secondary students and older students.

Curriculum opportunities:

Grade 9 geography - issues in Canadian geography

population issues

demographic patterns and trends

sustainable communities

impacts of land use

Video worksheet

About Bentley Cheechoo, Knowledge Keeper, Treaty 9

Bentley Cheechoo was originally a member of Moose Cree First Nation but is now a member of Constance Lake First Nation. From an early age, Ben was taught the true facts about treaties by Elders. Unknown to Ben, this was the beginning of becoming a Knowledge Keeper on treaties.

Ben served as Chief of Constance Lake First Nation for eight years. He later served two three-year terms as Deputy Grand Chief and two three-year terms as Grand Chief of Nishnawbe Aski Nation. Today, Ben is semi-retired and lives with his lovely wife, Jane. He continues to pass on his treaty knowledge to Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.
Descriptive video: Bentley Cheechoo
Darrell Boissoneau on pre-Confederation treaties

Darrell Boissoneau is from Garden River First Nation. He is the president of the higher-learning institute Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig.

Darrell shares his knowledge of pre-Confederation treaties, in particular the Robinson-Huron Treaty of 1850.

Bentley Cheechoo on treaties' impact on his family

Bentley Cheechoo was originally a member of Moose Cree First Nation. In 1977 he was elected Chief of Constance Lake and served four two-year terms. In 1989, he was elected Deputy Grand Chief of Nishnawbe Aski Nation. Three years later he was elected Grand Chief and served two three-year terms.

Bentley talks about the impact of treaties on his family.

Gerry Duquette Jr. on treaty responsibilities

Gerry Duquette Jr. is Chief of Dokis First Nation, located on the French River. The Dokis reserve is within the boundaries of the territory described by the Robinson-Huron Treaty of 1850.

Gerry discusses the benefits of respectful treaty relationships and the importance of understanding treaty responsibilities.

Margaret Froh on Métis experiences with treaties

Margaret Froh is the President of the Métis Nation of Ontario, the first woman to hold the position. She lives in Barrie, Ontario, which is within the traditional territory of the Georgian Bay Métis Community.

Margaret talks about Métis experiences with treaties.

Angela Loft on the importance of gift giving

Angela Loft is a multi-disciplinary artist from Kahnawake, Mohawk Territory. She is the Assistant Artistic Director of Jumblies Theatre, where she has spent two years researching and developing the immersive performance project Talking Treaties.

Angela discusses the importance of gift giving to the treaty process.

Sylvia Maracle on how the treaty process has changed

Sylvia Maracle, Executive Director of the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres (OFIFC), is an advocate for urban Indigenous peoples and women's issues. She is a Mohawk from the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory and a member of the Wolf Clan.

Sylvia talks about how the treaty process has changed since pre-Confederation times.

Cora-Lee McGuire-Cyrette on oral history and women's role in treaty signing

Cora-Lee McGuire-Cyrette is Executive Director of the Ontario Native Women's Association. She is from Sand Point First Nation and is a member of the Bear Clan.

Cora-Lee speaks about the importance of oral history and the critical role women played in treaty signings.

Maurice Switzer on reconciliation and treaty recognition

Maurice Switzer, Bnesi, is a citizen of Alderville First Nation, where his grandfather Moses Muskrat Marsden was Chief from 1905-1909. He lives in North Bay and is a member of the Washushk (Mississauga) and Okwaho (Kanien'keha) clans.

Maurice delivers presentations on treaty recognition as a key element of the reconciliation process and talks about issues related to the Williams Treaty.

Anne Taylor on Treaty 20 and land stewardship

Anne Taylor is a cultural archivist at the Curve Lake First Nation Cultural Centre. She is from Curve Lake First Nation.

Anne speaks about Treaty 20 as it relates to land stewardship.

Doug Williams on treaties' impact on First Nations languages and cultures

Doug Williams is an Associate Professor/Director of Studies for the Ph.D. Program at Trent University's Chanie Wenjack School for Indigenous Studies. He is from Curve Lake, which is part of Treaty 20.

Doug speaks about the impact of treaties on First Nations languages and cultures.

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Watch these videos to hear Indigenous speakers share their knowledge about the importance of treaties, treaty relationships and rights in Ontario.

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Read, Model, Read Again by Lindsay Kemeny

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Read, Model, Read Again by Lindsay Kemeny

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Brain Words by J. Richard Gentry and Gene Ouelette

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Brain Words by J. Richard Gentry and Gene Ouelette

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As laptops and tablets become more popular, handwriting is slowly fading away. While new technology has many benefits such as helping us stay connected with each other and allowing us to quickly search for information, activities such as printing our letters by hand may help the brain learn. There a…