Category: Language Arts Activities

Instructions:
Read the passage. Think about the meanings of the
highlighted words. 

There is a debate about the name “sea turtles”
Turtles tortoises and terrapins all belong to the same order. Tortoises live on
land, terrapins live in fresh water and turtles live in salt water. So, turtles
by definition should be sea animals! However some of the larger
freshwater varieties are also called turtles, so we will stick with the name Sea
Turtle, to save confusion.

They belong to the invertebrates and are reptiles. There
are seven known species of sea, or marine, turtle. They vary in size, the
largest being the Leatherback Turtle. We are going to look at the Green turtle.
All of the sea turtles have similar adaptations and similar problems.

Structural Adaptations:

The four limbs are flat and can be rotated, so as to
enable them to swim and move on land.

They have a heavy shell protecting most of their body.

The head can be withdrawn into the shell.

Behavioral Adaptations:

They lay their eggs in only a few places, always the same
beaches.

They lay their eggs above the high water mark.

They swim fairly close to the surface of the water.

The structural adaptations really are not a drawback,
or problem. The weight of the shell means that they are clumsy and slow on land,
and so when the females go to lay eggs they can be easily caught. Other than
that, the structural adaptations tend to protect them.

The problem lies with the behavioral adaptations. The
fact that they always return to the same place to lay their eggs makes them vulnerable
to both human and other predators. People and other animals such as birds and
fish, know when the laying season is and where the eggs will be laid. The female
turtles struggle up the beach to a place above the high water mark. There they
dig a shallow pit with their fore flippers, and lie in it. The hind flippers are
then used to dig a deeper pit, into which the eggs are dropped. The number of
eggs varies but the usual amount is around 100.

The eggs are the covered over with sand and the female
returns to the sea. After sometime (from 48-80 days the eggs hatch. All the baby
turtles (known as hatchlings) get together and collectively make their way to
the top of the pit. They then wait for nightfall. After dark, they push out the
top of the nest and make a dash for the sea.

The problems:

Because so many females lay their eggs in the same area, one will
often disturb the nest of another, while digging, and unintentionally
destroy the eggs.

Humans dig up the eggs immediately after they have been laid. They
sell them to restaurants. They are considered a great delicacy in some
places.

Crabs, Monitor lizards and stray dogs will also dig up the nests.

Night birds. Crabs, lizards and dogs pick off the hatchlings
as they make their way back to the sea. The number lost depends to a great
extent on luck. If the hatch on a night with a low tide they have a long way to
go to get to the water line. If it is high tide, more will make it before being
eaten.

If the hatchlings don’t reach the water by sunrise other birds
will eat them.

Predatory fish (mostly shark) lie in wait just offshore at the
breeding grounds. They pick off the hatchlings as they make their way out to
sea.

It is estimated that the average female Green Turtle lays
about 1,800 eggs in her lifetime. Only about 400 of these actually develop and
hatch. Of those about 250 make it to the sea, and of those only about 30 will
survive their first week at sea.

Thirty offspring, per adult female seems like a good
number, but the story doesn’t end there. Adult turtles are also attacked and
eaten by sharks, and even whales. They also suffer from disease and many are
killed by passing ships and speedboats. They are also hunted as food. The number
of hatchlings, per adult female who actually grow to complete a full life cycle
is probably about three. Again, that isn’t bad; it is just about enough for
Green turtles to survive as a species.

However, there is a growing demand for turtle meat and
skin. This means that many adult females are being killed on the beaches. If the
trend continues, the Green turtles could well die out altogether becoming extinct.
Most places now have laws to protect the nesting beaches.

Neat Turtle Facts:

Turtle hatchlings are carnivorous, whereas adult turtle
are mostly vegetarian.

No one knows where turtles go during their fist year of
life.

Females will swim thousands of miles from feeding grounds
to nesting beaches and back again.

The four main nesting beaches of ALL Green turtles are
found on the Costa Rican Coast, the Island of Ascension, the Seychelles and the
Great Barrier Reef.

Now try the exercises. 
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Exercise 1: Using Context to Define Words 

Exercise 2: Word Puzzle

Exercise 3: Scrambled Words

Other Exercise Suggestions

Teaching Vocabulary

Spelling List – Grade 7 –
Week 9 

Announce
Magazine
Addressed
Publication
Editor
Urge
Advantage
Reasonable
Bargain
Assured
Signature
Royal
Consent
Literature
Pretend
Coin
Possibly
Command
Penmanship

In order to
view these worksheets you will need the ADOBE
ACROBAT READER. It is free just click on name and download it!

Week 9 Worksheets

There is a
worksheet for each day of the week.

Click
on the title for a full size printable version.

Definitions

Mad
Scramble

Word
Search

Decode
the Word

ABC
Order

–

To start with a child’s education, it’s essential to familiarize him/her with the alphabets. Thus, teaching the ABC uppercase letters or capital letters happen to be the foremost step of doing so. It’s not only sufficient for kids to recite the letters in order but it’s essential to recognize them out of sequence. After this, they need to learn the sounds represented by the alphabets and then to master the art of writing the ABC uppercase letters followed by the lowercase ones.

Children Psychology Related To Learning

Be it teaching ABC uppercase letters or some other lesson, what is most important while teaching a kid is to make it fun so that he / she would be an eager and active participant in the process. There are several expensive products and programs in the market that can aid you in the process, but they are absolutely not required. There are three simple keys to make your preschoolers learn the English ABC uppercase letters – to make it fun, real and regular.

It can be a game, a song or a craft – you can resort to any or all of them to make the learning of alphabets enjoyable for your kindergarten kid so that it does not seem forced on him / her. A forcefully learnt lesson is less likely to be retained by a child in the long run.

It’s also essential to make the thing “Real”, which implies that it would not only cater to their senses of seeing and hearing but would also appeal to more subtle ones like touching, tasting, etc. Furthermore, you need to make the lesson a regular habit as your preschooler tends to learn incredibly fast and forget equally quickly. This does not imply that you need to devote a specific part of the day for this but it can very well take place at the kitchen table or at the departmental store.

The Methods Of Teaching ABC Uppercase Letters

There are several manufacturers of alphabet blocks in the market who produce ABC uppercase letters, numerals, numeral names, etc. These are crafted from basswood and use child-safe ink. However, to teach your child, you can also make separate alphabets or alphabet books on your own with the help of construction papers. Apart from this conventional mode of teaching you can resort to ABC game, alphabet memory game, alphabet bingo or can sing the alphabet song or even design alphabet cookies for your kid to eat! You should also make hand gestures, body postures and use phonetics while teaching alphabet to your child.

So it’s no more an ordeal for your preschooler to learn the ABC uppercase letters – now it’s fun.

Other exercises can include word searches, crossword
puzzles, complete the paragraph etc. You can also use the words to teach other
aspects of Language arts, such as opposites, compound words, nouns, adjectives
etc, The type of exercise you do is up to you, and the list of words available.

Links:

This list of links provides useful sites for compiling
word searches, crosswords and various other vocabulary exercises.

There are two main approaches to
teaching vocabulary. One, the list approach, gives a list of words and their
meanings. The list may or may not be related to the topics the student is
currently studying. The second approach, the contextual approach, relies on
students ascertaining the meaning of words through reading, and related
activities. Both methods are useful, but I personally prefer the contextual
approach for most cases. I will use the list approach when students ask me about
the meaning of something I have said. On those occasions, I explain the word,
put it into a relevant sentence and add it to our word wall.

Using Word Walls

Word walls are wonderful teaching
aids. Unfortunately, space is often limited. What I do is keep a word wall for
various subjects. We have one for Math, one for Science and Health, one for
Social Studies ad one for Language Arts.

Each new word is written on an
individual strip of card and added to the appropriate wall. You can add them
chronologically, in the order they come up, by groups of associated words, by
word type (nouns, adjectives, verbs) or even alphabetically. Chose the method
that works best for you.

The word wall method has the
advantage that the cards are visible throughout the teaching day and can be
referred to constantly. The cards can also be removed, as space becomes limited
and placed in vocabulary boxes. The boxes can then be used for a variety of
games and activities. There is never a dull vocabulary moment in my classroom!

The word wall should not replace the
notebook. Space limitations mean that adding the definition to the wall is
nearly impossible. The notebook is valuable for listing the words and meanings,
to be used as a reference tool.

The list approach is self
explanatory, the students being given a list of words with meaning to learn. The
contextual approach could do with a little explanation, though.

The following passage and exercises
are designed to demonstrate how this method can be used. The student should
first read the passage and then complete the exercises. It can be applied to any
passage. In an individual setting the teacher can highlight the words in
advance, and prepare the exercises. If you are using a library book, or other
reading source that cannot be marked, or for large groups like school
classrooms, the words can be put on the board, or jotted down on paper. In this
case, ask the student to read the words first, and then look out for them in the
text.

Sea Turtles: Context Vocabulary Passage

Exercise 1:
Defining Words from Context Clues

Exercise 2:
Word Puzzle

Vocabulary Exercise 3: Scrambled
Words

Vocabulary Exercise Suggestions:
Including Links to worksheet generating programs

This activity combines different skills from language
arts. It improves vocabulary and can be used for alphabetizing practice and
sentence structure. Students in older grades can also state what type of word
each word is.

It can be used for any subject, and is especially good
for things like science, where children tend to forget definitions of words.

You will need:

• a list of words, taken from a lesson, unit or story
• construction paper
• lined paper
• colored markers
• glue
• scissors

Directions:

Take a look at a finished page
so you can better understand these instructions.

Measure the construction paper.  Words will be
pasted on the left and definitions beside them. Be sure to allow a space between
the words and definitions and a free border around the whole thing.

Write the words on lined paper, space them out well so
that they can be cut out in individual boxes.

Take each word and write a definition for it. If you are
using a book that has a glossary at the back, try and avoid using the
definitions from there. The student should define the word in their own way. It
is important that the definition applies to the word in the context it was
found. For example:
He bore
a hole in the melon with a thorn.
He was an awful bore.
The word bore in those sentences has a totally different meaning in each.

The definitions should be on separate strips of paper.
If the definition is long, or the students writing large, allow two lines for
the definition.

Cut out the words and arrange them in alphabetical
order. Arrange the definitions beside them.

Place the words and definitions on the construction
paper. Leave the top three inches of the construction paper free. You may
require more than one piece of construction paper.

When you are happy with the placement of the words,
paste them in place.

Look at the first and last words on the page, these are
the guide words. Write these words again, on lined paper. Paste the first word
on the top left of the page and the last word  on the top right.

Write a title for the page and paste it in the free area
at the top. The title can be the title of the story, or in the case of science
the unit. If you still have room at the top draw or paste a picture to go with
the story.

On a clean sheet of lined paper, make sentences for the
words. One sentence per word. Paste it to the back of the construction paper. If
there is extra room draw or paste pictures also.

If you make multiple glossaries they can be made into a
book, by punching holes in the top or left margin and attaching together with
yarn.

For a really good effect write the words in one color
and definitions in other colors. When you write the sentences write the word in
a different color to the rest of the sentence.

Some children just naturally love to read, and others are
what are known as reluctant readers. People will often tell you that their child
just loves to read because they were read to from an early age. This
works with some children, but others don’t want to sit still long enough to
read or be read to.

These activities are great for children just starting to
read. They are particularly good for reluctant readers, who pull faces and
attempt to run away when books are brought out!

Flash Card Games. (geared to words the child already knows)

It is important that when you first start out this is
exciting, fun and easy. If the child finds it took difficult, flash cards take
on the same connotation as books, and you are lost. Pick about twenty words that
your child CAN read. Write each word on an individual index card. You also need
a pack of stickers, or similar reward.

Game 1:

Place the cards face up. Ask the child to hand you words
beginning with a particular sound. Be sure to emphasize sounds with this
activity, rather than the names of letters. Once the child gets all, or most
correct, move on to end or middle sounds. Be careful to lavish praise for
correct answers, give rewards for a fixed number of correct answers, and skip
over incorrect ones! When the answer is incorrect, NEVER say, no, that’s
wrong. Say something like, are you sure, hmmmm..I don’t know I don’t think
it begins with (name the sound again), let’s try again, or something equally
soothing and non-threatening.

Game 2:

Place the cards face down. Ask the child to pick a card and
read it. If the answer is correct, they pick another, if incorrect it is the
next players turn. If only you and the child are playing, allow yourself only
two correct answers before passing the turn back. Never deliberately get it
wrong, children don’t like to be allowed to cheat, they feel that they are
stupid if they need to cheat. As the child improves at the game you can increase
the number of cards you take before passing the turn back.

Game 3:

Each player takes a card. They read the card and then act
out the meaning. Other players have to guess what the card says…this one is
particularly good with animal names (cat, dog, rat etc) and actions.

Game 4:

This requires pictures to match the words, so isn’t
suitable for all words. Make pairs of cards, one with the picture and one with
the word. Place all face up and match words to pictures. For variety, you can
place them face down and play matching pairs with them.

Increasing Words

If you feel your child can read more words, then increase
the number of cards. If they seem unable to read more, move on to a different
type of activity.

Activities geared towards learning more
words.

Learning More Words

Activity 1: Pictures.

Use old magazines, pictures from the computer or even
hand drawn pictures. Make a collage on a large poster size sheet of paper. The
collage can be haphazard or depict a scene. Ask the child to name items in the
collage. Write he things they name on small slips of paper, or post-it notes.
Place, but do not stick the words on the poster. Ask the child to look at the
pictures and read the words under each picture. Remove the labels and then ask
the child to place them. When they get words consistently correct allow them to
paste the word to the poster.

This activity helps learn new words because many of the
words begin differently. For example if you have a refrigerator in the picture,
then the child can probably label it by recognizing just the refr
part of the word. Once they have done it a few times they can probably recognize
the word without the picture t remind them.

Activity 2: Similar Words

Use word flash cards again with this one. Write groups
of words with similar sounds. Use colored markers and mark the similar sound in
one color and he differing sound in another. Use different parts of words that
are similar. Examples:

Initial sound similar	End sound similar
man	mast
mat	last
mad	past
mast	cast

This activity is is particularly good for
teaching word patterns.

Activity 3: Mixed up sentences

Write about ten simple sentences on strips of paper.
Glue each sentence to a different color of construction paper, and cut them up.
Ask the child to reassemble the sentence. Then try making different sentences
using words from some of the other sentences. Silly, meaningless sentences are
fine, provided the child can read what they have produced. In order to get them
to make silly sentences you may need to make a few yourself. Children are often
unsure of what is and isn’t acceptable to an adult. Make silly sentences and
laugh about them! Have a competition to see who can make the silliest sentence,
or the longest sentence. Because of the problem of capitalizing initial words in
sentences, it is probably better to ignore capital letters altogether and write
the entire sentence in lower case. Children rarely remember the rule anyway, and
may become confused by a capital letter in the middle of a sentence. If your
child does know and remember the rule, you can just ask when the sentence is
done, which letter should be capitalized and where the period should be.