YLE Movers Reading & Writing Part 1 Teachers Notes

Description
This activity gives students practice in matching definitions to pictures with particular
emphasis on identification of key words in the sentences.
Time required:

2025 minutes

Materials
required:

Students Worksheets 1 and 2 (one of each worksheet for each pair

of students)

Scissors

to introduce students to Part 1 of the Movers Reading & Writing

paper and to the task type

to encourage close reading of definitions and use of key words

Aims:

Procedure
1. Introduce the activity by giving students a definition of a something in the school for
them to guess, e.g. This is a place in the school where you can use computers and
borrow books to take home. (library). Write the definition on the board. Elicit
definitions from students for other places in the school or in their houses. Encourage
them to use phrases such as:

This is a place where

You can here

This is (e.g. next to..) ..

Write one or two of their better definitions on the board.

2. Introduce the word definition. Use the examples on the board to remind students
that the word itself does not appear in the definition, e.g. the definition of library is
This is a place in the school where you can use computers and borrow books to take
home.
3. Divide the class into pairs. Hand out Students Worksheet 1 and scissors to each
pair. They cut out the six definitions. They read them silently and then in pairs they
try and guess what the answers for each one might be. Elicit their ideas but do not
confirm if they are correct in their guesses.
4. Hand out Students Worksheet 2 and scissors to each pair. They cut out the eight
pictures. In pairs, students match each definition to a picture. They place the
definition next to each picture. Tell them that they dont need to use all the pictures.
There are two extra pictures. Pairs check with other pairs before they write the
correct word on the line at the end of each definition. Remind students to copy the
words clearly, making sure they are legible (its best if they print words rather than
use joined-up writing) and the spelling is correct.
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YLE Movers Reading & Writing Part 1 Teachers Notes

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5. Check answers with the class. One student from a pair reads the definition and the
other says the word, including the article if it is given (sometimes it is not e.g.
uncountable nouns). Ask the rest of the class if they agree with the answer before
saying if it is correct or not.
6. Students focus on the board and on the definitions from Step 1. Ask them which the
important words are, i.e. the words that helped them find the answer. Underline them
(e.g. place/use computers/borrow books). Tell students that we call these the key
words.
7. Ask students to find and underline the key words in the definitions from Students
Worksheet 1. Discuss as a class the words they underlined and why. Draw students
attention to definitions 2 and 4 to emphasise the importance of finding all the key
words.

In sentence 2. the key words are biggest anima/the sea. Its important that
students look at all the key words because there are two animals to choose
from (whale and elephant). If they dont read the sentence fully, they could
easily focus in on biggest animal and choose the elephant, which is incorrect.

In sentence 4 the key words are animal/hot countries/leaves/grass. As with

sentence 2, if they dont read the whole sentence they might incorrectly
choose whale as the animal.

8. Elicit what else students notice about the activity by asking the following questions.
They may give you different ideas but make sure they notice the points below. e.g.
a) How many pictures are there? How many definitions are there? (there are more
pictures than definitions)
b) Are the pictures all part of the same word family? (the words do not form a lexical
set or word family)
c) Why do some words have a or an (e.g. a whale) and others dont (e.g. milk)?
(some words are countable and that some are uncountable)
d) Look at the example definition, question 2 and question 4. What word do they all
have? (animal: sometimes definitions are quite similar)
e) What do you do to answer the questions? (they have to copy the word (including
article if it is there) correctly at the end of the definition)
Tell students that in the test they are given one example.
9. In their pairs, students write definitions for the two extra pictures. Remind them to
include key words but not to make it too easy. Go around the class and check their
work. If time, pairs can take turns to read their definitions to the class for the class to
vote on the best definitions.
Suggested follow-up activity
1. For homework or in class, students can write definitions of six to eight nouns from the
current unit of their text book. They swap definitions with another student and write/
find the answers.
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YLE Movers Reading & Writing Part 1 Teachers Notes

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YLE Movers Reading & Writing Part 1 Answer Keys

Key to Procedure steps
Step 6
1 You can eat this from a bowl. Sometimes there are vegetables in it.
2 This is the biggest animal in the world. It lives in the sea.
3 This is part of your body. All your food and drink goes here first.
4 This big animal lives in hot countries and eats leaves and grass.
5 This is between your neck and your arm.
6 Mothers give this white drink to their babies.

Step 8 (possible answers)

People often have this for breakfast. You can drink it black, or with milk and sugar. (coffee).
This animal can fly and it comes out at night. (a bat)

Key to Students Worksheets 1 and 2

1. soup
2. a whale
3. a stomach
4. an elephant
5. a shoulder
6. milk

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YLE Movers Reading & Writing Part 1 Students Worksheet 1

Cut out the six definitions. With your partner, try and guess the answer for each one.
Do not write anything on the line!
_________________________________________________________________________

1 You can eat this from a bowl. Sometimes there are vegetables in it. _________________

_________________________________________________________________________

2 This is the biggest animal in the world. It lives in the sea. _________________

_________________________________________________________________________

3 This is part of your body. All your food and drink goes here first. _________________

_________________________________________________________________________

4 This big animal lives in hot countries and eats leaves and grass. _________________

_________________________________________________________________________

5 This is between your neck and your arm. _________________

_________________________________________________________________________

6 Mothers give this white drink to their babies. _________________

_________________________________________________________________________

UCLES 2009. This material may be photocopied (without alteration) and distributed for classroom use provided no charge is made. For further
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YLE Movers Reading & Writing Part 1 Students Worksheet 1

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YLE Movers Reading & Writing Part 1 Students Worksheet 2

Look and read. Choose the correct picture for each definition and place the definition
under the picture. Then write the words on the lines.

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YLE Movers Reading & Writing Part 1 Students Worksheet 2

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