Language Experience Lesson-Long

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Home : 2006 : September : 25

Language Experience Lesson-Long
By Risa

Hi Mandy!
I'm one of your website's biggest fans, so I'm glad I can finally offer something to you in return for the many wonderful, useful ideas and projects I've found on your site!

Roach Van Allen is the
name associated with the Language Experience Approach. I found a couple of lessons/explanations online but I also included something I've done with my own students.

http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/ela/e_literacy/language.html

http://eff.cls.utk.edu/toolkit/support_lea.htm
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My lesson:
You may have to 'tweek' this a bit for your own students, but

this is something I wrote up a while back when a friend needed some lessons for English Language learners, which is my primary student population. Hope it's useful to you! I've used it with students from around 2nd grade up to 6th grade.
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This is a GREAT lesson that will get kids excited and involved! I have used it for many years used it with my limited English students. My goal with this lesson is to build background vocabulary so that they will have what they need when I ask them to contribute to our charted story. I work with students who mostly hear Spanish at home so they come to school with a very limited English vocabulary.

(Mandy, since this lesson is for limited English students, you may want to put your own ‘spin’ on the lesson so that your students will be able to write, as well as build vocabulary.)

I’ve found that science experiments serve the purpose of Language Experience very well, but almost any activity where students can interact and learn new vocabulary, which will be charted for reading and writing, is suitable.

This ‘experience’ is actually just is a series of commands but, of course I add lots of language and gestures and let kids play a bit before actually going on with the whole thing. (I sure wish I could remember which book it came from!! It was a book I used to use a LONG time ago (in the 80’s. It had a yellow paperback cover. For some reason, I keep thinking it might have been called ‘Action English’ but it’s a book that has lots of short 10-step ‘scripts’ consisting solely of commands. I remember another skit is something about washing hands. But what I need the most is the exact title. I just can’t remember it! Maybe it will come to me, later.)

Here’s the basic scenario:
You give the kids each a balloon, and you have one. My experience has been that a smaller one is better since not all kids can actually blow up a balloon. A smaller one is easier. After the balloon is knotted, put some scotch tape on the balloon. Then take a straight pin and insert it into the balloon where you’ve placed the scotch tape. The balloon won’t (or shouldn’t) pop, after which you say, “It didn’t pop! Amazing! Incredible!” I have students take turns, so after each time it doesn’t pop we say, “It didn’t pop! Amazing! Incredible!” (and we get a giggle or two from it after a few time, knowing it won’t pop.) Some students are brave and dare to insert several pins wherever they’ve placed the clear tape. It doesn’t pop, although it tends to lose air and deflate.

Some of the vocabulary I use:
Stretch, pull, breath, inflate, knot, fingers, explode, twist, tape, straight pin, insert, amazing, incredible, pop, burst, explode (You may want to build synonym lists for some of these words.)

Here’s the basic script: (I’m making it up, from what I can remember.)

Take a balloon!

Stretch it!

Blow it up!

Tie a knot!

Get some clear tape.

Put it on the end of the balloon.

Now, get a straight pin.

Be careful! Don’t prick yourself!

Put the pin in the balloon where you put the tape!

Wow! It didn’t pop!

Amazing! Incredible!
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Now, here’s my commentary about the fillers I use to make it more fun for the kids:
I write key words (*), as I can, on a vocabulary chart. I also get a balloon and do the actions so I can model as I am telling the kids what to do. (This is especially good for the more limited students.) We talk about the *colors of the balloons: “Who sees something blue? green? etc.” “Who’s wearing something with *red? *yellow? etc.” For more limited English speakers, I point out “Martha is wearing *white socks. Marcos has *blue in his shirt.” I do most of the talking for limited speakers, but they can point.

I make the kids really *stretch the *balloon in all directions. I play and tell them to stretch their cheeks, their eyebrows, their lips, etc. and then go back to the balloon.

Then we puff up our cheeks really big and begin to *blow up the balloon. (Some will do fine the first time, others will struggle. After doing this for several years, I’ve decided that the smaller the balloon, the more success they will have.) I use comparative language: *big, bigger biggest or *small, smaller, smallest

I also let the kids play and make the balloons *squeak just to make it a ‘legal thing’ to do, and they get it . (This is a good opportunity to mention ‘onomatopoeia’ and how sounds are made into words.)

Tie a *knot.

I let them play with the balloon in a corner of the room as I help the others tie the knot on their balloons. If this is a new group, I tell them to hit their balloons to each other and say their names each time they hit the balloon to someone else. If the balloon comes back to them, they keep saying their own name.)

Next, I show them how to place pieces of *tape on the balloon, and then distribute the tape to children.

Then, we go outside! (Our classrooms only have ‘portable walls between them, so we need to be considerate of our neighbors. Also it builds the suspense of whether or not the balloon will pop when the pins are inserted… to add the ‘fear factor’ and in case it actually pops and makes a loud noise!)

I distribute the straight *pins to each one and I pantomime what we will be doing (which is inserting the pin into the balloon through the clear tape.) This is where your acting skills are critical! (lol) I REALLY exaggerate how scared I am that the balloon might *explode! I pretend like I’m going to put the pin in the balloon, but then back off because it ‘scares me’ so much! I have a volunteer do it. I tell the child to back away from the group, reminding them to hold the balloon away from their faces. I tell all the other kids to cover their eyes and ears as we watch. We peek at the volunteer from between our covered eyes. Then... I tell the student to go ahead and put the pin in the balloon. We all get ready for the bursting sound... but to our amazement... It doesn’t pop!!!!!! *Amazing!!!!! *Incredible!!!! And then others follow the example. Each time a child’s balloon DOESN’T pop, we all say: “Wow! It didn’t pop! Amazing!! Incredible!!”

FOLLOW UP activities....
After this, of course, we do lots of vocabulary development as kids recall what we did. I write down key words/phrases. I let the kids create a their own portable word walls, by tracing out shapes of small balloons, and having them copy the vocabulary words onto the balloons and then pasting the balloon on a large sheet of construction paper which they will be using for their “balloon word wall”.

I also have them do some interactive writing to write out sentences about what we did.

I chart their group story, after which I type it up and have kids ‘echo read’ it with me. (I read a line, and then they repeat.) They read it to 5 people and have each person sign after they’ve heard the story. (This can be a peer or an adult.)

I break the same story up to make a book. I type the story lines at the bottom of each page. I ask the kids to illustrate the pages.

I use the same story and put the sentences out of order and ask the kids to cut and paste putting the sentences in correct sequence.

I cut up sentences and mix up words, having kids put the words in the correct order.