Perla Edith Reyes

University of St. Thomas

BIEDL 5338 Bi-literacy Strategies for Second Language Learners
Summer 2014
WHAT IS ORAL LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT?
Oral Language Development has to do with a
persons ability to speak and listen.
Oracy development is interactive with students
involved in listening and speaking activities.
Because language use is language learning,
strategies used are more effective if students,
rather than the teacher, are doing most of the
talking, and thus practicing the academic
language key to success in school (Beeman &
Urow, 2013, p. 53).
THE GUESSING GAME ACTIVITY
Content Objective:
TEKS - K.4B The students will use senses as a
tool of observation to identify properties of
objects.
Language Objective:
ELPS 1E The students will internalize new
basic and academic language by using and
reusing it in meaningful ways in speaking,
listening and writing activities that build
concept and language attainment.
THE GUESSING GAME ACTIVITY
Expectation:
Throughout this activity the students will be
provided with multiple opportunities to use
descriptive words as they continue to
incorporate into their vocabulary language
introduced, developed, and previously
practiced in their exploration stage of the five
senses.

THE GUESSING GAME ACTIVITY
Vocabulary:
See
Hear
Touch
Smell
Taste
Feel

Texture
Soft
Hard
Smooth
Rough
Color

Loud
Soft
Noise
Bitter
Salty
Sweet

Large
Small
Slippery
Fuzzy
Round
Hairy
THE GUESSING GAME ACTIVITY
The teacher will prepare in advance a large
paper bag with a number of random objects of
different shapes, sizes, textures, colors, etc.
The teacher will instruct the students to sit in a
circle on the classroom carpet.
As the teacher explains the activity she will take
the time to model it making sure that students
have a clear understanding of what is expected
of them.
THE GUESSING GAME ACTIVITY
The teacher will explain to the students that in
the bag there are a number of items that they
will have to describe to their classmates using
their sense of sight, touch, smell, hearing, and
sometimes taste.
Students will take turns taking an item from the
bag while the other students are blindfolded.
The student who pulls the object from the bag
will have to describe it as best they can in order
for the rest of the class to guess what it is.
THE GUESSING GAME ACTIVITY
As students take turns describing and guessing
the objects pulled the teacher will monitor for
constant use of descriptive words and their
correct usage. The teacher will check off words
used from the class vocabulary chart and will
write down any new words used to describe the
objects.
Each student will have the opportunity to select
an item and describe it to his/her peers.
THE GUESSING GAME ACTIVITY
Throughout the process of the activity the
students trying to guess the item will have the
opportunity to discuss their ideas of what the
item might be with a partner. Students will
think-pair-share and the teacher will call on
several pairs of students to share their
predictions. Students will respond using the
sentence stem:
I predict the item is a ______ because _______ .
or
The item cannot be a ______ because _______ .
THE GUESSING GAME ACTIVITY
After describing and guessing each item in the
bag the teacher and students will create a class
big book with pictures of the items and the
descriptive words that were most helpful in
guessing it.
The students will determine and describe which
clues were most helpful to them and will explain
why.
The class big book of descriptive words will
provide students with the opportunity to read
aloud literature involving descriptive language.
REFERENCES
Beeman, K. & Urow, C. (2013). Teaching for biliteracy : strengthening
bridges between languages. Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.