Gretchen Bitterlin

Dennis Johnson
Donna Price
Sylvia Ramirez
K. Lynn Savage, Series Editor

TEACHER-TRAINING WORKSHEETS
with Ann Jackman
West Palm Beach, Florida

cambridge university press

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Cambridge University Press
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Cambridge University Press 2009
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception
and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction of any part may take place without the written
permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published 2009
A catalog record for this publication is available from the British Library
isbn 978-0-521-14439-1 Ventures Professional Development DVD
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this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such Web sites is,
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............................................................................................................................................................
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be obtained in advance from a publisher. The worksheets in
this publication are designed to be copied and distributed
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Authors acknowledgments
Cambridge University Press would like to extend its thanks to the following reviewers
and consultants for their valuable insights and suggestions.
Karen Batchelor, City College of San Francisco, San Francisco, California
Catherine Bell, LAUSD Division of Adult and Career Education, Los Angeles,
California
James Chang, 1199SEIU ESL Program, New York, New York
Maria Koonce, Consultant Teacher Training, Cocoa, Florida
Portia La Ferla, Torrance Adult School, Torrance, California
Jean Maracle, Scottsdale Community College, Scottsdale, Arizona
Laura Martin, Adult Learning Resource Center, Arlington Heights, Illinois
Tim McDaniel, Green River Community College, Auburn, Washington
May OBrien, Harris County Department of Education, Houston, Texas
Kathleen Olson, Teacher-Trainer, Hilliard, Ohio
Jean P. Rose, ABC Adult School, Cerritos, California
Gilda Rubio-Festa, Central Piedmont Community College, Charlotte, North Carolina
Guadalupe Ruvalcaba, SAISD Adult and Community Education Department, San
Antonio, Texas
Debbie Talavera, Austin Community College, Austin, Texas
Claire Valier, School District of Palm Beach County, West Palm Beach, Florida

iii

Contents
Module 1 Enhancing instruction with visuals

Module 2 Developing listening skills

Module 3 Teaching grammar communicatively

Module 4 Developing reading skills

iv

Part I: Narrative reading

Part II: Document literacy

8
10

Module 5 Developing writing skills

12

Module 6 Facilitating multilevel classes

14

Module

1 Enhancing instruction with visuals

1 Before you watch

1. What topic could a teacher introduce with the picture below?

Ventures Students Book 1, Unit 8, page 96

2. What do you think are the main goals of using visuals at the beginning of a
unit? Number them in order of importance. (1 = most important; 4 = least
important)

to create interest in a topic

to activate students prior knowledge (find out what students already know)

to build vocabulary and grammar

to prompt pair work
3. What questions could you ask about the picture above to activate students
prior knowledge?
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2 While you watch

Use the space in the second column to take notes.

Strategies for using visuals

What do you see?

B
 efore using visuals, create interest in
the topic

U
 se visuals to activate students prior
knowledge

U
 se visuals to build vocabulary and grammar

Use visuals to prompt pair work

3 After you watch

1. Which of the strategies for using visuals have you used in your classroom?
2. Which of the strategies in the video are you most likely to implement in
your classroom?
3. In what other ways can visuals be used as an effective teaching tool?

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4 Try it out
Choose one of the four strategies for using visuals presented in the video.
On your own or with a colleague, describe what you would do to implement
the strategy in a class you are currently teaching. Use the picture below or
select another visual.

Ventures Students Book 1, Unit 9, page 110

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Module

2 Developing listening skills

1 Before you watch

1. Why is it important for your students to develop their listening skills?
2. What are some of the challenges you face when developing students
listening skills?
3. What do you currently do to prepare students for the content of a listening
passage?
4. When you have your students listen to a passage, what do you ask them to
listen for?
5. How many times do you typically have students listen to a passage? Why?

2 While you watch

Use the space in the second column to take notes.

Steps for developing

listening skills

What do you see?

B
 efore students listen, preview the material

Practice listening for gist

Practice listening for detail

P
 rovide independent listening practice

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3 After you watch

1. What are the basic steps for developing students listening skills?
2. The teacher had students listen for specific vocabulary words and match
pictures with conversations. What are some additional listening tasks you
can give your students so that the same listening passage can be used
multiple times? (e.g., listening for tone)
3. Why is it important for students to practice listening outside of class?
4. Which techniques from the video are you most likely to implement in your
classroom?

4 Try it out
Look at the picture and the accompanying audio script excerpt. On your
own or with a colleague, do the following:
1. Develop a list of questions that you could pose to students in a class you are
currently teaching to preview the material before they listen.
2. Create two listening tasks, each with a different focus.
Excerpt from audio script
Conversation A
A Whats the matter?
B I have a headache.
A Oh, Im sorry.
Conversation B
A Whats the matter?
B I have a fever.
A Get some rest.
Conversation C
A Whats the matter?
B I have a sprained ankle.
A Oh, Im sorry.
Conversation D
A Whats the matter?
B I have a stomachache.
A Oh, thats too bad.
Ventures Students Book 1, Unit 4, page 44

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Module

3 Teaching grammar communicatively

1 Before you watch

1. What challenges do you face when teaching grammar?
2. Reflect on your current students grasp of English grammar. Generally, what
are their strengths and weaknesses?
3. What instructional practices have you implemented to develop students
understanding of English grammar?

2 While you watch

Use the space in the second column to take notes.

Steps for teaching grammar

communicatively

What do you see?

P
 resent grammar points in meaningful
context

Check for student understanding

Provide guided practice

Provide communicative practice

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3 After you watch

1. What are the basic steps for teaching grammar communicatively?
2. Why is it important to teach grammar in a meaningful context?
3. Why is it important for teachers to confirm that students know the focus
of the grammar, can make the form, and understand the meaning before
beginning partner or small group work?
4. The purpose of guided grammar practice is for students to develop fluency
with the grammatical structure. The purpose of communicative grammar
practice is to get students to communicate meaning. How would error
correction differ for each?
5. The teacher had students practice a dialog (substituting different
vocabulary) and interview classmates. What are some additional interactive
ways to practice grammar?

4 Try it out
On your own or with a colleague, describe a context you might use to illustrate
to students the meaning of the grammar in the chart below.

Future tense with be going to

Ventures Students Book 1, Unit 10, page 126

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Module

4 Developing reading skills

Part I Narrative reading

1 Before you watch
1. Generally, did your students receive a formal education in their native
countries?
2. What factors do you think affect a students ability to read in a second
language?
3. What steps do you currently take to teach reading?
4. Specifically, what types of pre-reading activities do you use in your
classroom?

2 While you watch

Use the space in the second column to take notes.

Steps for developing

reading skills

What do you see?

B
 efore students read, preview the material

H
 ave students read in more than one way

C
 heck for student understanding

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3 After you watch

1. The teacher had students read silently before he had them listen to an audio
recording of the reading. Would you ever have students listen to an audio
recording of a reading before they read silently? If so, why?
2. The teacher did something called echo reading students repeated short,
meaningful word groups after the teacher modeled the language. How do
you think echo reading can help students to become more fluent readers?
3. After checking students comprehension of a reading, the next step would
be to have students reflect on the reading. What questions might you ask
to help students relate the reading featured in the video to their own lives?
4. Why is it important to end reading lessons with communicative activities?

4 Try it out
On your own or with a colleague, outline a lesson plan for the narrative
reading passage below. Be sure to include activities for each of the following:
a) preview the material
b) have students read in more than one way
c) check for student understanding

Ventures Students Book 1, Unit 3, page 38

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Part II Document literacy

1 Before you watch
1. What challenges do you face when teaching document-literacy skills?
2. Imagine that you were using the form below in a low-beginning classroom.
What could you do to orient your students to the organization of this form?

Ventures Students Book 1, Unit 8, page 106

3. Do you see any vocabulary that might be difficult for students? If so,
which words?
4. How would you explain unfamiliar vocabulary words to students?

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2 While you watch

Use the space in the second column to take notes.

Steps for developing reading

skills

What do you see?

B
 efore students read, preview the structure
of the document

C
 heck for student understanding

H
 ave students scan for specific information

3 After you watch

1. What elements of the form did the teacher focus on? Would you have focused
on anything different? Explain why or why not.
2. Why is scanning such an important reading skill?
3. Why is the multiple-choice format ideal for document-literacy tasks?

4 Try it out
On your own or with a colleague, select a help-wanted or for-sale ad from a
local newspaper or Web site. Outline a lesson plan for a document-literacy
activity based on this ad. Be sure to include activities for each of the following:
a) preview the structure of the ad
b) check for student understanding
c) have students scan for specific information

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Module

5 Developing writing skills

1 Before you watch

1. What are some of the challenges you face when developing students
writing skills?
2. Think about the types of writing that your students must complete in their
day-to-day lives. What types of writing do you think they use most on a
daily basis?
3. What steps do you currently take to teach writing?
4. What types of pre-writing activities have you used with your students?
5. Why are pre-writing activities important?

2 While you watch

Use the space in the second column to take notes.

Steps for developing

writing skills

What do you see?

B
 efore students write, provide a warm up for
the topic

P
 rovide a model of the writing

P
 rovide tasks that break the writing into
small chunks

H
 ave students share their work

H
 ave students revise their work

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3 After you watch

1. What are the basic steps for developing students writing skills?
2. The teacher had the students complete the writing task outside of class.
What are the benefits of having students complete a writing task outside
of class? What are the benefits of having students write in class?
3. The teacher had students read their paragraphs aloud to their partners.
Why did he do this? Would you do this in your own classroom?
4. What are some ways you can have students publish their work?

4 Try it out
On your own or with a colleague, outline a lesson plan to help students write
a note. Use the note below as a model to give your students. Be sure to
include activities for each of the following:
a) provide a warm up for the topic
b) develop questions that focus students on key elements of the model
c) provide tasks that break the writing into small chunks

Ventures Students Book 1, Unit 4, page 52

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Module

6 Facilitating multilevel classes

1 Before you watch

1. Reflect on your experiences teaching multilevel classes. What has been most
challenging for you as a teacher?
2. What strategies do you currently employ to address differences in student
proficiency levels and abilities?
3. Which of these strategies have been most effective?

2 While you watch

Use the space in the second column to take notes.

Ways to facilitate multilevel

classes

What do you see?

U
 se different materials for different students

O
 rganize students in like-ability groups

O
 rganize students in cross-ability groups

C
 heck student understanding as a
whole class

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3 After you watch

1. The teacher had different materials for different learners, and he let the
students self-select their materials. What factors would you consider when
determining whether to let students self-select or assign materials based on
individual students needs?
2. Students worked collaboratively in two different ways with the same
worksheet once with students at their own ability level and once with
students of mixed abilities. What are the benefits of using like-ability groups
and cross-ability groups?
3. What are the challenges of using like-ability and cross-ability groups?
4. Why is it important to review answers with the whole class after pair or
small group work?

4 Try it out
On your own or with a colleague, study the exercise below and answer the
questions.

Add Ventures 1, Unit 7, page 110

1. How could you modify this exercise for lower-level students to make it
less challenging?
2. How could you modify this exercise for higher-level students to make it
more challenging?
3. If you wanted your students to complete the exercise in like-ability groups,
how would you set up the task?
4. If you wanted your students to complete the exercise in cross-ability groups,
how would you set up the task?
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