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Mix
& Gap is one of the 8 exercise groups included in the TaskMagic
package. Mix & Gap creates a wide range of exercises based on
a single text of up to 500 words. Exercises are variations on re-ordering,
gap-filling and text re-building formats. A sound file can be included
to support your exercise. |
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Edit
Screen in TaskMagicCreate |
Front
Page in TaskMagicPlay |
Worksheets |
| The
edit screen in TaskMagic Create allows the teacher to type
or paste in a text of up to 500 words. The number of exercises
created depends on the number of words in the text. Up to
18 games and exercises are automatically generated by the
TaskMagic software. 8 worksheets can now be printed in Mix
& Gap, including the new Find it! exercise. Scroll down
or click here for more information
about using Mix & Gap files, or click on any of the game
screens below to find out more: |
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Tile
3 x 3 |
Tile
4 x 4 |
Tile
5 x 5 |
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1
in 3 |
Gap-Fill |
Mix
Single |
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Text
Mix |
Next
Letter 1 |
Next
Letter 2 |
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Tower
Block |
Space |
Next
Word |
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Word
Guess |
Anagrams |
Click
& Fill |
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Invaders
II |
Snake |
Find
it! |
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The
new Find it! exercise allows you to create a "Find the French
for..." (or German, Spanish, Italian or whatever) exercise
based on the content of your text. You can also opt to automatically
create a TextMatch exercise based on your matching items in the
text! Find it! is also one of the 8 available worksheets in Mix
& Gap.
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Try
the following if you have the latest version of TM2:
- This
Mix&Gap file is one of those available in the Ready Made Exercises
section of the TaskMagic. It allows you to access all of the above
exercises and the 8 worksheets.
- This
separate game file opens the new Find it! game directly.
- This
TextMatch file was generated automatically based on the items
from the Find it! exercise. |
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| FREE
Mix & Gap Demo |
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This
executable Mix & Gap Demo is designed to demonstrate the different
kinds of texts that can be used in a Mix & Gap file. |
The
demo contains 7 fully working Mix & Gap files which allow the
user to try out all of the 18 interactive games and exercises available
in Mix & Gap.
It prints the Mix & Gap worksheets too! |
| The
contents / topics of the exercise files contained in the demo are
listed below. The examples cover various languages as well as non-language
material. |
| TaskMagic
Mix & Gap Demo content : (i) KS4 French - dailyroutine using perfect
and imperfect; (ii) KS2/3 Spanish, with sound - personal infromation
& weather; (iii) KS3/4 Italian - the water cycle; (iv) KS2/3/4
Spanish - family, school, likes & dislikes, sports; (v) KS2 Geography
- glaciers; (vi) KS2/3 Science - the Solar System; (vii) KS3 French
- accommodation / rooms in a house. |
The
Mix & Gap Demo is ideal for those who want to familiarise themselves
with using the Mix & Gap component of TaskMagic, but without
the need to create their own exercises. |
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Making
Use of Mix & Gap Files |
The
order in which exercise types are displayed on the Mix & Gap
front page does not represent a particular sequence. It was never
intended that students should attempt all of the exercises for a
particular file in a particular sequence. In fact, nor was it intended
that students should attempt to complete all of the available exercise
types for a particular file. |
Users
of TaskMagic (teachers & students) should select the most appropriate
exercise types available depending on: the context; whether they
are using a whiteboard or individual PCs in a computer room (or
at home); the level of text input; the type of information being
presented; the point they are at in the learning sequence; whether
it’s for a starter, a plenary, a presentation or the main
element of a lesson; the time available etc. |
When
working with an interactive whiteboard, the teacher has total control
over the exercises and activities selected. When working in an IT
room, however, it is important for teachers to maintain control
over the exercises and activities that the students attempt. It
was never intended that students should be told to open a particular
file and then attempt the available games in any order they like.
Teachers should make it clear to students which activities they
are to attempt and in which order, or alternatively they should
make it clear which activities they don't want them to attempt.
The activities you choose will depend on your own professional appreciation
of the value of each activity bearing in mind all of the factors
mentioned above (time, context, stage etc.). A useful strategy is
to reserve many of the more game-based activities (such as Snake,
Invaders II) until the end of the session, then allow students 5
or 10 minutes to choose freely from the activities available. It
is also possible to limit the exercises available by making direct
hyperlinks to individual game files - these can be created in TaskMagicCreate. |
This
section looks at all of the exercise types available in Mix &
Gap and attempts to put them into some sort of order of difficulty.
This is very difficult to do, however, as various elements need
to be weighed up in deciding just how difficult a particular exercise
is:
- the level of support (e.g. number of options in multi-choice
activities)
- the type of activity (eg. multiple choice, reordering, text
input)
- time pressures
- penalties for incorrect answers
We must also consider elements which are not instrinsic to the
exercise format itself such as:
- the length of the text; some exercises can be pretty simple
with shorter texts but much harder, and certainly more time-consuming,
with longer ones
- whether or not sound
support is available; a very difficult exercise can be made considerably
easier if a sound file is attached
- whether or not gapped words are available (in Gap-Fill)
- whether or not prompts are shown in their original sequence
(in Find it!)
The following list is just a suggestion / a guideline / a starting
point...
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All of the text is displayed with all spaces and punctuation
removed.
- When a student clicks at the dividing point between words,
the missing space and or punctuation is automatically inserted.
- Tests the student's ability to recognise where words begin
and end.
- If a student answers incorrectly, they can keep trying until
they get the correct answer.
- An incorrect answer affects the score, which represents
the percentage of correct clicks.
- There is no time pressure.
- The use of a sound file makes the exercise easier but helps
to reinforce the sound-spelling link.
Can be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers, eg. by reading out
a sentence or group of words
- invite/select students to come to the board and click to
separate the words
- provided the whole text fits into the text box (and doesn't
scroll), the IWB screen can be used as the basis for a written
exercise in exercise books, with students rewriting the text
with spaces and punctuation included.
- a Space worksheet can also be printed out from within TaskMagic.
This contains the whole text run together without gaps or
punctuation, with alternate lines left blank for students
to write in the correct version. (Alternatively students can
draw lines separating the words in the continuous text) |
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The original text is split (automatically) into at least 10
chunks (the number of chunks of text depends on the length
of text).
- 3 pieces of text are displayed at a time, and the student
has to choose the correct piece in order to rebuild the original
text.
- If the student clicks on the correct piece of text, the
text is added to the main text below, and the exercise moves
on to the next part (ie. the next 3 pieces of text to choose
from).
- If a student answers incorrectly, they must keep trying
until they get the correct answer.
- Incorrect answers affect the score, which represents the
percentage of correct clicks.
- Tests the student's understanding of the text and their
ability to put items of text into the correct sequence using
context, vocabulary and grammatical indicators.
- There is no time pressure.
- The use of a sound file makes the exercise easier but helps
to reinforce the sound-spelling link.
Can be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers, eg. by reading out
the appropriate piece of text or simply the correct letter:
a, b or c
- invite/select students to come to the board and click on
the correct answer
- for each part of the text, students can be asked to write
the correct letter of the next part on mini-whiteboards, before
checking the answer and moving on to the next part
- discuss why particular chunks of text cannot be correct
given the context / grammar etc.
- a 1 in 3 worksheet can also be printed out from within TaskMagic.
This displays the whole text as a series of multiple choice
questions, requiring the student to choose the correct part:
a, b or c |
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The original text is split (automatically) into 16 roughly
equal chunks, with the first chunk of text displayed in the
text box at the top.
- 4 pieces of text are displayed at a time, and the student
has to choose the next correct piece in order to rebuild the
original text.
- If the student clicks on the correct piece of text, the
text is added to the main text above, and the exercise moves
on to the next part. A storey is added to the tower block
for each correct answer. The aim is to build a 15 storey tower
block.
- If a student answers incorrectly, the tower collapses and
the game is over.
- 4 "play safes" are available, which allow the
student to make an incorrect guess without being penalised.
- Tests the student's understanding of the text and their
ability to put items of text into the correct sequence using
context, vocabulary and grammatical indicators.
- There is no time pressure.
- Sound is never available in a Tower Block exercise.
Can be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers, eg. by reading out
the appropriate piece of text or simply the correct letter:
a, b, c or d
- invite/select students to come to the board and click on
the correct answer
- for each part of the text, students can be asked to write
the correct letter of the next part on mini-whiteboards, before
checking the answer and moving on to the next part
- play the game as if it were "Who wants to be a millionaire?",
with the teacher offering a "50/50", students showing
hands or using mini-whiteboards for "ask the audience",
or choosing a class mate for "phone a friend"
- discuss why particular chunks cannot be correct given the
context / grammar etc. |
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The whole text is displayed in a scrollable text box at the
top of the screen.
- The Find it! exercise is not generated automatically but
is created by the teacher when they create the exercise file.
To make the Find it! exercise available, the teacher selects
(highlights) a word or group of words from the text and writes
a prompt for each word or group of words.
- To complete the exercise, students click on one of the prompts,
then highlight the piece of text in the text box which relates
to this prompt. eg. if the prompt is "I go to school"
the piece of text to be highlighted could be "Je vais
au collège".
- If a student answers incorrectly, they must keep trying
until they get the correct answer.
- Incorrect answers affect the score, which represents the
percentage of correct attempts.
- Tests the student's understanding of specific parts of the
text, its meaning etc.
- When creating the exercise the teacher decides whether prompts
are to appear in random order or in their original sequence.
An easy way to create a discovery exercise which teaches students
the meaning of the whole text is to include prompts for all
of the text, and include the prompts in their original sequence.
- There is no time pressure.
- Sound is not used in Find it!.
Can be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers, eg. by reading out
the appropriate piece of text
- invite/select students to come to the board and select the
correct answer from the text
- for each prompt, students can be asked to write the correct
answer on mini-whiteboards, before checking the answer and
moving on to the next prompt
- a Find it! worksheet can also be printed out from within
TaskMagic. This displays the whole text at the top with the
prompts listed below, either randomly or in the original sequence
(depending on how the on-screen exercise was saved)
- Find it! can be a good way of teaching vocabulary in context,
by including prompts with a mixture of known and new vocabulary
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All of the text is displayed as 8 separate tiles in a 3x3
grid. (The text is divided automatically into 8 roughly equal
chunks).
- The student has to put the text back into the correct order
by dragging tiles into the correct position. (Any tile can
be dragged into the empty space.)
- When a student clicks the "Check" button, correct
tiles are highlighted in yellow.
- Tests the student's understanding of the text and their
ability to put items of text into the correct sequence using
context, vocabulary and grammatical indicators.
- If a student answers incorrectly, they can keep trying until
they get the correct answer. Incorrect answers do not affect
the score.
- There is no time pressure.
- The use of a sound file makes the exercise easier but helps
to reinforce the sound-spelling link.
Can be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers, eg. by reading out
the appropriate piece of text for a particular square
- invite/select students to come to the board and drag tiles
into the correct place
- the IWB screen can be used as the basis for a written exercise
on mini-whiteboards or in exercise books, with students writing
the numbers of the tiles representing the correct sequence.
- with mini-whiteboards, the above can also be done one tile
at a time, with the student writing the number of the next
tile of text to fit in the next blank space
- discuss why particular tiles cannot be correct given the
context / grammar etc.
- a Tile 3x3 worksheet can also be printed out from within
TaskMagic. This contains the whole text separated into 8 roughly
equal chunks and requires the student to number the chunks
of text in the correct order |
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Available for texts of up to 200 words.
- The words to be gapped are selected by the teacher when
they create the exercise.
- The teacher also decides whether or not gapped words are
included along with the exercise. It can be a good idea to
omit the word list when there is a sound file attached to
the exercise, in order to make it more challenging.
- Students type (or drag, if the word list is available) the
missing words into the gaps.
- If a student answers incorrectly, they must keep trying
until they get the correct answer.
- Incorrect answers affect the score, which represents the
percentage of correct attempts.
- Tests the student's understanding of the text and their
ability to put items of text into the correct sequence using
context, vocabulary and grammatical indicators.
- There is no time pressure.
- The use of a sound file makes the exercise easier but helps
to reinforce the sound-spelling link.
Can be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers, eg. by reading out
the appropriate piece of text
- invite/select students to come to the board and type / drag
in the correct answer
- for each gap in the text, students can be asked to write
the correct answer on mini-whiteboards, before checking the
answer and moving on to the next gap
- the IWB screen can be used as the basis for a written exercise
in exercise books, with students writing the missing words
in the correct order
- a Gap-Fill worksheet can also be printed out from within
TaskMagic. This displays the whole text with gaps of equal
length, with or without the word list (depending on how the
on-screen exercise was saved)
- discuss why particular words cannot be correct given the
context / grammar etc. |
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The whole text is displayed but with each vowel replaced by
a square.
- Students type the missing letters of the text starting from
the beginning. Accented characters, spaces and punctuation
are already in the text.
- If a student types (or clicks on) the correct letter, that
letter will appear in the text. If an incorrect letter is
pressed, the student must keep trying until they choose the
next correct letter.
- Incorrect answers affect the score, which represents the
percentage of correct attempts.
- Tests word recognition and spellng.
- There is no time pressure.
- The use of a sound file makes the exercise easier but helps
to reinforce the sound-spelling link.
Can be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers, eg. by saying the
next letter
- invite/select students to come to the board and complete
the next word or two
- students can be asked to write the next correct word on
mini-whiteboards, before checking the answer and moving on
to the next word
- depending on the length of the text, the IWB screen can
be used as the basis for a written exercise in exercise books,
with students writing the words of the text in the correct
order. |
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All of the text is displayed as 8 separate tiles in a 4x4
grid. (The text is divided automatically into 15 roughly equal
chunks).
- The student has to put the text back into the correct order
by dragging tiles into the correct position. (Any tile can
be dragged into the empty space.)
- When a student clicks the "Check" button, correct
tiles are highlighted in yellow.
- Tests the student's understanding of the text and their
ability to put items of text into the correct sequence using
context, vocabulary and grammatical indicators.
- If a student answers incorrectly, they can keep trying until
they get the correct answer. Incorrect answers do not affect
the score.
- There is no time pressure.
- The use of a sound file makes the exercise easier but helps
to reinforce the sound-spelling link.
Can be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers, eg. by reading out
the appropriate piece of text for a particular square
- invite/select students to come to the board and drag tiles
into the correct place
- the IWB screen can be used as the basis for a written exercise
on mini-whiteboards or in exercise books, with students writing
the numbers of the tiles representing the correct sequence.
- with mini-whiteboards, the above can also be done one tile
at a time, with the student writing the number of the next
tile of text to fit in the next blank space
- discuss why particular tiles cannot be correct given the
context / grammar etc.
- a Tile 4x4 worksheet can also be printed out from within
TaskMagic. This contains the whole text separated into 15
roughly equal chunks and requires the student to number the
chunks of text in the correct order |
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The whole text is displayed but with each letter replaced
by a square. Words of 2 letters or less are already displayed.
- Students click on any of the word shapes to reveal an anagram
of the chosen word at the bottom of the screen. They then
click on the letters of the word in the correct order.
- If a student reorders the letters of the word correctly,
the word will appear in the text.
- Incorrect clicks affect the score, which represents the
percentage of correct clicks.
- Tests the student's understanding of the text, grammatical
understanding, word recognition, spelling and memory.
- There is no time pressure to complete the exercise.
- A sound file can make the exercise easier.
Can be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
IWB options:
- click on a word shape to reveal an anagram, then invite/select
students to give answers, eg. by reading out the word or spelling
it out correctly
- invite/select students to come to the board and choose their
own word, reveal the anagram and reorder the letters
- reveal a word and give students a short time to write the
unscrambled word on mini-whiteboards
- once you have completed more than half of the text, and
provided that the text fits into the text box without scrolling,
the IWB screen can be used as the basis for a written exercise
in exercise books, with students writing the text out with
missing owrds included. You can tell them that you are prepared
to show them x number of anagrams or allow x number of students
to come to the board to reveal the anagram of a word (without
putting the letters into the correct order). Use the IWB to
check the exercise after a given time.
- an Anagrams worksheet is also available from within TaskMagic.
It shows the whole text as a series of anagrams, with alternate
lines left blank for students to write the correct version. |
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All of the text is displayed as 8 separate tiles in a 5x5
grid. (The text is divided automatically into 24 roughly equal
chunks).
- The student has to put the text back into the correct order
by dragging tiles into the correct position. (Any tile can
be dragged into the empty space.)
- When a student clicks the "Check" button, correct
tiles are highlighted in yellow.
- Tests the student's understanding of the text and their
ability to put items of text into the correct sequence using
context, vocabulary and grammatical indicators.
- If a student answers incorrectly, they can keep trying until
they get the correct answer. Incorrect answers do not affect
the score.
- There is no time pressure.
- The use of a sound file makes the exercise easier but helps
to reinforce the sound-spelling link.
Can be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers, eg. by reading out
the appropriate piece of text for a particular square
- invite/select students to come to the board and drag tiles
into the correct place
- the IWB screen can be used as the basis for a written exercise
on mini-whiteboards or in exercise books, with students writing
the numbers of the tiles representing the correct sequence.
- with mini-whiteboards, the above can also be done one tile
at a time, with the student writing the number of the next
tile of text to fit in the next blank space
- discuss why particular tiles cannot be correct given the
context / grammar etc.
- a Tile 5x5 worksheet can also be printed out from within
TaskMagic. This contains the whole text separated into 24
roughly equal chunks and requires the student to number the
chunks of text in the correct order |
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The aim is to rebuild the original text word by word, choosing
each time from a list of 10 possible words.
- The correct word and 9 randomly selected wrong words appear
at the bottom of the screen.
- Students click the correct next word to add it to the text
box above.
- If a student answers incorrectly, they must keep trying
until they get the correct answer.
- Incorrect answers affect the score, which represents the
percentage of correct clicks.
- Tests the student's understanding of the text and their
ability to put items of text into the correct sequence using
context, vocabulary and grammatical indicators.
- There is no time pressure.
- The use of a sound file makes the exercise easier but helps
to reinforce the sound-spelling link. It also makes it into
a kind of multi-choice dictation.
Can be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers, eg. by reading out
the next word or the number of the next word
- invite/select students to come to the board and click the
next correct word
- for each word in the text, students can be asked to write
the next correct word on mini-whiteboards, before checking
the answer and moving on to the next word
- where a sound file is used, this can be used as an extra
help if students are unable to agree on the next correct word
- ask students to try to predict the next sentence or group
of words
- discuss why particular words cannot be correct given the
context / grammar etc. |
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Available for texts of up to 80 words.
- The whole text is displayed jumbled up at the bottom of
the screen.
- Students drag the words from the bottom of the screen into
the correct position in the box at the top of the screen.
- If a student answers incorrectly, they must keep trying
until they get the correct answer.
- Incorrect answers do not affect the score, which represents
the number of words correctly placed.
- Tests the student's understanding of the text and their
ability to put items of text into the correct sequence using
context, vocabulary and grammatical indicators.
- There is no time pressure.
- The use of a sound file makes the exercise easier but helps
to reinforce the sound-spelling link.
Can be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers, eg. by reading out
the next word
- invite/select students to come to the board and drag the
next word into position
- for each word in the text, students can be asked to write
the next correct word on mini-whiteboards, before checking
the answer and moving on to the next word
- the IWB screen can be used as the basis for a written exercise
in exercise books, with students writing the words of the
text in the correct order. This is a very challenging exercise,
but it is made easier to achieve if a sound file is included,
making it into a kind of dictation exercise
- discuss why particular words cannot be correct given the
context / grammar etc. |
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The whole text is displayed but with each letter replaced
by a square.
- Students guess / predict the words which appear in the text,
by typing a word and pressing Enter or clicking on the OK
button.
- If a student types a correct word, all instances of that
word will appear in the text.
- Incorrect answers affect the score, which represents the
percentage of correct attempts.
- There is the option to buy a letter, to reveal all instances
of a particular letter. This affects the score.
- A 50:50 button allows you to reveal 50% of the remaining
letters in the text.
- By pressing one of the three clock buttons, the student
can reveal the whole text for 15 seconds.
- Tests the student's understanding of the text and their
ability to put items of text into the correct sequence using
context, vocabulary and grammatical indicators. Also tests
spellng and memory.
- There is no time pressure to complete the exercise.
- A sound file is never available for the Word Guess exercise.
Can be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
IWB options:
- without showing the text previously, tell the class what
the text is about in general, and ask them to predict 10 words
that they think will appear in the text. They can make notes
in exercise books or on mini-whiteboards
- invite/select students to give answers, eg. by reading out
the next word, or any word that they think will be in the
text
- invite/select students to come to the board and type the
next word, or any word that they think will be in the text
(which tests their spelling, unlike the first suggestion above)
- use the 50:50 function to make it easier for students to
decipher words in the text (and then repeat some of the above)
- use the timer button to show the text for 15 seconds, telling
students not to write anything down. Once the timer is finished
they can write down as many words as they can that have yet
to be guessed
- use the 50:50 function as a prompt for students to attempt
to read out the text. You can provide a few key words, if
you like, to make it easier
- depending on the length of the text, use the 50:50 function
and use the IWB screen as the basis for a written exercise
in exercise books, with students writing the words of the
text in the correct order. |
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The whole text is displayed but with each letter replaced
by a square.
- Students can click anywhere in the text and type in the
missing words. Unlike Next Letter, accented characters are
not already in the text.
- If a student types (or clicks on) the correct letter, that
letter will appear in the text. If an incorrect letter is
pressed, the student must keep trying until they choose the
next correct letter.
- Incorrect answers affect the score, which represents the
percentage of correct attempts.
- There is the option to buy a letter, to reveal all instances
of a particular letter. This affects the score.
- A 50:50 button allows you to reveal 50% of the remaining
letters in the text.
- A "Next Letter" button allows the student to reveal
the next letter after the cursor. This affects the overall
score.
- Tests the student's understanding of the text and their
ability to put items of text into the correct sequence using
context, vocabulary and grammatical indicators. Also tests
spellng and memory.
- There is no time pressure.
- The use of a sound file makes the exercise easier but helps
to reinforce the sound-spelling link, and makes the exercise
into a dictation exercise.
Can be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers, eg. by reading out
the next word
- invite/select students to come to the board and type the
next word (which tests their spelling, unlike the first suggestion
above)
- for each word in the text, students can be asked to write
the next correct word on mini-whiteboards, before checking
the answer and moving on to the next word
- use the 50:50 function to make it easier for students to
decipher words in the text (and then repeat some of the above)
- use the 50:50 function as a prompt for students to attempt
to read out the text. You can provide a few key words, if
you like, to make it easier
- depending on the length of the text, the IWB screen can
be used as the basis for a written exercise in exercise books,
with students writing the words of the text in the correct
order. This is a very challenging exercise, but it is made
easier to achieve if a sound file is included, making it into
a kind of dictation exercise. You can also make it easier
by completing part of the text beforehand, or by using the
50:50 function |
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The whole text is displayed jumbled up at the bottom of the
screen.
- Students type the words of the text into the box at the
top of the screen, in the correct order. (They can also drag
the words from the bottom of the screen).
- When the "Check" button is pressed, any words
which are correct are kept in place (and the corresponding
words are removed from the box below). If a word is incorrectly
placed, that word, and any word which follows it, will be
removed from the text box.
- Incorrect answers do not affect the score, which represents
the number of words correctly placed.
- Tests the student's understanding of the text and their
ability to put items of text into the correct sequence using
context, vocabulary and grammatical indicators.
- There is no time pressure.
- The use of a sound file makes the exercise easier but helps
to reinforce the sound-spelling link.
Can be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers, eg. by reading out
the next word
- invite/select students to come to the board and type or
drag the next word into position
- for each word in the text, students can be asked to write
the next correct word on mini-whiteboards, before checking
the answer and moving on to the next word
- provided the text fits onto the text box at the bottom of
the screen (without scrolling), the IWB screen can be used
as the basis for a written exercise in exercise books, with
students writing the words of the text in the correct order.
This is a very challenging exercise, but it is made easier
to achieve if a sound file is included, making it into a kind
of dictation exercise
- discuss why particular words cannot be correct given the
context / grammar etc. |
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The whole text is displayed but with each letter replaced
by a square.
- Students type the words of the text starting from the beginning.
Accented characters, spaces and punctuation are already in
the text.
- If a student types (or clicks on) the correct letter, that
letter will appear in the text. If an incorrect letter is
pressed, the student must keep trying until they choose the
next correct letter.
- Incorrect answers affect the score, which represents the
percentage of correct attempts.
- Tests the student's understanding of the text and their
ability to put items of text into the correct sequence using
context, vocabulary and grammatical indicators. Also tests
spellng.
- There is no time pressure.
- The use of a sound file makes the exercise easier but helps
to reinforce the sound-spelling link, and makes the exercise
into a dictation exercise.
Can be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers, eg. by reading out
the next word
- invite/select students to come to the board and type the
next word (which tests their spelling, unlike the first suggestion
above)
- for each word in the text, students can be asked to write
the next correct word on mini-whiteboards, before checking
the answer and moving on to the next word
- depending on the length of the text, the IWB screen can
be used as the basis for a written exercise in exercise books,
with students writing the words of the text in the correct
order. This is a very challenging exercise, but it is made
easier to achieve if a sound file is included, making it into
a kind of dictation exercise |
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A randomly selected part of the text is displayed but with
10 letters replaced by squares.
- The missing letters are displayed underneath the game box
in random order, and students have to click them in the correct
order.
- Time pressure - the student must click all of the letters
before the blocks fall to the bottom.
- 5 incorrect letter attempts results in all the blocks falling.
- As more correct answers are given, the blocks begin to fall
faster and faster. When blocks reach the bottom, they begin
to mount up. The game is over when the pile of blocks reaches
the top.
- The score represents the number of correct clicks.
- Tests the student's understanding of the text and their
ability to put items of text into the correct sequence using
context, vocabulary and grammatical indicators. Also tests
spellng and memory.
- A sound file is not available for Invaders II in Mix &
Gap.
Can be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
When used in an IT room, it is a good idea for you to keep
a record on the board of the the highest scores for a particular
file, to introduce an element of competition.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers
- invite/select students to come to the board - best to have
the next student ready to ensure a swift changeover
- use the game as a random gap generator and ask students
to write the missing information in exercise books or on mini-whiteboards.
After checking the answer, press Restart to generate the next
gap |
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A randomly selected part of the text is displayed but with
15 letters replaced by squares.
- The missing letters are hidden in snake form in the letter
grid.
- The student clicks on the first missing letter and drags
across the remaining missing letters in the correct order
to reveal the snake.
- Time pressure - 40 seconds are available. After 10 seconds
the first letter is displayed. After 20 seconds the shape
of the word snake is shown. After 40 seconds the answer is
given. The score depends on how quickly the correct answer
is found.
- No penalty for incorrect answers.
- The whole game is timed and lasts for a maximum of 3 minutes.
- Tests the student's understanding of the text and their
ability to put items of text into the correct sequence using
context, vocabulary and grammatical indicators. Also tests
spellng and memory.
- A sound file is not available for Snake in Mix & Gap.
Can be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
When used in an IT room, it is a good idea for you to keep
a record on the board of the the highest scores for a particular
file, to introduce an element of competition.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers / read out the sentence
with the missing letters included
- invite/select students to come to the board - best to have
the next student ready to ensure a swift changeover
- use the game as a random gap generator and ask students
to write the missing information in exercise books or on mini-whiteboards.
After checking the answer, press Restart to generate the next
gap |
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