Report #2
FIPP Activity Report
Funded by the Basic Skills Initiative
Name Greta Hendricks
Date 10/26/09
FIPP Partner Julie Land
Section #6211
Activity /Strategy Peer Teaching of Commonly Confused Words
Category classroom activities
Briefly describe the activity/strategy.
1. Introduction This activity gives students an opportunity to clear up confusion
surrounding pairs of commonly confused words by doing some peer teaching.
Before we began, I explained the purpose of the activity and briefly described
the procedure.
2. Set up & Supplies white board, markers, class set of pre quizzes and post
quizzes, 10 index cards, each card containing one pair of commonly confused
words (i.e., accept/except, lay/lie) with a brief explanation and examples of
usage
3. Directions 1. Students take a pre test (Commonly confused words). Teacher
reads answers to test while students check their answers. 2. A sign-up sheet
is circulated around the class for students to sign up to teach one of the pairs
of commonly confused words (3 students per pair of words). Students are
encouraged to sign up for an item that they answered correctly, but can sign up
for an item that they got wrong. (Some students wanted to sign up to teach a
pair of words that they got wrong on the test in order to use the opportunity of
peer teaching to teach themselves what they would then teach the class.) 3.
Students move into their groups of three, according to the pair of words that
they signed up for. 4. Students are given their index cards for their pair of
words and are instructed to spend 11 minutes preparing a brief (less than 3
minutes) presentation to the class in which they convey the information on their
card (explanation and examples) and offer a memory trick, such as a
mnemonic device, a jingle, a dance, or a song that will help students remember
how to use each word. 5. After 11 minutes, each group presents their pair of
words, using the white board. 6. Post test is administered.
4. Conclusion Students are given complete responsibility for their own and their
classmates' learning in this activity, starting with the pre test. Teacher explains
to students that the purpose of the pre test is to let them know what they
already know and what they are still confused about. Teacher does not collect
the pre test, but the post test is collected and graded.
What worked well? The size of the groups (3 students per group) was perfect. When
they presented their mini lessons, each group member shared equally. Providing each
group with a "cheat sheet"--the index card that contained the information that the group
had to teach--was really effective. Requiring each group to devise a memory trick made
the presentations fun, lively, and, at times, very funny.
What would you change? I would like to use Clickers when I administer the pre test the
next time I do this activity.
Would you use the activity/strategy again? Why or why not? I will definitely use this activity
again. It was a fun and effective activity. I liked it AND the students liked it.
Please describe any student learning outcomes/changes that you observed after the
implementation of the activity/strategy. I noticed the students were more engaged
throughout the class; they seemed to be more willing to ask their peers questions when
there was confusion; and they seemed to learn the content that was being taught,
based on the post test results and student work that was done after this class was
taught.