Reading Skill
How to teach directions
Today
I read article online about How to teach directions. It’s about directions can be challenging to teach
however its practical uses are readily understood by students and there are
many fun activities you can incorporate into your lessons to make them more
enjoyable.
Warm Up - Directions.Get
your students interested in learning how to give directions. On the board draw
a rough map of the neighborhood, just a few streets and the school will do. Ask
“Where is the school?” Have a student come to the board and point it out. Then
ask where a few other landmarks are and have students draw and label them on
your map.
Introduce - Directions Vocabulary.Introduce
the words about directions ‘right’ and
‘left’. Try to elicit the meaning or translation of these words from the
students and write them on the board with arrows demonstrating each direction.
Once their meanings have been made clear to the class, demonstrate proper
pronunciation.
Practice.Ask
students to do some choral repetition. Call on students to model pronunciation
in order to check their progress on the individual level and do some quick
comprehension tests. Ask a student to “Turn right” or “Turn left” with a
demonstration and after a few individual checks feel free to have the whole
class join in making sure.
Introduce - Directions Phrases.Introduce
the following phrases:
-Turn
right/left
-Go
straight.
-You’ll
see it on the right/left.
-It’s
across from (the school, the park, the post office)
-It’s
next to (the police station, the playground, the library)
Explain
the meaning of each phrase and lead some pronunciation practice exercises.
Practice.Mark
your imaginary present location on a rough map like the one from Step 1 and ask
your students “How do I get to the (____________)?” Call on one student to give
just the first section of directions, then another student for the second
section, and then another until you’ve reached your destination. Repeat until
your students feel comfortable enough with the new phrases to give a whole set
of directions on their own. Next, mark a beginning position on the map and give
a set of directions. Ask students “Where am I?” to see if they were able to
follow along with you and repeat. If necessary, go back to review anything that
seems difficult for the students.
Practice – Directions.After
demonstrating the dialogue, ask the students to work in pairs to practice
giving directions. The model dialogue should resemble this:
A:
Excuse me. How do I get to the ~?
B:
Turn left. Turn right at the 3rd corner. You’ll see it on your left.
A:
Thank you!
B:
You’re welcome.
Production – Directions.For
further practice, if appropriate for your students and school, create a maze of
desks in your classroom and have students give directions to a blindfolded
classmate.
Ask
for translations or demonstrations of all associated vocabulary and phrases as
well as directions from one place to another. Encourage students to ask
questions if something is unclear. Start the next few classes off with
direction related warm up activities to help students retain all this new
vocabulary.
When teaching
directions, it is incredibly important to choose one structure and stick to it
so that your students do not become unnecessarily confused. The examples above
use the structure ‘Turn right/left at the 1st/2nd/3rd corner’ but you may
choose to teach ‘Turn right/left onto Smith Street.’ or ‘Go three blocks and
turn right/left.’ or ‘Take the 1st/2nd/3rd right/left after the school.’
Happy
teaching!
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