Creating Learning Partners: A facilitator’s guide for training effective adult literacy tutors

Activity E

Cut-apart sentences

This is a useful simple technique.

Demonstration
Materials and equipment Seven sheets of paper for sample cut-apart sentence Preparation For this activity, you will use these words: “grammar involves word order” Write the words of the sample sentence on four sheets of paper, one word on each sheet of paper. Don’t use capitalization or punctuation. Leave another three sheets blank. STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS Ask for four volunteers to help with this activity. Hand out the words (“grammar involves word order”) to the volunteers in random order and ask them to hold the words up and stand up in front of the other tutors. Ask the rest of the tutors to direct the volunteers to stand in an appropriate order to make the words form a sentence. Tell them that they don’t have the capitals or periods, which usually help put the words in order. Put a question mark on one of the pieces of paper you haven’t used yet, and state that the sentence needs to be changed into a question. Ask the remaining tutors to decide on the question’s word order. They may have to move words, take out words and/or add words. Tell them that you have two more sheets they can use for the words they need to add to form the question. Put the words that they suggest on the sheets for them. They should end up with “What does grammar involve?” or something similar. The volunteers may have to move and hold more than one word. Summarize by stating that cut-apart sentences allow the learner to manipulate the words physically and mentally. They can be used to show word order and the relationships between different sentences. They can also show the relationships between verbs and nouns in corresponding sentences. For example, “How are you?” and “I am fine.”

Demonstration

Materials and equipment

Seven sheets of paper for sample cut-apart sentence

Preparation

For this activity, you will use these words: “grammar involves word order”
Write the words of the sample sentence on four sheets of paper, one word on each sheet of paper. Don’t use capitalization or punctuation.
Leave another three sheets blank.

STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS

Ask for four volunteers to help with this activity.
Hand out the words (“grammar involves word order”) to the volunteers in random order and ask them to hold the words up and stand up in front of the other tutors. Ask the rest of the tutors to direct the volunteers to stand in an appropriate order to make the words form a sentence. Tell them that they don’t have the capitals or periods, which usually help put the words in order.
Put a question mark on one of the pieces of paper you haven’t used yet, and state that the sentence needs to be changed into a question.
Ask the remaining tutors to decide on the question’s word order. They may have to move words, take out words and/or add words. Tell them that you have two more sheets they can use for the words they need to add to form the question. Put the words that they suggest on the sheets for them. They should end up with “What does grammar involve?” or something similar. The volunteers may have to move and hold more than one word.
Summarize by stating that cut-apart sentences allow the learner to manipulate the words physically and mentally. They can be used to show word order and the relationships between different sentences. They can also show the relationships between verbs and nouns in corresponding sentences. For example, “How are you?” and “I am fine.”

Facilitation tip

When you can, find a way for people to move around the room. They use more parts of their bodies and minds for learning, it can be more fun, and they may be more alert.

Facilitation tip

To adapt this to groups of fewer than six tutors, just put the sheets on a table and have the participants arrange the sentences together on the table.